"The Call of God" OR "The Calls of God?"

In this context, a sheep is one for whom Jesus died, suffering the full penalty for all of his sins so that there is no longer any hindrance to his full enjoyment of God's presence. One person cannot make another person become a sheep. One is a sheep only on the basis that Jesus suffered the full penalty for his sins. Further, a sheep is not a goat and a goat is not a sheep.

 

You have made a real theological hobby horse of hardening, haven't you, Bill.

 

It's like bondo, mix a little filler and a little hardner, but be careful, too much hardner and well, it's just useless. We could play baseball with it though.

 

Hey I like this game of words... What is the gospel?... Brother Glen

 

Question... Is the call of God or the calls of God... Long distance or local? ... Brother Glen

 

Or is it a regional calling plan?

 

Do you call on God or do you wait till he calls you first?... Or is it a mutual arrangement... God is waiting for YOUR call?... Isn't theology and doctrine fun?... Brother Glen

 

It's not an assumption. It is what Jesus said.

John 6:44(NASB)
44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:65(NASB)
65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

Jesus said it twice, and still you won't believe Him, Bill.

 

I have a telephone test set, we used them to test lines when working around existing cables to see if we had cut one when we found loose cable in the ditch; this would seem to be an unfair advantage as I can access any telephone pedestal I am near and even call upon God from the line he providentially had installed into another's home. Is this justice????

Hey, for a small love offering of just 25.00 I can tell you how to make your own 'test-set.' Then you too would have access to God, just dial the numbers I tell you and then write me and let me know you have decided to follow Christ and I will send you the diagram of how to build a more effective 'test-set' ....

 

Stop it Brother Dallas I'm in stitches... ROFLOL!... Brother Glen

 

The Billy Graham Tour just pulled into San Diego... The stadium will be packed... There will be a lot of phone calls this weekend!... Like I always say... To each!... His own!... Brother Glen ... Brother Dallas with that kind of attitude you will never work on this board again ... Just kidding!... You are a hoot my brother

 

Actually, the Bible does not say that. The Greek has "I...will draw all unto me." The word "men" is italicized in the KJV meaning that it was added by the translators. The Amplified Bible adds after the word "men" - "(Gentile as well as Jew)". Which is what the context supports as I will shortly explain.

So, Bill, you are reading your presupposition into the text. How sad.

Look at the context of this event.

John 12:20-23(NASB)
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
21 these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22 Philip *came and *told Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus.
23 And Jesus *answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

The context proves that the word "all" refers to Gentiles as well as Jews(isn't that the argument you keep using ad nauseam in Romans 9, Bill? Well now it rises back on you to bite you.). The context does not support the Arminian assertion that Jesus is referring to every person who has or will ever live, but that Gentiles are to be included in God's drawing of the His elect as well as Jews in the gospel of the kingdom of God in the new covenant.

 

God's drawing is not the same as the general call of the gospel, Bill. God's drawing never fails. Those whom the Father draws, Jesus said He would raise up to eternal life. There is nothing taught in the Bible of one being drawn by the Father but not being raised to eternal life by Jesus. The universe of those drawn and those raised to eternal life are the same people. This is clearly evident in John chapter 6.

 

I am not ignoring your argument. I have stated my case why I disagree with your argument.

Have you noticed, Bill, that whenever someone gives an alternative explanation to your explanation of a passage, you never accept the other person's explanation as a de facto refutation of your explanation.

That is like a basketball team using a slow-down offense and unless their opponent also used a slow-down offense but instead used an up-tempo offense to thrash them, you would say that that the up-tempo team really didn't soundly defeat the slow-down team because they didn't defeat them using the same slow-down offense.

I refuse to allow you to control the tempo of my responses, Bill. You'll have to find someone who will be gullible enough to let you do so. I don't think there is a Calvinist who posts in this forum who is gullible.