A Mystery To Me...

I know what the "mystery of sanctification" is...free will

 

I don't recall ever saying that. The answers to your a, b, and c is that we are free moral agents with the ability to choose. Obviously, a calvinist will never admit that, so they have to fall back on the "mystery".

 

Is that true of salvation as well?

 

...yeah, while doing this...

The ability to chose between one thing, by definition is not a true choice.

 

Yes I am familiar with the verses. Does this approach then mean that one can choose everything in his life, other than salvation?

 

It is nap time here, I will try to check back later in the morning.

 

Before salvation man is a slave to sin, dead in his sin and tresspasses, as scripture tells us, but after salvation he makes the choice to continue to sin or live in his new freedom from sin. A dead man has no free will, no choice, he is dead, but a live man(born again, saved) now has a choice to follow Christ or not. Sadly we see many chose not to follow Jesus and seek a holy lifestyle.

 

Why wouldn't He?

 

A dead man cannot feel pain and suffer either, making hell pointless and meaningless to a corpse.

You also have the problem of believers being "dead to sin". I hope you don't hold to the notion we are unable to sin...

 

Draw

God draws us by His word. His word say's that whosoever believes shall not be condemned but have enternal life and those who are have already been condemned is not because they were not chosen but because they have not believed in His Son.

Jesus words can do this, because not mens word, but the words of Jesus has Spirit and Life to them making so that whosoever can come. The cross has not lost its power, only mens faith in it.

Problem we have today just like then.

To many people were never drawn to Jesus they are just following the crowd.

Today all can have a personal relationship with Jesus.

It begins by trusting in Jesus not your own understand and He will direct your path.

 

What do you think of this alternative: One could choose to live like a Calvinist without ever trusting in Christ as Savior? A good for instance" would be someone who grew up in a Reform Church and just conformed to Calvinism/Lutheranism naturally. Could that happen -- dead in sin, living like a Christian because he never chose Christ??

skypair

 

You got it wrong, TC. God could have sinned very easily in Christ's flesh -- but He chose not to. Do you not believe the verse that says "He was tempted in all ways like unto us yet siined not?" Such a statement would presume that God could choose to sin, especially in the body of Christ, but did not.

Your comments go a long way toward explaining how you are "bewitched" with Calvinism, though. Even the "low hanging fruit" of scripture and logic are still "out of reach" to you.

skypair