SeekingTruth, I was called a Devil by Tom Cassidy and ignored it. He, for one, constantly mocks those who do not agree with him. So according to him I don't just have a doctrine founded by Satan, I am the devil himself!~
When I mentioned to whetstone about his being nasty, he said he just considered himself "witty." Hardly.
The fact that there is some return on the part of non-Calvinists, I apologize for. But the fact is, when you look at the threads, the mockery, sarcasm, nastiness, and general bad form are being rather consistently exhibited by a number (not all) of the Calvinists here, which is doing nothing for their 'cause.'
Bill, I disagree with you. There may be no EVIDENCE that others may see for salvation except good works, but the test for me, in my own life, is to look back and see what the Lord has done with me that there is no way I could have done on my own. There is the assurance of answered prayers and the constant care in the most remarkable of circumstances. The witness of my character is the test of the truth of my salvation. I am most certainly not what I was!
Satan could not do that. His 'assurance' would not be in the form of the peace and joy in my heart or the change in my character.
As far as doing right, one always hopes others will, for whatever reason. But the actions are, in the long run, evidence of the condition of the heart. A person who is pretending can only live two lives for just so long. (This is one reason we saw such a high rate of suicide among Mormon young men where I taught in California -- they were expected to strive for perfection and they could not do it on their own).