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You do not…your views echo your own interpretations ONLY. And thus you impose them on them. How very ignorant are those who think themselves correct rather then actually knowing that they are….LOL!!!
Would you consider the southern region of the country to be white Anglo-Saxon Protestant? The NE part of the country has never been that…rather it has or was working class immigrant… generally European.
If the cap fits, you can wear it, chum.
There just were not as many elect people living in the Northeast as there were in the South. Seriously, the controversy as you describe it brings up what I think is the problem. It should not have been necessary to separate from someone who likes "The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation". This is a problem with Baptist groups everywhere, not just PB's. I was a card carrying, bonified Fundamentalist, with my own subscription to Sword of the Lord. We left that church when we moved away from the area and honestly, the only real complaint I had against fundamentalism in general was that they had a tendency to separate so quick from anyone who disagreed on any point that they tended to be in constant turmoil, and constantly having to rebuild after splits. I will never go back to them but I can worship with them and will always remember and use many of the good things they taught.
That’s right, your theology LOL You did have a dialog with a fellow named Archangel several months ago…he has an advanced degrees in Greek & Hebrew. He told you point blank that your interpretation of scripture is flawed simply due to the fact your translations don’t line up with the word meanings you profess to entertain thus you are nobody to even attempt to interpret & preform a biblical Exegesis of each verse. Frankly you do not have the knowledge to do this, not properly. Exegesis is not a common word in our daily vocabulary. The term exegesis comes from the Greek verb exegeisthai, which means to "explain" or "interpret." Simply put, exegesis is the process of determining or bringing out the meaning of a text.
I’m fine with the Primitive Baptists as they are and would not adjust it in any way shape or form. In fact, I’m now in the process of reintroducing it to NJ communities via our vast network of churches and Elders willing to provide support. I’m confident that with Gods help we can make it happen.
Yes, having believed, they were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13 doesn't say, "having believed, you became elect."
Not so. Everyone who ends up in hell is receiving God's righteous judgment for their sins, including their unbelief of the one and only Saviour. Everyone in hell is there because of themselves; everyone in heaven is there because of God.
Yet the bible does say that faith/belief is a gift from God:
Odd that you would say that as you said “Many times have I seen, not only on this board, but in Ephesians that the elect were chosen before the foundation of the world.” Yet we do not see “the elect were chosen before”
You do seem to miss that contradiction in your comments. On one hand you say the “elect” were chosen before creation then you say that those that are in hell are there because of their choice. But you ignore the obvious result of God’s choosing some and not others. Those that were not chosen are condemned before they even have taken a breath. They are condemned prior to them even committing a single sin. That does not seem very just to me and we know that God is just. Rom 3:26
Exegesis of the verse by Bill Mounce
That's fine (although other Greek experts take a different view)! So "the entire salvific process, of which faith is obviously a part," is the gift of God. Ergo, faith is the gift of God, along with the rest of the "salvific process." All of God, none of us; wonderful!
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God;
Yet the very words "elect" and "chosen" mean the same thing. Indeed, the same Greek word, elektos, is sometimes translated "chosen" and sometimes "elect". For example:
Yes God is just. If He had left us to ourselves, we would all be facing eternity in hell, in other words, by nature, we were all "condemned before we even had taken a breath," but, praise God, He chose to save some.
But all that seems to go against so much of what Paul wrote. If I was saved because I chose to have faith, there would be a reason for boasting, but Paul says there is none:
So you disagree with your own Greek Expert!
To say, “For by grace you have been saved, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” is a tautology. If it's by grace then obviously it's not of ourselves. So when Paul says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” it is those words 'through faith' which keep it from being a tautology. Therefore it must be, as Mounce says, the whole of salvation including faith that is the gift of God.
So you disagree with your own Greek Expert!
I studied Greek for a number of years, but I am not any sort of expert to contradict Mounce, and I don't need to because he proves my point. However, I did take time to look up William Hendricksen's commentary of this verse. He spends four pages discussing it, so I won't paste all of it.
The problem is that the word 'that' is neuter in Greek, while 'salvation' and 'faith' are both feminine. So what does 'that' agree with? Hendricksen suggests that it is the act of believing, which would be neuter which is represented by touto. But whether one agrees with Mounce or Hendricksen, the fact is that the whole of salvation, every aspect of it, is of God.