No one is righteous = No one can believe???

Well....

ALL werre saved or condemned by God NOT due to the inability to keep all of His law, as NONE of us are perfect within ourselves to do such...

So ANY who were rightous before God was due to God provoding it/crediting it to their account...

Think Apostle paul main point contending for here is that we are sinners, estranged form God, unable to come to the Lord UNLESS God credits His rightous to us...

that is through jesus Christ, and Him alone, faith is the means that we use to "tap" into and access it...

Don't think really addressing IF we come to God as the elect, or if its by a "free will" response!

 

Paul

What ever Paul said was to support Jesus Christ not Arminian or Calvinism, only men do that. When I look at Paul's life not his word, his word becomes more enlightened. That his life depicted evangelizing Christ and Him crucified. When I see those verses that none are righteous, and none seek God. It is word to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world that does not seek God or know Him. It is not to support they need a enabling because they can not have enabling without the word, but they need the word about Christ and His word that is Spirit and life. If we have not His word we have no life.

 

Risk

Who would risk their life for an unrighteous world that does not seek God? Who would still go spread the Gospel being warned that if they go something bad will happen, or be stoned to death, be crucified upside down, be imprisoned, be exiled if it is 100% God and none of man?

 

It is sufficient (and effectual for that matter). It is by the Word of God that God gives the gift of faith to his elect.

Why does God fail with most men?
Why does God succeed with some men?

It doesn't make sense.

Man who CANNOT receive the things of the Spirit of God (the very essence of faith) must be regenerated in order to be able to receive the things of the Spirit of God (iow, in order that they might have faith).

The carnal mind is enmity with God. The carnal mind stands in contradistinction to the spiritual mind which does not EXIST in the being of an unregenerate man.

The carnal mind CANNOT be subject to the law of God. It can do nothing BUT have other gods before God, etc, etc, etc... This is why regeneration is NECESSARY in order that man CAN be reconciled to God.

So long as he is ENMITY he is not reconciled.
Regeneration enables the CARNAL man to be overhauled SO THAT he can be reconciled to God.

 

I'm sorry, but this argument makes no sense. If men at times do what is right in God's sight (which you concede), then it is truly good or God could not say it was right. You are redefining God's own words.

The whole point I am trying to make is that the scriptures do not teach Total Inability. Man of himself would not do good, but men have the ability to hear and obey God (as I have shown), and when they do, they can perform true good that is acceptable in his sight. Man can also believe God's words. Total Inability is not scriptural.

Saying something is not good or right when God himself says they are good and right is a false argument IMHO, I know of no scriptural support for this argument that you and several others put forth.

 

No, they did "right" as far as doing what the law said. Nobody says that people cannot do the right thing. You are redefining our words.

What you said is not scriptural. Men do not have any spiritual ability in himself except that which is given to him by God. So total inability is very Scriptural. Men are unable/unwilling to come to God on their own without God.

Men are also made in the image of God, so there are going to be times that we see "good" things that come from man. He doesn't do anything of these things as glory to God. Unregenerate men can and often do love others. Is this good? Of course. But He isn't doing it as an act of worship to God nor doing it for the glory of God. He has no desire to give God glory.

Hope that helps you understand better.

 

Pure nonsense. You make a mockery of God's word. If a man tells the truth, he is obeying God's command and doing his will, and yet you call it sin.

Many men do not know the gospel, but have heard the Ten Commandments and try to obey them to please God. All men sin and come short of the glory of God, but at those times they do obey God they are doing true good.

 

I am not defending man, I am defending God. If God cursed man so that he is born without the ability to obey God's word, then man is not at fault for sin, God is!

I am AMAZED that anyone can hold this doctrine.

 

Mat 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses's seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

Was Jesus telling these people to sin by attempting to obey the law? NO. The sin was NOT DOING the law.

Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Were the scribes and Pharisees regenerate? NO. Did Jesus condemn them for tithing? NO, he said they OUGHT to have done these things.

Now, if everything the unregenerate does is false worship, why would Jesus tell them they OUGHT to do these things? Was Jesus telling them they should sin?

No, their tithing was good and correct and what they should do, there was no sin here. The sin was that they omitted the weightier matters of the law as judgment, mercy, and faith.

So, these scribes and Pharisees were unregenerate, but some things they did were good and according to Jesus, they should have done these things.

The problem with man is not when he does good, man's problem is when he sins.

 

I never understood the logic behind an unregenerate person's obedience to God's law being deemed sin. It is taking the "filthy rags" bit beyond where it should go, which is no amount of works will ever earn righteousness.

 

Yes, the scriptures do not say man cannot do righteous works, it says his righteousnesses are marred and polluted by sin.

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Does this verse say we have no righteousnesses? NO, it says we do, but our iniquities have taken us away.

Away from what? What has our iniquities taken us away from? From sin? If we are born sinners, how can our iniquities take us away?

 

Yes, how do you reconcile with a friend? Why preach reconciliation to someone who is regenerated and no longer an enemy? Nonsensical.

 

Nobody is pleasing God that is unsaved. You claim in your usual childlike responses that I "make a mockery of god's word" yet I'm only quoting the Scriptures. You remind me of the pharisees that Jesus dealt with in the gospels. You say one does good because of his outside actions, when true goodness goes to the heart of the issue. Colossians 3:23 says to do your work to the lord and not to men. If one does his work. He does everything he is supposed to do. He obeys his boss. He tells the truth. He's on time. If he does this as unto men and not to God, he is sinning.

It says that our righteousness are "filthy rags." They are worthless. While the act itself is "right" it's worthless.

God cursed man because of man's sin. (Rom 5)

All good comes from God. Man has no good in himself except through Jesus Christ. Unregenerate man do not have good in them.

 

Cornelius was not saved (or else why would he need to hear the gospel?), yet he was devout and feared God, and God heard his prayers.

You overlook the obvious, the scriptures say man has righteousnesses. I agree they are worthless, because our sins have carried us away. The point I am making is that Total Inability is a false and unscriptural doctrine.

No, you believe God cursed man nature because of Adam's sin, violating God's own word that the son shall not bear the sin of his father (Eze 18:20).

All good does come from God, and man was made in God's image. This is stated after the fall, (Gen 9:6, Jam 3:9). How can we still be in God's image and incapable of good?

I have already shown several examples of the scriptures showing man doing good, but you ignore them, or try to redefine God's own words. If God says men did right in his sight, then it was truly right.

 

Cornelius was not saved (or else why would he need to hear the gospel?), yet he was devout and feared God, and God heard his prayers.

You overlook the obvious, the scriptures say man has righteousnesses. I agree they are worthless, because our sins have carried us away. The point I am making is that Total Inability is a false and unscriptural doctrine.

No, you believe God cursed man's nature because of Adam's sin, violating God's own word that the son shall not bear the sin of his father (Eze 18:20).

All good does come from God, and man was made in God's image. This is stated after the fall, (Gen 9:6, Jam 3:9). How can we still be in God's image and incapable of good?

I have already shown several examples of the scriptures showing man doing good, but you ignore them, or try to redefine God's own words. If God says men did right in his sight, then it was truly right.