God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he spoken and shall he not do it. Or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good?
Christ is the same: yesterday, today, and forever.
"I am the Lord; I change not."
Whether in the OT or the NT God doesn't change his basic ways.
Amen. Men were evil on the OT and continue to be evil in the NT. The inherent evil nature of man’s heart reached its apex in the murder of innocent Jesus.
Both OT and NT teach the need for a new heart which only God can give.
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. (Deut. 30:6)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3 ESV)
The new birth results in our being a new creation.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
We are the workmanship of God.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
‘Prepared beforehand’ is another way of saying, ‘predestined before the foundation of the world.’
God the Father has predestined all those spiritual gifts necessary for us to carry out the good work to which we have been called in Christ Jesus.
We Christians, as well as the spiritual gifts given us, are His workmanship, His creation.
Faith must be one of those spiritual gifts because faith must be spiritual in nature to be saving faith.
Therefore, faith must be given by the Spirit.
Sinful man by nature is not spiritual. He is carnal with a wicked heart….’desperately wicked.’
Both Jesus and the Scriptures do not minimize the wickedness of men’s hearts.
For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Before I answer your extensive post (for which I thank you for being quite detailed) we must come to an understanding of the fundamental truths regarding the unregenerate human heart.
Without a correct understanding of the analogies cited above it will be futile to answer your objections based on other Scriptures.
Therefore, I must ask:
1. Do you agree that all unregenerate men are sinful and therefore evil in the sight of the Lord?
2. Do you agree that the Lord is comparing our inherent sin nature to corrupt trees which cannot bring forth good fruit?
3. If yes, then do you agree it is impossible for an evil heart to bring forth that which is good in the sight of the Lord?
4. If yes, then do you agree that a spiritual saving faith in Christ is that which is good in the sight of the Lord?
5. If yes, then please explain how it is possible for unregenerate sinful carnal man to bring forth the good fruit of spiritual saving faith in Christ since Jesus clearly teaches the impossibility that such a miracle can be performed by man.
Jesus teaches this common sense truth:
For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
The fruit of unregenerate men is inherently corrupt.
Nothing spiritually good comes from a sinful wicked heart.
Therefore, like man who will not gather figs from thorns, God does not seek to gather fruit of any worth which comes from the tree of an unrepentant, unregenerate sinner.
That would include the rotten fruit of carnal faith which evil unregenerate men would attempt to give Him. Amen?
I look forward to your reply when time allows.