Featured Sincerity

Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Boy, the Pharisee was a good guy, he did EVERYTHING you are supposed to do to prove you are saved, and he was as lost as a goose.

That silly old publican, he just came in and beat on his chest and cried out to God to forgive him. How dare he presume God would forgive him until he quits sinning and lives like the Pharisee.

But Jesus looks on the heart, he said the publican (but not the Pharisee) went down to his house justified, all his sins forgiven.

All that publican did was say a prayer, that's easy believism! He can't be saved!!

But he was.

 

"Salvation" is what is "not of ourselves"...not the "faith".

That's the point.

 

27 but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
28 and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are:
29 that no flesh should glory before God.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, 1 Cor 1

If you make faith to mean man's choice, man's free will, man's personal decision, then man places himself in Christ and man has reason to boast.

 

They don't get it, faith simply asks. It is God who gives life.

Jhn 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

 

Call it what you want:
Skan was merely quoting Scripture:
I believe he was referring to Jeremiah 9 (one of my favourites):

Jer 9:23
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
Jer 9:24
But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

That's one of my favourites...and that passage of Scripture will preach my man............
That one'll preach! :thumbsup:

 

Neither side of the contentional divide wide debate denies that faith comes by hearing the word of God, it says so in Romans 10:17. But it's more than just hearing it. If you're in a church service for nothing else than to get someone off your back who had been pressuring you to go, more than likely the preacher's sermon will have no effect on you. You heard the gospel preached, correct? Then, if you take a wooden stance to Romans 10:17, just bring a preacher to preach to your lost loved ones and they'll be saved. However, there's more to it than just hearing with the natural man. The spiritual man, the inner man, is dead to righteousness, and can not discern one word being preached, left in it's fallen state. It takes the work of God to liven that spiritual man, that inner man, where he also breaks that stony heart to receive the seed, the word being preached.

 

But that's exactly what we are talking about, the man who sincerely calls on the Lord to save him is saved. You have to mean it.

Calvinists are so worried about man being a part of salvation that they don't even want to get saved.

 

Well, faith is NOT an act of the creature, man's choice, man's free will, man's personal decision, it is a deep conviction of that which can't be seen with the eye or touched with the hand strong enough to change lives and produce results which can be seen with the eye.

 

But God changes that person's desires first. Man, in a fallen state, has no desire to come to Him.

 

Preacher4truth,

Go back and look at all my posts. All of them are direct quotes from scripture or definitions from Websters (and one Calvin quote). Not ONE word, until this post, is MINE.

Yet, you vehemently opposed me every step. Actually, you vehemently opposed the texts and definitions I quoted, not me. That reveals everything I need to know. I'll leave you with this most applicable of quotes:

“Don't take the wrong side of an argument just because your opponent has taken the right side.” - Baltasar Gracian

 

Jesus- Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Calvinist- I can't come to you.

Jesus- Yes you can, come and be saved

Calvinist- No, salvation is all of the Lord, I cannot come to you, that would be a work

Jesus- But I am telling you to come to me, You MUST come to me to be saved!

Calvinist- No Lord, I cannot come, that would be me saving myself.

Jesus- Very well, have it your way, be gone from me.

 

Notice those who are heavy ladened. A lot of people love their sins and aren't burdened by them, Brother winman. They have no desire to come to HIm. They love their sins, and in fact, quite a few baost about them.