Featured Sought After God

We would hold that due to the fall of adam, all of us are sinners now, and that while in that condition, we cannot freely come to Jesus, nor even want to come to Him in order to get saved, as we do prefer to walk in darkness and our own sins..

We also would hold that we still see sinners making up own religion and way to get back to God, as we have the witness of the creation to God, but lost sinners come to him by own works, NOT by trusting in christ!

 

My $.02

I would say that David is already a believer here and is seeking the Lord in physical deliverance from his enemies. Not exactly applicable to regeneration.

Again, this was someone seeking Jesus for physical healing, not salvation. Jesus also remarks that it was her faith that caused her to reach out and seek him for healing. So she has already has some form of faith in Christ before seeking him for this healing.

This one is hard I admit. My take on it is that all men are obligated to seek after and worship God. Their ability or their willingness to do so isn't in view here though.

But God has even gone to the length of determining the time, location and boundaries of all nations in order that man could seek him and some even find him. Sounds like predestination to me.

I see that OR and James have already discussed this, but the bolded above sounds a lot like irresistible grace (better called overcoming/overwhelming grace) to me.

 

What does it mean to resist the Spirit ?

Acts 7:51

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

The word resist here is the greek word antipiptō and means:

to fall upon, run against

2) to be adverse, oppose, strive against

This resisting of the Spirit or the Holy Ghost is when the natural man, dead in sins, manifests his enmity of heart, of his uncircumcised heart at that, of the Testimony of the Truth given by God's Servants, for instance when Stephen testified of the Truth to dead spiritually jews here it is stated Acts 7:51-52

51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

Now compare with Neh 9:30

30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.

This is a external work of the Spirit for testification, and has nothing to do with His Work of Giving Life/ New Birth, or His Sanctifying Work unto belief of the Truth 2 Thess 2:13

13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

This is when God the Spirit actually gives a circumcised heart ! Deut 30:6

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.

Stephen knew that the jews he spake to in Acts 7:51-52 were not of this seed !