The answer is still not because we believe. The answer is God's grace and mercy, and the active and passive obedience of Christ. Perhaps you have not read John 3:16 recently. First, God loves the world in a certain way; the result of that is that He gives His only begotten Son to suffer and die; the purpose of that being so that believing sinners should have eternal life
Yes we are saved by the grace of God but only those that believe in Him will be saved. You even prove that by the verse you quoted:
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,
that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
That is the condition that God has placed on our salvation.
Amen! But both those things are the gift of God, and they necessitate the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus.
If faith is the gift of God then please explain from your calvinist view why all are not saved as He desires all to be saved. Is God not able to accomplish what he desires?
Joh 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through Him.
Amen again. And your point is..../
According to your calvinist view Paul was wrong on both counts. He should have told the man he could do nothing as God had to give him faith after he was saved. So we either believe the false view of your calvinism or we believe the word of God.
I will stick with the word of God you can have your false religion.
Only if I was wearing your Arminian spectacles, which would enable me to pass by Romans 9:15 and a crowd of other verses.
No need to pass over Rom 9:15. God has mercy on those He chooses and scripture shows that He has chosen to have mercy and compassion on those that believe.
But since the verses I referenced are about ones trusting in God for their salvation I am curious as to why you would use Rom 9:15 which is about God's choice re the genealogical line through which the Messiah will come.
If all that is needed is for us to believe in Christ, then there was no need for Him to die. He could have appeared, done His teaching and pushed off back to heaven. You are turning faith into a work that we need to accomplish for salvation. Your missing out the first part of 2 Cor. 5:21 tells me that you do not fully understand the love of God which led Him to send the Lord Jesus.
Well the bible tells us why Christ had to die. He had to be the sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the world. 1Jn 2:2
And I am really curious why you calvinists keep saying faith is a work when the word of God says it is not and it is actually a requirement of ones salvation.
Rom 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because
it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
We can know why God sent His son, it is right there in scripture:
Joh 3:16 For
God so loved the world that
He gave His one and only Son,
that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Joh 3:17 For God
did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but
to save the world through Him.
So we see that 2Co 5:21 just confirms what John 3:16-17 has already told us.
Your answer lies in Romans 9:15. God actually loves people enough to save them. What mercy is it to put people through a sort of faith test to see who passes?
So by your logic because God loves the whole world then the whole world should be saved. That is the result of your no faith required view.
Because of God's mercy He has not cast us all into hell already but has actually provided the means for us to escape that future.
That is why He sent His son so that the world could be saved through Him so how do you keep missing the condition that God set for our salvation. It is right there in the text.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,
that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Are you special in some way that you were smart enough to pass the faith test? Stop being so silly and offensive. You invariably bring out the worst in me. I know I am saved because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. My warrant to enter heaven is not that I am clever enough to believe, but because I am a sinner and the Lord saves such.
Calvinist's keep using the same canard as if it really is not reality.
Of course I was smart enough to trust the word of God and believe in Christ Jesus for my salvation. Do you actually think that was a dumb choice?
Your calvinism says you must have won the salvation lottery. How else do you account for you being the lucky ones to be picked out? Were you less sinful?
Even your faith had to be given to to you so that would indicate that you must not be smart enough to hear the gospel message and be able to understand that trusting in Christ Jesus was the only means of salvation.
So it was dumb luck that you were picked out from all those other sinners.
So I have to ask why did Christ have to go to the cross, why is faith in the risen Christ even necessary for you calvinists. According to your religion you were all picked out before the foundation of the world so was there ever the possibility that you would be lost?
Calvinism distorts the word of God in such a way that it becomes unrecognizable.
