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What is YOUR Definition of being Spiritually Dead?
- Thread starter JesusFan
- Start date
Are you still 'alive" thoguh in sense can hear the Gospel and make a faith decision, or can you hear it, but cannot "produce" faith to receive Him?
1. Faith is not a gift given to the unregenerate.
2. Faith is not this undefined mystical entity within you that you have to work at trying to work it up, produce it, make it grow, etc. That is silliness. Admittedly some Charismatics think that way, and perhaps that is why they roll around the floor, bark like dogs and so on.
Faith is confidence in the word of another.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
We all exercise faith every day in a secular sense, when we put our trust or confidence in others. Children especially put their faith in their parents. Jesus uses that as an example. That is how our faith must be--a simple child-like faith, trust.
If you can put faith in your wife, you can put faith in God. Faith is faith. It is confidence in the word of another, and Scripturally it is faith in the gospel, the power of God to save. For it comes from hearing the gospel, the word of God.
The former. Faith comes by hearing (understanding) and that by the Word of God.
You are assuming here a BIG assumption though...
that a man, apart from the working in Him by God, can actually even rfespond by faith to the Gospel and be saved!
What IF people every day hear the message, read the Bible, yet NEVER decide to place faith in jesus?
Would a sane and rational person chose to ignore heaven and eternal life, or is it because they cannpt save themselves "by faith? apart from a work of God on their behalf?
We are born seperated from God, Paul said we believers were dead in tresspasses and sin that is Spiritual death and that was from birth. Until we reach the age in which we become accountable, gain knowledge of sin then we are safe once we are no longer innocent we must trust Christ to become Spiritually alive in Christ with the Holy Spirit indwelling us and we are filled at salvation but lose thwe filling when we sin. We must confess sin so the Spirit gains control.
The work of God is the work of the Holy Spirit as defined in John 16. He convict of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. That is the role he plays. When hearing the Word, and being convicted of the Holy Spirit, an individual is faced with a decision whether or not to receive Christ or not. God is not going to force him to be saved.
When satan and all others going there get placed by God into lake of Fire, being spiritual dead, are they still physically alive?
Spritually dead=dead to a relationship with God, as we cannot create it, nor even desire to have it with true God Unless/Until he intiates and does it!
And allow you to put words in my mouth? Not a chance!
1. A person must hear the Word of God (esp. the Gospel).
2. Faith comes from hearing and hearing the Word of God. (It is not a gift to the unregenerate).
3. After understanding the gospel, he must of his own free will choose to put his faith in the gospel message of Christ making atonement for our sins in order to be saved.
4. At the same time he will be convicted of his sin by the Holy Spirit.
Based on the above he should receive Christ as His Savior. But, because he has free will, he may decide to reject, put off, or say completely no. The decision is completely his. No one will force him, not even God.
preacher4truth
Active Member
Uh, no. Faith is a gift to the unregenerate, to regenerate them. The same faith Peter told his audience they "received" implying, proving that that faith, was definitely a gift. The faith that justified them after the grace of God saved them. Both are gifts to unregenerate man. Grace, faith, and repentance.
Soteriology teaches this. When is the last time you studied this theology and which author?
Death means seperation, the soul and human spirit are seperated from the body at physical death. When we are born we are born in transgrassions and sins seprated from the God which is spiritual death. Regeneration is the Human Spirit coming togther with the Holy Spirit to make us into a new creature that understands spiritual things.
quantumfaith
Active Member
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
quantumfaith
Active Member
Not exactly accurate. Reformed (calvinistic) soteriology says this, other views of soteriology do not.
quantumfaith
Active Member
In short, on election the Arminians teach that faith is a condition of election, Calvinists disagree, on the Atonement Arminians teach that Christ died for all men and Calvinists teach He died for the elect alone, conversely Calvinists teach that Christ’s death was effectual and Arminians teach it was partially provisional and partially effectual, on depravity Arminians and Calvinists agree that man cannot save himself or do anything good without grace, on Grace Arminians teach that grace can be resisted and Calvinists teach that it is effectual and cannot be resisted and on Perseverance Arminians did not say whether Christians may fall away or not, but Calvinists take the position that they cannot fall away.
Because there is substantial agreement in relation to depravity, total depravity is not a Calvinist nor an Arminian distinctive. However, man’s depravity is an essential defining element of Arminianism and it contrasts Arminianism from other views besides Calvinism (like semi-Pelagianism). Because the Arminians did not take a stance on perseverance, it is not an essential element to defining Arminianism.
So the essential and defining elements of Arminianism are:
1) faith is a condition for election
2) Christ died for all men
3) man cannot save himself, nor do anything good
4) grace is resistible
Because there is substantial agreement in relation to depravity, total depravity is not a Calvinist nor an Arminian distinctive. However, man’s depravity is an essential defining element of Arminianism and it contrasts Arminianism from other views besides Calvinism (like semi-Pelagianism). Because the Arminians did not take a stance on perseverance, it is not an essential element to defining Arminianism.
So the essential and defining elements of Arminianism are:
1) faith is a condition for election
2) Christ died for all men
3) man cannot save himself, nor do anything good
4) grace is resistible
Death is separation both physically and spiritually, but it means the ending of life. There can be no death without life first by the very definition of death.
People use the phrase "dead as a doornail" as a metaphor, buut fact is a nail is not dead as it never possessed life. Your harmartiology places man in a similar capacity...but we are getting off subject as this thread is not about augustinian original sin.