Why do Protestants spend so much time

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Faithful Ag
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10andBOUNCE said:

The Banned said:

Howdy, it is me! said:

Don't' Catholics believe you must be baptized to be saved (unless you're ignorant of this need)?


We do believe that.

Don't most Protestants believe that a person who says they are saved by faith alone, yet refuses baptism because it's only symbolic, is likely not saved, that thing against the Word? If someone says they are saved through faith yet REFUSES baptism, what do you do with that?


It is an interesting question but ultimately most Protestants don't believe baptism to be salvific. What we would do with that is encourage baptism as it is commanded.
So if Baptism is commanded but not salvific what's the point in the Baptism?
10andBOUNCE
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dermdoc said:

10andBOUNCE said:

dermdoc said:

10andBOUNCE said:

dermdoc said:

Martin Q. Blank said:


Quote:

And can anyone explain the difference between Lordship salvation proponents saying works are necessary to "prove" one's salvation and any other works based soteriology?.
You answered your own question. One views works as a cause of salvation where another works are an outworking from salvation, without which you are not saved:

Heb. 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

2 Pet. 1:10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.


And the results are the same in my opinion.
What if you're wrong?

I'd much rather press into truth through thoughtful discussion (not trying to be arrogant - agree that God only knows). I just think there is too much to risk if we quickly run into the arms of unity.

Philippians 2:12-13
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyednot only in my presence, but now much more in my absencecontinue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.


And your high lighted part actually puts the onus on the believer, correct? And working out your salvation seems to be a work to me.

Why would one have "fear and trembling" if they are unconditionally elected by irrestible grace?

My commentary notes fear and trembling to be that of awe and reverence


Is not that still a work?

Is Lordship salvation a work?

I am not anti-works. I just don't believe works contribute to my right standing with God, through Christ. The verse talks about obedience and "your" salvation. So the implication is that I already have salvation - now it is about my synergistic work with the Spirit on my journey to become holy, or more obedient to his will.
10andBOUNCE
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Faithful Ag said:

10andBOUNCE said:

The Banned said:

Howdy, it is me! said:

Don't' Catholics believe you must be baptized to be saved (unless you're ignorant of this need)?


We do believe that.

Don't most Protestants believe that a person who says they are saved by faith alone, yet refuses baptism because it's only symbolic, is likely not saved, that thing against the Word? If someone says they are saved through faith yet REFUSES baptism, what do you do with that?


It is an interesting question but ultimately most Protestants don't believe baptism to be salvific. What we would do with that is encourage baptism as it is commanded.
So if Baptism is commanded but not salvific what's the point in the Baptism?

To be obedient. To make a public profession of your faith. To participate in the means of Grace.

What makes a baptism legitimate? Does an ordained priest need to facilitate? Can it occur anywhere?
dermdoc
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10andBOUNCE said:

dermdoc said:

10andBOUNCE said:

dermdoc said:

10andBOUNCE said:

dermdoc said:

Martin Q. Blank said:


Quote:

And can anyone explain the difference between Lordship salvation proponents saying works are necessary to "prove" one's salvation and any other works based soteriology?.
You answered your own question. One views works as a cause of salvation where another works are an outworking from salvation, without which you are not saved:

Heb. 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

2 Pet. 1:10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.


And the results are the same in my opinion.
What if you're wrong?

I'd much rather press into truth through thoughtful discussion (not trying to be arrogant - agree that God only knows). I just think there is too much to risk if we quickly run into the arms of unity.

Philippians 2:12-13
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyednot only in my presence, but now much more in my absencecontinue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.


And your high lighted part actually puts the onus on the believer, correct? And working out your salvation seems to be a work to me.

Why would one have "fear and trembling" if they are unconditionally elected by irrestible grace?

My commentary notes fear and trembling to be that of awe and reverence


Is not that still a work?

Is Lordship salvation a work?

I am not anti-works. I just don't believe works contribute to my right standing with God, through Christ. The verse talks about obedience and "your" salvation. So the implication is that I already have salvation - now it is about my synergistic work with the Spirit on my journey to become holy, or more obedient to his will.
Agree. And I believe that is compatible with what Catholics believe.
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The Banned
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10andBOUNCE said:

Faithful Ag said:

10andBOUNCE said:

The Banned said:

Howdy, it is me! said:

Don't' Catholics believe you must be baptized to be saved (unless you're ignorant of this need)?


We do believe that.

Don't most Protestants believe that a person who says they are saved by faith alone, yet refuses baptism because it's only symbolic, is likely not saved, that thing against the Word? If someone says they are saved through faith yet REFUSES baptism, what do you do with that?


It is an interesting question but ultimately most Protestants don't believe baptism to be salvific. What we would do with that is encourage baptism as it is commanded.
So if Baptism is commanded but not salvific what's the point in the Baptism?

To be obedient. To make a public profession of your faith. To participate in the means of Grace.

What makes a baptism legitimate? Does an ordained priest need to facilitate? Can it occur anywhere?



So there is no negative ramifications to intentionally going against the commands of God?

And no, an ordained priest is not needed for baptism. It is the recommended and usual way, but if there is no access to a priest, anyone can baptize a person
Howdy, it is me!
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The Banned said:

Howdy, it is me! said:

Don't' Catholics believe you must be baptized to be saved (unless you're ignorant of this need)?


We do believe that.

Don't most Protestants believe that a person who says they are saved by faith alone, yet refuses baptism because it's only symbolic, is likely not saved, that thing against the Word? If someone says they are saved through faith yet REFUSES baptism, what do you do with that?



So, my purpose in asking this question was to point out the difference in gospel between a Protestant and a Catholic.

Also, do y'all not baptize babies? Therefore, is that just covering step one and then at some point they must choose the next step of believing? To me, that makes baptism just seem like some fruitless work, a box to check.

There are lots of things the Lord commands that we don't obey; if we obeyed everything He commanded then we'd be perfect and that's not possible. I do believe, however, it's a grave misstep to not be baptized, particularly since it's a fairly easy command to fulfill.

I'll also admit I'm on the fence about when a person should be baptized (the whole paedo vs believer's baptism thing), but I don't believe either to be salvific.
Zobel
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what you're showing is the product of the protestant desire to systematize salvation which inevitably leads to strip ping it to only what is deemed essential - spiritual minimalism, which is spiritual poverty.

baptism is not a 'step' or a 'box to check' because there's not an algorithm or flow chart to salvation. you don't check a minimum number of boxes, or score a certain number of points. this kind of thinking is completely foreign to the scriptures.

instead we are called over and over again to be obedient - to the Lord, to His commandments, to our spiritual leaders and teachers. and we are called over and over again to be faithful to Christ. those two things are one and the same - one cannot be faithful and disobedient, or obedient and faithless. As St Paul puts it, the only thing that counts is faithfulness working through love.

we don't get to handwave things away because they are hard, or say it is worse to be disobedient when something is easy. the commandment of our God is clear - "be Holy, because I am holy" - "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" - "you must be blameless before Yahweh your God" - "Walk before me and be blameless"- "this commandment I command to you is not too hard, neither is it far off" - "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" - "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome" - whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me."

If there is something where you are not obeying... stop! immediately! and repent.

because that's what faithfulness is. that's what is salvific, faithfulness to the Messiah is what saves you. as long as you are faithful, you are obedient, and that includes all of the good works and any checkbox you might do. this is exactly the message of St Paul to non-Jewish Christians about the Torah. if you obey Jesus the Messiah in faithfulness, and are obedient to the Holy Spirit, you will not only not break the commandments of the Torah but you will fulfill them, fill them up to overflowing.
Howdy, it is me!
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Zobel said:

what you're showing is the product of the protestant desire to systematize salvation which inevitably leads to strip ping it to only what is deemed essential - spiritual minimalism, which is spiritual poverty.

baptism is not a 'step' or a 'box to check' because there's not an algorithm or flow chart to salvation. you don't check a minimum number of boxes, or score a certain number of points. this kind of thinking is completely foreign to the scriptures.

instead we are called over and over again to be obedient - to the Lord, to His commandments, to our spiritual leaders and teachers. and we are called over and over again to be faithful to Christ. those two things are one and the same - one cannot be faithful and disobedient, or obedient and faithless. As St Paul puts it, the only thing that counts is faithfulness working through love.

we don't get to handwave things away because they are hard, or say it is worse to be disobedient when something is easy. the commandment of our God is clear - "be Holy, because I am holy" - "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" - "you must be blameless before Yahweh your God" - "Walk before me and be blameless"- "this commandment I command to you is not too hard, neither is it far off" - "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" - "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome" - whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me."

If there is something where you are not obeying... stop! immediately! and repent.

because that's what faithfulness is. that's what is salvific, faithfulness to the Messiah is what saves you. as long as you are faithful, you are obedient, and that includes all of the good works and any checkbox you might do. this is exactly the message of St Paul to non-Jewish Christians about the Torah. if you obey Jesus the Messiah in faithfulness, and are obedient to the Holy Spirit, you will not only not break the commandments of the Torah but you will fulfill them, fill them up to overflowing.


I agree with everything you said and see that is how Protestants believe; Catholicism seems very perfunctory. I see you're saying it's not, but I think that's how most non-Catholics view it and is likely a main reason as to why they are evangelized to.

It seems evident there are true believers and saved individuals in both houses (Protestant and Catholicism) but the ones who think they are saved and are not, the hypocrites and posers, the ones who don't really understand the scriptures, they are the ones who make the other side believe that house is in the wrong altogether.
The Banned
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Howdy, it is me! said:

The Banned said:

Howdy, it is me! said:

Don't' Catholics believe you must be baptized to be saved (unless you're ignorant of this need)?


We do believe that.

Don't most Protestants believe that a person who says they are saved by faith alone, yet refuses baptism because it's only symbolic, is likely not saved, that thing against the Word? If someone says they are saved through faith yet REFUSES baptism, what do you do with that?



So, my purpose in asking this question was to point out the difference in gospel between a Protestant and a Catholic.

Also, do y'all not baptize babies? Therefore, is that just covering step one and then at some point they must choose the next step of believing? To me, that makes baptism just seem like some fruitless work, a box to check.

There are lots of things the Lord commands that we don't obey; if we obeyed everything He commanded then we'd be perfect and that's not possible. I do believe, however, it's a grave misstep to not be baptized, particularly since it's a fairly easy command to fulfill.

I'll also admit I'm on the fence about when a person should be baptized (the whole paedo vs believer's baptism thing), but I don't believe either to be salvific.


Zobel nailed it, so I won't do a lengthy reply. I don't know how one can call themselves a believer and not do what Christ commanded them to do. So that leads to the main question when it comes to Calvinist/reformed theology: what role do we play in following those commands? Are we participating with God (which gets Catholics accused of being works based) or is God making us do it (leading to Calvin's doctrine on limited free will)?

Free will is at the center here. We're free to follow God's call or we're essentially action figures that God is playing with.
dermdoc
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Howdy, it is me! said:

Zobel said:

what you're showing is the product of the protestant desire to systematize salvation which inevitably leads to strip ping it to only what is deemed essential - spiritual minimalism, which is spiritual poverty.

baptism is not a 'step' or a 'box to check' because there's not an algorithm or flow chart to salvation. you don't check a minimum number of boxes, or score a certain number of points. this kind of thinking is completely foreign to the scriptures.

instead we are called over and over again to be obedient - to the Lord, to His commandments, to our spiritual leaders and teachers. and we are called over and over again to be faithful to Christ. those two things are one and the same - one cannot be faithful and disobedient, or obedient and faithless. As St Paul puts it, the only thing that counts is faithfulness working through love.

we don't get to handwave things away because they are hard, or say it is worse to be disobedient when something is easy. the commandment of our God is clear - "be Holy, because I am holy" - "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" - "you must be blameless before Yahweh your God" - "Walk before me and be blameless"- "this commandment I command to you is not too hard, neither is it far off" - "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" - "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome" - whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me."

If there is something where you are not obeying... stop! immediately! and repent.

because that's what faithfulness is. that's what is salvific, faithfulness to the Messiah is what saves you. as long as you are faithful, you are obedient, and that includes all of the good works and any checkbox you might do. this is exactly the message of St Paul to non-Jewish Christians about the Torah. if you obey Jesus the Messiah in faithfulness, and are obedient to the Holy Spirit, you will not only not break the commandments of the Torah but you will fulfill them, fill them up to overflowing.


I agree with everything you said and see that is how Protestants believe; Catholicism seems very perfunctory. I see you're saying it's not, but I think that's how most non-Catholics view it and is likely a main reason as to why they are evangelized to.

It seems evident there are true believers and saved individuals in both houses (Protestant and Catholicism) but the ones who think they are saved and are not, the hypocrites and posers, the ones who don't really understand the scriptures, they are the ones who make the other side believe that house is in the wrong altogether.
Zobel is actually Orthodox.
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10andBOUNCE
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The Banned said:

Howdy, it is me! said:

The Banned said:

Howdy, it is me! said:

Don't' Catholics believe you must be baptized to be saved (unless you're ignorant of this need)?


We do believe that.

Don't most Protestants believe that a person who says they are saved by faith alone, yet refuses baptism because it's only symbolic, is likely not saved, that thing against the Word? If someone says they are saved through faith yet REFUSES baptism, what do you do with that?



So, my purpose in asking this question was to point out the difference in gospel between a Protestant and a Catholic.

Also, do y'all not baptize babies? Therefore, is that just covering step one and then at some point they must choose the next step of believing? To me, that makes baptism just seem like some fruitless work, a box to check.

There are lots of things the Lord commands that we don't obey; if we obeyed everything He commanded then we'd be perfect and that's not possible. I do believe, however, it's a grave misstep to not be baptized, particularly since it's a fairly easy command to fulfill.

I'll also admit I'm on the fence about when a person should be baptized (the whole paedo vs believer's baptism thing), but I don't believe either to be salvific.


Free will is at the center here. We're free to follow God's call or we're essentially action figures that God is playing with.
Did Abraham, who lived in a pagan land all of the sudden decide of his own free will to follow the one triune God?
Did Moses choose to follow God initially and was therefore played such a great role in the Exodus?
Was it Samuel who first chose to follow after God or was it rather God who first called Samuel to himself while living with Eli?
Was it David's free will that allowed him to be God's anointed?
Did each of the twelve choose to ditch their lives and follow Christ completely on their own terms?
Was it Paul who suddenly decided to repent of his actions towards God's church and become the most prolific missionary the world has ever seen?

We are either completely and utterly free and autonomous, or there is limited free will.
Zobel
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false dichotomy.

you don't have to limit free will to have God move first in grace.

anyway this is an old, old, old discussion. just read this - Chapter 11 is where it gets to this directly.

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/350813.htm



The Banned
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Limited free will means that God reached out to all of those men AND made the respond in the affirmative. You are suggesting that Abraham could not have told God no. And every time each of these men fell back into sin, it was merely because God didn't give them sufficient grace to avoid it.
10andBOUNCE
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So it's possible there were a hundred other Pharisees in which God may have tried to intervene with, but it was ultimately Paul who accepted that calling?
ramblin_ag02
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10andBOUNCE said:

So it's possible there were a hundred other Pharisees in which God may have tried to intervene with, but it was ultimately Paul who accepted that calling?
Are you trying to say that God wasn't constantly trying to reach out to every single Pharisee all the time? You think God was ignoring all the other Pharisees as He called Paul?
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dermdoc
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Zobel said:

false dichotomy.

you don't have to limit free will to have God move first in grace.

anyway this is an old, old, old discussion. just read this - Chapter 11 is where it gets to this directly.

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/350813.htm




Great read. Thanks.
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10andBOUNCE
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You answer first
10andBOUNCE
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ramblin_ag02 said:

10andBOUNCE said:

So it's possible there were a hundred other Pharisees in which God may have tried to intervene with, but it was ultimately Paul who accepted that calling?
Are you trying to say that God wasn't constantly trying to reach out to every single Pharisee all the time? You think God was ignoring all the other Pharisees as He called Paul?
Yes I am saying I have no reason to believe other Pharisees saw a light, heard the voice of the Lord and became blinded. That was Paul, whom God chose.
Zobel
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This is silly. Not all are apostles, not all are teachers, not all have certain gifts. That doesn't mean they're not called or that God hasn't intervened.

Put another way - Christ Jesus died on the cross while all were at enmity with Him. He has already taken the first move for everyone's salvation. Before you and I were born He intervened to saved us. And the story of that intervention goes back to the first, to Abraham, even to before the creation of the world as St Paul says.

So absolutely God intervened to save all the Pharisees. Some accepted that calling, some did not.
The Banned
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10andBOUNCE said:

So it's possible there were a hundred other Pharisees in which God may have tried to intervene with, but it was ultimately Paul who accepted that calling?


Jesus did try to intervene with them. Several of them followed him. Think Joseph of Arimathea. Paul obviously got a special revelation, but the one off events are not representative of how God approaches most people. Did you get the shiny Jesus blinding you? I certainly didn't. Didn't get a burning bush either.

It seems to me if we play no part in accepting His call and continuing to follow His will, then He wasted a tons of breath, and the apostles wasted a ton of ink on exhorting us to repent and follow. We have no choice in the matter, so why tell us to do it in the first place?
dermdoc
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Zobel said:

This is silly. Not all are apostles, not all are teachers, not all have certain gifts. That doesn't mean they're not called or that God hasn't intervened.

Put another way - Christ Jesus died on the cross while all were at enmity with Him. He has already taken the first move for everyone's salvation. Before you and I were born He intervened to saved us. And the story of that intervention goes back to the first, to Abraham, even to before the creation of the world as St Paul says.

So absolutely God intervened to save all the Pharisees. Some accepted that calling, some did not.
Agree. It is like wanting to put God in a pre defined box to fit a theology.
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ramblin_ag02
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10andBOUNCE said:

ramblin_ag02 said:

10andBOUNCE said:

So it's possible there were a hundred other Pharisees in which God may have tried to intervene with, but it was ultimately Paul who accepted that calling?
Are you trying to say that God wasn't constantly trying to reach out to every single Pharisee all the time? You think God was ignoring all the other Pharisees as He called Paul?
Yes I am saying I have no reason to believe other Pharisees saw a light, heard the voice of the Lord and became blinded. That was Paul, whom God chose.
Fair enough regarding the blinding light. But I firmly believe that God was constantly trying to reach all of the other Pharisees in whatever way he deemed best. Some accepted and some did not. I can't believe that God would be completely ignoring any person, much less people with authority in His Holy Land among His people.
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10andBOUNCE
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Zobel said:

This is silly. Not all are apostles, not all are teachers, not all have certain gifts. That doesn't mean they're not called or that God hasn't intervened.

Put another way - Christ Jesus died on the cross while all were at enmity with Him. He has already taken the first move for everyone's salvation. Before you and I were born He intervened to saved us. And the story of that intervention goes back to the first, to Abraham, even to before the creation of the world as St Paul says.

So absolutely God intervened to save all the Pharisees. Some accepted that calling, some did not.
Is it fair to say, at the very least, God chooses to reveal himself in bigger or lesser ways (as he did to Paul)? Since we can agree that none of us likely had anything close to his conversion story?
10andBOUNCE
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ramblin_ag02 said:

10andBOUNCE said:

ramblin_ag02 said:

10andBOUNCE said:

So it's possible there were a hundred other Pharisees in which God may have tried to intervene with, but it was ultimately Paul who accepted that calling?
Are you trying to say that God wasn't constantly trying to reach out to every single Pharisee all the time? You think God was ignoring all the other Pharisees as He called Paul?
Yes I am saying I have no reason to believe other Pharisees saw a light, heard the voice of the Lord and became blinded. That was Paul, whom God chose.
Fair enough regarding the blinding light. But I firmly believe that God was constantly trying to reach all of the other Pharisees in whatever way he deemed best. Some accepted and some did not. I can't believe that God would be completely ignoring any person, much less people with authority in His Holy Land among His people.
So, God was trying his very best to reach all the Pharisees but ultimately failed to do so. Is that fair?
dermdoc
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10andBOUNCE said:

ramblin_ag02 said:

10andBOUNCE said:

ramblin_ag02 said:

10andBOUNCE said:

So it's possible there were a hundred other Pharisees in which God may have tried to intervene with, but it was ultimately Paul who accepted that calling?
Are you trying to say that God wasn't constantly trying to reach out to every single Pharisee all the time? You think God was ignoring all the other Pharisees as He called Paul?
Yes I am saying I have no reason to believe other Pharisees saw a light, heard the voice of the Lord and became blinded. That was Paul, whom God chose.
Fair enough regarding the blinding light. But I firmly believe that God was constantly trying to reach all of the other Pharisees in whatever way he deemed best. Some accepted and some did not. I can't believe that God would be completely ignoring any person, much less people with authority in His Holy Land among His people.
So, God was trying his very best to reach all the Pharisees but ultimately failed to do so. Is that fair?
It is Scriptural.
1Timothy 2 2-4
2 Peter 3 9

Scripture plainly states God desires to save all men.

And I believe in the end He will. He is sovereign.
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10andBOUNCE
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That smells of universalism.

And God's sovereignty and man's unrestricted free will are an interesting juxtaposition.
dermdoc
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10andBOUNCE said:

That smells of universalism.

And God's sovereignty and man's unrestricted free will are an interesting juxtaposition.
I am a Christian universalist. So I guess I smell.

Scripture is pretty plain that God desires to save all men, correct? Is God sovereign? Can our free will trump God's sovereignty?

And there is punishment but for rehabilitation not retribution.
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The Banned
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10andBOUNCE said:

That smells of universalism.

And God's sovereignty and man's unrestricted free will are an interesting juxtaposition.


I don't see why free will and God's sovereignty have to be at odds at all. God is sovereign. In His sovereignty He wanted to give us a say to follow or not. The only reason we have any say is because He chose to give us one. We didn't go get it ourselves.

Weird comment, I know, but the Calvinistic view of God makes Him seem like the god from the show Supernatural. We aren't created to love Him. We're created to be His playthings.
dermdoc
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The Banned said:

10andBOUNCE said:

That smells of universalism.

And God's sovereignty and man's unrestricted free will are an interesting juxtaposition.


I don't see why free will and God's sovereignty have to be at odds at all. God is sovereign. In His sovereignty He wanted to give us a say to follow or not. The only reason we have any say is because He chose to give us one. We didn't go get it ourselves.

Weird comment, I know, but the Calvinistic view of God makes Him seem like the god from the show Supernatural. We aren't created to love Him. We're created to be His playthings.


I am okay if God loves us enough that people by their free will can totally reject Him.
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Zobel
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Quote:

Is it fair to say, at the very least, God chooses to reveal himself in bigger or lesser ways (as he did to Paul)? Since we can agree that none of us likely had anything close to his conversion story?
I'm not sure about bigger or lesser ways. I think He is more direct with some people than with others, but we are also the beneficiaries of that revelation. The consistent story of God is that He chooses to work through humanity to save humanity.

God reveals Himself to Abraham, and through Abraham forms a new people Israel. God reveals Himself to Moses, and through Moses reveals Himself to Israel, and the Egyptians, and the whole world - as He says in various ways over and over again in the scriptures "I will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am Yahweh."

The ultimate expression of this is the Incarnation, where Christ saves Mankind by joining human nature to the divine nature in Himself, saving mankind through mankind.

The beautiful part about this is that when we do good works, it is not our works we do but His. We become His hands and feet, as St Paul says... we become the Body of Christ, which is animated and made alive by the Holy Spirit, so the works we do are truly Good, because they're God's work's done by Him. The pattern of God saving mankind through mankind continues in our lives, and this participation is actually grace to us and the world.

He also each of us grace sufficient for our salvation, moving toward us, turning what we mean for evil to good, because He desires that all are saved. It's easy to say St Paul had a bigger role, but you don't know the scope of your impact on the Body. It's God willing and working through us, together.
10andBOUNCE
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AG
In theory, unlimited free will opens the possibility in which nobody accepts or responds to the free gift of Christ's work on the cross. Right?
10andBOUNCE
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Zobel said:


Quote:

Is it fair to say, at the very least, God chooses to reveal himself in bigger or lesser ways (as he did to Paul)? Since we can agree that none of us likely had anything close to his conversion story?
God reveals Himself to Abraham
Does God reveal himself to all men?
Zobel
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St Paul says yes in Romans 1.
dermdoc
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Zobel said:

St Paul says yes in Romans 1.


Beat me to it.
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ramblin_ag02
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10andBOUNCE said:

ramblin_ag02 said:

10andBOUNCE said:

ramblin_ag02 said:

10andBOUNCE said:

So it's possible there were a hundred other Pharisees in which God may have tried to intervene with, but it was ultimately Paul who accepted that calling?
Are you trying to say that God wasn't constantly trying to reach out to every single Pharisee all the time? You think God was ignoring all the other Pharisees as He called Paul?
Yes I am saying I have no reason to believe other Pharisees saw a light, heard the voice of the Lord and became blinded. That was Paul, whom God chose.
Fair enough regarding the blinding light. But I firmly believe that God was constantly trying to reach all of the other Pharisees in whatever way he deemed best. Some accepted and some did not. I can't believe that God would be completely ignoring any person, much less people with authority in His Holy Land among His people.
So, God was trying his very best to reach all the Pharisees but ultimately failed to do so. Is that fair?
Well, I know that Jesus performed miracles and preached directly to plenty of Pharisees and failed to convert them. Are you saying that Jesus didn't try hard enough or wasn't genuine in his efforts? What else would you want God to do?
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