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Hogwash! We are born completely ignorant and immature, NOT disobedient and sinners! This silly misinterpretation needs to stop. We are NOT "filthy rags." We are immature children of God who get misguided by our animal natures, basic urges, reactions to pleasure and pain, and survival needs.
You just showing your opposition to the Truth. I expect it
Close, but I believe the bible teaches that those who are Chosen by God are first regenerated wherein they receive a new heart and spiritual ears to hear and understand the Gospel. See you need the new heart first in order to hear and understand Matt 13:23
23 But he that received seed into the good ground [new heart] is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Yes correct
Thanks for clarifying that.
It's my current understanding that the heart ever changing. The things that influence us in our lives change our heart, good or bad. A heart that first hears the gospel might or might not accept it. If it doesn't, it might later on. A heart that accepts it might not mature and will eventually die. When I read the language that is used to those who have not obeyed the gospel and to those who have, it's up to the hearer to hear, understand and act.
Those who heard the first gospel sermon were cut to the heart, v.37. Even after being cut to the heart, Peter is still persuading them to save themselves. 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
In Jesus's letter to Sardis, He's telling these Christians that unless they wake up and strengthen, they will die (Spiritually)
Rev. 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
In scripture, we are to announce the good news of salvation. That is what the word preach means. So we are to preach the good news. But we turned it around making it an offer instead.
Offering salvation on the other hand turns the gospel into law. This means the person must save themselves by accepting the offer (law). So we end up turning an announcement to the saved into a law for the lost must obey in the flesh to in order to save themselves.
This means we turned grace into works as the means of salvation. Whatever the condition for salvation might be, we trust in meeting that instead of trusting in Christ.
Martin Luther said; First, God has promised certainly His grace to the humbled: that is, to the self-deploring and despairing. But a man cannot be thoroughly humbled, until he comes to know that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsel, endeavours, will, and works, and absolutely depending on the will, counsel, pleasure, and work of another, that is, of God only. For if, as long as he has any persuasion that he can do even the least thing himself towards his own salvation, he retain a confidence in himself and do not utterly despair in himself, so long he is not humbled before God; but he proposes to himself some place, some time, or some work, whereby he may at length attain unto salvation. Taken from Bondage of the Will.
An example would be if the speaker tells you that you must have faith, then we conjure up an intellectual assent thinking it is faith and trust in that to save us instead of Christ. That is we have faith in our faith instead of having faith in Christ.
Announcing the gospel on the other hand tells people about their salvation, already in place from eternity. We tell those who believe the message that they have eternal life or they wouldn’t believe what we are saying. It is a spontaneous faith and not a choice to believe. Any who chooses to believe does not believe based on experiencing Christ, or they wouldn’t need to choose.
The gospel tells those who believe to repent of their sins and live a holy life. This confirms their faith or they would walk away. Repentance is an outworking of the changed life from the Holy Spirit working in them, also called the New Birth.
The gospel is law. It's the new covenant. Once we obey the gospel, do we then have the choice not to live a holy life?
It's my current understanding that the heart ever changing. The things that influence us in our lives change our heart, good or bad. A heart that first hears the gospel might or might not accept it. If it doesn't, it might later on. A heart that accepts it might not mature and will eventually die. When I read the language that is used to those who have not obeyed the gospel and to those who have, it's up to the hearer to hear, understand and act.
Those who heard the first gospel sermon were cut to the heart, v.37. Even after being cut to the heart, Peter is still persuading them to save themselves. 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
In Jesus's letter to Sardis, He's telling these Christians that unless they wake up and strengthen, they will die (Spiritually)
Rev. 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
I know and I appreciate your time. If I understand you correctly, there would be no need to warn Christians.
They have been given a new heart.
Do you see Christians being warned in scripture? Like here:
1 Cor. 10:6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
When Paul writes to these churches hes addressing a corporate society, both saved and unsaved meet together. Its always good to give those exhortations and cautions, but they serve as a preservative to the saint. Instructions is a way of life Prov 6:23
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
The new regenerated heat feeds and grows from reproof and instructions, they are in a warfare Gal 5:17
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
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