An Article on free will

[brightfame52]

Sorry God grants repentance by sending a message of repentance not by unilaterally infusing it

Matthew 12:41 (KJV 1900) — 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

and faith and repentance precede regeneration

John 20:31 (KJV 1900) — 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

John 5:40 (KJV 1900) — 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

John 5:24–25 (KJV 1900) — 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

Acts 11:18 (KJV 1900) — 18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

One will repent after Christ bestows upon them the Gift of Repentance when He saves them Acts 5:31

31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Thats what a Exalted Saviour does, gives and or causes repentance in Salvation. The word for give didomi means:

διδόναι τινὶ μετάνοιαν, to cause him to repent, Acts 5:31; Acts 11:18

Thats a Covenant Blessing Ezk 36:27

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

When the Saviour regenerates someone, it causes them to repent ! The Spirit works repentance in the sinner Christ died for, giving them repentance, causing them to repent.

 

[Kermos]

Same errors repeated incessantly

Deuteronomy 30:11–20 (NASB 2020) — 11 “For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away. 12 It is not in heaven, that you could say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you could say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ 14 On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may follow it. 15 “See, I have placed before you today life and happiness, and death and adversity, 16 in that I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you may live and become numerous, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and take possession of it. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, so that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Deuteronomy 30:11–20 is a beautiful example of God's Sovereignty and the absence of God declaring man has a free-will to choose toward God.

Joshua 24:14–22 (NASB 2020) — 14 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and do away with the gods which your fathers served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” 16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we would abandon the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves, and did these great signs in our sight and watched over us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” 19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your wrongdoing or your sins. 20 If you abandon the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and destroy you after He has done good to you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” 22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”

“And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?” (Lord Jesus Christ, Luke 12:57).

The phrase “choose God” is absent from Deuteronomy 30:11–19 and Joshua 24:15–22.

Isreal was punished for opposition to God after the Deuteronomy 30:11–19 and Joshua 24:15–22, so God conferred no ability to choose God in Deuteronomy 30:11–19 and Joshua 24:15–22.

The Hebrew Word For “Choose” And It’s Conjugates Is בָּחר (bachar) Strong’s Number 977

Beholding Joshua 24:15

Joshua expresses a conditional logic statement in Joshua 24:15, and a conditional logic statement is normally an IF/THEN construct, for example:

IF condition THEN predicate

Stated in a more Joshua 24:15 focused fashion.

IF you_do_this that_will_happen

Thus, the conditional expresses an action in the condition (you_do_this), and the effectual result in the predicate (that_will_happen).

A conditional does not convey ability to the recipient of the conditional.

Now, the conditional logic statement Joshua expressed was “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15), so the condition (you_do_this) is “to serve the LORD is disagreeable in your eyes”; furthermore, Joshua 24:15 contains no reference to “choice” nor “free will” towards God . The condition Joshua expressed states the condition/state-of-being/nature of the person.

Disagreeable does not mean choose.

In the predicate Joshua provides only false gods to choose among for the those people whose nature is against the LORD, for Joshua said “choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living” (Joshua 24:15), and the word “choose” in this verse is translated from בָּחר (bachar) (Strong’s Number 977).

Finaly, Joshua states “[b[but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD[/b[“, and there is no reference to “choice” nor “free will” towards God (Joshua 24:15).

A state of being, “disagreeable”, is mentioned in Joshua 24:15, and action, “serve”, is mentioned in Joshua 24:15.

There is no choice towards God mentioned in Joshua 24:15

Beholding The Larger Context Surrounding Joshua 24:15​

No scripture states that the people in attendance actually chose the gods of their fathers or that they chose the gods of the Amorites, not in Joshua 24:15, not elsewhere.
I am not necessarily saying that they could not choose the gods of their fathers or the gods of the Amorites.

The people said “We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God” (Joshua 24:18).

Joshua declared to the people in response “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins” (Joshua 24:19).

JOSHUA JUST TOLD THEM THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SERVE GOD.

The people then said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve YHWH.” (Joshua 24:21).

Joshua responded to the people with “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves YHWH, to serve Him.” (Joshua 24:22)

JOSHUA JUST TOLD THEM THAT THEY ARE “WITNESSES AGAINST YOURSELVES”, SO THEY TESTIFIED TO THE CONDEMNATION OF THEMSELVES.

When a person is a “witness for a defendant”, then such a one is a proponent for the defendant; in other words, a witness for the defendant. This scenario outlines testimony for justification of the defendant.

When a person is a “witness against a defendant”, then such a one is an opponent against the defendant; in other words, a witness of the defendant's crime. This scenario outlines testimony for condemnation of the defendant.

The truth is there is no free will in the passage.

Regarding when Joshua said “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him” (Joshua 24:22):

From the time that Joshua commanded “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst” (Joshua 24:23) until after Joshua’s death (Joshua 24:29) and after Othneil (Judges 3:9) and after Ehud (Judges 3:15) and after Shamgar (Judges 3:31) and after Deborah and Barak (Judges 4-5) and after Gideon (Judges 6-8) and after Tola (Judges 10:1) and after Jair (Judges 10:3), it was not until after all that time that…

After all that time it is written “they put away the foreign gods from among them” (Judges 10:16), and there is no record of the Israelites putting away the foreign Gods prior to that time.

Judges 10:16 contains the first occurrence of “foreign gods” after Joshua 24:23.

So there is no record of the people in attendance fulfilling Joshua’s command of “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst” (Joshua 24:23), and non-performance of the command shows fruit contrary of their choice mentioned by Joshua.

Beholding The Corollary Between Joshua’s Words And Jesus’ Words – Expressing The Exclusive Power Of God For God And Man Communing​

Joshua declared “You will not be able to serve YHWH” (Joshua 24:19, and recall Joshua saying the people chose God in a pejorative manner in Joshua 24:22).
Lord Yeshua declares “you did not choose Me” (John 15:16).

The Lord is a Holy God (Joshua 24:19), and no man can enter the presence of God by the man’s own autonomous power (Matthew 19:25-26).

BEHOLD THE DISTINCT COROLLARY BETWEEN JOSHUA’S WORDS AND YESHUA’S WORDS – THAT MAN IS IMPOTENT AT CHOOSING GOD.

Joshua declared “He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins” (Joshua 24:19).

Lord Yeshua declares “I chose you out of the world” (John 15:19, includes salvation).

The Lord is a jealous God (Joshua 24:19), so God does not share the glory of choosing man unto salvation (Isaiah 42:8).

BEHOLD ANOTHER DISTINCT COROLLARY BETWEEN JOSHUA’S WORDS AND YESHUA’S WORDS – THAT GOD EXCLUSIVELY CONTROLS FORGIVENESS OF SINS UNTO SALVATION.

(1) The scripture in Joshua 24 never indicates that the people chose God with God’s blessing.

(2) Joshua told the people that they are “witnesses against yourselves” (Joshua 24:22), so the people testified to the condemnation of themselves.

(3) From the time that Joshua commanded to the people in attendance “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst” (Joshua 24:23) at least 245 years* transpired until another generation of people “put away the foreign gods from among them” (Judges 10:16), and there is no record of the Israelites putting away the foreign gods prior to that time, and non-performance of the command (Joshua 24:23) shows fruit contrary of the people in attendance choice mentioned by Joshua (Joshua 24:22).

* 40 years (Judges 3:11) + 80 years (Judges 3:30) + 40 years (Judges 5:31) + 40 years (Judges 8:28) + 23 years (Judges 10:2) + 22 years (Judges 10:3) = 245 years

The Truth (John 14:6) is no scripture states that man was imparted free will, in particular, the ability to choose God unto man being saved from the wrath of God, for God reserses this glorious work unto God’s majestic glory alone (John 15:16, John 15:19, includes salvation).

Deuteronomy 30:11–19 and Joshua 24:15–22 are not proof texts of free-will, in fact, free-will is nonsense according to the Word of God who says:

• ”you did not choose Me, but I chose you” (Lord Jesus Christ, John 15:16), so God chooses people to be friends (John 15:15, the prior verse) and to believe (John 6:29) and to be born again (John 3:3-8) and for righteous works (John 3:21, John 15:5) and to repent (Matthew 11:25) and to love (John 13:34) and unto salvation (John 15:19 the same passage).
• ”I chose you out of the world” (Lord Jesus Christ, John 15:19, includes salvation), so God exclusively chooses people unto salvation.
• ”What I say to you I say to all” (Lord Jesus Christ, Mark 13:37 – Jesus had taken the Apostles Peter, Andrew, James, and John aside in private and said this), so all the blessings of God mentioned above are to all believers in all time.

The only way for free-willian philosophers to acheive free-will is for free-willians to add to the Word of God, and it is written “do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar” (Proverbs 30:6).

No Word of God states man was imparted the ability to choose God – God reserves the glory of man’s salvation unto God!

We Christians are blessed of God to be chosen by Lord Jesus without us being required to do any kind of work because the Word of God says “you did not choose Me, but I chose you” (Lord Jesus Christ, John 15:16) and “I chose you out of the world” (Lord Jesus Christ, John 15:19, includes salvation)!

Segment 1 of 2.

Your heart makes false statements about God. Free-will is a conjured concept of the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9).

In Truth (John 14:6), the Almighty God is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1) in the affairs of man (Daniel 4:34-35)! PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!

 

[Kermos]

and it still Christ's apostles that he chose

Christ chooses His disciples, every single one of us Christians without exception because we are owned by God's unfailing Word “you did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16) and “I chose you out of the world” (John 15:19, includes salvation).

John 6:70 (KJV 1900) — 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

Luke 6:12–13 (KJV 1900) — 12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Acts 1:2 (KJV 1900) — 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

Yes, Christ chose the Apostles. What is your point of John 6:70, Luke 6:12–13, and Acts 1:2?

but regardless of that John 15:16 does not state God unconditionally chooses men for salvation

You have to those particulars assuming your theology as is frequently seen

Your heart adulterates the Truth (John 14:6) “you did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you" (John 15:16-19) into your false “you apostles exclusively did not choose Me but I chose you apostles without choosing anyone else, and appointed only you apostles that you apostles alone would go and bear fruit, and that only your fruit would remain, so that whatever you apostles alone ask of the Father in My name He may give to you apostles alone. This I command strictly you apostles here in this room, that you apostles alone love one another. If the world hates you apostles here in this room, you know that it has hated Me before it hated just you apostles. If you apostles alone were of the world, the world would love its own; but because exclusively you apostles here in this room are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, [/s]because of this the world hates you" (TomL 15:16-19).

Segment 2 of 2.

Your heart makes false statements about God. Free-will is a conjured concept of the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9).

In Truth (John 14:6), the Almighty God is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1) in the affairs of man (Daniel 4:34-35)! PRAISE GOD WHO IS AND WAS AND IS TO COME!!!

 

[Johann]

Christ chooses His disciples, every single one of us Christians without exception because we are owned by God's unfailing Word “you did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16) and “I chose you out of the world” (John 15:19, includes salvation).

Explain these verses

Jn 1:12 (KJV) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

received
Mt 10:40 “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.

Mt 18:5 Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,

Col 2:6 As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him,

to them
*Ro 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God.

*2Co 6:17-18 [17] Therefore “‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you. [18] I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

*Ga 3:26 For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.

*1Jn 3:1 See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.

Is 56:5 I will give them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

Je 3:19 “But I said, ‘How I desire to put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’ and I said, ‘You shall call me “My Father”, and shall not turn away from following me.’

Ho 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can’t be measured or counted; and it will come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’

Ga 4:6 And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”

2Pe 1:4 by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.

even
Jn 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing his signs which he did.

Jn 3:18 He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only born Son of God.

Jn 20:31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

Mt 12:21 In his name, the nations will hope.”

Ac 3:16 By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

1Jn 3:23 This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.

1Jn 5:12 He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life.

Reciprocal
Dt 14:1 You are the children of Yahweh your God. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

2Sa 7:24 You established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever; and you, Yahweh, became their God.

Ps 87:5 Yes, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one was born in her;” the Most High himself will establish her.

Pr 8:21 that I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries.

Is 53:1-2 [1] Who has believed our message? To whom has Yahweh’s arm been revealed? [2] For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Mt 13:23 What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Mt 13:38 the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.

Mk 4:8 Others fell into the good ground and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some produced thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much.”

Mk 9:12 He said to them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and restores all things. How is it written about the Son of Man, that he should suffer many things and be despised?

Mk 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.

Lk 8:8 Other fell into the good ground and grew and produced one hundred times as much fruit.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Jn 3:12 If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

Jn 3:15 that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Jn 3:36 One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Jn 7:5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

Jn 8:47 He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.”

Jn 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Ac 3:2 A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.

Ac 16:31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Ac 18:27 When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him; and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;

Ro 5:11 Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Ro 9:16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.

Ro 10:10 For with the heart one believes resulting in righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made resulting in salvation.

Ga 4:5 that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.

Ga 4:31 So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant, but of the free woman.

Eph 1:5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,

Eph 2:8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Eph 5:1 Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.

Php 1:29 Because it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf,

Col 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

1Ti 1:15 The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

1Jn 1:1 That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life

1Jn 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him.

1Jn 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

 

[brightfame52]

Explain these verses

Jn 1:12 (KJV) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

received
Mt 10:40 “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.

Mt 18:5 Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,

Col 2:6 As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him,

to them
*Ro 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God.

*2Co 6:17-18 [17] Therefore “‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you. [18] I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

*Ga 3:26 For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.

*1Jn 3:1 See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.

Is 56:5 I will give them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

Je 3:19 “But I said, ‘How I desire to put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’ and I said, ‘You shall call me “My Father”, and shall not turn away from following me.’

Ho 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can’t be measured or counted; and it will come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’

Ga 4:6 And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”

2Pe 1:4 by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.

even
Jn 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing his signs which he did.

Jn 3:18 He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only born Son of God.

Jn 20:31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

Mt 12:21 In his name, the nations will hope.”

Ac 3:16 By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

1Jn 3:23 This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.

1Jn 5:12 He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life.

Reciprocal
Dt 14:1 You are the children of Yahweh your God. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

2Sa 7:24 You established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever; and you, Yahweh, became their God.

Ps 87:5 Yes, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one was born in her;” the Most High himself will establish her.

Pr 8:21 that I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries.

Is 53:1-2 [1] Who has believed our message? To whom has Yahweh’s arm been revealed? [2] For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Mt 13:23 What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Mt 13:38 the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.

Mk 4:8 Others fell into the good ground and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some produced thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much.”

Mk 9:12 He said to them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and restores all things. How is it written about the Son of Man, that he should suffer many things and be despised?

Mk 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.

Lk 8:8 Other fell into the good ground and grew and produced one hundred times as much fruit.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Jn 3:12 If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

Jn 3:15 that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Jn 3:36 One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Jn 7:5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

Jn 8:47 He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.”

Jn 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Ac 3:2 A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.

Ac 16:31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Ac 18:27 When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him; and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;

Ro 5:11 Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Ro 9:16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.

Ro 10:10 For with the heart one believes resulting in righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made resulting in salvation.

Ga 4:5 that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.

Ga 4:31 So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant, but of the free woman.

Eph 1:5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,

Eph 2:8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Eph 5:1 Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.

Php 1:29 Because it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf,

Col 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

1Ti 1:15 The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

1Jn 1:1 That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life

1Jn 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him.

1Jn 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

You have the audacity to ask someone to take time to explain over 25 verses ? You explain them, every one of them, and I will follow behind you and explain every one of them. Deal

 

[Johann]

You have the audacity to ask someone to take time to explain over 25 verses ? You explain them, every one of them, and I will follow behind you and explain every one of them. Deal

No audacity- what do you observe by just reading them?
And then there is the context.
I admit-quoting reams of Scriptures doesn't make a man a Christian-even demons believe and they tremble and the Nachash can also quote Scripture-out of context of course.

 

[brightfame52]

No audacity- what do you observe by just reading them?
And then there is the context.
I admit-quoting reams of Scriptures doesn't make a man a Christian-even demons believe and they tremble and the Nachash can also quote Scripture-out of context of course.

Well get to explaining.

 

[Johann]

Well get to explaining.

Explaining what?

 

[brightfame52]

Explaining what?

What you have amnesia now ?

 

[Johann]

What you have amnesia now ?

Why should I explain anything Mr. Duh? Probably a bit harsh but you are "Duhhing" everyone not in agreement with you.

 

[TomL]

Christ chooses His disciples, every single one of us Christians without exception because we are owned by God's unfailing Word “you did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16) and “I chose you out of the world” (John 15:19, includes salvation).



Yes, Christ chose the Apostles. What is your point of John 6:70, Luke 6:12–13, and Acts 1:2?



Your heart adulterates the Truth (John 14:6) “you did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you" (John 15:16-19) into your false “you apostles exclusively did not choose Me but I chose you apostles without choosing anyone else, and appointed only you apostles that you apostles alone would go and bear fruit, and that only your fruit would remain, so that whatever you apostles alone ask of the Father in My name He may give to you apostles alone. This I command strictly you apostles here in this room, that you apostles alone love one another. If the world hates you apostles here in this room, you know that it has hated Me before it hated just you apostles. If you apostles alone were of the world, the world would love its own; but because exclusively you apostles here in this room are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, [/s]because of this the world hates you" (TomL 15:16-19).

Segment 2 of 2.

Your heart makes false statements about God. Free-will is a conjured concept of the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9).

In Truth (John 14:6), the Almighty God is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1) in the affairs of man (Daniel 4:34-35)! PRAISE GOD WHO IS AND WAS AND IS TO COME!!!

The point is You have posted nothing which states men are unconditionally selected for salvation

Not one verse

you assume it based upon Christ choosing his apostles

While you ignore the fact that election to salvation is in Christ

which is a condition.

That is the point

 

[TomL]

Deuteronomy 30:11–20 is a beautiful example of God's Sovereignty and the absence of God declaring man has a free-will to choose toward God.

You failed to deal with man's ability to choose

“And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?” (Lord Jesus Christ, Luke 12:57).

Says nothing about an inability

The phrase “choose God” is absent from Deuteronomy 30:11–19 and Joshua 24:15–22.

You ignored this

Deuteronomy 30:11–19 (KJV 1900) — 11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. 15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

as you ignore and the choose to serve God

Joshua 24:15–21 (KJV 1900) — 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. 16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; 17 For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: 18 And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God. 19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.

Isreal was punished for opposition to God after the Deuteronomy 30:11–19 and Joshua 24:15–22, so God conferred no ability to choose God in Deuteronomy 30:11–19 and Joshua 24:15–22.

Duh the choice was made before and some did serve faithfully

you ignore the facts once again

 

[Kermos]

Still more repetition of failed argumentation

In context the work of God is the work that God requires of man as seen

Your heart's thoughts of "the work of God is the work that God requires of man" adulterates the Truth (John 14:6) of “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29) into your false “This is the work that God requires of you, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (TomL 6:29). You self-willed (2 Peter 2:9-10), TomL, changed Christ's context.

Acts 16:30–31 (KJV 1900) — 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

In this passage, you conjure up a non-existent man-centered "believe" context based on your own interpretation instead of the Word of God, just like you do with John 6:29. God's messenger's issue the righteous response of the command to "believe" - a command that can only be accomplished in man by the Power of God:

and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
(Acts 16:30-31)
​

The "believe" is the work of God in man, and God's messengers say absolutely nothing different than belief is a work of God.

The only way to achieve your own interpretation is for the following change to the dialog:

and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Free-will choose to believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
(TomL 16:30-31)
​

Now, the "believe" is the work of man, but that is not what God's messengers said.

Acts 2:37–38 (KJV 1900) — 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The word "believe" is not mentioned in Acts 2:37–38, so perhaps you are adulterating the passage thusly:

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, feee-will choose to believe, and free-will choose to be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(TomL 2:37–38)
​

Now, based on your postulate, you have made the "believe" to be the work of man, but, alas, that is not what God's messenger commanded.

Here is the accurate account

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Acts 2:37–38)
​

It is the same question as seen here

John 6:28 (KJV 1900) — 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Never is the answer you can do nothing but in every case they are told to believe/repent, labor for the meat which endures to everlasting life by believing on him the father sent

Never is the answer free-will choose to believe, so free-will is absent from every answer.

Your heart must shatter “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (the Word of God, John 6:29) into your heart's conjured “This is not the work of God but this is the work of man, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (TomL 6:29).

BTW why you quote Acts 15:8-9 is somewhat of the mystery

Acts 15:7–9 (KJV 1900) — 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

as the Spirit appears to be testifying that they believed knowing their heart, not that they were effectually caused to believe

You last paragraph's clause "they believed knowing their heart" is a circular reference in which you convey "the people knew the people", but your circular reference is absent from the passage.

Let's look at the full pronunciation of the Apostle Peter:

(7) After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. (8) And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us, (9) and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. (10) Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? (11) But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”
(Acts 15:7-11)
​

Your heart's treasure about the passage is "as the Spirit appears to be testifying that they believed knowing their heart, not that they were effectually caused to believe" - whatever you might mean by "they were effectually caused to believe", I'm taking that as "God caused them to believe" in order to eliminate any confusion introduced by the word "effectually", so I interpret your writing to be "as the Spirit appears to be testifying that they believed knowing their heart, not that God caused them to believe".

I, in the Holy Spirit, know that God caused them to believe.

You and I are polar opposites as to the "cause" in this passage.

The Spirit through Peter expressly says "And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us, and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:8-9), and this sophisticated sentence has a subject with predicate.

By God's grace, I grammatically disect the sophisticated sentence in Acts 15:8-9:

• The subject of the sentence is "God", the second word in Acts 15:8, and "God" is the "who" in the sentence.
• each clause must be a complete thought, a logical unit.
• now, this point is the search for the sophisticated sentence predicate, and I use the simple process of clause elimination to arrive at the result in Truth (John 14:6):
  1. I start at the grammatical central clause of "who testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us" (Acts 15:8-9) of the sophisticated sentence, so, for grammatical predicate determination purposes, I shall remove this grammatical central clause from the next disection step. I call this central clause the first clause.
  2. "who knows the heart, and He made no distinction between us and them" (Acts 15:8-9) is the encapsulating clause outside of the first clause. I call this encapsulating clause the second clause. For grammatical predicate determination purposes, I shall remove this second clause from the next disection step.
  3. "And God cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9) is the next encapsulating clause outside of the second clause. I call this encapsulating clause the third clause, and this third clause is the perimeter clause, so the sentence predicate is "cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9).
• Grammatically, I find:
  • Subject = "God"
  • Verb = "cleansing"
  • Direct Object = "their hearts"
  • Indirect Object = "faith"
• Therefore, since the sophisticated sentence's indirect object is "faith", then the subject of God is the affecting factor for faith to do the action of cleansing upon "their hearts".

Grammatically complete and true, the Holy Spirit reveals "God cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9) inherently indicates that God controls saving faith/belief, just as Lord Jesus says in “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29).

Now, we arrive at a "test the spirits" moment as per the Apostle John's injunction:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world
(1 John 4:1)
​

Your heart's treasure is "not that God caused them to believe" regarding Acts 15:8-9.

My heart's treasure is "God caused them to believe" regarding Acts 15:8-9.

One of us is a false prophets.

God's Good Message through God's messenger Peter is "God cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9); therefore, "God caused them to believe" is accurate with regard to Acts 15:8-9, so that which God has made the treasure of my heart is Truth (John 14:6).

God's Good Message through God's messenger Peter is "God cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9); therefore, "not that God caused them to believe" is inaccurate with regard to Acts 15:8-9, so that which you self-willed have made the treasure of your heart is false.

Because your "not that God caused them to believe" is false about Acts 15:8-9, you are a false prophet.

It's time to answer your inquiry "why you quote Acts 15:8-9 is somewhat of the mystery".

Free-willians do not believe that God causes saving faith, and you free-willians can only achieve free-will by adulterating the Word of God.

Every occurrence of saving faith/belief in the Holy Scripture is governed by this Word of God “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29); moreover, this includes every New Testament book in the Bible.

Your heart makes false statements about God. Free-will is a conjured concept of the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9).

In Truth (John 14:6), the Almighty God is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1) in the affairs of man (Daniel 4:34-35)! PRAISE THE SAVIOR!!!

 

[TomL]

Your heart's thoughts of "the work of God is the work that God requires of man" adulterates the Truth (John 14:6) of “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29) into your false “This is the work that God requires of you, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (TomL 6:29). You self-willed (2 Peter 2:9-10), TomL, changed Christ's context.



In this passage, you conjure up a non-existent man-centered "believe" context based on your own interpretation instead of the Word of God, just like you do with John 6:29. God's messenger's issue the righteous response of the command to "believe" - a command that can only be accomplished in man by the Power of God:

​

and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”​

(Acts 16:30-31)​

​

The "believe" is the work of God in man, and God's messengers say absolutely nothing different than belief is a work of God.

The only way to achieve your own interpretation is for the following change to the dialog:

​

and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Free-will choose to believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”​

(TomL 16:30-31)​

​

Now, the "believe" is the work of man, but that is not what God's messengers said.



The word "believe" is not mentioned in Acts 2:37–38, so perhaps you are adulterating the passage thusly:

​

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, feee-will choose to believe, and free-will choose to be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.​

(TomL 2:37–38)​

​

Now, you have made the "believe" to be the work of man, but, alas, that is not what God's messenger commanded.

Here is the accurate account

​

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.​

(Acts 2:37–38)​

​

Never is the answer free-will choose to believe, so free-will is absent from every answer.

Your heart must shatter “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (the Word of God, John 6:29) into your heart's conjured “This is not the work of God but this is the work of man, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (TomL 6:29).



You last paragraph's clause "they believed knowing their heart" is a circular reference in which you convey "the people knew the people", but your circular reference is absent from the passage.

Let's look at the full pronunciation of the Apostle Peter:

​

(7) After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. (8) And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us, (9) and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. (10) Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? (11) But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”​

(Acts 15:7-11)​

​

Your heart's treasure about the passage is "as the Spirit appears to be testifying that they believed knowing their heart, not that they were effectually caused to believe" - whatever you might mean by "they were effectually caused to believe", I'm taking that as "God caused them to believe" in order to eliminate any confusion introduced by the word "effectually", so I interpret your writing to be "as the Spirit appears to be testifying that they believed knowing their heart, not that God caused them to believe".

I, in the Holy Spirit, know that God caused them to believe.

You and I are polar opposites as to the "cause" in this passage.

The Spirit through Peter expressly says "And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us, and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:8-9), and this sophisticated sentence has a subject with predicate.

By God's grace, I grammatically disect the sophisticated sentence in Acts 15:8-9:

• The subject of the sentence is "God", the second word in Acts 15:8, and "God" is the "who" in the sentence.
• each clause must be a complete thought, a logical unit.
• now, this point is the search for the sophisticated sentence predicate, and I use the simple process of clause elimination to arrive at the result in Truth (John 14:6):
  1. I start at the grammatical central clause of "who testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us" (Acts 15:8-9) of the sophisticated sentence, so, for grammatical predicate determination purposes, I shall remove this grammatical central clause from the next disection step. I call this central clause the first clause.
  2. "who knows the heart, and He made no distinction between us and them" (Acts 15:8-9) is the encapsulating clause outside of the first clause. I call this encapsulating clause the second clause. For grammatical predicate determination purposes, I shall remove this second clause from the next disection step.
  3. "And God cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9) is the next encapsulating clause outside of the second clause. I call this encapsulating clause the third clause, and this third clause is the perimeter clause, so the sentence predicate is "cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9).
• Grammatically, I find:
  • Subject = "God"
  • Verb = "cleansing"
  • Direct Object = "their hearts"
  • Indirect Object = "faith"
• Therefore, since the sophisticated sentence's indirect object is "faith", then the subject of God is the affecting factor for faith to do the action of cleansing upon "their hearts".

Grammatically complete and true, the Holy Spirit reveals "God cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9) inherently indicates that God controls saving faith/belief, just as Lord Jesus says in “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29).

Now, we arrive at a "test the spirits" moment as per the Apostle John's injunction:

​

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world​

(1 John 4:1)​

​

Your heart's treasure is "not that God caused them to believe" regarding Acts 15:8-9.

My heart's treasure is "God caused them to believe" regarding Acts 15:8-9.

One of us is a false prophets.

God's Good Message through God's messenger Peter is "God cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9); therefore, "God caused them to believe" is accurate with regard to Acts 15:8-9, so that which God has made the treasure of my heart is Truth (John 14:6).

God's Good Message through God's messenger Peter is "God cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9); therefore, "not that God caused them to believe" is inaccurate with regard to Acts 15:8-9, so that which you self-willed have made the treasure of your heart is false.

Because your "not that God caused them to believe" is false about Acts 15:8-9, you are a false prophet.

It's time to answer your inquiry "why you quote Acts 15:8-9 is somewhat of the mystery".

Free-willians do not believe that God causes saving faith, and you free-willians can only achieve free-will by adulterating the Word of God.

Every occurrence of saving faith/belief in the Holy Scripture is governed by this Word of God “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29); moreover, this includes every New Testament book in the Bible.

Your heart makes false statements about God. Free-will is a conjured concept of the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9).

In Truth (John 14:6), the Almighty God is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1) in the affairs of man (Daniel 4:34-35)! PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!

You posted nothing to prove your point, simply asserting your claim

In the meantime you ignored contextual exegesis

Jesus told them they must work

John 6:27 (ESV) — 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Verse 28 defines for us the works of God

John 6:28 (NASB 2020) — 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?”

as what are we to do'

3rd the Jews clearly understood it was they who were to believe

John 6:30 (KJV 1900) — 30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

fourth Christ affirmed there is something they must do never correcting them

John 6:32–40 (ESV) — 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

You have isolated verse 29 from its context and assumed its meaning

you ignored the commentary of your Calvinist peers

. What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? That is, such things as God will approve. This was the earnest inquiry of men who were seeking to be saved. They had crossed the Sea of Tiberias to seek him; they supposed him to be the Messiah, and they sincerely desired to be taught the way of life; yet it is observable that they expected to find that way as other sinners commonly do—by their works. The idea of doing something to merit salvation is one of the last that the sinner ever surrenders.
Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Luke & John (ed. Robert Frew; London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 244.

John Calvin: “People who infer from this passage that faith is God’s gift are mistaken, for Christ does not show here what God produces in us, but what God wants and requires from us.” (The Crossway Classic Commentaries: John; Crossway Books; Wheaton, IL; 1994, p.393)

Verse 29
5. Men torment themselves in vain when they try to please God without faith.
g. That is, this is the work that God requires, that you believe in me, and therefore he calls them back to faith.


Geneva Bible Notes (1599). (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2003), Jn 6:28–29.



Jesus sets them straight: The work of God—i.e. what God requires—is faith. This is not faith in the abstract, an existential trust without a coherent object. Rather, they must believe in the one [God] has sent[1] Pillar New Tetament commentary D.A. Carson

John_6:28-29. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, —

The chief work, the greatest work which you can do. Spurgeon commentary

---

[1] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John (The Pillar New Testament Commentary; Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 285.


The work of Greek exegetes

Believe. Faith is put as a moral act or work. The work of God is to believe. Faith includes all the works which God requires. The Jews’ question contemplates numerous works. Jesus’ answer directs them to one work. Canon Westcott justly observes that “this simple formula contains the complete solution of the relation of faith and works.”11 Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (vol. 2; New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 148–149.

The meaning is not,—that faith is wrought in us by God, is the work of God; but that the truest way of working the work of God is to believe on Him whom He hath sent.11 Henry Alford, Alford’s Greek Testament: An Exegetical and Critical Commentary (vol. 1; Grand Rapids, MI: Guardian Press, 1976), 761.
Messianic work.

28. τί ποιῶμεν …; What must we do (v. 5) that we may work? Perhaps they understood Him to mean that they must earn what they desire; certainly they see that Christ’s words have a moral meaning; they must do the works required by God. But how?
29. τὸ ἔργον. They probably thought of works of the law, tithes, sacrifices, &c. He tells them of one work, one moral act, from which all the rest derive their value, continuous belief (πιστεύητε, not πιστεύσητε) in Him whom God has sent. Comp. Acts 16:31. On ἵνα and ἀπέστειλεν see on 1:8, 33, 4:47, 17:3.1
1 A. Plummer, The Gospel according to S. John (Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1896), 155.

rather than deal with

Acts 16:30–31 (KJV 1900) — 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Believe is the answer to what must i do

Not the nothing "God will cause you to believe if you are among the elect" of your theology

You simply asserted your view

you did the same here

Acts 2:37–38 (KJV 1900) — 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

they were to repent

What shall we do is answered by you must repent again not the nothing

"God will cause you to believe if you are among the elect" of your theology

end pt1

 

[TomL]

​

and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”​

(Acts 16:30-31)​

​

The "believe" is the work of God in man, and God's messengers say absolutely nothing different than belief is a work of God.

Except the question is what must I do. The answer is believe and not the nothing of your theology

Were there mnerit in your theology the answer should have been "you can do nothing if god has chosen you as one of his elect her will cause you to believe"

But we do not see that. In fact nowhere do we see that

Not in one place do we read God irresistibly or effectual causes faith in man

You assert it but that is all you ever do. Assert but provide nothing by way of scripture to substantiate your view

The only way to achieve your own interpretation is for the following change to the dialog:

​

and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Free-will choose to believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”​

(TomL 16:30-31)​

You (understood) believe is sufficient. It was something they were to do. The responsibility and the ability belonged to them

​

Now, the "believe" is the work of man, but that is not what God's messengers said.

Again

Question: What were they to do?
Answer: Believe

The word "believe" is not mentioned in Acts 2:37–38, so perhaps you are adulterating the passage thusly:

But the word repenty was

Another thing to be done

another rejection of the idea there was nothing for them to do as asserted by your theology

​

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, feee-will choose to believe, and free-will choose to be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.​

(TomL 2:37–38)​

Again what Peter stated was sufficient

what he could have stated if your doctrine were true is nothing God must cause you to repent

But he does not. He never does

Multiple opportunities are seen where it could have been clearly stated but it never happens

​

Now, based on your postulate, you have made the "believe" to be the work of man, but, alas, that is not what God's messenger commanded.

Here is the accurate account

​

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.​

(Acts 2:37–38)​

More than sufficient

your do nothing theology is nowhere to be seen.

Not here

not anywhere

you are reduced to eisegeting it into the text

​

Your heart must shatter “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (the Word of God, John 6:29) into your heart's conjured “This is not the work of God but this is the work of man, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (TomL 6:29).

sorry you never address this

https://berean-apologetics.community.forum/threads/an-article-on-free-will.1287/post-82483

You last paragraph's clause "they believed knowing their heart" is a circular reference in which you convey "the people knew the people", but your circular reference is absent from the passage.

Let me correct your distortion


as the Spirit appears to be testifying that they believed knowing their heart, not that they were effectually caused to believe

The spirit knowing their heart testified that they the gentiles believed

The spirit did not effectually cause them to believe but discerned their heart that they did believe

Your theology of effectually cause faith is missing from the passage

 

[synergy]

Except the question is what must I do. The answer is believe and not the nothing of your theology

your do nothing theology is nowhere to be seen.

Not here

not anywhere

Calvinism is the Do Nothing theology and religion. Well said!

I call calvinism the Stay Inert, Do Nothing, and Wait for the Zapping religion.

 

[TomL]

Calvinism is the Do Nothing theology and religion. Well said!

I call calvinism the Stay Inert, Do Nothing, and Wait for the Zapping religion.

I like that stay inert

It tickled my funny bone

 

[Kermos]

Yes God is the cause of our regeneration. He regenerates man when they first receive that is believe on his son Jesus Christ,

When you wrote "He regenerates man when they first receive that is believe on his son Jesus Christ", then you convey "first man sees King Jesus and second man works himself to believe in Jesus and third man becomes born of God".

Let's review your distinct sequence of discreet events:

1. man sees King Jesus of the Kingdom of God,
2. the work of man is to believe in the Son whom the Father has sent, and
3. man becomes born of God".

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (the Word of God, John 3:3) declares the Christ of us Christians, so your "man sees King Jesus of the Kingdom of God" nullifies the sayings of King Jesus of the Kingdom of God, yet Christians nullify not the Word of God.

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29) declares the Christ of us Christians, so your "the work of man is to believe in the Son whom the Father has sent" nullifies the sayings of King Jesus of the Kingdom of God, but Christians do not nullify the Word of God.

John 20:31 (KJV 1900) — 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

"but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John the Apostle, John 20:31) harmonizes beautifully with "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29).

John 1:12 (ESV) — 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (the Apostle John, John 1:10-13) harmonizes beautifully with "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29) along with "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (the Word of God, John 3:3).

Galatians 3:26 (KJV 1900) — 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

"Now before the faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, having been locked up until the faith being about to be revealed, so that the Law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we might be justified by faith. And the faith having come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now if you are of Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise" (Paul the Apostle, Galatians 3:23-29) harmonizes beautifully with "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29).

Yes God is the cause of our regeneration. He regenerates man when they first receive that is believe on his son Jesus Christ,

This table shows your internally conflicted position as to who "is the cause of regeneration":

TomL's LEFT HANDED POSITION		TomL's RIGHT HANDED POSITION
GOD is the cause of "born of God"		MAN is the cause of "born of God"
TomL's position: Yes, God		TomL's position: Yes, man
TomL's heart treasure (black): Yes God is the cause of our regeneration.		TomL's heart treasure (white): He regenerates man when they first receive that is believe on his son Jesus Christ,

As is clearly visible, the above table's left hand column is the opposite of the right hand column, so your belief is confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Another way to see your faith is that you do not believe that "God is the cause of our regeneration" because your step 3 of "man becomes born of God" requires your step 2 of "the work of man is to believe in the Son whom the Father has sent" while at the same time your step 3 is impossible without your step 2 of "the work of man is to believe in the Son whom the Father has sent"; therefore, you believe "man is the cause of our regeneration" which is a false prophecy (1 John 4:1).

The Truth (John 14:6) is "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29) and "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (the Word of God, John 3:3).

Your heart makes false statements about God. Free-will is a conjured concept of the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9).

In Truth (John 14:6), the Almighty God is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1) in the affairs of man (Daniel 4:34-35)! PRAISE OUR BELIEVER'S DELIVERER!!!

 

[civic]

When you wrote "He regenerates man when they first receive that is believe on his son Jesus Christ", then you convey "first man sees King Jesus and second man works himself to believe in Jesus and third man becomes born of God".

Let's review your distinct sequence of discreet events:

1. man sees King Jesus of the Kingdom of God,
2. the work of man is to believe in the Son whom the Father has sent, and
3. man becomes born of God".

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (the Word of God, John 3:3) declares the Christ of us Christians, so your "man sees King Jesus of the Kingdom of God" nullifies the sayings of King Jesus of the Kingdom of God, yet Christians nullify not the Word of God.

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29) declares the Christ of us Christians, so your "the work of man is to believe in the Son whom the Father has sent" nullifies the sayings of King Jesus of the Kingdom of God, but Christians do not nullify the Word of God.



"but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John the Apostle, John 20:31) harmonizes beautifully with "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29).



"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (the Apostle John, John 1:10-13) harmonizes beautifully with "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29) along with "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (the Word of God, John 3:3).



"Now before the faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, having been locked up until the faith being about to be revealed, so that the Law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we might be justified by faith. And the faith having come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now if you are of Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise" (Paul the Apostle, Galatians 3:23-29) harmonizes beautifully with "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29).



This table shows your internally conflicted position as to who "is the cause of regeneration":

TomL's LEFT HANDED POSITION		TomL's RIGHT HANDED POSITION
GOD is the cause of "born of God"		MAN is the cause of "born of God"
TomL's position: Yes, God		TomL's position: Yes, man
TomL's heart treasure (black): Yes God is the cause of our regeneration.		TomL's heart treasure (white): He regenerates man when they first receive that is believe on his son Jesus Christ,

As is clearly visible, the above table's left hand column is the opposite of the right hand column, so your belief is confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Another way to see your faith is that you do not believe that "God is the cause of our regeneration" because your step 3 of "man becomes born of God" requires your step 2 of "the work of man is to believe in the Son whom the Father has sent" while at the same time your step 3 is impossible without your step 2 of "the work of man is to believe in the Son whom the Father has sent"; therefore, you believe "man is the cause of our regeneration" which is a false prophecy (1 John 4:1).

The Truth (John 14:6) is "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29) and "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (the Word of God, John 3:3).

Your heart makes false statements about God. Free-will is a conjured concept of the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9).e

In Truth (John 14:6), the Almighty God is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1) in the affairs of man (Daniel 4:34-35)! PRAISE OUR BELIEVER'S DELIVERER!!!

the work God requires is that a person believes the Son.

John 1:11-13
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

1- He came to His own
2- His own did not receive Him
3- To all those who receive Him He gave
4- To those who believe in His name He gave
5- The right to become children of God
6- not born from natural descent, human decision, husbands will but born of God

follow the sequence Jesus taught above- the new birth is last in sequence after receive, believe, becoming a child of God via the new birth.

all from John 6 below :

31- Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
35-36- I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
40- For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day
45- It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.
49-51- Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
53-54- Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
57-58- Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

The same order below once again

Eph 1:12-13
12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

notice the biblical order once again.

1- When you heard the gospel
2- When you believed ( the gospel )
3- After which you became in Christ, in Him
4- After hearing/believing came the indwelling Holy Spirit
5- Salvation is the result of the above and are now Gods possession.

Jesus also taught that a persons faith comes before they are healed or saved. The saving/healing doesn't come before faith. Calvinism has it just the opposite.

Here is how some would rewrite Jesus words below and add to scripture things that were never said nor implied.

Parenthesis is Calvinism false assertion below that God gives faith. Jesus said it was THEIR faith that saved them.

Luke 7:50
And he said to the woman, Thy faith ( I have given you )hath saved thee; go in peace.

Luke 8:48
"Daughter," said Jesus, "your faith ( I have given you )has healed you. Go in peace."

Luke 17:19
Then Jesus said to him, "Rise and go; your faith( I have given you ) has made you well!"

Luke 18:42
"Receive your sight!" Jesus replied. "Your faith( I have give you ) has healed you."

Matthew 8:10
When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, "Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

Matthew 8:13
Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Matthew 9:2
Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.

Matthew 9:22
Jesus turned and saw her. "Take courage, daughter," He said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was cured from that very hour.

Matthew 9:29
Then He touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you."

Matthew 15:28
"O woman," Jesus answered, "your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Mark 5:34
"Daughter," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction."

Mark 10:52
"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

John 4:53
So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

conclusion: the above coincides with John opening and closing of the gospel in John 1:11-12 and 20:31- Those who believe and receive Christ will have life eternal and Christ will raise them on the last day. Those are the same exact ones who listen to Moses, the Father and the Son. They are the ones whom are drawn by the Father- those who eat, drink, listen and learn. Notice in John 6 its all, anyone, everyone, whoever. For God so over the world the WHOEVER believes in the Son will have eternal life. see John 3:16. Whoever does not believe remains condemned for they have not believed in Gods one and only Son. see John 3:18. My view of John 6 is consistent with the entire gospel of John from chapter 1 through chapter 20. Johns message is the same from John 1 through John 20. Anyone can come to Jesus and receive eternal life. Christ died for everyone. Only those who believe/receive the Son will have eternal life, become children of God and those who do not believe/receive Him remain condemned.

hope this helps !!!

 

[civic]

To recap for the readers/lurkers/guests the Biblical order of being born again and faith. Scripture is consistent and opposes the calvinists view on this topic.

Notice what comes first in scripture - the order of how one becomes saved.

1- Repent , turn away from sin, believe Gods word- the gospel of your salvation.
2- the after you repent you get a new heart/spirit ,regeneration, new life, born again etc....
3- repent then you live, have life- ie new heart, spirit.

John below the same order in in his opening of the gospel and in his purpose statement for writing his gospel.

John 1:12-13
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Same order as above receive, believe, call on Him then the new birth follows.

John 20:31
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Once again the order is consistent with the OT- belief/repentance precedes life.

Romans 10:8-13
But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Again above we see its hearing the gospel, believing the message , confessing then calling upon the Lord results in salvation.

Acts tells us the same order in 11:18- "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” Repent precedes life.

Paul confirms the order in Ephesians below as well. Hearing and believing precedes the Holy Spirit that we were sealed with not before belief.

A few more scriptures on the topic of this discussion

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:23
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

James 1:18
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.

Titus 3:5
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit

See how scripture is consistent when you do not read your doctrine into it but read it objectively, without bias ?

John 3 the context, illustrations, text from the OT that he would be familiar with which Jesus points to for Nicodemus.

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” ( notice belief precedes life )

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ( notice once again belief comes before life)17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Ephesians 1:13
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit

conclusion: as we read in these SALVIFIC passages there is a consistent order.

1- hearing the word, the gospel
2- believing the gospel
3- receiving the gospel, repenting
4- calling upon the Lord
5- confessing Jesus is Lord
6- resulting in the new birth, born of God, salvation, eternal life, regeneration, born again

hope this helps!!!