An Article on free will

Believing is the way but you go around the fact that there wouldn't be a need to clarify EXACTLY to whom this is for. You false theology wants to make it seem like he can just tell someone the way and hold back from telling him at the same the essential fact to consider.....that believing may not be what God has for you. The fact that he left this open should tell one it's the thing that any member of humanity can do!


I'm not saying that's not the answer one should give I'm saying your way of thinking lacks insight not appreciating all can do just what Paul had stated, encouraged and exhorted.
`Because of this I have said to you -- No one is able to come unto me, if it may not have been given him from my Father.'
 
Lets see

The verse was

AND the apostles and elders are in accord with Jesus’ words with thier saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18)

Obvious;y all gentiles have not repented so it is not that God caused all the gentiles to repent

So what have you posted that shows this is the tradition of man

The traditions of man (Matthew 15:9) is "Obvious;y all gentiles have not repented so it is not that God caused all the gentiles to repent" (the word of TomL).

The Word of God is “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

In Truth (John 14:6), since "all gentiles have not repented", then the unrepentant Gentiles are among the people of whom Lord Jesus says “You have hidden these things from” (Matthew 11:25).

Furthermore, Spiritually, since "God causes gentiles to repent", then the repentant Gentiles are among the people of whom Lord Jesus says “You” “have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Not in context. Mat 11:25 is not the context of acts 11:18

Gentiles are not even considered in mat 11:25

Matthew 11:10–25 (KJV 1900) — 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, 17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. 20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

And in context Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders

But consider

"I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." This is not a commentary on their ability to believe, but their refusal to humble themselves and believe. God has openly revealed the truth about Jesus Christ, but by the very nature of that revealed truth, arrogance and pride are barriers to believing. The sense in which God has hidden the truth is simply that it requires humility to accept God's message, and when one humbles himself the truth is no longer hidden. That is why Jesus follows up with an invitation, a statement about his own humility, and a call to take his yoke and learn of him: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (11:28-30) The invitation is to humble oneself and find rest.

Matthew 11:20–24 (KJV 1900) — 20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

Your heart's treasure of "Gentiles are not even considered in mat 11:25" and "And in context Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders" adulterates Lord Jesus Christ's wonderful word of “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25) into the traditions of man "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent jewish leaders only but not including the Gentile wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes excluding the Gentiles while at the same time including only jewish leaders" (the word of TomL). You reject Lord and God Jesus Christ's self definition because Jesus says God controls everyone who repents (Matthew 11:25) in Truth (John 14:6).

It's amazing, the Jewish leaders are specifically mentioned zero times in Matthew 11:1-30 (the whole chapter), yet you conjured up "And in context Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders", so your exclusive context of "Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders" is blatantly false. You do not receive Lord and God Jesus Christ's sayings of “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Lord and God Jesus Christ says“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48).

Furthermore, your "The invitation is to humble oneself and find rest" confuses your "invitation" for the loving commandment of Lord and God Jesus Christ's “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

See the “Come to Me" (Matthew 11:28) command is governed by God because the Word of God declares "he who practices the Truth comes to the Light, so that his works may be manifested as having been wrought in God" (John 3:21).

This passage does not support total depravity, but instead, directly refutes it because Jesus teaches that everyone is capable of believing whether or not they have done so (e.g., Tyre and Sidon).

Just as God has caused me to post:

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).
So it goes that your free-willian philosophy of:

This passage does not support total depravity, but instead, directly refutes it because Jesus teaches that everyone is capable of believing whether or not they have done so (e.g., Tyre and Sidon).
Respecting Matthew chapter 11, then your free-willian philosophy ends up with your heart's treasure of:

Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they without any intervention by God would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
(the word of TomL adulterating the Word of God)
Instead of the clearly precisely pure Word of God:

Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
(the Word of God, Matthew 11:21-22)

God enables repentance though his message of repentance and his long suffering

The traditions of man (Matthew 15:9) is "God enables repentance though his message of repentance and his long suffering" (clearly, you free-willian use the word "enables" to indicate everyone everywhere in all time has the ability to repent).

The Word of God is “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Apostolic testimony is in accord with Jesus’ words with thier saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18); therefore, Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:25 state that God exclusively causes man to repent.

God grants repentance though the Word of God (John 14:6, Romans 1:16) and the blessed patience of God brings every single one of God's chosen persons to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Acts 20:18–21 (KJV 1900) — 18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, 19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: 20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, 21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

The repentance mentioned by Paul (Acts 20:18–21) is graciously caused by the Word of God “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

The faith mentioned by Paul (Acts 20:18–21) is graciously caused by the Author and Perfecter of the faith "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29).

Acts 26:16–20 (KJV 1900) — 16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. 19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: 20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

The repent mentioned by Paul (Acts 26:16–20) is graciously caused by the Word of God “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

The faith mentioned by Paul (Acts 26:16–20) is graciously caused by the Author and Perfecter of the faith "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29).

The works mentioned by Paul (Acts 26:16–20) is graciously wrought by God “he who practices the Truth comes to the Light, so that his works may be manifested as having been wrought in God” (John 3:21).

Romans 2:1–4 (KJV 1900) — 1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Apparently, “these things” (Matthew 11:25) of this rhetorical question "not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance" (Romans 2:4) are “hidden” (Matthew 11:25) from you.

2 Peter 3:9 (KJV 1900) — 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The traditions of man (Matthew 15:9) is "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should cause themselves come to repentance" (the word of TomL).

Apostolic testimony is "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

The Word of God is “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Apparently, you are so very “wise and intelligent” (Matthew 11:25) that you are almighty to the degree that you “have revealed” (Matthew 11:25) to God that which Almighty God did not know.

You see, you preach that God is weak for Peter wrote that God is "not willing that any should perish", and you accurately wrote "all gentiles do not repent", so your heart's treasure is that God’s will is inconsequential, fallible, incapable, and faulty because God wills that no man perish yet man perishes.

The Lord God Almighty has me here proclaiming the strength and marvelousness of Jesus Christ who is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any of the presently born of God (2 Peter 1:1) as well as of the future born of God should perish, but that all the born of God should come to repentance; therefore, my heart's treasure is that according to God’s will none of the Assembly of God will perish, and this goes for God's chosen persons now and until the time of the Gentiles concludes.

Revelation 2:21 (KJV 1900) — 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

So, she couldn't repent on her own per Revelation 2:21.

But, you say people can repent on their own, yet you fail to present a single verse that shows even one person repenting in that person's own initiative.

not by effectually infusing repentance into man

The traditions of man (Matthew 15:9) is "not by producing repentance into man" (your final paragraph with your ambiguous "effectually infusing" replaced by the precise "producing").

Apostolic testimony is in accord with Jesus’ words (Matthew 11:25) with the Apostle Paul's "the sorrow that is according to [the will] [of] God produces a repentance without regret, [leading] to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death" (2 Corinthians 7:10, NASB1995).

You preach of your ability to repent before you are born of God, so you, arminianperspectives, believe that you can repent while you are still of the world (the same thing as "not born of God"), but your sorrow of the world produces death (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Your spirit promotes yourself to almighty god status meanwhile demoting Almighty God down to Broken God.

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 HIM WHO GENEROUSLY GRANTS REPENTANCE!!!
 
The traditions of man (Matthew 15:9) is "Obvious;y all gentiles have not repented so it is not that God caused all the gentiles to repent" (the word of TomL).

The Word of God is “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

In Truth (John 14:6), since "all gentiles have not repented", then the unrepentant Gentiles are among the people of whom Lord Jesus says “You have hidden these things from” (Matthew 11:25).

Furthermore, Spiritually, since "God causes gentiles to repent", then the repentant Gentiles are among the people of whom Lord Jesus says “You” “have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).



Your heart's treasure of "Gentiles are not even considered in mat 11:25" and "And in context Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders" adulterates Lord Jesus Christ's wonderful word of “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25) into the traditions of man "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent jewish leaders only but not including the Gentile wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes excluding the Gentiles while at the same time including only jewish leaders" (the word of TomL). You reject Lord and God Jesus Christ's self definition because Jesus says God controls everyone who repents (Matthew 11:25) in Truth (John 14:6).

It's amazing, the Jewish leaders are specifically mentioned zero times in Matthew 11:1-30 (the whole chapter), yet you conjured up "And in context Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders", so your exclusive context of "Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders" is blatantly false. You do not receive Lord and God Jesus Christ's sayings of “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Lord and God Jesus Christ says“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48).

Furthermore, your "The invitation is to humble oneself and find rest" confuses your "invitation" for the loving commandment of Lord and God Jesus Christ's “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

See the “Come to Me" (Matthew 11:28) command is governed by God because the Word of God declares "he who practices the Truth comes to the Light, so that his works may be manifested as having been wrought in God" (John 3:21).



Just as God has caused me to post:
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).​
So it goes that your free-willian philosophy of:
This passage does not support total depravity, but instead, directly refutes it because Jesus teaches that everyone is capable of believing whether or not they have done so (e.g., Tyre and Sidon).
Respecting Matthew chapter 11, then your free-willian philosophy ends up with your heart's treasure of:
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they without any intervention by God would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
(the word of TomL adulterating the Word of God)​
Instead of the clearly precisely pure Word of God:
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
(the Word of God, Matthew 11:21-22)​



The traditions of man (Matthew 15:9) is "God enables repentance though his message of repentance and his long suffering" (clearly, you free-willian use the word "enables" to indicate everyone everywhere in all time has the ability to repent).

The Word of God is “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Apostolic testimony is in accord with Jesus’ words with thier saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18); therefore, Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:25 state that God exclusively causes man to repent.

God grants repentance though the Word of God (John 14:6, Romans 1:16) and the blessed patience of God brings every single one of God's chosen persons to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).



The repentance mentioned by Paul (Acts 20:18–21) is graciously caused by the Word of God “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

The faith mentioned by Paul (Acts 20:18–21) is graciously caused by the Author and Perfecter of the faith "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29).



The repent mentioned by Paul (Acts 26:16–20) is graciously caused by the Word of God “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

The faith mentioned by Paul (Acts 26:16–20) is graciously caused by the Author and Perfecter of the faith "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (the Word of God, John 6:29).

The works mentioned by Paul (Acts 26:16–20) is graciously wrought by God “he who practices the Truth comes to the Light, so that his works may be manifested as having been wrought in God” (John 3:21).



Apparently, “these things” (Matthew 11:25) of this rhetorical question "not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance" (Romans 2:4) are “hidden” (Matthew 11:25) from you.



The traditions of man (Matthew 15:9) is "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should cause themselves come to repentance" (the word of TomL).

Apostolic testimony is "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

The Word of God is “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Apparently, you are so very “wise and intelligent” (Matthew 11:25) that you are almighty to the degree that you “have revealed” (Matthew 11:25) to God that which Almighty God did not know.

You see, you preach that God is weak for Peter wrote that God is "not willing that any should perish", and you accurately wrote "all gentiles do not repent", so your heart's treasure is that God’s will is inconsequential, fallible, incapable, and faulty because God wills that no man perish yet man perishes.

The Lord God Almighty has me here proclaiming the strength and marvelousness of Jesus Christ who is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any of the presently born of God (2 Peter 1:1) as well as of the future born of God should perish, but that all the born of God should come to repentance; therefore, my heart's treasure is that according to God’s will none of the Assembly of God will perish, and this goes for God's chosen persons now and until the time of the Gentiles concludes.



So, she couldn't repent on her own per Revelation 2:21.

But, you say people can repent on their own, yet you fail to present a single verse that shows even one person repenting in that person's own initiative.



The traditions of man (Matthew 15:9) is "not by producing repentance into man" (your final paragraph with your ambiguous "effectually infusing" replaced by the precise "producing").

Apostolic testimony is in accord with Jesus’ words (Matthew 11:25) with the Apostle Paul's "the sorrow that is according to [the will] [of] God produces a repentance without regret, [leading] to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death" (2 Corinthians 7:10, NASB1995).

You preach of your ability to repent before you are born of God, so you, arminianperspectives, believe that you can repent while you are still of the world (the same thing as "not born of God"), but your sorrow of the world produces death (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Your spirit promotes yourself to almighty god status meanwhile demoting Almighty God down to Broken God.

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 HIM WHO GENEROUSLY GRANTS REPENTANCE!!!
Me and you need to sit down, together, far from interference, and have a dialogue brother--and search the Scriptures.
Johann
 
The traditions of man (Matthew 15:9) is "Obvious;y all gentiles have not repented so it is not that God caused all the gentiles to repent" (the word of TomL).
Let see I posted

TomL said:
Lets see

The verse was

AND the apostles and elders are in accord with Jesus’ words with thier saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18)

Obvious;y all gentiles have not repented so it is not that God caused all the gentiles to repent

So what have you posted that shows this is the tradition of man


The Word of God is “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).
the first problem is this has nothing to do with the context of the verse under discussion

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.

So Mat 11:25 is irrelevant here






In Truth (John 14:6), since "all gentiles have not repented", then the unrepentant Gentiles are among the people of whom Lord Jesus says “You have hidden these things from” (Matthew 11:25).


Again still trying to discuss the verse under discussion with a foreign context

Mat 25 is addressing the Jews who rejected Christ while he was on earth

It has not a thing to do with the gentiles after the resurrection, after the coming of the Spirit, and after the birth of the new testament church




Furthermore, Spiritually, since "God causes gentiles to repent", then the repentant Gentiles are among the people of whom Lord Jesus says “You” “have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Begs the question and assumes what you need to prove
Your heart's treasure of "Gentiles are not even considered in mat 11:25" and "And in context Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders" adulterates Lord Jesus Christ's wonderful word of “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25) into the traditions of man "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent jewish leaders only but not including the Gentile wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes excluding the Gentiles while at the same time including only jewish leaders" (the word of TomL). You reject Lord and God Jesus Christ's self definition because Jesus says God controls everyone who repents (Matthew 11:25) in Truth (John 14:6).

No they are not considered in Mat 11:25, but you want to discuss the gentiles and drawn conclusions about them from a passage that does not even discuss them.

does that not sound a little bit illogical

It's amazing, the Jewish leaders are specifically mentioned zero times in Matthew 11:1-30 (the whole chapter), yet you conjured up "And in context Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders", so your exclusive context of "Jesus is speaking of the jewish leaders" is blatantly false. You do not receive Lord and God Jesus Christ's sayings of “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).
Hello


Matthew 10:5–6 (KJV 1900) — 5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 11:1 (KJV 1900) — 1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.


Ready to admit error?
 
How did you address the fact you can have no life unless

John 6:53 (KJV 1900) — 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood

Clearly there is an order here if not temporal at least logically

You must eat the flesh drink the blood before you can have life

When you wrote "You must eat the flesh drink the blood before you can have life", then you adulterated the Word of God into "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you first eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" or another way "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have not been born of God" and away from Lord Jesus Christ's pure saying of "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53). Your heart's treasure establishes sequential causality; in contrast, Lord Jesus Christ establishes are Christian heart's treasure of correlation and fruit of the Spirit (John 3:21).

You cannot joyfully partake in the precious Body and Blood of Christ if you are not aware of the true Christ because the Word of God says "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

Your opening question was made null and void by the Word of God before you were born of flesh.

the same is true here

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.

logically, you must believe before you have life

You believe you cause yourself to be born, that is man causes himself to be "born of God", based upon your writing "John 20:31 logically, you must believe before you have life" because you use "and that believing you have life in His name" (John 20:31) as a sequence of events instead of correlated events. No person causes oneself to be born, so your belief is confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).

You defy logic and deny spiritual Truth (John 14:6) because your hearts treasure is that the spiritually unborn person causes that same spiritually unborn person to become a spiritually born of God person; however, God has me here proclaiming to you that the spiritually unborn person is unaware of the true Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:3), so the spiritually unborn person is incapable of believing in the Son whom the Father has sent unto eternal life (John 6:29, John 20:31).

You, in your question, blindly ignore Christ's saying "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53).

Your opening question was made null and void by the Word of God before you were born of flesh.

That is laughable it is you who are ignoring the obvious fact eating and drinking precede the having life

Salvation is no laughing matter, TomL.

That is an assumption

You assume dead means total inability rather than separation from God due to rebellion

Ephesians 2:1 (KJV 1900) — 1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

If a person is not alive in Christ (John 3:3-8, Ephesians 2:4-10), then the person is dead in sin (John 3:18, Ephesians 2:1-3).

shown to be

Ephesians 2:11–12 (KJV 1900) — 11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

The Gentiles mentioned in Ephesians 2:11–12 are the very same people who Christ MADE one with true Israel as per the Apostle Paul's writing of "but now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both one" (Ephesians 2:13-14).

It is no mystery that you ceased your quotation at Ephesians 2:12 before the glory was given to God in Ephesians 2:13-14. Free-william Philosophy steals the glory of God!

or take the prodigal son

Luke 15:10–24 (KJV 1900) — 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

The son was separated from his father due to rebellion

The prodigal son knew his father BEFORE the prodigal son's rebellion; on the other hand, you do not know the Son of God BEFORE being born of the Spirit (John 3:3).

Just like Jesus does

Why do you oppose Christ?

He says unless you do that, you have no life

You falsify his words and say you must have life so you can eat his flesh and drink his blood

Instead of rambling on

why don't you just deal with and believe the words of Christ
Regeneration imparts life

Regeneration means "born of God", so all people are dead (Ephesians 2:1-4) except for persons whom God births anew; therefore, a dead person cannot free-will choose to eat Christ's blessed Body nor drink the precious Blood of Christ, after all, the Christ says "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3), so only we Christians who are born of God have Life and eat Christ's blessed Body nor drink the precious Blood of Christ.

it cannot therefore precede eating his flesh and drinking his blood

You preach "'born of God' cannot therefore precede eating his flesh and drinking his blood".

Therefore, your heart falsifies "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53) into your abominable "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you first eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (TomL 6:53).

The passage refutes your theology

You prophesy falsely (1 John 4:1) because, in Christ, I say unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourself.

John 6:35–56 (NASB 2020) — 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty. 36 But I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe. 37 Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” 41 So then the Jews were complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 And they were saying, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’ ?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop complaining among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down out of heaven, so that anyone may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh.” 52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.

I just love the Word of God!!!

coming and believing on Christ is figuratively equivalent to eating and drinking

Coming to Christ assures one will not hunger

To be utterly clear, your thoughts about your self-willed “Coming to Christ” is anti-truth because, long before you were flesh, the Holy Word of God established:

he who practices the Truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God
(John 3:21)
So, every Christian that comes to the Light, whom is Christ (John 1:4), is wrought in God. Christ is the Truth (John 14:6). Praise be to the Living God!

Believing on Christ assures you will not thirst

Continuing to be utterly clear, your “self-willed believing in Christ unto salvation” is the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9), not the Majestic Word of God who says:

This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent
(John 6:29)
So every occurrence of saving faith/belief is governed by the Author and Perfecter of the one faith/belief! Glory be to God in the highest!

and that must be done before you can have life

but to make it plain

John 20:31 (NASB 2020) — 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name.

You believe that man causes himself to be "born of God" based upon your writing "believing must be done before you can have life but to make it plain John 20:31" because you use "and that believing you have life in His name" (John 20:31) as a sequence of events instead of correlated events.

The Apostle makes it plain and clear.

"but these have been written so that you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you have life in His name" (John 20:31).

"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).

"the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" (1 John 5:10-12).

Since the Apostle John wrote all these things, then your "believing must be done before you can have life" is false prophecy (1 John 4:1).

If you do not believe that you eat Christ's flesh and drink Christ's precious blood, then you have no life in you, TomL, because Lord Jesus says "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53), but your heart adulterates the precious Word of God into "Falsely, falsely, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (the word of TomL).

You heart's treasure of "It has to do with his words not being literal but figurative" regarding John 6:49-63 (proof post #2,130) translates into you literally rejecting Christ's Body and the precious Blood of Christ (John 6:49-63, Matthew 26:26-28, 1 Corinthians 11:24-34) - see the Word of God "He who rejects Me" (John 12:48).

The Glorious Word says:

My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink
(John 6:55)

Yet the word of man rejects the true food and the true drink by loving the traditions of men "It has to do with his words not being literal but figurative" (the word of TomL) leading to worship in vain (Matthew 15:9).

Do not be deceived, your heart converts the true food into the untrue food because of your "figurative" concept application against the Word of God.

Your heart's "It refers to believing and coming to Christ else you have no life in you" regarding the clearly pure Word of God "It is the Spirit who gives Life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are Life" (John 6:63), so your heart adulterates John 6:63 into "It is your self-willed believing and coming to Christ that gives Life; the flesh profits everying; the words that I have spoken to you are nothing without your self-willed believing and coming to Christ" (the word of TomL obliterating the Holy Spirit out of John 6:63); therefore, you are one who "does not receive My sayings" (the My being Lord Jesus Christ, John 12:48).

Now, after seeing "He who rejects Me" and "does not receive My sayings" the remainder is self-explanatory:

He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day
(John 12:48).

To be utterly clear, your "self-willed believing in Christ unto salvation" is the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9), not the Majestic Word of God who says:

This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent
(John 6:29)
So every occurrence of saving faith/belief is governed by the Author and Perfecter of the one faith/belief! Glory be to God in the highest!

Continuing to be utterly clear, your thoughts about your self-willed "coming to Christ" is anti-truth because, long before you were flesh, the Holy Word of God established:

he who practices the Truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God
(John 3:21)
So, every Christian that comes to the Light, whom is Christ (John 1:4), is wrought in God. Christ is the Truth (John 14:6). Praise be to the Living God!

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 AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF THE FAITH!!!
 
When you wrote "You must eat the flesh drink the blood before you can have life", then you adulterated the Word of God into "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you first eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" or another way "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have not been born of God" and away from Lord Jesus Christ's pure saying of "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53). Your heart's treasure establishes sequential causality; in contrast, Lord Jesus Christ establishes are Christian heart's treasure of correlation and fruit of the Spirit (John 3:21).

You cannot joyfully partake in the precious Body and Blood of Christ if you are not aware of the true Christ because the Word of God says "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

Your opening question was made null and void by the Word of God before you were born of flesh.



You believe you cause yourself to be born, that is man causes himself to be "born of God", based upon your writing "John 20:31 logically, you must believe before you have life" because you use "and that believing you have life in His name" (John 20:31) as a sequence of events instead of correlated events. No person causes oneself to be born, so your belief is confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).

You defy logic and deny spiritual Truth (John 14:6) because your hearts treasure is that the spiritually unborn person causes that same spiritually unborn person to become a spiritually born of God person; however, God has me here proclaiming to you that the spiritually unborn person is unaware of the true Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:3), so the spiritually unborn person is incapable of believing in the Son whom the Father has sent unto eternal life (John 6:29, John 20:31).

You, in your question, blindly ignore Christ's saying "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53).

Your opening question was made null and void by the Word of God before you were born of flesh.



Salvation is no laughing matter, TomL.



If a person is not alive in Christ (John 3:3-8, Ephesians 2:4-10), then the person is dead in sin (John 3:18, Ephesians 2:1-3).



The Gentiles mentioned in Ephesians 2:11–12 are the very same people who Christ MADE one with true Israel as per the Apostle Paul's writing of "but now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both one" (Ephesians 2:13-14).

It is no mystery that you ceased your quotation at Ephesians 2:12 before the glory was given to God in Ephesians 2:13-14. Free-william Philosophy steals the glory of God!



The prodigal son knew his father BEFORE the prodigal son's rebellion; on the other hand, you do not know the Son of God BEFORE being born of the Spirit (John 3:3).




Regeneration means "born of God", so all people are dead (Ephesians 2:1-4) except for persons whom God births anew; therefore, a dead person cannot free-will choose to eat Christ's blessed Body nor drink the precious Blood of Christ, after all, the Christ says "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3), so only we Christians who are born of God have Life and eat Christ's blessed Body nor drink the precious Blood of Christ.



You preach "'born of God' cannot therefore precede eating his flesh and drinking his blood".

Therefore, your heart falsifies "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53) into your abominable "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you first eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (TomL 6:53).



You prophesy falsely (1 John 4:1) because, in Christ, I say unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourself.



I just love the Word of God!!!



To be utterly clear, your thoughts about your self-willed “Coming to Christ” is anti-truth because, long before you were flesh, the Holy Word of God established:
he who practices the Truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God
So, every Christian that comes to the Light, whom is Christ (John 1:4), is wrought in God. Christ is the Truth (John 14:6). Praise be to the Living God!



Continuing to be utterly clear, your “self-willed believing in Christ unto salvation” is the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9), not the Majestic Word of God who says:
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent
So every occurrence of saving faith/belief is governed by the Author and Perfecter of the one faith/belief! Glory be to God in the highest!



You believe that man causes himself to be "born of God" based upon your writing "believing must be done before you can have life but to make it plain John 20:31" because you use "and that believing you have life in His name" (John 20:31) as a sequence of events instead of correlated events.

The Apostle makes it plain and clear.

"but these have been written so that you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you have life in His name" (John 20:31).

"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).

"the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" (1 John 5:10-12).

Since the Apostle John wrote all these things, then your "believing must be done before you can have life" is false prophecy (1 John 4:1).

If you do not believe that you eat Christ's flesh and drink Christ's precious blood, then you have no life in you, TomL, because Lord Jesus says "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53), but your heart adulterates the precious Word of God into "Falsely, falsely, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (the word of TomL).

You heart's treasure of "It has to do with his words not being literal but figurative" regarding John 6:49-63 (proof post #2,130) translates into you literally rejecting Christ's Body and the precious Blood of Christ (John 6:49-63, Matthew 26:26-28, 1 Corinthians 11:24-34) - see the Word of God "He who rejects Me" (John 12:48).

The Glorious Word says:
My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink
(John 6:55)​

Yet the word of man rejects the true food and the true drink by loving the traditions of men "It has to do with his words not being literal but figurative" (the word of TomL) leading to worship in vain (Matthew 15:9).

Do not be deceived, your heart converts the true food into the untrue food because of your "figurative" concept application against the Word of God.

Your heart's "It refers to believing and coming to Christ else you have no life in you" regarding the clearly pure Word of God "It is the Spirit who gives Life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are Life" (John 6:63), so your heart adulterates John 6:63 into "It is your self-willed believing and coming to Christ that gives Life; the flesh profits everying; the words that I have spoken to you are nothing without your self-willed believing and coming to Christ" (the word of TomL obliterating the Holy Spirit out of John 6:63); therefore, you are one who "does not receive My sayings" (the My being Lord Jesus Christ, John 12:48).

Now, after seeing "He who rejects Me" and "does not receive My sayings" the remainder is self-explanatory:
He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day
(John 12:48).​

To be utterly clear, your "self-willed believing in Christ unto salvation" is the traditions of men (Matthew 15:9), not the Majestic Word of God who says:
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent
So every occurrence of saving faith/belief is governed by the Author and Perfecter of the one faith/belief! Glory be to God in the highest!

Continuing to be utterly clear, your thoughts about your self-willed "coming to Christ" is anti-truth because, long before you were flesh, the Holy Word of God established:
he who practices the Truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God
So, every Christian that comes to the Light, whom is Christ (John 1:4), is wrought in God. Christ is the Truth (John 14:6). Praise be to the Living God!

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 AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF THE FAITH!!!
Noticing your interaction with @TomL this is the way I understand it--Monergism rather than Synergism and have to admit I have a hard time understanding this-so be patient, and I give you full permission to correct me where I am going "astray" although not willfully @Kermos.

Johann.
 
When you wrote "You must eat the flesh drink the blood before you can have life", then you adulterated the Word of God into "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you first eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" or another way "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have not been born of God" and away from Lord Jesus Christ's pure saying of "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53). Your heart's treasure establishes sequential causality; in contrast, Lord Jesus Christ establishes are Christian heart's treasure of correlation and fruit of the Spirit (John 3:21).
Seriously?

Are you trying to tell me

John 6:53 (NIV) — 53 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.

does not indicate you must first eat his flesh and drink his blood before you can receive the life being discusssed

which in context means you must believe and come to Christ before you can have life

seen also here

John 5:40 (NIV) — 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Will you deny one must come to Jesus before obtaining life?

You cannot joyfully partake in the precious Body and Blood of Christ if you are not aware of the true Christ because the Word of God says "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

Your opening question was made null and void by the Word of God before you were born of flesh.

You ignored Christ's answer to Nicodemus's question

"How can these things be?"

John 3:9–15 (UASV) — 9 Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly I say to you, we speak what we know, and we bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony! 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe; how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 And no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone believing in him will have eternal life.”


Here we see how one is born again




You believe you cause yourself to be born, that is man causes himself to be "born of God", based upon your writing "John 20:31 logically, you must believe before you have life" because you use "and that believing you have life in His name" (John 20:31) as a sequence of events instead of correlated events. No person causes oneself to be born, so your belief is confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).
Nope God causes those who believe in Christ to be born again

John 20:31 (UASV) — 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

What we have here

That is an iva conjunction of adverbial purpose

one must believer that one may have life

There is a clear sequent order

An act performed for a purpose must always posit the act before achieving its purpose

You are plainly in error

End pt1
 
You believe you cause yourself to be born, that is man causes himself to be "born of God", based upon your writing "John 20:31 logically, you must believe before you have life" because you use "and that believing you have life in His name" (John 20:31) as a sequence of events instead of correlated events.
It is a sequence of events. If not the gospel doesn't even need to be preached. Believe what? What you've heard with the gospel. To what end? Salvation.


 
John 5:40 (NIV) — 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Will you deny one must come to Jesus before obtaining life?
Good point Tom. They actually are believing LIFE comes to one first.....and then they'll come. Not at all what Jesus taught.
 
That is laughable it is you who are ignoring the obvious fact eating and drinking precede the having life

Kemos
Salvation is no laughing matter, TomL.

That you can imagine

John 6:53 (KJV 1900) — 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.


does not place eating and drinking before life is a laughable attempt to deny what is plainly clear


That is an assumption

You assume dead means total inability rather than separation from God due to rebellion

Ephesians 2:1 (KJV 1900) — 1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Kermos
If a person is not alive in Christ (John 3:3-8, Ephesians 2:4-10), then the person is dead in sin (John 3:18, Ephesians 2:1-3).

Yes

But that does not mean he is inert

death is simply separation

spiritual death is separation from God due to rebellion

continue reading in Eph 2

see below



shown to be

Ephesians 2:11–12 (KJV 1900) — 11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Kermos
The Gentiles mentioned in Ephesians 2:11–12 are the very same people who Christ MADE one with true Israel as per the Apostle Paul's writing of "but now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both one" (Ephesians 2:13-14).

The point is the meaning of the term dead in particular spiritual death

Please stick to the point

Kemos

It is no mystery that you ceased your quotation at Ephesians 2:12 before the glory was given to God in Ephesians 2:13-14. Free-william Philosophy steals the glory of God!
Um i stopped at verse 12 because defining spiritual death was the purpose

There is however nothing in verse 13 or 14 contrary to free will
Luke 15:10–24 (KJV 1900) — 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

The son was separated from his father due to rebellion
The son while separated from his father was dead and when rejoined to him, he was alive


Kermos
The prodigal son knew his father BEFORE the prodigal son's rebellion; on the other hand, you do not know the Son of God BEFORE being born of the Spirit (John 3:3).

Spiritual death is Separation from God


The bible is clear man has a rudimentary knowledge of God

Romans 1:18–23 (KJV 1900) — 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.


Just like Jesus does

Why do you oppose Christ?

He says unless you do that, you have no life

You falsify his words and say you must have life so you can eat his flesh and drink his blood

Instead of rambling on

why don't you just deal with and believe the words of Christ
Regeneration imparts life

Kermos
Regeneration means "born of God", so all people are dead (Ephesians 2:1-4) except for persons whom God births anew; therefore, a dead person cannot free-will choose to eat Christ's blessed Body nor drink the precious Blood of Christ, after all, the Christ says "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3), so only we Christians who are born of God have Life and eat Christ's blessed Body nor drink the precious Blood of Christ.
You beg the question and ignore the definition of spiritual death as separation from God

See Eph 2:11, 12 and the parable of the prodigal son posted previously

And you deny scriprture

John 6:53 (KJV 1900) — 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

which clearly shows you must eat his flesh and drink his blood before you have life

it cannot therefore precede eating his flesh and drinking his blood
Kermos
You preach "'born of God' cannot therefore precede eating his flesh and drinking his blood".
As does the scripture

Kermos
Therefore, your heart falsifies "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (John 6:53) into your abominable "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you first eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (TomL 6:53).

What we have here is a very basic reading comprehension failure

Jesus says unless you eat his flesh and drink his blood you have no life

Kermos says unless you have life you cannot eat his flesh and drink his blood

clearly contradicting Christ

What is it about Calvinism that causes men to deny obvious truth
 
@TomL and @Rockson

No matter how much you oppose Apostolic testimony outlined below, your testimony fails while Apostolic testimony succeeds!

Repentance Defined​


THESE THREE QUESTIONS GET ANSWERED​


  • What is repentance?
  • Who controls repentance?
  • How does a person repent?

LINGUISTIC DEFiNITION​


Let us dig into the word "repent" which means "think differently afterwards". After we believers are born from above by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3), and in like manner given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Greek word metanoeó is the English word "repent" in Matthew 4:17. Let us obtain the definition of "repent".

Repent: think differently afterwards

metanoéō (from 3326 /metá, "changed after being with" and 3539 /noiéō, "think") – properly, "think differently after," "after a change of mind"; to repent (literally, "think differently afterwards") (def from 3340. metanoeó HELPS Word-studies section).

The word "repent" does not mean "I change my mind" as asserted by too many people. Try reciting the words of Jesus, where He is commanding the people in Matthew 4:17, except, first, replace the word "repent" with "I change my mind", then, second, replace the word "repent" with "think differently afterwards". God does not change (Malachi 3:6), so this One True God Jesus commands repent.

Godly sorrow brings "thinking differently afterward" leading to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10, so God's power generates this sorrow within the believers hence God calls it "Godly sorrow" thus illuminating and magnifying sin (Romans 5:20).

FIRST BIBLICAL CiTATION FOR REPENTANCE - A DEEP EXAMINATION​


Here is the Christian teaching of 2 Corinthians 7:8-10. The passage (from the NASB which explicitly states that the NASB translators add bracketed words for clarity - so I have no problem removing the bracketed words from the NASB - but this is verbatim from the NASB):
  1. For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it - [for] I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while -
  2. I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to [the point of] repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to [the will of] God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
  3. For the sorrow that is according to [the will] [of] God produces a repentance without regret, [leading] to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Paul wrote a letter that exposed the Corinthian problem, see "I caused you sorrow by my letter" in verse 8.

As Paul writes further (in verse 9), the Apostle narrows the focus with "for you were made sorrowful according to God"; moreover, the Greek of ἐλυπήθητε γὰρ κατὰ Θεόν agrees with "for you were made sorrowful according to God". "ἐλυπήθητε" means "you grieved"/"you were made sorrowful", and "γὰρ" means "for", and "κατὰ" means "down"/"against"/"according to", and "Θεόν" means "God".

Paul does not leave it there, NO, rather Paul repeats himself in verse 10 to make it clear - in Jewish fashion of repeating a point for emphasis - Paul makes it clear in no uncertain terms "the sorrow that is according to God produces a repentance without regret, to salvation". That is Paul driving the Power of God exclusive role in man's salvation point home!

NOTICE THE KEYWORDS OF "ACCORDING TO GOD".

That sorrow, that repentance, is not of man's conjuring. See the keywords and absolute concept of "according to God"!

The scripture is devoid of "sorrow that is according to your free will" or "your free will to repent" or any indication about such a notion as man's free-will choice toward God.

The Apostle wrote "the sorrow that is according to God produces thinking differently afterward without regret" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

SCRIPTURAL CITATIONS ABOUT THE SOURCE OF REPENTANCE​


BIBLE CITATION: Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4).

Notice that rebuke of people that despise repentance being from God!

BIBLE CITATION: When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." (Acts 11:18)

See that God grants repentance as testified by the disciples in Acts 11:18.

BIBLE CITATION: with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, (2 Timothy 2:25)

Paul testifies that God grants "thinking different afterwards" in 2 Timothy 2:25.

THE THREE QUESTIONS ANSWERED​


God grants repentance into people, as it is written; on the other hand, there is complete absence and silence in scripture for repentance as a work conjured up by man nor by man's "free will" nor "choice" nor "ability".

God grants repentance, and God acts for God's glory! Praise be to the Living God!

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!!!
 
@TomL and @Rockson

No matter how much you oppose Apostolic testimony outlined below, your testimony fails while Apostolic testimony succeeds!


Why did you ignore these


Repentance Defined​


THESE THREE QUESTIONS GET ANSWERED​


  • What is repentance?
  • Who controls repentance?
  • How does a person repent?

LINGUISTIC DEFiNITION​


Let us dig into the word "repent" which means "think differently afterwards". After we believers are born from above by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3), and in like manner given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Greek word metanoeó is the English word "repent" in Matthew 4:17. Let us obtain the definition of "repent".
So according to you unrepentant men are born again

Do you have a verse which actually affirms that

The Bible puts the gift of the Holy Spirit - The spirit himself after repentance

Acts 2:38 (KJV 1900) — 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.









Repent: think differently afterwards
metanoéō (from 3326 /metá, "changed after being with" and 3539 /noiéō, "think") – properly, "think differently after," "after a change of mind"; to repent (literally, "think differently afterwards") (def from 3340. metanoeó HELPS Word-studies section).​
You are repeating yourself

regeneration imparts life

repentance precedes that

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.





Godly sorrow brings "thinking differently afterward" leading to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10, so God's power generates this sorrow within the believers hence God calls it "Godly sorrow" thus illuminating and magnifying sin (Romans 5:20).

FIRST BIBLICAL CiTATION FOR REPENTANCE - A DEEP EXAMINATION​


Here is the Christian teaching of 2 Corinthians 7:8-10. The passage (from the NASB which explicitly states that the NASB translators add bracketed words for clarity - so I have no problem removing the bracketed words from the NASB - but this is verbatim from the NASB):
  1. For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it - [for] I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while -
  2. I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to [the point of] repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to [the will of] God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
  3. For the sorrow that is according to [the will] [of] God produces a repentance without regret, [leading] to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Here we see your first problem

Repentance precedes salvation

Regeneration effects salvation

Titus 3:5 (KJV 1900) — 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Ephesians 2:5 (KJV 1900) — 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

thus repentance precedes regeneration






Paul wrote a letter that exposed the Corinthian problem, see "I caused you sorrow by my letter" in verse 8.

As Paul writes further (in verse 9), the Apostle narrows the focus with "for you were made sorrowful according to God"; moreover, the Greek of ἐλυπήθητε γὰρ κατὰ Θεόν agrees with "for you were made sorrowful according to God". "ἐλυπήθητε" means "you grieved"/"you were made sorrowful", and "γὰρ" means "for", and "κατὰ" means "down"/"against"/"according to", and "Θεόν" means "God".

And?

Thus Paul “rejoices now,” that is, in contrast with his sense of “regret” experienced during the period between sending the letter and hearing the Corinthians’ positive response to it. But in keeping with the delicate nature of their past relationships, he quickly qualifies that rejoicing. It was not because the Corinthians were “grieved” by his letter, but because their “grief” issued in “repentance.” Thus theirs was “grief” as “God intended,” or “a godlike grief,” in contrast with another form of “grief,” worldly grief, which he will mention in the next verse. Although they had been “grieved” by his pastoral discipline, they were not “harmed in any way”13 by Paul. On the contrary, as he will explain, the “repentance” arising out of their “grief” is the kind that leads to “salvation.”

Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians (The New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 374–375.



Paul does not leave it there, NO, rather Paul repeats himself in verse 10 to make it clear - in Jewish fashion of repeating a point for emphasis - Paul makes it clear in no uncertain terms "the sorrow that is according to God produces a repentance without regret, to salvation". That is Paul driving the Power of God exclusive role in man's salvation point home!

NOTICE THE KEYWORDS OF "ACCORDING TO GOD".
Again and?

Accordingly, the sorrow of the world is, when men despond in consequence of earthly afflictions, and are overwhelmed with grief; while sorrow according to God is that which has an eye to God, while they reckon it the one misery—to have lost the favour of God; when, impressed with fear of His judgment, they mourn over their sins

John Calvin and John Pringle, Commentaries on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (vol. 2; Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 274.


That sorrow, that repentance, is not of man's conjuring. See the keywords and absolute concept of "according to God"!
Um that verse is not speaking of the source of repentance

Rather as to what it is in relation to

Sorrow because of interrupted fellowship with God or because of worldly inconveniences


The scripture is devoid of "sorrow that is according to your free will" or "your free will to repent" or any indication about such a notion as man's free-will choice toward God.
Again you misinterpret the verse

It speaks of the direction our sorrow is focused






The Apostle wrote "the sorrow that is according to God produces thinking differently afterward without regret" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

SCRIPTURAL CITATIONS ABOUT THE SOURCE OF REPENTANCE​


BIBLE CITATION: Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4).
leads yes

Irresistibly causes - no

Revelation 2:20–21 (KJV 1900) — 20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.



Notice that rebuke of people that despise repentance being from God!

BIBLE CITATION: When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." (Acts 11:18)

In context it speaks of god giving to the gentiles the same opportunity to repent as the Jews

Obviously all gentiles did not repent here
See that God grants repentance as testified by the disciples in Acts 11:18.

See that repentance precedes life - i.e. regeneration

You diverted from that topic
 
@TomL

In this thread, you repeatedly demonstrated your inability to understand the meaning of the word "receive" in Truth (John 14:6).

"RECEIVE" DEFINITION BY EXAMPLE:

The man received a punch to his face dislocating his septum - not by choice - but in the fury of his assailant's surprise attack.

The pedestrian received a series of traumatic injuries - not by choice - but as a result of the car jumping the curb.

A lover receives a love letter - not by choice - but in gladness.

Receive means a thing that unavoidably came in from a source to a recipient - receive is not a choice like accept - receive just happens.

"RECEIVE" DEFINITION BY DICTIONARY:

1. TRANSITIVE VERB When you receive something, you get it after someone gives it to you or sends it to you. (Collins COBUILD English Usage (c) HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012)

There is a keyword in the definition, which is "after".

The Greek word ἔλαβον (Strong's 2983 - lambano/elabon - to take, receive) lexicon definition is "receive", and the specific instance of ἔλαβον used by the Apostle John in John 1:12 is an active indicative aorist verb in the third person; therefore, the word ἔλαβον conveys the active concept of "joyfully" by the recipient of "receive" with the "receive" being initiated and caused by the the source, not the recipient, but truly God is the cause (John 1:12-13), so John conveys "joyfully receive" is the active meaning for ἔλαβον.

In the Greek lexicon etymology, "to be seized by" is found for ἔλαβον (Strong's 2983 - lambano/elabon - to take, receive).

"RECEIVE" USAGE IN SCRIPTURE:

The Apostle John wrote "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, 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" (John 1:12-13).

The Apostle John wrote receiving Christ is a result of being born of God in John 1:12-13.

The Apostle John wrote receiving Christ is not an act of the will of man in John 1:12-13.

The ones who received Christ are the ones "who were born" "of God".

Let's follow John's blessed chain linking these people:
  • John starts with the full population of the planet "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him" (John 1:10) as he builds toward the source of holiness which is "born of God" (John 1:13).
  • John narrows the population to Israel only "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11).
  • John further narrows the focus to a sub-population of Israel "but as many as received Him" (John 1:12)
  • John equates the population of "but as many as received Him" (John 1:12) with the population of "children of God" (John 1:12) as he builds toward the source of holiness, that is, "born of God" (John 1:13).
  • John further equates the population of "children of God" (John 1:12) with the population of "believe in His name" increasing tempo about the source of holiness being"born of God" (John 1:13).
  • John arrives at the source of holiness for every single one of us saints (holy ones) which is being "born of God" (John 1:13).

John's Good Message narrows the focus then he further narrows the focus then he further narrows the focus then further narrowing onward, so we can expand the focus starting with John's primary foundational point moving toward the secondary larger point and then the tertiary broader point and so on.

John's primary foundational point is "born of God" (John 1:13, John 3:3-8) which results in John's secondary point of "believe in His name" (John 1:12, John 6:29) and "children of God" (John 1:12, John 3:3-8) and "many as received Him" (John 1:12, John 9) which has implications for John's tertiary point "His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11) which arrives at John's opening, broadest point which is the fact that "born of God" (John 1:13, John 3:3-8) does not include everybody in "the world" (John 1:10).

John has the "born of God" as the first and primary position.

Each of these are exactly the same people:
  • "many as received Him"
  • "children of God"
  • "believe in His name"
  • "born of God"
See that John explicitly excludes "the will of man" as the cause for all of these.

John 1:12-13 shows that you cannot cause yourself to receive Jesus.

John 1:12-13 shows that God causes people to receive Jesus.

John 1:12-13 shows that you cannot cause yourself to believe in Jesus.

John 1:12-13 shows that God causes people to believe in Jesus.

Again, here is the passage:

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, 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" (John 1:12-13).

"Peter [said] to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.'" (Acts 2:38-39, this was Peter's response after the people who were pierced to the heart by Peter's proclamation of the Word of God inquired "Brethren, what shall we do" in Acts 2:14-37)

Peter issued the command "think differently from now on" (repent) and the command "be immersed in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" and here is where "receive" comes in, "you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" which is an act of God.

The word "receive" means "unavoidably enters"; on the other hand, the word "accept" means "allowed to enter".

The work of "accept" is specifically disallowed in the passage with "nor of the will of man" because man causes not man to be "born of God" nor man causes to "believe in His name", whom are the "children of God", nor man causes to be the "many as received Him" (John 1:12-13).

The grammatical sense of the word "receive" indicates Christ "unavoidably enters" a joyfully receptive person according to the Power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24) because the Apostle indicates the "born of God" are the ones that God causes to "believe in His name", whom are the "children of God", whom are the ones that God causes to be the "many as received Him" (John 1:12-13).

About "receiving":

Man is not the cause of man receiving Christ (Luke 12:57).

God is the cause of man receiving Christ (John 1:12-13).

We Christians actively in thankfulness receive Christ!

About "believing":

Man is not the cause of man believing in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-10).

God is the cause of man believing in Christ (John 6:29).

We Christians joyfully believe in Christ!

All glory to King Jesus reigning on His Throne in the eternal Kingdom of God for His Salvation of man!!! Amen!!!

We Christians receive saving belief/faith from God our Savior (John 1:12-13, John 6:29, Ephesians 2:8-10)!

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!!!
 
Let’s look at the uses of the term “DEAD” in the scripture for you to decide:

1) Jesus referred to the church in Sardis as “DEAD” and called them to “wake up” (Rev 3). Given Christ’s use of the idiomatic term “DEAD” in reference to this church, should we presume that his hearers cannot respond positively to Christ’s appeal in this passage as well?

2) The Prodigal was “DEAD/lost” then “alive/found” demonstrating that the term “DEAD” is idiomatic for “separated by rebellion” not “innate moral inability” (Luke 15:24).

3) “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”‭‭ – James‬ ‭1:13-15‬ ‭

Are we born “DEAD” according to James? Or is DEATH birthed in those who sin after its “full grown?”

4) “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.”‭‭ – Romans‬ ‭7:7-11‬ ‭

Are we born “DEAD” according to Paul? Or was it through the commandment, after “sin sprang to life” that DEATH came?

5) “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath…And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” -‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:1-3, 6‬

This passage says nothing about how or when they died, nor does it relate their condition to any type of innate moral inability.

It does say God raised them up with Christ. Is this meant to represent the special inner work of regeneration which effectually causes them to believe after they are raised up? Let’s observe what else Paul says about being raised up in Christ.

“In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which *you were also raised up with Him through faith* in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions” (Col. 2:11-13).

They were raised up THROUGH FAITH, not unto faith according to Paul.

Calvinists have the burden to produce just one clear biblical example of the term “DEAD” meaning “the moral incapacity to respond willingly to God from birth.”soteriology101

hope this helps !!!
 
@TomL

In this thread, you repeatedly demonstrated your inability to understand the meaning of the word "receive" in Truth (John 14:6).

"RECEIVE" DEFINITION BY EXAMPLE:

The man received a punch to his face dislocating his septum - not by choice - but in the fury of his assailant's surprise attack.

The pedestrian received a series of traumatic injuries - not by choice - but as a result of the car jumping the curb.

A lover receives a love letter - not by choice - but in gladness.

Receive means a thing that unavoidably came in from a source to a recipient - receive is not a choice like accept - receive just happens.

"RECEIVE" DEFINITION BY DICTIONARY:

1. TRANSITIVE VERB When you receive something, you get it after someone gives it to you or sends it to you. (Collins COBUILD English Usage (c) HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012)
Same old stuff you have presented before and been refuted on

Your first mistake is to ignore the context of the verse the word appears in

John 1:12 (KJV 1900) — 12 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:

For the verse defines what it means in its context

John 1:12–13 (ESV) — 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

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

Your second problem is an appeal to non parallel texts at the expense of parallel text

John 5:43 (KJV 1900) — 43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

your third problem you ignore the active voice in John 1:12 and appeal to passive voice examples

Your fourth problem is you ignore the lexical data

e. take up, receive—α. τινὰ someone εἰς into (Wsd 8:18) lit. εἰς τὸ πλοῖον take someone (up) into the boat J 6:21. εἰς οἰκίαν receive someone into one’s house 2J 10. εἰς τὰ ἴδια into his own home J 19:27. Receive someone in the sense of recognizing his authority J 1:12; 5:43a, b; 13:20a, b, c, d





There is a keyword in the definition, which is "after".

The Greek word ἔλαβον (Strong's 2983 - lambano/elabon - to take, receive) lexicon definition is "receive", and the specific instance of ἔλαβον used by the Apostle John in John 1:12 is an active indicative aorist verb in the third person; therefore, the word ἔλαβον conveys the active concept of "joyfully" by the recipient of "receive" with the "receive" being initiated and caused by the the source, not the recipient, but truly God is the cause (John 1:12-13), so John conveys "joyfully receive" is the active meaning for ἔλαβον.
There you go again ignoring the active voice

Go to Parallel Greek
Strong'sGreekEnglishMorphology
3745 [e]ὅσοι
hosoi
As many asRelPro-NMP
1161 [e]δὲ
de
howeverConj
2983 [e]ἔλαβον
elabon
receivedV-AIA-3P

The parsing data is V-AIA-3P

indicating it is a verb aorist indicative active in the 3rd person

The key piece of data here is the active voice


Active vs. passive voice​

In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs the action. In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

The subject performs the action

The subject here is the relative pronoun the many

ὅσοι (Root: οσος, LN: 59.7; pronoun, correlative, nominative, plural, masculine)
as many as
Contained in: Casus Pendens Clause
Syntactic Force: Correlative pronoun functioning as Subject of the dependent clause.



Albert L. Lukaszewski and Mark Dubis, The Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament: Expansions and Annotations (Logos Bible Software, 2009), Jn 1:12.

so the many active voice receive Christ

Calvinist commentary as well

But to as many as received him. That none may be retarded by this stumbling-block, that the Jews despised and rejected Christ, the Evangelist exalts above heaven the godly who believe in him; for he says that by faith they obtain this glory of being reckoned the sons of God.

John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentary on the Gospel according to John (vol. 1; Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 40.


You have ignored context, ignored parallel texts, ignored lexical data, ignored grammar,
and simply persist in posting error.

Which not even Calvinist commentators can support
 
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Same old stuff you have presented before and been refuted on

Your first mistake is to ignore the context of the verse the word appears in

John 1:12 (KJV 1900) — 12 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:

For the verse defines what it means in its context

John 1:12–13 (ESV) — 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

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

Your second problem is an appeal to non parallel texts at the expense of parallel text

John 5:43 (KJV 1900) — 43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

your third problem you ignore the active voice in John 1:12 and appeal to passive voice examples

Your fourth problem is you ignore the lexical data

e. take up, receive—α. τινὰ someone εἰς into (Wsd 8:18) lit. εἰς τὸ πλοῖον take someone (up) into the boat J 6:21. εἰς οἰκίαν receive someone into one’s house 2J 10. εἰς τὰ ἴδια into his own home J 19:27. Receive someone in the sense of recognizing his authority J 1:12; 5:43a, b; 13:20a, b, c, d






There you go again ignoring the active voice

Go to Parallel Greek
Strong'sGreekEnglishMorphology
3745 [e]ὅσοι
hosoi
As many asRelPro-NMP
1161 [e]δὲ
de
howeverConj
2983 [e]ἔλαβον
elabon
receivedV-AIA-3P

The parsing data is V-AIA-3P

indicating it is a verb aorist indicative active in the 3rd person

The key piece of data here is the active voice


Active vs. passive voice​

In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs the action. In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

The subject performs the action

The subject here is the relative pronoun the many

ὅσοι (Root: οσος, LN: 59.7; pronoun, correlative, nominative, plural, masculine)
as many as
Contained in: Casus Pendens Clause
Syntactic Force: Correlative pronoun functioning as Subject of the dependent clause.



Albert L. Lukaszewski and Mark Dubis, The Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament: Expansions and Annotations (Logos Bible Software, 2009), Jn 1:12.

so the many active voice receive Christ

Calvinist commentary as well

But to as many as received him. That none may be retarded by this stumbling-block, that the Jews despised and rejected Christ, the Evangelist exalts above heaven the godly who believe in him; for he says that by faith they obtain this glory of being reckoned the sons of God.

John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentary on the Gospel according to John (vol. 1; Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 40.


You have ignored context, ignored parallel texts, ignored lexical data, ignored grammar,
and simply persist in posting error.

Which not even Calvinist commentators can support
Stuck on repeat
 
@TomL

Your unscriptural preaching that belief in Christ is a work of man has been repeatedly proven false by the Word of God in this thread.

Every Christian Believing In The Son Whom The Father Has Sent Is The Work Of God​


Lord Jesus Christ says in clear, precise, and pure language: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29).

A voice from Heaven was heard, saying "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him" (Matthew 17:5), and we Christians hear Christ.

Let's examine the context of the people's word, and, more importantly, the Word of God speaks the Truth (John 14:6) without human interpretation.

Let’s review the exchange:

they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.
(John 6:28-33)

The people asked about their own work respecting salvation when they inquired “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God” (John 6:28), yet Christ rightly removed man’s work from anyplace respecting salvation when He responded “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29).

The people failed to understand, just like free-willian philosophers, that Lord Jesus removed the work of man from saving belief/faith with the Lord’s marvelous sayings of “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29). Do not be deceived, "Listen to Him" (Matthew 17:5).

The people followed up by asking/injecting the work of man, again, with “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness” (John 6:31) in a manner that free-willian philosophers listen to the people instead of "Listen to Him" (Matthew 17:5).

The Lord shifts the focus from man’s purported control to God’s Sovereign control, this second time in the same exchange, with “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.
(John 6:32-33). "Listen to Him" (Matthew 17:5).

Behold, the Word of God establishes that faith/belief is given by God without any contribution by man (John 6:29) and, in like manner, life is given by the bread of God without any contribution by man (John 6:32-33).

PRAISE JESUS FOR HIS LOVINGKINDNESS!!!

In Truth (John 14:6), the Christ of us Christians intensifies that God works man regarding saving faith/belief, not man working, but truly the Bread of Life (John 6:35) as exclusive Savior!

Free-willian Philosophers convey things like “They obviously understood jesus to be saying what God requires of you is that you believe” (the word of TomL, see post #1,818) about the people recorded in John 6:28-33 in order for the free-willian heart’s treasure (Matthew 15:16-19) to justify adulterating the Word of God resulting in “This is NOT the work of God BUT THIS IS THE WORK OF MAN, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (the traditions of man, see Matthew 15:9).

The Lord uses the continuing exchange to illumine the people's, and free-willian, ignorance. The Word of God is precise and pure “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29) - "Listen to Him" (Matthew 17:5).

This examination needs to expand to the larger passage of "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal" (John 6:27), but this would be incomplete without the intervening passage culminating with "Then they said to Him, 'Lord, always give us this bread.' Jesus said to them, 'I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst'" (John 6:34-35).

Do not be confused about the "who comes to Me" in John 6:35 because the Lord says "he who practices the Truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God" (John 3:21), so we Christians work for God because God wrings our work/deeds out of us!

In John 6:27 and John 6:34-35, Jesus says He is our Christian's food (John 6:27), our Christian Bread of Life (John 6:35). "Listen to Him" (Matthew 17:5).

The Christ of us Christians says "I am the Living Bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh" (John 6:51).

We Christians work (John 6:27) for the Bread of Life (John 6:35) according to the Power of God (John 3:21), so we proclaim the glorious King of the Kingdom of God in the Power of God to the world; therefore, this "proclaiming" is working for the food enduring to eternal life (John 6:27). Christ gives Himself, the Bread of Life, to us Christians for we Christians partake in the food of the Body and Blood of Christ, so our wonderful Leader sustains and strengthens us for the works prepared for us beforehand by God to the Glory of God! God has set His seal on us Christians, that is, our seal is our very believing in the Son whom the Father has sent by the Grace of God for the Glory of God!

Praise the Lord for He explains our Christian work (John 6:27) is to eat the Bread of Life (John 6:35, John 6:51). Christ says "work" "for the food" (John 6:27) which means "work for Christ" as in fruit of the Spirit of the Living God (see bearing fruit in John 3:21 and John 15:5 and John 15:16 and Galatians 5:22-23), so Christ says not that believing in Christ is the work of man, so this means free-willian philosopher's "He told them there was a certain type of work they were to do and it was the work of faith so stop trying to twist the passage and say it wasn't so" (the word of Rockson regarding John 6:27, see post #1,847) is false according to the Word of God!

Free-willian Philosophers are under the delusion that "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal" (tthe Word of God, John 6:27) in their hearts translates to "Do not work for the food which perishes, but YOU HAVE THE ABILITY IN YOUR OWN INITIATIVE TO WORK for the food which endures to eternal life, SO YOU MUST CHOOSE WHETHER TO ACCEPT THE FOOD THAT the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal" (the word of free-willians) in spite of the Word of God sayings “And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right” (Luke 12:57) and
you did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16) and “I chose you out of the world” (John 15:19).

Free-willian's hearts even subtract "which the Son of Man will give to you" (John 6:27) about the food for which Jesus says "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life" (John 6:27). Jesus clearly states the righteous work of man is Fruit of the Spirit because the food is given by God to man which is another declaration about the exclusive power of God in the salvation of man. A crucial concept established by Jesus in John 6:27 is that the only people to receive Jesus' food are the people to whom Jesus gives the food, but free-willian philosophy ends up with people in hell who are failures of "the food which endures to eternal life" (John 6:27). This paragraph's explanation is all in the recorded Word of God in John 6:27 without stepping to another verse. "Listen to Him" (Matthew 17:5).

The Word in John 6:27 refers to the man's work which is truly the act of God in man; on the other hand, the Word in John 6:29 refers to man's belief which is truly the act of God in man.

In the first moment (John 6:27), Lord Jesus explains the outward evidence of us Christians controlled by our loving Father in Heaven, and in the second moment (John 6:29), Jesus explains the inward event of us Christians controlled by our loving Father in Heaven, and this Father declares "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him" (Matthew 17:5).

Your heart makes false statements about God and man. 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 AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF THE ONE FAITH!!!
 
@TomL

Your unscriptural preaching that belief in Christ is a work of man has been repeatedly proven false by the Word of God in this thread.
Sorry you never came close

Acts 16:30–32 (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. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

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.

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 nothing but it is believe, repent

Every Christian Believing In The Son Whom The Father Has Sent Is The Work Of God​


Lord Jesus Christ says in clear, precise, and pure language: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29).
You were refuted here as well

John 6:27 (NASB 2020) — 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

Calvinists tend toward isolating verses from their context do they can read their theology into the text

The phrase work of God has been defined for us by verse 28

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?”

In context its meaning is that which God requires of man

Repeating the same failed claims changes nothing

John 6:27 (NASB 2020) — 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

Jesus tells them there is something they must do to obtain the food which last for eternal life

in context it is to believe on him

John 6:35–36 (NASB 2020) — 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty. 36 But I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe.

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?”

Again this establishes the meaning of the phrase the work of God as that which is required by God

John 6:29 (NASB 2020) — 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

Jesus tells them they must believe

John 6:30 (NASB 2020) — 30 So they said to Him, “What then are You doing as a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work are You performing?

The jews understand him to be telling them they must believe.

An understanding confirmed by Christ as per verse 35 above

They must believe

An understanding confirmed by scripture

Acts 16:30–31 (NASB 2020) — 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

even Calvinist commentators agree with this obvious reading


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)



This is the work of God. This is the thing that will be acceptable to God, or which you are to do in order to be saved. Jesus did not tell them they had nothing to do, or that they were to sit down and wait, but that there was a work to perform, and that was a duty that was imperative. It was to believe on the Messiah. This is the work which sinners are to do; and doing this they will be saved, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth, Ro. 10:4.11 Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Luke & John (ed. Robert Frew; London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 244.

Even the notes to the Geneva bible refute you
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.


as do other sources

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.

What precisely is it that God waits for us to do, and will be satisfied with our doing? To which Jesus, always ready to meet the sincere inquirer, gives the explicit answer (ver. 29) τοῦτό ἐστι … ἐκεῖνος. If God has sent a messenger it is because there is need of such interposition, and the first duty must be to listen believingly to this messenger.

Marcus Dods, The Gospel of St. John (New York: George H. Doran Company, n.d.), 752.

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.


Mindlessly repeating your view does not negate what the scripture clearly shows
 
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