@Joe
Prior to regeneration one is dead in sin and to God.
Why does it say we are quickened Eph 2:1,5
And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)
The word quickened συζωοποιέω means:
- to make one alive together
- of Christians, with Christ
Only that which was dead needs to be made alive. Now we know Paul isnt talking about being dead physically here, so what does that leave us ? Spiritually dead in sin.
So there is no spiritual activity prior to spiritual life
Now can you explain a dead person performing all these spiritual activities such as repenting, believing, obeying etc, that's a neat trick
You still have a dilemma and the conundrum.
The Calvinism conundrum first.
In your explanations man is still the one who repents, believes, and calls out to the Lord. And even though you try to exempt man's participation in his salvation by claiming it is after he is saved, you still have a man doing something that must be done to be saved. Your man is just as much saved by his goodness as the biblical examples that man first responds positively to God and then he is saved. There can be no exemption from the claim of man's goodness if man in both instances must do something to be saved...God is not doing it, man is.
Your dilemma is regeneration prior to faith does not match the biblical examples of salvation. The passages from John concisely set the order of regeneration. John gives us how one "becomes" a child of God; this after receiving and believing in His name.
"He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. But
as many as received him,
to them he gave the right to become God’s children, 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." (Joh 1:11-13, NKJV)
The word "become" in Greek in this instance is, "As implying a change of state, condition, or the passing from one state to another, to become i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, to enter upon any state, condition. (A) Spoken of persons or things which receive any new character or form. (1) Where the predicate is a noun"
John states it is after one receives and believes in His name that the Lord gives that person the right to "become" - to come into existence, begin to be a child of God; who is not born of natural means but by God.
Your quotes of Eph 2 go hand in hand with John 1:11-13. John declares how one becomes - comes into existence, begins to be a child of God. In Ephesians 2, Paul breaks down the state of ourselves prior to salvation 1-3, and then why God saved us 4-5, and then about the wonderous glory of our salvation 6-7, and in verses 8-9 we read how God saves us - by His grace through faith; this salvation being a gift of God, not by works of righteousness that anyone can boast.
To anwser your snippy request: "Now can you explain a dead person performing all these spiritual activities such as repenting, believing, obeying etc, that's a neat trick"
I answered your "neat trick" request in my former response twice. I stated, "The cause is not the dispute because God is the cause for any person to repent, believe, and call out." and "And to be clear, God is the cause for any person to repent, believe, and call out."
It takes two things for a person to be saved: Hearing God's Word, and man's response to it.
God will save anyone who believes His Word in their heart and confesses with their mouth.
(Rom 10:8-10) But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
How can one believe if they never heard the God's message of His Son.
(Rom 10:14-15) How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ. (Rom 10:17)
And now you know the biblical response to your request for how one dead in sin responds positively in faith to God. They hear God's message, and from hearing it they believe in their heart and confess with their mouth and are saved.
Now, about the Calvinism conundrum. Do you now perceive the hyprocrisy of claiming your salvational belief is not according to man's goodness but all others are? In your belief man must do the same thing as mine. Its that in your unbiblical belief of regeneration prior to faith, you mysteriously exempt your man's postive response to God while condemning mine. And yet in both cases it is man doing the responding, that without doing so, he is not saved. God is the cause in both cases. And as proved above, my position in this matter is biblically sound.
God Bless
