John for JESUS wrote:
At the end of His ministry, Jesus stopped speaking in parables and spoke plainly. Speaking in parables was only for a moment in time. Some of the ones who didn't believe in Jesus, did end up believing later. Such as some of the Pharisees, James the brother of Jesus, and Saul. Jesus was not sent to minister to the Gentiles or those Jews who were not true believers. He came for His sheep, those of His fold only. Those who had rejected God before Jesus came were blinded so that they could not believe when He was here. The same kind of thing happens here:
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (II Thessalonians 2:9-12 NKJV)

John for JESUS wrote:
Yes that is correct. You can read it for yourself.
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ (Matthew 13:10-15 NKJV)
...to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that seeing they may see and not perceive..(Mark 4:11-12 NKJV)

John Beechy wrote:
John Yurich, show me where in the scriptures it states that salvation is by justification by faith in Jesus alone, and where in the scriptures it states that trusting in Jesus alone means the same thing as salvation is by justification by faith in Jesus alone, and show me in the scriptures where Christ created a Lutheran church. And show me in the scriptures where Jesus is God.
If the so-called Baptist and Evangelical Protestant churches teach and believe truth, then there would be no need for a Baptist or an Evangelical Protestant description of the church, for they would simply be churches as Christ has created, because Christ did not create a Baptist church or an Evangelical Protestant church, and therefore Baptist and Evangelical churches are not real churches because the ones who have created them are not Christ and are obviously teaching something in addition to the teachings of Christ for that is why they have the Baptist and Evangelical Protestant description to describe their extra biblical teaching that they have conjured up in their depraved minds.

John for JESUS wrote:
1) Yes it is figurative. The Bible teaches that Jesus spoke in parables and His disciples understood He spoke that way. He did that so in hearing, unbelievers wouldn't understand and be saved.

DJC49 - excellent pick up!

John for JESUS wrote:
2) We are born with a physical and spiritual body. That spiritual body is not dead and then reborn. The figurative language is speaking to the fact that in Christ believers are made alive. They receive eternal life.

John for JESUS wrote:
3) By faith are they saved.

John for JESUS wrote:
4) No, I haven't changed my tune. I will try to address the subject more clearly in another post. Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, so in Christ we are saved. Christ performed the work of salvation, we receive it. His work cannot be added to. Therefore, God does not add faith, justification, and sanctification to Christ work in order to finish it and make it complete. "It is finished!"

John for JESUS wrote:
1) The term is figurative language which describes the event of God giving us eternal life in Christ. All die in Adam, all are born again in Christ.

Tell me how do dead people, people cut off from God, who have no spiritual life in them, people who are slaves to sin and the devil, get the desire to break free?

John for JESUS wrote:
Believers are saved through the Holy Spirit, but the salvation is by Christ.

Mike wrote:
The usual overcomplication of what is simple to accomodate the theology of preference. You prefer what you think Calvin meant over what he said. I get it.
PS Salvation is the gift. Grace is the source. Faith is the means. Still. Eph 2:8

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God

J4, what does "being born again" mean? And is that any part of a person's salvation? If so, then what happens with your thesis that God is now just looking on and not involved in saving individuals, because the text specifically says that they are born of God?

John 3
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.....7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

See the Spirit of God brings about the new birth. BUT you say this doesn't happen.

Do you know anything about the New Birth? Have you experienced it?

Titus 3.5
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

"I should like to know how the wicked can eat the flesh of Christ which was not crucified for them, and how they can drink the blood which was not shed to expiate their sins"

Unprofitable Servant wrote:
ok, here is food for thought that more or less is part of this discussion. We believe that God inhabits eternity. That would be eternity past, present, and future as time is not a factor to Him.
Can we then say, that in answer to importunate prayer of a saint today, which He says He hears and answers, decree before the foundation of the world (remember He is not limited by time)another soul to His chosen race?

It does not solve the issue for free willers because God is impotent in the face of Man's free will. He dare not do anything to violate this.

Hope wrote:
Then quit acting like you praise and worship John Calvin my friend.

Hope wrote:
Do you praise and worship The Lord duh?

I sure do because the Lord worked in my life, brought me to conviction and repentance, converted my soul and showed me love like I never knew. He opened my heart and my eyes, because I was a slave to sin and my mind was darkened. I know that without his work within me, I would never have come.

What about you 'Hope'?

Hope wrote:
it's all about JESUS and what he's done.

Did he secure the salvation of a definite number to whom the work of the Spirit is vouchsafed and who will therefore definitely come to believe

OR

Did he secure the salvation of none and must now wait to see how many will allow him to be their savior?

Mike wrote:
Wouldn't it would be better if those claiming the name of Calvin read him rather than what others say is misinterpreted? Calvin said Christ died for the faithless and unthankful, therefore Limited Atonement for the few cannot be called Calvinist. Hold to LA if you want, just don't say Calvin did.

Was he saying any more than:-

Romans 5:8
... while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us?

But now that the son has been and done what he needed to do, God does nothing but wait in heaven, anxiously watching to see if anyone is in their right mind to choose this salvation. Imagine his surprise and annoyance if the poison of sin had so deranged their minds that none accepted this offer?! Sure he would have the pleasure of throwing them all into hell, but he's left wondering what was it all for. But thank God our condition is not so bad and the clever ones will choose God and the dumb will perish!

Christopher000 wrote:
Anyone who truly believes that the immeasurable complexity of life came about by some random accident, not to mention the finely tuned universe that has been tweaked to support that life, well, I just don't believe it's even possible. Whether one believes in God, panspermia, or whatever, an intelligence just has to be in the cards for any rational thinking person, whether they don't want to submit to a god or not.
Irreducible complexity, among others, is one of my favorites because there are not enough seconds in the evolutionary calendar for all the trial and error.

John for JESUS wrote:
The work of salvation was finished at the cross. So what God now does is put people in a time and place so that they might believe and He sends forth the preaching of His Word to convict sinners and show them what they must do to receive the gift of God, eternal life. He does that out of love for them. Do you think we are commanded to love our neighbor and yet God somehow doesn't?

Sure the atonement was made at Calvary, but in Salvation God is determined to save a people to himself. He does the saving and converting.

Jim Lincoln wrote:
Dah, except on rare occasions -- it's all the time.
[URL=http://thehill.com/homenews/house/197023-house-republican-leaders-back-legal-status-for-illegal-immigrants]]]House Republican Leaders Back Legal Status for Illegal Immigrants[/URL]

John for JESUS wrote:
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:8, 11 NKJV)

Pastor Mike wrote:
6. The priest raped my son