"Ezekiel 37:1-6
Can men dead in trespasses and sins live without the working of the Spirit of the Lord? Can they do anything without the Spirit of the Lord first working in them?"
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No one can do anything of spiritual worth except the Spirit of the Lord works within them, which is the reason we need the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was not outpoured on all flesh until the Day of Pentecost in the Book of Acts.

The text is a vision that Ezekiel had concerning the nation of Israel when they were in bondage. It was a prophesy of the New Covenant when God would regenerate them by filling them with the Holy Ghost under the New Covenant. However, the regeneration did not happen to the ones living at the time of the vision but was to a future generation.

"I know sometimes I say what I get the urge to say, Im not perfect, no one is.
Sometimes I stand in awe of what you say
other times I can't belive you said that.
If the same spirit is leading, why is that.
Happy Thanksgiving"
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Thank you for your Thanksgiving greeting.

If we were led by the same Spirit, we would be in agreement. Satan goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. His devouring is to lead souls away from the truth. We must be on guard at all times so that we are not led away with his deceptions.

Jesus said that the gate is narrow and the way is narrow (Matt 7:14). He said few would find the strait gate and narrow way. He instructed us to strive to enter in at the narrow gate because many would seek to enter in and would not be able (Luke 13:24). "Find" and "strive" are free will, voluntary actions on the part of the believer—before entrance. Jesus said to ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. All of these--"ask", "seek", "knock"—are instructions that require voluntary action.

"Hi Abi

Do you know anyone that is righteous
as Jesus is righteous?"
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The Bible, the New Testament in particular, teaches sinless perfection.

The wages of sin is death. (Rom 6:23).

1Jo 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

1Jo 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

Don't you think these Scriptures should put the fear of God in people?

All that are born of the Spirit and are walking in the Spirit are righteous as Jesus Christ is righteous. The question is, 'who' is born of the Spirit and walking in the Spirit. Have you been born of the Spirit and are walking in the Spirit?

Calvinists seem to teach that the only sin is free will.

" 1Jo 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1Jo 2:29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
In
Sorry a ?
If you would a poll , please respond,
Bible study kinda thing
In the above verses
1. who is he
2. who is him
please no verses, just your answer

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1Jo 3:7 "Little chirldren, let no man deceive you: [a mortal] that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as [Jesus Christ] is righteous.

1Jo 2:29 "If ye know that [Jesus Christ] is righteous, ye know that every one tht doeth righteousness is born of [Jesus Christ]."

" Fasting promotes a works mentality as people think either a) God must bless this work because I am fasting or b) I am going to earn a greater reward in heaven for fasting. Both views are garbage. If eating a meal makes u pay attention more in church eat a breakfast!"
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Scripture teaches fasting. Jesus fasted. Paul fasted.

Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

We are not trusting in ourselves for salvation. We are trusting in the Lord who cleanses us with His holy blood, changes our hearts, and gives us His Spirit. The Lord loves those that have a contrite spirit and a broken heart.

Psa 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Isa 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

You have fallen into the old trap of vanity and pride. Be Warned! God is not mocked! HE is Creator God and thereby SOVEREIGN!
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No. I have not fallen into the old trap of vanity and pride. It is not boasting to say that God demands cooperation and participation with Him in His plan of salvation. Yes, He is the Potter and we are the clay.

God is Creator and God is Sovereign. He has laid the foundation of the earth and ordained the orbits of the planets. He has a purpose in every minute detail of His creation from the lowly earthworm to the angels that are ministering spirits. He made man a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor. He made him to have dominion over the works of His hands. (Ps 8:5-6). God gave humanity a conscience and reasoning ability to choose what he believes. Jesus said to preach the Gospel to every creature and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved—no regeneration before believing here. Just the hearing of the Gospel and believing. The order of receiving salvation is shown as follows:

Act 2:38 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.

"Salvation is by human effort/works and God needs the prior permission and cooperation of the sinner before HE can save.
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Salvation is not by human works—only Jesus Christ and His atoning blood saves and fills with His Spirit, the Holy Ghost. Yes, God has ordained that humanity must cooperate with the Spirit to be saved. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. (1Sa 15:23)

God predestinated all Saints to be conformed to the Image of Jesus Christ, His Son, that Jesus Christ might be the firstborn among many brethren—which has no bearing on the free will offering of the saint to Christ as a living sacrifice. Yes, God chose us from the beginning unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth because He knew we would respond to His drawing and leading. He is glorified in the Saints submitting themselves to Him as Lord of their lives instead of following the world and Satan.

The saints are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ and are ordained to live a holy life in reality, and not merely judicially.

"Did I state anything about "all [men]" in John 12:32 except that Jesus did not state "all men" as in all mankind?…Jesus did not say alot of things. How does what He did not say prove that the Father would draw all mankind to the Son? Do you understand that the "draw" is the new birth (regeneration) by the will of the Father?
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The Father's drawing does not mean the new birth (regeneration), It means that He is drawing humanity unto Himself preparing them for the new birth. They are not born again until they receive the Holy Ghost. They do not receive the Holy Ghost until they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, have repented and been washed in the blood of the Lamb.

When Jesus said "All", he was speaking of "All men" as indicated by the translators of the Bible.

" Well, some biblical reasons for supporting the death penalty can be found in,
"Rendering To Caesar: A Biblical Perspective On Government"
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Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. (Mar 12:17). He was speaking of paying taxes. He was not contradicting Himself, (love your enemies, be harmless as doves, etc.) saying that our bodies belong to Caesar and therefore we are to judge and kill under Caesar's legislation. Our bodies are the temple of God and are to be kept holy. Although worldly governments are Satan's domain (Mat 4:8-9), the worldly government (Caesar), is ordained by God to maintain order in the world; otherwise all humanity, with the exception of the saints, would be savage, with every atrocity known to man inflicted on others at will. All, except the saints, would participate either aggressively or defensively. The saints of God are commanded to have no part in the slaying of humanity—they are to preach the Gospel to every creature.

"On one hand you say that His love is a force that makes us willing. Then you say that "we have not allowed Him to sit on the throne of our hearts" which implies that we have not been made willing.
What need they of regeneration if they are able?"
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Saying "love is a force that makes us willing" and saying "love forces us to be willing" are two separate things.

There are no Scriptural texts that demonstrate that a person is regenerated before calling unto the Lord for salvation. God hears and honors those that diligently seek Him. It is abominable to teach that God created trillions of people and only selected a few for salvation without giving the others a chance. God is merciful and just, without respect of persons, and will answer all those who call upon Him out of a pure heart.

The need for regeneration after calling upon the Lord is the need for the indwelling Holy Ghost (which is regeneration—the Spirit of Christ dwelling within) that leads and guides in all truth. The promise of the New Covenant was that the Spirit of God would indwell the saints.

"Did I believe because it was ordained of God? Or did He look into the future and see me choosing Christ and ordain me then? "
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God is omniscient. His spiritual dimension is outside of time and space that we finite creatures know. His had infinite knowledge—past, present, and future. He knows every human that has lived, is living, and will live. Prophecies were spoken through holy men of old as moved upon by the Spirit of God. God knew before the foundation of the world exactly when and where Jesus Christ would be born. In addition, He knew you and me before the foundation of the world. He knew our hearts and the decisions we would make. He knew whether we would yield our lives to Him or if we would follow Satan. Because He is a just and merciful gracious God, He has permitted every human being opportunity to submit themselves to Him. When the unrepentant are suffering in Hell, they will know that they are suffering because their own choosing and not at the hand of an unjust God.

God is sovereign. No man can usurp His power. What He has ordained will be and no one can stay His hand.

Phi 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

"You do not hear what is being said,
Calvinists do not say that God saves men against their wills. We say that God makes men willing in the day of His power. See Psalm 110:3… If you do not believe that God's love is a force that makes men willing, you know nothing of Grace.
William Cowper asked:
"…That sweetly forced me in…"
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"That sweetly forced me in!" If grace is irresistible, it is forced, no matter how your word it.

I agree that God draws by His Spirit and His love is a force that makes us willing to come to Him. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God because of our own wretched willful ways. We have not allowed Him to sit on the throne of our hearts as King, but we have exalted ourselves above Him and ruled our own lives to our own shame and degradation.

The difference in doctrine is that of the will—mortals willingly receive Jesus Christ as Savior—otherwise they are forced.

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Every human being has the invitation and ability to call on the name of the Lord. The question is, "Will he?"

"Reason for *all men* is the Greek at this point uses - "pantas" which is the "masculine" form of the Greek word *pas* = all.
Since there is no english masculine form of "all" the translaters had to add "men" to be true to the text.
As for the extent to which "all" embraces. Jesus cannot disagree with God His Father, who IS the one who does the drawing.
Jn 6:44 "No man can come to me, except THE FATHER which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
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No man can come except the Father draw him does not state that man is totally inert. The drawing of the Father is the convicting power of the Holy Ghost that initiates the knowledge of guilt in the sinner and causes him to seek God with desire to turn from his own wretched ways to the cross of Christ and His atoning blood, seeking salvation with newness of life.

In your theology, humanity is forced to come to God without choice and Satan is a redundant figure that serves no purpose.

"What else could "all" mean? I already gave you the verse which tells you exactly what it means...
***All that the Father giveth me*** shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)
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"All" and "All men" mean exactly the same thing. The Scriptures you use to promote Limited Election and Irresistible Grace do not state or prove the interpretation you place on them. You do not believe all of Jesus' words. You believe only the ones you twist to promote your doctrine.

Joh 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Jesus said that those the father giveth Him shall come to Him. He did not say they would be irresistible forced to Him. Come is a voluntary act. If they were irresistibly forced—He would have no reason to say that He would in no wise cast them out. Why would He even consider the term "cast them out" if they had no power but were irresistibly forced?

" Jesus did not say that. The text states...
Jhn 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ***all*** unto me."
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And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me. (Joh 12:32)

The translators inserted men. Do you know more than they knew? What else could ALL mean?

You are forcing an interpretation on "all" according to your preconceived notion.

"If man had one ounce of moral ability, he could save himself without the merits of Christ. He coould reform every area of his life and be a model citizen. However all the works of righteousness as a result of our moral abilities are as filthy leperous putrified rags in the nostrils of God."
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Rom 3:10-18 describes many people that claim salvation. Is that your testimony? Since you claim imputed judicial righteousness, what is you actual life like?

No one could save himself without the merits of Christ even if he had perfect morals. Without the indwelling Spirit that leads and guides in all truth, no one knows what righteousness is. Righteousness is more than morals—it is knowledge of truth which Jesus taught and acting thereon.

1Jo 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as [Jesus Christ] is righteous.

" Abigail,
Please try to use the correct passages when we are talking about regeneration and justification. Although these words are perhaps foreign to you, these fall into line with the doctrine of salvation. Sanctification and mortification come after justification, not with justification.
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Instead of acknowledging the Scriptures that contradict your doctrine, you side step attempting to prove that salvation does not include justification, sanctification, and mortification. Justified and Sanctified do happen at the same time. You cannot prove by Scripture that they do not. If that is Romish—they got something right!!

"Joh 6:44 "No man CAN COME to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
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The drawing power of the Father does not signify that those drawn are in total disability. Jesus said if He is lifted up, He will draw ALL men unto Him. (John 12:32).

Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Jesus is not saying they do not have the ability to come—he is saying they refuse to come.

Joh 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Jesus is saying that all that the father gives to Him will come (by their own power) of their own will and He will in no wise cast them out.