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To: Marie2
God was pleased with His creation -- for all eternity. That doesn't mean that some men misuse their free will to NOT choose God. And it certainly doesn't mean that a newborn is depraved and steeped in sin.

Secondly, A totally depraved man is by Calvin's definition, a man damned before he was born by God -- that depraved man has no chance of going to heaven and he cannot choose to be in Christ or choose to do good as he is depraved, God already planned that that man would go to heck, so why bother preaching to the damned?
14 posted on 06/27/2009 10:28:42 AM PDT by Cronos (Ceterum censeo, Mecca et Medina delendae sunt + Jindal 2K12)
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To: Cronos
"God was pleased with His creation -- for all eternity"

And yet, according to Scripture, he is angry with the wicked every day. In Genesis, we read

"And the LORD was sorry the He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." Gen 6:6-7.

"And it certainly doesn't mean that a newborn is depraved and steeped in sin.

"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me." Psalm 51:5

The Bible does not accuse little children of acts of sin, as far as I know, but they are all possessed of original sin and their hearts are indeed inclined to sin. We can see that as they grow up - no one taught my kids to lie, for instance. They lied before they even spoke in complete sentences.

As for why are we preaching to the damned? Because we don't know who the damned are! God has commanded the gospel be preached to all men, thus we do. Our pastor encourages all in attendance to put their trust in Christ. Consider John Newton, famously associated with very vile sins, but apparently truly converted. Who would preach to him? Well, thankfully, someone did.

"For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.'

So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, 'For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.' Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?' But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?'" Romans 9:15-20
40 posted on 06/27/2009 1:44:58 PM PDT by Marie2 (The second mouse gets the cheese.)
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