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To: 1010RD
Your exposition on Eph 2:8 is a masterclass example of eisegesis. It is grace/salvation that is a gift from God.

No.  Some rely on a gender mismatch between "that" and "faith" to disconnect "faith" from "gift," but that is a naive view of the Greek. There is a gender mismatch between the neuter “that (touto)” in “that not of yourselves,” and the earlier noun “pistos,” “faith,” which is feminine. However, this does not unlink "faith" from "gift of God," because “charis (grace)” is also feminine, and “sodzo (save)” is masculine, theoretically leaving the neuter “touto” pointing to ... nothing? How can that be? If faith is not the referent, what is? Based on the theory of gender mismatch, it can’t refer to any of the other preceding components of salvation either.

Most authorities I have found believe it is something Paul does elsewhere, use a neuter demonstrative pronoun to package an entire concept, the main heading for a bulleted list, as it were.  By this understanding, the pronoun is pointing back to the whole package as the antecedent, i.e., he is referring to all the constituent parts as a gift or as the components of a gift.  As faith is one of those constituents, it is more than fair exegesis to understand Paul is saying that grace, the basis, faith, the means, and salvation, the result, are all the gift of God, so that a saved man has nothing to boast about. Nothing at all. And that, after all, is his point, isn’t it? Why would he mention anything that didn’t buttress his main conclusion?

As for Romans 11, the gifts and calling of God being without repentance is citation to a meta-principle that rests in the holy nature of God Himself.  Yes, it secures Paul's specific point with reference to Israel, but eternal truth remains eternal and universal no matter how many times or circumstances in which it is applied.

As for the remaining arguments, be assured I have already I have already danced that dance before.  You can ascribe motive if you wish.  I give you permission.  But you will be wrong if you believe my motivation is other that what I am telling you: I don't believe those areas are worth exploring until the question of faith in Jesus is resolved.  It's putting the cart in front of the horse, as it were. I have seen these endless arguments and sniping back and forth going nowhere for pages and page and pages, and I have no time for that nonsense.  I am an old man on a limited budget of time with many other irons in the fire.  Or like Smokey & the Bandit, I have a long way to go and a short time to get there.  So I'm not going down any roads I don't think will have a decent ROI. It's nothing personal to you or anyone else.  It's just how my life is right now. I hope you can appreciate that.

Peace,

SR

244 posted on 01/25/2015 10:40:52 AM PST by Springfield Reformer (Winston Churchill: No Peace Till Victory!)
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To: Springfield Reformer

I can appreciate that. Take care.


257 posted on 01/25/2015 2:42:02 PM PST by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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