You responded : Except for the last part, this sounds pretty good. If God does not overwhelm us, then there must some good in us that we are born with that can be used for this cooperation. I think your side says that we are wounded, as opposed to being dead in sin. I believe that scripture alone, especially from Paul, is on our side.
Perhaps you should read my response again...Check out the captitalized word "EVERYTHING". So where am I saying that something comes from us ALONE? What I am saying is that God expects us to USE the gifts He gave us - the power to choose Him. I don't believe that Scripture is on "your side". I believe you are reading Protestant theology into the verses that are just not there - as I have demonstrated with Romans 3 and the Psalms where Paul draws from. WICKED men do not seek God. But do you really think that ALL men do not seek God? The Old Testament would heartily disagree with that.
Well, I'm forced to agree with you completely, {on Baptism's effect on absolutely saving someone for heaven} especially since I don't think baptism has anything to do with salvation. :)
Well, the same holds true for "sinner's prayer" as well. Otherwise, why do so many feel the need to repeat it, or later wonder whether it "took"? This makes the "sinner's prayer" a works-oriented salvational tool. You rely on YOUR OWN faith to determine if God has saved you.
We don't base our assurance at all on subjective feelings. We base it on God's promises in his word, which are detailed at extreme length in the article that Harley gave us
The article merely outlays the promises made to the elect. Again, you are presuming you are of the elect, based on your sinner's prayer. We have time and again exposed this error. As we have stated in 1 John, we can know we are saved by our faith working through love. When we obey the Law of Love - we "know" that God is abiding within us AT THAT MOMENT. But it doesn't follow that He will always remain there - that we won't chase Him out. Again, as you have suggested, we STILL continue to be free to sin. And you again have stated that sin kills the soul - which means that God has left it. Will we enter heaven with a dead soul? If we willingly turn away from God, what happens over and over in the Scriptures? The argument presented by "When we belong to Christ" presumes that we are of the elect - knowledge that we only can HOPE upon, since we do not know God's will for us, or our response in the future to His callings.
Regards
Well, you say that God's EVERYTHING that He gives to us is only the power to choose, not God choosing us, as my side says. Since God's EVERYTHING fails so often with people not choosing God, I don't see it as having a ton of value. God loses so often if He really gave us EVERYTHING we have and desires all to be saved. God's EVERYTHING evidently does not include an offer no reasonable person could refuse. Heaven or hell? What rational person would choose hell if he really had EVERYTHING he needed? So, that must mean that something comes from us apart from God to distinguish between those who choose Him and those who do not. If not, and if God stands out of the way on the final choice, then what is that "thing" to distinguish between those who choose and those who don't?
Well, the same holds true for "sinner's prayer" as well. Otherwise, why do so many feel the need to repeat it, or later wonder whether it "took"? This makes the "sinner's prayer" a works-oriented salvational tool.
No, I think there's quite a difference. We say our salvation is complete from the beginning of time from God's point of view. The sinner's prayer just help us to know it too. It doesn't cause election from God's POV, but it is necessary from our POV. God ordained that His elect would come to Him through some equivalent of a sinner's prayer (faith). We don't believe that God sits there with His giant eraser, constantly blotting out names in the Book of Life on a second to second basis, and then re-writing them back in later as the case may warrant.
There is no "need" to say the sinner's prayer more than once if it was effective the first time. But of course, many people don't yet have a full understanding of their faith and may feel a need to say it again. There is nothing "wrong" with saying the sinner's prayer multiple times, it just isn't needed a second time from the POV of a mature Christian. My pastor actually alluded to this idea this morning by comparing it to saying "I do" at marriage. Does anyone really understand all that it means when they say it? NO. Some people repeat their vows, but likewise it is unnecessary, but useful to the people involved if they so choose to do it.
The article merely outlays the promises made to the elect.
So every epistle that uses the familial "you can know", or some form of it, doesn't at all refer to the readers of the letter, or to Christians in general? Instead it refers only to the mysterious elect and no one can know he is a member of that elect until after death. That would make these some very strange letters.
Again, as you have suggested, we STILL continue to be free to sin. And you again have stated that sin kills the soul - which means that God has left it. Will we enter heaven with a dead soul? If we willingly turn away from God, what happens over and over in the Scriptures?
Sin does kill the soul UNLESS it is reconciled and fully paid for. Christ paid for all the sins of His elect, past, present, and future. Those with dead souls do not enter Heaven, because they are not in Christ, not of the elect. If we willingly turn away from God, many different things happen over and over again in scripture. Some are smoten (?) :) immediately, some die lost (Judas), and some are forgiven and come roaring back (David, Peter). I don't think there is any set formula in this case.