The seal doens't prevent anyone from sinning. The baptized still sin! As far as Adam and Eve are concerned, they were under Grace. When we are baptized, we are restored to grace and, just as Adam and Eve could fall away, so can we.
I said that man cannot break God's seal. You said that Adam and Eve did just that. I asked for an explanation of what seal they were under, and I still don't know. We are not told that Holy Spirit indwelt them when created. And if anything, wouldn't you say they were under law instead of under grace?
In fact, the Beatitudes tell us what is required to get into heaven and there is not a trace of any faith mentioned in them! (Paul didn't invent that yet)
This is a good description of someone who lives under the Law and not under grace. Paul spoke often of this:
Rom 6:14-15 : 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace ? By no means!
Gal 2:21 : I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
Gal 3:18 : For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
Gal 5:4 : You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
Wow! I guess for your sake you had better hope that Paul was making all this stuff up too! :)
Yeah, we should be like Christ in our hearts, pure, and we shall see God. Is your heart pure?
Sure, Matt. 5:8 says that those who will see God (the elect) are blessed and given a pure heart.
And speaking of minority elites, what are the "elect" if not the minority elite who get a limo ride to heaven just because. Talk about exclusive faith!
I admit that it does sound ridiculous that God might get to choose His own elect. I mean, who does He think He is, anyway? Everyone knows that man is autonomous and self-determined. Only he has the power to control his own destiny. And this view isn't elitist at all! :)
Where does it say in the Bible that man cannot break God's seal? The fact that men continue to sin even after Baptism shows that God allows such breaks. This all goes back to the Reformed denial of God's gift of free will and reason and a Mohamedan-like distortion of Christianity, with God being the tyrant and a micro manager.
This is a good description of someone who lives under the Law and not under grace
The Beatitudes are in the NT, so your statement is nonsense. It is just that the Beatitudes clash with Paul's innovations (which were necessary to spread Judaism to Gentiles), so you reject them or ignore them. This is another fine example where the Reformed choose Paul over Jesus' own words.
Paul spoke often of this
I am sure he did. If you think about it, why did God give the Law if it was supposed to be discarded? But was there any other way to bring the Gentiles to accept this new form of Judaism? He had to cater to the "customers," if you think about it, and was many things to many different groups.
I have repeatedly asked the Reformed to stop quoting Paul to make their point, and they can't because without Paul Protestantism would be dead. It is a Paulian cult and I know this irritates a lot of people, but in order to "prove" their point they either depend on the OT or Paul, with the Gospels' eyewitness message relegated to a distant third place.
Kosta: Yeah, we should be like Christ in our hearts, pure, and we shall see God. Is your heart pure?
FK: Sure, Matt. 5:8 says that those who will see God (the elect) are blessed and given a pure heart.
I am sorry, FK, you can't (or won't) even quote from the Bible the way it reads in order to make your point, but rearrange and add words to suit your agenda. Mat 5:8 says "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." It doesn't say anything about them being "given" a pure heart. And for you to claim that your heart is pure is like saying you don't sin. How prideful is that?!
Everyone knows that man is autonomous and self-determined
More distortions. God gave man reason and freedom. If we are free and rational, it is because God willed it so, not because man somehow earned it or because was somehow obliged to yield to man. God wants man to come to Him freely because love doesn't force, and true love can only be free.