***Rom 11:23 : And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
This describes a lot of people who are given true faith, but then fall away for a limited time.***
But they also refer to those who were given true faith and yet fall away forever.
***In the end, Jesus always gathers them back. Perhaps Paul never fell away like this after he was touched by Christ, but he acknowledges that it does happen.***
The Grace of God is given freely to all.
Luke 8:
11
“This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God.
12
Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved.
13
Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial.
14
As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit.
15
But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.
You keep talking about true believers. Verse 13 is about true believers who fall away forever.
Acts 14:
22
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
If the disciples were truly Reformed elect and therefore going to Heaven, it would not be necessary to exhort them to persevere since the Reformed Holy Spirit would provide all the guidance necessary.
But they also refer to those who were given true faith and yet fall away forever.
I'm not familiar with where it says that anywhere in scripture. I AM familiar with where it says that Christ will not lose a single sheep the Father has given Him.
[Re: Luke 8:11-15] You keep talking about true believers. Verse 13 is about true believers who fall away forever.
No it isn't, since there is no root. From Barnes' Notes:
[With joy receiveth it] They are under deep distress for sin; they are apprehensive of danger; they hear the offer of mercy, and they seem to themselves to embrace the gospel. It offers them peace, pardon, salvation, and religion assumes for a time a lovely aspect. They IMAGINE that they are pardoned, and they have a temporary peace and joy. Their anxieties subside. Their fears are gone. They are for a time happy. "The mere subsiding of anxious feeling from any cause will make the mind for a time happy." They have only to imagine, therefore, that their sins are forgiven, to produce a certain kind of peace and joy. But there is no ground of permanent joy, as there is in true pardon, and soon their joy subsides, and all evidence of piety disappears. There is no strength of PRINCIPLE to resist temptation; there is no real love of the Saviour; and in times of trial and persecution they show that they have no true religion, and fall away.
Only those in the rich soil are true believers, only they have been given saving grace.
[Re: Acts 14:22] If the disciples were truly Reformed elect and therefore going to Heaven, it would not be necessary to exhort them to persevere since the Reformed Holy Spirit would provide all the guidance necessary.
Exhortations are tools God uses to KEEP His promise that they WILL persevere. It puts listeners, including us, in the right mindset. It's all connected. Holy Spirit guides us to reckon the exhortations in scripture.