Not that they were dead, and God chose not to regenerate them so they could understand, but “although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him...”
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, - Ephesians 2:1
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins," - Colossians 2:13
Saving faith is something that YOU do. It is not something God gives, nor does it follow regeneration. It is the cause of regeneration,
" . No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. . . For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.' - John 6:44, 65
Cordially,
John 6:43-51
“43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’[e] Therefore everyone who has heard and learned[f] from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me[g] has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
Romans 1:16-17
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,[a] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”[b]
Romans 10:17
17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
John 16:12-14
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
“”And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, - Ephesians 2:1”
Yes, dead is ONE of the words used to describe our state. But remember, the Prodigal Son was ALSO described as “dead” by the father.
Other words used include slave, blind, children, walking in darkness, sick, captive, and oppressed. All of those words indicate we can recognize our plight and hope for release. The Good News is not that God chose a few to save irresistibly while choosing to destroy all the rest for his pleasure, but that the blind can receive sight, the sick be healed, the captives set free.
“And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
And yes, God takes the initiative in reaching out to us. We do not seek Him. he seeks us. He searches for the lost sheep, and rejoices when they are found.
But Calvinism suggests there are a lot of lost sheep that God laughs at, knowing they are lost and will soon starve or be eaten. There is no hint in Calvinism of God lamenting over those who are lost - since, after all, Calvin says they are lost because God wants them to be lost.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
““How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?
If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you...”
“At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter...”
This was before Cornelius received the Holy Spirit...