“This is true, but we must not confuse the prescriptive will of God with His secret decree, or, in other words, His will that all should repent and be saved, with His will to save and cause men to repent.”
God has not hidden his will from us. He never states that he will save some men because he wants to, and damns all others because it pleases him to do so.
In Scripture, faith comes before spiritual life:
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”
“these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Scripture never speaks of saving faith as something given to us by God. It is always something within us: “When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”
We do not do it apart from God, because God reveals himself to man first - always taking the initiative. But man is allowed to respond, and sometimes Satan is allowed to resist: “”The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.”
Sometimes people respond initially, but not in a way that takes root: “”And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.”
Being elect in the New Testament is related to being the Chosen People in the Old Testament - it is a corporate election and predestination. God doesn’t create a list of names who will be saved regardless, and a list of names of those who will be damned regardless, but sets conditions and those who accept his will are then the Chosen Ones.
“(3) Election in Christ is primarily corporate, i.e., an election of a people (Eph 1:4-5, 7, 9). The elect are called “the body of Christ” (4:12), “my church” (Mt 16:18), “a people belonging to God” (1 Pe 2:9), and the “bride” of Christ (Rev 19:7). Therefore, election is corporate and embraces individual persons only as they identify and associate themselves with the body of Christ, the true church (Eph 1:22-23; see Robert Shank, Elect in the Son, [Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers]). This was true already of Israel in the OT (see Dt 29:18-21, note; 2Ki 21:14, note; see article on God’s Covenant with the Israelites, p. 298)....
...Summary. Concerning election and predestination, we might use the analogy of a great ship on its way to heaven. The ship (the church) is chosen by God to be his very own vessel. Christ is the Captain and Pilot of this ship. All who desire to be a part of this elect ship and its Captain can do so through a living faith in Christ, by which they come on board the ship. As long as they are on the ship, in company with the ship’s Captain, they are among the elect. If they choose to abandon the ship and Captain, they cease to be part of the elect. Election is always only in union with the Captain and his ship. Predestination tells us about the ship’s destination and what God has prepared for those remaining on it. God invites everyone to come aboard the elect ship through faith in Jesus Christ. [Life in the Spirit Study Bible, pp. 1854-1855]”
Also see:
“Finally, the Apostle Paul would argue, God limited his election even further to Christ as the head of the New Covenant (Gal. 3–4; see especially 3:16; cf. Rom. 3–4; 8), which is the fulfillment of the Old. Paradoxically, this also widened the election of God’s people because all who are in Christ by faith are chosen by virtue of their identification with Christ the corporate covenantal head, opening covenant membership to Gentiles as Gentiles. Just as God’s Old Covenant people were chosen in Jacob/Israel, the Church was chosen in Christ (as Eph. 1:4 puts it). And as Ephesians 2 makes clear, Gentiles who believe in Christ are in him made to be part of the commonwealth of Israel, fellow citizens with the saints, members of God’s household, and possessors of the covenants of promise (2:11-22; note especially vv. 12, 19). Indeed, any Jews who did not believe in Jesus were cut off from the elect people, and any believing Gentiles who stop believing will likewise be cut off, while anyone who comes to faith, whether Jew or Gentile, will be incorporated into God’s people (Rom. 11:17-24).”
http://evangelicalarminians.org/corporate-election-quotes/
Calvin’s discussions of election tend to skip over the whole “in Christ” thing...
Ignoring the idea that God takes pleasure in the death of any, it certainly does state that He saves some, and not all, according to His will. I posted the verses already. In Scripture, faith comes before spiritual life:
It certainly does not, and the scripture even explicitly declares that the "carnal man" cannot discern the things of God. You quote scriptures, but do not bother to explain their significance in your usage.
Scripture never speaks of saving faith as something given to us by God.
Yes it does. In fact, the scripture even says that everything we have, no matter what sort of blessing, is given to us from above (John 3:27). Don't just ignore what I say. I already posted many such verses proving it beyond a doubt. I hate doing it over and over again.
Sometimes people respond initially, but not in a way that takes root:
These verses do not contradict my verses. The "good soil" is the elect. They are not themselves good, but are made so.
Being elect in the New Testament is related to being the Chosen People in the Old Testament - it is a corporate election and predestination.
This is mere assertion. You cannot argue that the elect that Christ speaks to, on individual terms, using individual names, are a corporation that has no individuals.
Also see:
The use of websites is pure laziness. I have no interest in taking down a whole website, though I could if it pleased me. Respond to what I have written. Do not dance around or toss red herrings at me.