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.
What it states is that God sets the terms of salvation, but it does not say that God has a list of men he will damn because he does not want them to be saved. On the contrary, it says God wants all to be saved...but all are not. Why? Hmmm?
There is no puzzle for those who understand that God will not FORCE faith on others.
“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.”
Actually, it does. We believe to live. We do not live, and then believe. “ and that by believing you may have life in his name”
“This is mere assertion.”
No. It makes clear why election is “In Christ”.
“The use of websites is pure laziness.”
No. I have no intention of posting a few hundred pages of scholarly arguments and discussions of the meanings of Greek words. I gave a decent sample, and anyone who wants to read a 50 page discussion can follow the links and find them.
“Do not dance around or toss red herrings at me.”
I’ve done neither. I have pointed out that scripture says we are saved by grace thru faith, not grace thru by-name predestination. There are roughly 500 verses in the NT alone on the importance of faith and believing, and about 20 or so on election. To base one’s interpretation of 500 verses on 20 verses that one has not bothered to research the meaning and context of is a poor approach to studying the Bible.
Pointing out that election could refer to individual names OR to corporate election is not throwing out red herrings. It is a valid, logical point, well substantiated at the links provided. Trying to read in by-name election into Romans 9-11 simply ignores the text. When Paul writes, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”, he is quoting MALACHI, not Genesis. He is discussing nations, not individuals.
ALL the soil is ELECT!