Only Christ, our Lord, can revive a dead man. And this is exactly the power of the Resurrection.
One poster said "few follow Calvin anymore, anyway".
As if "Majoritarianism" is Biblical! LOL.
The Remnant has always been "the few".
2. The Danger of Teaching that Regeneration Precedes Faith.
The doctrine of mans total depravity has been abused by the extreme Calvinist resulting in a wrong understanding of mans inability. The Philippian jailer once asked, "WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?" (Acts 16:3031 and compare Acts 2:3738). Some extreme Calvinists, if they had been in Pauls place, would have answered as follows: What must you do to be saved? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! You are spiritually DEAD and totally unable to respond to God until you are regenerated!
Thus the extreme Calvinist teaches that regeneration must precede faith. A person must be born again before he can believe. A person must have eternal life before he can believe because a person dead in sins is unable to believe. They teach that faith is impossible apart from regeneration. Such teaching seems logical and reasonable to them based on the theological system which they have adopted. But WHAT SAITH THE SCRIPTURES?
The Bible clearly teaches this: BELIEVE AND THOU SHALT LIVE! "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life" (John 6:47) "That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:15). The extreme Calvinist says, "LIVE AND THOU SHALT BELIEVE!" Please notice that John 1:12 does not say this: "But as many as have been regenerated, to them gave He the power to believe on His Name, even to those who have become the children of God." Notice also that John 20:31 says, "believing ye might have life." It does not say, "having life ye might believe." In his helpless and hopeless condition the sinner is told to LOOK to the Lord Jesus Christ AND LIVE (John 3:1416)! [We sing the hymn "LOOK AND LIVE." The extreme Calvinist should change the words to "LIVE AND LOOK"].
For a moment, lets assume that what the extreme Calvinists are saying is true. If regeneration precedes faith, then what must a sinner do to be regenerated? The extreme Calvinists have never satisfactorily answered this. Shedds answer is typical. Because the sinner cannot believe, he is instructed to perform the following duties: (1) Read and hear the divine Word. (2) Give serious application of the mind to the truth. (3) Pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit for conviction and regeneration. [See W. G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, Vol. II, p. 472, 512, 513.]
Roy Aldrichs response to this is penetrating: "A doctrine of total depravity that excludes the possibility of faith must also exclude the possibilities of hearing the word, giving serious application to divine truth, and praying for the Holy Spirit for conviction and regeneration. The extreme Calvinist deals with a rather lively spiritual corpse after all."5
The tragedy of this position is that it perverts the gospel. The sinner is told that the condition of salvation is prayer instead of faith. How contrary this is to Acts 16:31. The sinner is not told to pray for conviction and for regeneration. The sinner is told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gods saving grace is to be found in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ WHO ALONE CAN SATISFY GODS HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS and be to the believing heart Gods "so great salvation"! "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12; all verbs are in the present tense).I don't think they should be allowed to sing our songs!Have you been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus? Is your hope built upon what you have done or is your hope based upon Jesus blood and righteousness? "I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but WHOLLY LEAN ON JESUS NAME!" May we be standing fully on Christ the solid Rock, not upon the sinking sand of our own fragile commitment.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
I saved myself
how smug am I
Christ had 12..120 in the upper room and God was in control through it all!