You have been given much proof, but none that you will accept. You render many passages meaningless, and thus, many of God's promises meaningless, because they apply to only the "unknowable" elect. How are we to read them? "If you are ultimately determined to be of the elect, then read this. But if you are not, then you are wasting your time"? What use is this to anyone?
John 15:4-6
That is a great passage, except I don't see you as believing in the "without me you can do nothing" part. It seems that you believe that man does a whole lot toward his salvation. He is a co-partner with God, and each have their own responsibilities. God works part way, and man works part way. (I mean work without pay, that almost Biblical distinction your side holds.) A man must freely choose to persevere, right? That cannot be with God, or it isn't free. Man does it on his own with God's guidance, which he is free to accept or reject.
Then what? You going to go back and say that Christ was never in you? This all means that you don't even know RIGHT NOW if Christ is in you!!!
I'll never need to say that Christ was never in me. I know that Christ is in me yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That beats you by one claim. If you want to live in fear and reject God's promises, that's OK. I'm sure you'll wind up in the same place you would have if you had accepted the scripture today. So, this is not a life or death issue. It is a quality of life issue. You worry, I'll trust and rest. :)
First, you claim that man is totally evil and can do nothing good. Then, you claim that someone who claims do be a Christian, doing good deeds and so forth, did them WITHOUT God! Contradictions abound!
Do you believe that a lost person can do good deeds and have them be "good" in God's eyes? If you say 'Yes', the lost can do righteousness in God's eyes, then your argument is at least consistent, although totally unsupported by scripture. If you say 'No', then you cannot accuse me of being contradictory. Anyone can say he is a Christian. What is the statistic, that over 80+% of Americans call themselves Christian? How many of them do you suppose are actually going to heaven? I think substantially less as well.
For both of our sanities, please don't tell me how you are saved and are of the elect anymore. Feel free to ask questions on different subjects, but I don't see any point in pursuing this anymore.
Oh, OK.
I have told you that God and I don't work in shifts, or crews, or I do part A while He does part B. There is no way we can determine how God interacts upon my thoughts and my will. It is an unknown. But we realize that I am making a free will decision - this is evident by the very fact that I realize I can ALWAYS refuse to do the good.
A man must freely choose to persevere, right? That cannot be with God, or it isn't free. Man does it on his own with God's guidance, which he is free to accept or reject.
Every choice a man makes, God is either aiding us to make, or allowing us to make it (in the case of sin). We don't realize He is there in most of our daily decisions, thus, it is a free will decision.
Man does it on his own with God's guidance, which he is free to accept or reject.
Man doesn't "do it on his own". God ALWAYS is guiding us when we do the good. But God's guidance is not so strong as to force us to do either. This is clear when God says that WE will be judged on OUR actions in Christ. We aren't judged on God's workings through us! We are judged on how we use the gifts that God has given us - to choose the good.
Do you believe that a lost person can do good deeds and have them be "good" in God's eyes?
That is interesting how you judge people to be lost before they are dead...
What is the statistic, that over 80+% of Americans call themselves Christian? How many of them do you suppose are actually going to heaven? I think substantially less as well.
It is impossible to make a statistical guess on such matters. I don't know how I will act in 10 years, so HOW can I determine someone else's eternal destiny?
Regards