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2 Cor 4:6 - For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Thess 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, BECAUSE God from the beginning CHOSE you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He CALLED you by our gospel

2 Tim 1:8-9

BTW, You forgot to go onto vs 13 "who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

You receive, because God in his electing love, worked it in your FIRST. Just like when Jesus gave the invitation, come unto me all ye that are heavy laden...and I will give you rest...that call goes out to all, but only those whom God's Spirit has effectually worked in and granted repentence and faith to will respond. But unless you understand man's condition, you won't see that. You will continue to think there is something within us that enables us to move toward Christ (with a little help from the Spirit. wooing us) but, there isn't. Its all of God, so he gets ALL the glory.

The Word of God teaches that God gives it to the elect. He does not give it to those he does not intend to save and a lot of Christians do not like that because they say it puts God in a realm of picking and choosing. But you can't look at it that way. If you believe Total Depravity, then man is completely unable to do or exercise any faith or step toward Christ in himself, ie. we are all condemned and on our way to hell because we are all by nature God-haters and will never choose him, so, if the sovereign Lord has determined to save some out of the whole in order that as Ephes 2:7 says, that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus, are we as creatures in a position to tell the Creator what He can do? Once I really understood the condition of man, and his complete inability and complete lack of desire to move towards Jesus on his own, Election was not such a horrid doctrine.

obviously :)

Right, right, I think what you meant to say was that men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil ----not enlightened. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light neither comes to the light because their deeds are evil. hmmmm don't cockroaches run for cover when you shine the light on them? (I wouldn't know personally)

Do you think they knew that they didn't belong to the sheep? Do you think that they knew they didn't "believe?"

Do you think that they realized you don't get into the sheepfold by believing but that you believe BECAUSE you are his sheep?

Do you think? :)

Let the words of Jesus land on you. Jesus makes a powerful statement in John 10 when he is talking about being the door of the sheep. There was much division about what he was saying. Look at John 10:25-27.

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. vs 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. vs 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

What is Jesus telling those that do not believe?

Does Total Depravity = Total Inability?

Yes. Because Man's mind has been affected by sin: Rom 3:11a, 1 Cor 2:14, Rom 8:7&8

His emotions have been affected by sin John 3:19.

Man's will does not operate outside of or independently from his mind and emotions but his will responds to what he desires and how he reasons which have both been ruined by sin
Man is spiritually dead Eph 2:1,5
Jesus taught man's inability John 6:44, 65.

Man cannot see or perceive spiritual things John 3:3
Romans 8:7 cannot submit to God or his law
1Cor 2:14 Cannot know spiritual truth
John 15:5 Cannot do spiritual good.

So, where is the ability here. There is no ability until it is given. It is God given ability.