Nobody is born saved. Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be born again. Did Nicodemus need to be born again before he could understand Jesus? Absolutely not. That nonsense is stupid.
You must be saved to believe the Gospel !
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At what age do Calvinists believe the elect become born of the Spirit, at birth? In the womb? At puberty? Are the elect blind because of the flesh until then?
That's right. The unsaved are unsaved because they have not yet believed and received the Gospel. John the Baptist came preaching the baptism of repentance for those who were unsaved to repent and come to God for salvation, but only with fruits meet for repentance.
God does not grant life-saving faith to those who refuse to come to Him in repentance, but He does show mercy on those who believe and receive the Light when the Light is turned on, giving them the power to become the sons of God (John 1:9-12.)
True. Nobody can be saved until God turns on the light which He has promised to do at some point for every sinner born into the world (John 1:9)
But those who reject the Light God clearly shows them and causes them to understand will be sent to hell without excuse (Romans 1:18-22.)
OZOS
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You're not helping.
"But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
"Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their (Israel's) heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away...
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are lost, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."
Paul spoke of this also in Romans...
"For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”
Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they (Israel) are beloved for the sake of the fathers."
The children of Israel rejected their Messiah and opted to trust in Moses (the Law). As a result, of rejecting Christ, and trusting in the Law, a veil continues over their heart. If they were to turn to the Lord (repent) then the veil is taken away. The children of Israel are "perishing" (lost) because they are rejecting Paul's gospel, having been blinded until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled.
"Therefore remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world."
Do not conflate what is spoken concerning one group of people with another. B57 is already confused enough. For someone who claims to be anti-religious, you sure have adopted a great deal of Christianese to your vocabulary.
Claiming to be anti-religious? What in the world are you talking about? I am a Bible-believing Christian and I do not believe vain religion will benefit anyone who refuses to read and believe God's Word.
OZOS
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OZOS
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More conflation. Who is James written to, and why?
All Scripture is written and inspired of God to be used for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction, that believers may be made perfect in the knowledge of God. (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
OZOS
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Yes, it is, everything in the Bible is for you, but not everything said is to you.
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim 2:15
Nanja
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New Birth is given by God to His Vessels of Mercy at some point in their lifetime as He has so determined; until then they are blind to the Spiritual things of God.
Answer the question.
Who is the book of James written to and why?
If you cannot answer that question, it means that you do not understand the scripture that was written and inspired of God to be used for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction, that believers may be made perfect in the knowledge of God.
And no amount of prayer or fasting can hasten it's approach nor can any sort of evil or depravity prevent it.
OZOS
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And THIS is when God determines believers are born of the Spirit...
"In Christ ye also trusted after ye heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, in Whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise"
First... Heard the gospel
Then... Believed and trusted
Then... Sealed with the Holy Spirit
"So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Belief precedes being
"if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Conditional recognition of who Jesus is, followed by belief, results in salvation (new birth / born of the Spirit).
Nanja
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Salvation is not of works.
Nanja
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A spiritually dead man, not born again, cannot hear the Gospel
unless and until God gives him hearing ears.
Prov. 20:12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
the LORD hath made even both of them.
Also believing in your heart is only made possible by those whom God has given a New Heart in New Birth:
Ezek. 36:26-27
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
As always, you intentionally miss the point.
But did you think I'd fail to notice that you tacitly agreed with the statement?
Look in the mirror Nanja and learn what a fool looks like.
beloved57
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Christians were born again before they believed, for a unregenrate lost person cant believe.
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