1Timothy115

Such vitriol, such sarcasm, from such a fine and well spoken patriarch of the Calvinist system. 

It appears everyone in this thread qualifies for your "correct" or I could say correction. It appears you feel the need to show how 'right' Calvinism is and how wrong those outside Calvinism are.

Sincere questions.
Have you influenced any here to forgo their faith in Christ's "free gift" "to all" men  and come over to the uncertainty of the Calvinist system?

Indeed.  Yet while the Calvinistic system teaches that "whosoever SHALL CALL upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," the Calvinistic system also teaches that NOT all human individuals shall have the ABILITY to be a part of that "whosoever."  This is not simply a contradiction of "universalism," such that NOT all human individuals WILL call upon the name of the Lord and thus receive salvation.  Rather, this is a contradiction of ABILITY, such that NOT all human individuals are even granted God's grace to be ABLE to call upon the name of the Lord and thus receive salvation.  Thus the Calvinistic system teaches -- "whosoever SHALL call;" but it does NOT teach -- "whosoever CAN call."

From what I've seen in your writings I don't believe there is harmony between our understanding of "word of truth" or who "the lost" are. If you're truly a Calvinist then we cannot walk together -- in the agreed sense. "Whosoever will" is what I believe and Calvinism does not agree. To borrow from Hamlet, I must admit that you "...doth protest too much, methinks".

Roselove,
I apologize for allowing that thought to enter in. Sometimes thoughts are best kept to ourselves until more information is available. In other words I inserted my foot into my mouth. Keep seeking after God in Spirit and in Truth and the answers will come. If not now then, in the life to come. Psalms 69:6b

Talk anout your strawmen! No one mentioned universalism except you. I suspect your universalism and my universalism are a bit different.
Universalism is the heretical idea that all men will eventually be saved and enter eternity with the Lord. THAT is universalism. From your answer, yours would be that Christ died for all men's sins, and His sacrifice was efficacious to save all men, if they came to Him. That isn't universalism, that is biblical truth.
I keep hearing about how important logic is to the Calvinst position. Not here, but from another source, a reformed preacher I know, and he says it is not possible for God to do anything that is against logic. Ergo, a sovereign God CANNOT allow His creation to have any ability to receive or reject Him. Not logical.  Logic doesn't come into play, because man can't hope to grasp the most basic aspects of God's logic. However, if it IS about logic, even then, Calvinism fails, because logically, there is no point to the Bible, no point for the morality lessons contained therein, for any law to be given, for any preaching of the gospel to occur, because those destined to damnation with no hope to ever change because God hath declared it to be so, can never learn from the errors and sins of those in scripture, and those destined to salvation don't need it. So unless God is just having a great laugh at the expense of the billions He is sending to hell and judging guilty while denying them any opportunity to turn and repent, God would be the most illogical being to exist.
true justice and mercy are to be found in scripture: that a child was not to be judged for the sin of the parent, and vice-versa, tells me that God judges righteously-he gives His law and those who choose to follow it, (be it the law of Moses or the law of Christ), find mercy and salvation, and those who do not are judged sinners and lawbreakers and punished accordingly. But they have the ability to choose to keep or break those laws, and even the worst have found repentance in them. So we must assume that God gave the law based upon His method of judging, which is, we have a choice to follow and be blessed, or reject and disobey and be judged guilty.  But a God who says "Repent!" but has already removed any ability to repent, is a god unjust.  Acts 17:30 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:" Does he command, but not allow? I think not.

Heard from the doc. He's not concerned with the clots because they are small and not in the pelvic area. As long as Randy stays on his Warfarin and wears his compression socks things should be fine.

Randy had the rest of the ultra-sound he was scheduled to have done. It's not good news...more clots have formed. They are in his groin area, on both sides. The results have been sent to the surgeon who ordered the test. Randy thinks he'll likely have to have surgery again. We won't know until we hear from Dr. Nathan.   He has been having some pain, but it was different. And his INR was in the range that is supposed to indicate that there are no clots forming. Apparently, with him, that isn't a good indicator.  We rather think that it has something to do with this other clotting problem he may (probably does) have.   We would appreciate prayer for wisdom for the doc, for protection for Randy, and that God will work in us what He desires through this. I just have to say again how wonderful it is that we can turn to brothers and sisters in Christ and know that they will pray.

Brother "D-28 Player,"
You are indeed correct. I do NOT agree with all that you have presented above, but I DO agree with some of it.  Therefore, allow me to present a Biblical examination of that which you have presented.
1.  In your first sentence you state -- "Just as a physically dead man cannot dial 911 to call for help, so a spiritually dead man cannot call on God for salvation lest the ability be granted to him by God."  I myself AGREE that a spiritually lost and dead sinner as NO ability whatsoever within himself or herself to come unto Christ in faith for salvation, and thus that a spiritually lost and dead sinner CANNOT come unto Christ in faith for salvation except God graciously grant ability unto him or her.
2.  In your second sentence you state -- "Please note that this means that regeneration must take place before man can repent or express faith in Christ."  Herein you present God's work of regeneration as the ONLY possible means whereby God could grant a spiritually lost and dead sinner the ability to come unto Christ in faith for salvation.  Yet our Lord Jesus Christ Himself did NOT present God's work of regeneration as the means whereby God graciously grants this ability unto a spiritually lost and dead sinner.  In John 6:44 our Lord Jesus Christ declared, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."  Herein we notice that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke about the ability to come unto Him in faith for salvation.  Yet our Lord Jesus Christ did NOT speak about the regenerating work of God as the means whereby He grants that ability.  Rather, our Lord Jesus Christ very specifically spoke about the DRAWING work of God as the means whereby He grants that ability.

Brother "D-28 Player,"
Actually, I already knew the Calvinistic position on this matter.  Indeed, the Calvinistic system presents the matter as follows:
1.  A lost sinner is spiritually dead, such that he or she has no ability or desire whatsoever to come unto Christ in faith apart from some work of God's grace upon that sinner.
2.  The work of God's grace whereby a sinner is made able to come unto Christ in faith is the divine work of regeneration.  (By the way, this certainly means that within the Calvinistic system the divine work of regeneration is NOT AT ALL through faith, but is rather UNTO faith.)
3.  When God determines to engage His work of regeneration upon a lost sinner, He does so through an irresistible grace, such that the lost sinner CANNOT PREVENT his own regeneration (even if he did not want to be regenerated).
4.  Once God has engaged His work of regeneration upon a lost sinner, that lost sinner is now ABLE to come unto Christ in faith.
5.  Furthermore, once God has engaged His work of regeneration upon a lost sinner, that lost sinner most certainly WILL come unto Christ in faith, specifically because God's work of regeneration changed that sinner's will (desire) so that he or she now CERTAINLY WILLS (desires) to come unto Christ in faith.
6.  As such, EVERY sinner upon whom God engages His work of regeneration WILL CERTAINLY come unto Christ in faith.
7.  Then by God's grace through that sinner's faith, that sinner will be forgiven, justified, saved, reconciled, sealed, sanctified, and glorified.
 
Indeed, now you have actually answered my question.  IF you had done so after the first time wherein I had asked the question, I would NOT have had to ask FOUR more times or to place greater amounts of pressure in the repeated asking thereof.  Nor would I have been compelled to express reproof in my repeated questioning.
For the sake of the audience, I would challenge all to go back unto the first time wherein I asked my question (here) to discern if my question was originally presented in a "rude" manner.  I believe that will you also find that the second time wherein I asked my question (here) it was not in a "rude" manner.  I also believe that will you find that the third time wherein I asked my question (here) it was not in a "rude" manner.  In fact, it was not until the FOURTH time wherein I asked my question (here) that I began to challenge Brother "D-28 Player's" avoidance of my question.  As such, in that fourth time wherein I asked my question, I did indeed reprove him for that avoidance.  Finally, after the FIFTH time wherein I asked my question (here), in which I again expressed a reproof of his avoidance, Brother "D-28 Player" actually did answer my question.  Even so, although I certainly acknowledge that I expressed reproof, I do NOT at all accept the accusation that I committed the sin of "rudeness." 

I quoted this instead of the longer text, but it references that.
This is indeed a pitiful scene. Slavery was in all reality a major aspect of the civil war. Already the British were abolishing it among their ranks, and many Americans were beginning to be enlightened to the idea that skin difference didn't make one less a human. Too often, the condition of the slaves were harsher than those of a beast of burden, an odd thought seeing as how they considered them property for which they paid-who treats something of financial value, so poorly? And their intrinsic humanity was beginning to be seen. Even Lincoln.
Anyways, that was a very good piece you posted-having read over Foxe's Book of Martyrs, I recognize the power of the pen when one can write with honesty and compassion, and I don't doubt that book opened some eyes.  I think the whole issue of slavery, and the war itself, brought to light some real problems with American Christianity-even then it was about convenience, much like it is today, and then, believer was willing to lift arms against believer for such things. What a mess. Hasn't gotten a whole lot better, either. The Christians' support of slavery then, because it was the law, is very much akin to those churches who support homosexual marriage because it's the law. Or abortion. Hey, the government says it's okay, so we can, too!

Not so much music as 'guided meditation'.  Given a tape to listen to that is meant to assist you in being 'one' with the universe or a animal or object.  Although there was atmospheric music in the background - similar to the alpha brain wave sleep music you can get on you tube.
We didn't call what we were doing 'New Age' or 'Mystic' either, we called it 'mutli-level healing'
We used to go out into a village near a ski field and meditate among the rocks and forest in the area.  Felt good... but the foundation? Shifting sands!
It is the bible that never shifts and stands firm.. the Word of God.
 
 

I am constantly amazed when I hear someone preach a message on a familiar passage and see something that I had missed EVERY time I had read it previously. And it happens often.
When we think we have nothing more to learn from a passage, then we should just give it away......
It truly is the Living Word.

I suppose folks have to live in this world until the Lord comes...never mind.
 
P.S. I could see the smiles behind these posts.

I wondered why Friday nights are droll as well.  Glad we got that cleared up.  lol

A brochure..

The back window of my truck

 banner

and a few cards

Some of my recent print designs;
A window graphic for my CNC business, and some business cards...
T

Goodnight! This place is rife with lazy people! 

Depends. I might be driving home to spend a day with my family, on the road to Hinton or some other destination for the weekend, working on the next project at the print shop, or just relaxing at home since I know Saturday will be full with various errands, church jobs, or just getting outside for a while. (I may watch movies, but I don't go to them.)
Today, I'm tidying my house (got some out – of – town teen girls spending the night tonight),  helping with the print shop work day (got a newsletter to create, and maybe a banner for the Good Friday conference), adding polyurethane to the desk I'm building for the church office, grabbing church supplies, setting up a few April fools pranks for my friends ;-) and I need to start reading over the ton of historical info I got for my volunteer gig this summer at the Fort. Oh, and I just got word last night that I'm going to be an aunt for the third time! (they like dropping fake hints about this… Took them a while to convince me it was the real deal and not an early April fools joke!) :-D

There's no excuse for this kind of laziness! 

Came home, bottle-fed three baby calves, then gave one a shot of Tetracycline. Held the light while LynnDee bottle-fed 2 baby lambs. Now I'm downloading a PDF of a Massey Ferguson service/repair manual because the gear in my tractor's transmission which operates the PTO has broken loose and is just hanging on the shaft so I'm in a fix to get the harrowing and planting done(it's always something). Tomorrow morning I will feed the calves again, pitch hay to the sheep, spray a monument sign with two coats of latex, install a new tiller engine (if it fits), till the garden spot and hopefull make it to start tearing the top of that tractor transmission down to see what all needs fixing in there...Lord Willing

At home with my hubs and my mom in the evening on Fridays. On Saturdays it varies. Sometimes just busy at home, other times grocery shopping, ladies' lunch at church, and pretty soon visitation. Yay!

Where does everyone around here go on Friday evenings through Saturdays... to the movies?

I remember  reading Erwin Lutzer re telling a conversation he had with a "popular woman Pastor who skillfully blends Christianity with the New Age movement...". He pointed out how her answers seemed very orthodox to his first several questions he posed to her. As he persisted with his questions he eventually forced her to define her doctrine with more precision until she finally revealed that "When I speak about Christ, I am not speaking about Jesus of Nazareth".
He never revealed her name, but I suspect there are many people being deceived by false doctrines without even realizing it. This is why I get annoyed when I ask someone a question who claims to be a "Christian", and their response starts with "My Pastor says" or "My church believes.." instead of "The Bible says...". Too many people in the pews have become Biblically illiterate.
Thanks for your testimony!

Please, it would be really nice if the link would lead somewhere other than back here. I have been noticing this for a while now. And I seem to remember someone else commenting on this particular problem. Thank you.
Linda

1 Timothy,
Brother Wayne Hardy is the pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Stillwater Oklahoma.  He made the comment at a Men’s Advance several years ago, and it has stuck with me.  I believe the actual quote was “Men you will either live a life of discipline or a life of regret.”
Brother Wayne Hardy is in his early 50’s and is becoming a well-known speaker like his father Dr. Dave Hardy, now retired from pastoring but still preaching.     
http://mensadvance.org/