Another Calvinist belief -In order to believe in God you must first receive the gift of faith, which God only gives to His elect.
We must have faith first in order to believe.
WHOSOEVER believes WILL be saved.
We are saved BY FAITH.
Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
We receive the gift of salvation because of God's grace...through faith.
Paul teaches that we are to repent in order to be saved.
Acts 2:38
38And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
John 1:12
12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
First we receive Jesus...
Believe in His name
AND THEN
We become children of God.
THIS is the order for salvation.
The above is NOT what the OT or the NT teaches.Then you must receive the gift of repentance, then you must receive the gift of a new Spirit, then you must receive the gift of obedience, then you must receive the gift of transformation, then you must receive the gift of perseverance, then you must receive many other gifts to make you conform to the image of the Lord Jesus.
Before you can receive any of these gifts, you must first be dead in your sin and utterly helpless and hopeless and unable to do anything other than stink like a corpse. And God has to do the all the work of salvation, from start to finish.
The bible teaches that we are to SEEK God: (of course while we are dead in our sins).
Matthew 6:33
33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Hebrews 11:6
6And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Jeremiah 29:13
13You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Let's look at your verse: (exactly as YOU posted it)If you try to contribute anything to earn your salvation, then it is an abomination in Gods sight and you need to repent of it.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Which part of "God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation" don't you understand??????????????
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God has chosen us from the beginning....
FOR SALVATION THROUGH SANCTIFICATION....
God called us THROUGH THE GOSPEL - THE GOOD NEWS....
so that we may gain the glory of Jesus Christ.
God does not choose WHO....
but He did predestinate for:
METHOD
or
PURPOSE
We will be saved THROUGH SANCTIFICATION....
THIS has been predestinated.
Because God desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of Him.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

