And that is why the Gospel must be preached (accompanied by power of the Holy Spirit). But you still don't get it, neither do you believe in, or accept, the power of the Gospel, even though Scripture tells you that it is indeed the power of God unto salvation. That's called pure UNBELIEF.
I do believe that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. I just believe it is God who works this power in us, not ourselves. I do not believe that reading the Scriptures will do anything to anyone unless God first effects them and opens their eyes. I am not denying the power of the Gospel, I am denying the power of man.
And that is why the Gospel must be preached (accompanied by power of the Holy Spirit). But you still don't get it, neither do you believe in, or accept, the power of the Gospel, even though Scripture tells you that it is indeed the power of God unto salvation. That's called pure UNBELIEF.
I do believe that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. I just believe it is God who works this power in us, not ourselves. I do not believe that reading the Scriptures will do anything to anyone unless God first effects them and opens their eyes. I am not denying the power of the Gospel, I am denying the power of man.
You agree HYPOTHETICALLY, otherwise you would believe that it is the Gospel itself under the power of the Spirit which changes the hearts of men to receive Christ.
It is almost as though we have forgotten that the Holy Spirit IS God. Yes, I agree; under the influence of the Holy Spirit, who opens the eyes and ears of the sinner, the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. But you would never be able to pick up that book and read or listen to that sermon and believe if God did not first open your eyes to the truth. God does the saving though. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. It is He who saved, and yes the medium He uses is His word.
1.
There are two very significant truths in Romans 9: (1) if unconditional election were true, every Jew would have been saved and (2) Paul would not have been so heavy-hearted for his Jewish brethren if they had simply believed the Gospel, and received Christ as their Messiah
1.) You are already Eisegeting. You have taken what you think, and plowed it into the verses before you even began to read them.
2.) Paul was so heavy hearted for his brethren because he knew that they were still denying the Savior and trying to earn their way into heaven [conditional election].
Romans 9:6
2.
Romans 9 also tells us that
God elects specific individuals for specific purposes, which fits in with His plans and purposes (NOT FOR SALVATION):
ABRAHAM ELECTED OVER LOT
ISAAC ELECTED OVER ISHMAEL
JACOB ELECTED OVER ESAU
MOSES ELECTED OVER AARON (TO LEAD ISRAEL)
But you refuse to read the part where Paul says "
before they had done good or evil." God was not holding something against them that they had not yet done.
Romans 9:11 [NOT of works; this verse clearly says the opposite of what you are saying]
3. Furthermore, there are some wicked individuals who are elected to show God's wrath against sin, because of their unrelenting wickedness, e.g. the Pharaoh who opposed Moses and God. It is Pharaoh who repeatedly hardened his heart, after which God hardened his heart so that he was damned for eternity.
And yet this is clearly against what the verse is says:
1.) Again, the chapter says multiple times that this election is not based on foreseen action
Romans 9:15-16
2.) God hardened Pharaoh's heart, not the other way around, according to this passage.
Romans 9:18
And yet again we see eisegesis; the vast majority of your post was you telling me what you think, not what the Scriptures say; this causes a multitude of problems. You are not reading these passages at face value, nor are you reading them with the whole of the rest of Scripture in mind. You are taking what you think, and trying to apply it to these passages that clearly say otherwise.