The Issue of Calvinism.

Mjh29 said:

We are saved by grace through faith. This does not mean that we do not have faith. What it does mean is that this faith is a gift from God. We are not trying to get rid of faith; we are changing where it comes from. Instead of coming from within the dead, unregenerate man, we believe God changes our hearts of stone and gives us hearts that have the ability to have faith, and that makes this faith a gift from God. We believe that we are saved fully by the work of the cross, and not that we were made able to save ourselves. Christ's work is finished; the debt for His people is paid in full, and nothing can add or subtract from that payment.



Romans 5:1-2 must be understood that Paul is talking to those who have already been saved by the grace of God. This 'access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. Paul is speaking of God's grace through tribulation and trials; he says so himself in the next few verses. He is saying "Don't only be joyful only because you know God's grace is upon you during trouble, but also rejoice in the trials themselves because..." and he goes on to explain the benefits of going through trials. Ephesians 2:8-9 expressly, point blank says we are actually SAVED by grace through the tool that is faith, and if you read onwards you see that there is no indication he is talking of anything else other than salvation. We see elsewhere that men cannot generate faith in and of themselves:

Job 14:4
Jeremiah 13:23
Matthew 7:16-18
Matthew 13:33
John 6:44
John 6:65
Romans 11:35-36
1 Corinthians 2:14
1 Corinthians 4:7
2 Corinthians 3:5

And still elsewhere we see that faith and repentance are divine gifts and are wrought in our souls through the regenerating work of the Spirit

Acts 5:31
Acts 11:18
Acts 13:48
Ephesians 2:8-9
Philippians 1:29
2 Timothy 2:25-26
Romans 8:30
Galatians 1:15-16
John 3:27

And if you look into these verses, you will find that nowhere in the rest of the passage nor the rest of the Scriptures do they contradict; they are taken with context in mind and respected.



If you are searching for God, earnestly searching, rest assured that HE is already doing something. If one asks "What must I do to be saved?", this is the work of the Holy Spirit on their minds and hearts, and the process has already begun; God has already begun to give them His grace! And the beautiful thing is, they can rest assured that Christ will complete this work; they need not fear being lost. When a person is searching, this is God changing their hearts, and one day [in God's own time], He will bring them to a place where they will ask "Sirs, What must I do to be saved?" and when they hear the blessed "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved." God's grace will effect them in such a way that instead of having the sinful eyes of men, they are brought to see the wondrous truth, and at that moment, God gifts them with faith, and they believe. When it comes from grace, there is no need to wring the hands and wonder what to do, because God will be the ultimate guide, and not only will he guide you after you have been saved, but He will also guide you to Himself through the wondrous power of His grace.

1 Corinthians 2:10-13
1 Peter 1:1-2
John 1:12-13
Titus 3:5
1 Peter 1:3
Ezekiel 36:26-27
Ephesians 2:0



This is a very interesting question, because by the very language used we see it is not something we can do. Be born again.... did you birth yourself the first time? Did you cause yourself to be birthed? No, of course not! It sounds preposterous to say that one "birthed himself" and this is the very reason for using such language. Though it is true that you must be born again, this does not mean that you must be able to birth yourself. We cannot birth ourselves, and yet in order to enter the presence of God, we must be born again. This birth comes from the Holy Spirit, from God and God alone. He births us, gives us new life, and a new heart. He is the one that causes this new birth, by the amazing power of His grace.

John 1:12-13
John 3:3-8
1 Peter 1:3
1 Peter 1:23
1 John 5:4



A person is absolutely born again by faith in Jesus and His finished work on the Cross.... We just deny that any of this comes from man. As we have seen together above, it is all from God; from the start of our journey towards Him, to our new birth and regeneration, to our faith in Him, it all comes from God. This does not make it any less effective; if nothing else removing sinful man from the equation and substituting instead the perfect God of all makes this faith and new birth all the more potent! It is all from Him brother, and that is what makes it so powerful and amazing.

Isaiah 55:11
John 3:27
John 17:2
Romans 9:16
1 Corinthians 3:6-7
1 Corinthians 4:7
Philippians 2:12-13
James 1:18
1 John 5:20

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