What's Wrong With Reformed Theology/Soteriology?

tdidymas

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If you can't see the contradiction in the two statements you just gave there, I give up!
So according to you: God ordains their evil deeds, and then punishes them for the very deeds he ordained them to do. You can't have your cake and eat it too. If God ordains even what the devil and every evil man is doing, there is no "in spite of" to talk about. It makes God the only real sinner.
You are adding to it, and accusing me of not answering what you are adding. No, I did not say that God ordains their evil deeds, and neither does that statement you quoted from the Westminster Confession. You claim it says that because you want it to say that, not because it actually says that. You misinterpret it in the same way you misinterpret scripture. This is why you think it is contradictory, and wish to accuse the God we say is the only true one, who revealed how He saves by Paul's teaching.

I think we should both give up, as you guys are wearing me out with false conclusions and nitpicking.
TD:)
 
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tdidymas

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But that isn't what we are talking about. Quit diverting to scriptures that aren't even in the conversation. Jesus flat out said people that were once in him could leave and be thrown into the fire.
You are referring to "every branch in Me that does not bear fruit..." Yet, He said "by their fruit you shall know them." So, if a person "in Him" doesn't bear fruit, then that person isn't one of the elect. Therefore, "in Him" has to mean part of the body of Christ, in fellowship, hearing the word, but not taking heed to it because of their unbelief. This is why I'm saying that all the apostles recognized that not everyone in the church was a true believer.
TD:)
 
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tdidymas

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It certainly does fit the context. The problem is, Calvinists just pull out part of the chapter, and ignore the overall context, which is God bringing salvation to the whole world through his salvation plan that started with Abraham.
I don't agree with your "corporate salvation" idea. It has God planning to save everyone, but no one in particular. That doesn't fit in the NT I read. In John 6, it says "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." This is talking about individuals.
TD:)
 
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tdidymas

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Consider this, would it be just for God to command that all men fly to Alpha Centauri otherwise they will all burn in the lake of fire for all eternity, then He provided a spaceship capable of carrying everyone but only allowed 1/3 of the population to board the ship and He just randomly picked the lucky ones who are permitted to enter the ship and just left all the others to figure it out on their own? Would that be a just punishment or even a just commandment for those who were not permitted to board the ship?

That’s basically Calvin’s theology in a nutshell.
This drivel doesn't deserve an answer. If you want to ask a sincere question on how exactly the scripture applies, I would answer it.
TD:)
 
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tdidymas

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But it does fit the context when you consider verse 30.

Now God has turned to the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, and the Jews who did not attain righteousness even tho they pursued it thru the Law, hence not according to he who wills or he who runs but according to God’s mercy.
No, the "corporate" idea still doesn't fit. In v. 30 he is still talking about individuals. When he says "the Jews" he is obviously excluding those individual Jews who believed. When he says "the gentiles," he is including only those individuals who believed. Therefore, he is talking about the salvation of individuals.
TD:)
 
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Charlie24

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Rom. 10:13 is identifying who is saved, that is, whoever calls on Jesus. It is not a description of the chronological process of salvation, which you appear to be trying to make it into.

Predestined to adoption as sons is the process by which God chooses individuals for salvation. If you claim that God has a generic plan but has no individuals in mind to fulfill that plan, then it's no plan at all, it's just a wish.

The church is made up of individuals, and God's predestinating plan is applied to individuals. The same as Rom. 8:29-31. "Whom He foreknew..." is talking about individuals, not some generic plan that includes no one in particular. Your argument just doesn't hold water.
TD:)
It most certainly is a plan! Thank God it's a plan for whosoever will and not just a chosen few.

You can pass it off, and that's ok. Was there any doubt this would be the result?
 
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Charlie24

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This drivel doesn't deserve an answer. If you want to ask a sincere question on how exactly the scripture applies, I would answer it.
TD:)
It's amazing how you pass of every post as not sufficient when it doesn't fit your narrative.

Every time you try to use scripture to prove your point you are shot down. Then on the basis of opinion you argue the opposition is incorrect.

I realize you are tired from responding to so many posts. Take a rest!
 
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Charlie24

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This drivel doesn't deserve an answer. If you want to ask a sincere question on how exactly the scripture applies, I would answer it.
TD:)
I have a question. Would you explain this for us without opinion and using scripture?

ITim. 2:3-4
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
 
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BNR32FAN

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The law Paul is talking about is the law of faith. This is how God is pleased, starting with belief in the gospel, then it carries to belief that God is performing His will through our actions. The natural man is the one who cannot understand this law of faith, and is not able to do so, because he has no spiritual wisdom or sight to understand how God works. All he has is his natural feelings, experiences, and common sense. So the gospel just plain doesn't make sense to him. And such people may be atheists, or may be very religious like Pharisees.


If a person can't "see" the light of the gospel, they can't believe it. This is further explained in 1 Cor. 2. A person dead in transgressions can't bring himself to spiritual life enough to see light. It takes an act of God to bring a person to that point.


Paul is speaking of spiritual truth, as he laid out in ch. 2. Don't confuse natural understanding with spiritual wisdom. People understand and believe the gospel in their heart, without necessarily understanding with their natural minds.

So when infant Christians are acting carnally like the Corinthians, they need correction and instruction, in which those true believers are singled out by their obedience to what is being said, because the Holy Spirit gives them the understanding. Those who don't take heed to the instruction are proven to be mere men, and not true believers.

If you say to a group of people "God loves you" and give instruction on how to become a Christian, it is unreasonable to expect that every single one of them becomes a true believer. Not one missionary will tell you they have a 100% success rate in conversions. You tell people what you believe they need to hear, but it's up to God to make that seed flourish or not.

So, when Paul rebukes them for the sins they are committing and tells them they are carnal, he is not saying they aren't born again, as IMO this is a false conclusion to the message in ch. 3. Paul is telling them that they are acting like carnal men, that is acting like people not born again, and proceeds to tell them that practicing carnality like that incurs judgment from God, such that they would be excluded from the kingdom (culminating in ch. 6).

So those Corinthian Christians who were actually born again took heed to the message of correction, and those who weren't didn't take heed to it. We know for a fact that some didn't, because Clement of Rome wrote 2 more letters to the Corinthians a generation later rebuking them for the same kind of things.

So your idea that an unregenerated person can believe the gospel on his own in his sinful and unregenerated state, just doesn't hold water according to the context of the NT.
TD:)

The law of God is not faith.

“Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:31‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Only by having faith can we be freed from our slavery to sin. The law of God is still the law which He gave thru His commandments.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:1-6‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Your ignoring the context that Paul is using his statements in 1 Cor 2 and adding to what he said. The term “spiritual things” is a very vague term and the context he used this term in was in reference to the Corinthian believers whom he said were still fleshly and unable to comprehend spiritual things. So Paul is not saying that people cannot believe the gospel if they are fleshly because he is telling the fleshly Corinthians believers they cannot understand spiritual things. They’re still new Christians. Look around you, how many Christians here on CF have been Christians for years and can’t understand “spiritual things”. Both you and I have been Christians for years and even we can’t agree on spiritual things.
 
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BNR32FAN

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My goodness, is this all you can come up with? No scripture, no reasoning to explain how I misunderstand it, just opinion and accusations, proving that your agenda is to oppose it. If this is all you can do now, then I would guess our conversation is over. What do you think?
TD:)

I’ve been providing evidence throughout our discussions on every topic in this post. I didn’t see any point in presenting the same evidence that you’ve already rejected.
 
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BNR32FAN

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This drivel doesn't deserve an answer. If you want to ask a sincere question on how exactly the scripture applies, I would answer it.
TD:)

It’s basically the same scenario. God gave an impossible commandment, man is incapable of meeting God’s expectation, God provided a way for all to be saved but only allowed some to partake of it, and the rest burn in the lake of fire for all eternity.

Exactly which part of this scenario is not correct according to Calvin’s theology?
 
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BNR32FAN

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No, the "corporate" idea still doesn't fit. In v. 30 he is still talking about individuals. When he says "the Jews" he is obviously excluding those individual Jews who believed. When he says "the gentiles," he is including only those individuals who believed. Therefore, he is talking about the salvation of individuals.
TD:)

No because he talking about those whom He has called to righteousness as a group as a whole. That is how He is being patient with the vessels of destruction.

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for " WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED." How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, " HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!" However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, " LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; " THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD." But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, "I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION, BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I ANGER YOU." And Isaiah is very bold and says, "I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME." But as for Israel He says, " ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE."”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:12-21‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Here Paul makes it clear that belief comes from hearing the gospel and choosing to believe.
 
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renniks

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You are adding to it, and accusing me of not answering what you are adding. No, I did not say that God ordains their evil deeds, and neither does that statement you quoted from the Westminster Confession.
That's exactly what it says. If he ordains everything, it certainly includes all evil deeds. You are trying to believe a direct contradiction.
 
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renniks

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You are referring to "every branch in Me that does not bear fruit..." Yet, He said "by their fruit you shall know them." So, if a person "in Him" doesn't bear fruit, then that person isn't one of the elect. Therefore, "in Him" has to mean part of the body of Christ, in fellowship, hearing the word, but not taking heed to it because of their unbelief. This is why I'm saying that all the apostles recognized that not everyone in the church was a true believer.
TD:)
Nope, he will say to those that were not really his that he never knew them. They were never in him. The ones cut off were in him.
 
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BNR32FAN

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Nope, he will say to those that were not really his that he never knew them. They were never in him. The ones cut off were in him.

Jesus doesn’t say someone is in Him unless they are truly in Him. If they weren’t truly connected to Jesus then The Father wouldn’t need to cut them off. When a person is in Christ he has some time to get himself straightened out otherwise he will be cut off. Hence God is patient towards us not wishing that any should perish but that all come to repentance.

“And He began telling this parable: "A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?' And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'"”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭13:6-9‬ ‭NASB‬‬
 
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renniks

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Jesus doesn’t say someone is in Him unless they are truly in Him. If they weren’t truly connected to Jesus then The Father wouldn’t need to cut them off
Exactly. It's obvious from the text, and the only reason to find another explanation is if someone doesn't like the truth.
 
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bling

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Ps. 51:5 "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me."
These verse will take a lot to explain, but it also has to be consistent with all these verse showing a child is innocent:

Now Ps. 51:5 "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me."

You do realize a careful read of this verse says: “…in sin my mother conceived me.”, and the iniquity is in the being brought forth”, so the fault is with the mother’s sin and being brought forth conception, so what sin is he talking about?

David talks about how he was treated as an outsider by his brothers: David describes quite literally in the psalm, “I was a stranger to my brothers, a foreigner to my mother’s sons . . . they put gall in my meal, and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.” So does this have something to do with David’s mother?

This verse is a Hebrew poetic parallelism, with the second line of the verse saying the same thing as the first line in a slightly different way. The first verb, of which David is the subject, is in the Pulal tense (as is "made" in # Job 15:7 ), which is an idiom used to refer to creation or origins, and is the 'passive' form of Polel ("formed": # Ps 90:2 Pro 26:10 ). TWOT, #623, 1:270.

The subject is, as the verse clearly states, the 'circumstances' of his conception- the sexual union which produced him was an act of sin, and addresses the unrighteousness of his mother's act.

Looking at David’s Mother

Exodus 34:7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

Matthew 1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse

Torah specifically forbids an Israelite to marry a Moabite convert, since this is the nation that cruelly refused the Jewish people passage through their land, or food and drink to purchase, when they wandered in the desert after being freed from Egypt.

But this has to do with Jesse a Moabite descendent marrying a Jewish woman not the opposite, so is she condemned?

There is another twist to the story: 1CHR 2:13-16 13 “And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third, 14 Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, 15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh: 16 Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. 17 And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.”



….and the father of David’s half-sisters was not Jesse, but Nahash: 2Sam 17:25 “And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.”

So, David’s mother was previously married to Nahash a gentile, so does that make her unclean?
Rom. 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned"
Again, it does not say death came to all people because Adam sinned, but because all sin. All mature adults need the reality of death hanging in their future to help them to realize they need forgiveness now and may not have tomorrow. It says nothing about humans inheriting anything, but they will eventually sin.
Rom. 7:13 "Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful."
This is saying nothing about inheriting sin? In fact read the whole section Ro. 7: I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

Paul says he was alive to begin with but died only after he sinned and not after Adam sinned.
The preponderance of evidence shows that the sinful nature is in us when we are born, and that inclination drives us to commit sinful acts. When John says "if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves..." he is talking about the inclination to commit sinful acts.
No, the preponderance of verse suggests the opposite:

Spiritual consequences of sin cannot be transmitted from father to son but only falls on the one who committed the act: Ezek 18:1-4; 18-20; Jer 32:29-30

Sin is committed by individually breaking God's law: 1 Jn 3:4

The spoken and written gospel message is God's power for salvation: Rom 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18

God said that the king of Tyrus was "blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you." Ezek 28:15

"God made men upright but they sought devices" Eccl 7:29 (plural can't refer only to Adam)

Jer 19:2-6 human sacrifices of children to Baal is called the "blood of the innocent"

Jesus teaches us that we must become as little children to enter the kingdom of God (Matt. 18:3- 4; Lk. 18:16-17)

Apostle Paul: Rom 7:9-11 "Once alive" "sin killed me"
It appears to me you are confusing the physical nature with the spiritual. Sin is a systemic problem, having to do with man's autonomy and rebellion against God, which is embedded in his nature. Thus, he naturally loves pleasure more than God.
Our discussion has been on inherited sin not just inevitably sinning sins I agree all mature adults will sin, but that is not because of Adam and Eve doing something they could have kept from doing.
straw man argument, since God is condemning those in rebellion against Him. If Satan was capable of telling the truth, Jesus would not have said "there is no truth in him." And if Satan can't tell the truth, then is God unjust to condemn him? Your argument doesn't hold water.
Satan did say some true statements to Eve and Jesus.

Unless God supernaturally enlivens a person as Eph. 2:5 says, that person will never accept God's charity. This is the plight of man that only Christ can save him from.
Eph. 2: 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Just as the prodigal son in his “dead” state by Christ’s definition of “dead” could come to his senses and for selfish reasons turn to his father, there is nothing in Eph. 2 which states man does not have the ability to reject God’s salvation, just those Paul is addressing accepted God’s salvation.
I don't really want to argue speculation. This is your opinion and speculation based on your agenda to reject the idea of predestination. But scripturally, those who are spiritually dead cannot spiritually resurrect themselves. It takes a person spiritually resurrected in order to obey what God commands according to God's terms, and this idea is inherent to Eph. 2:5.
Again, the person who does not reject God’s invitation will be saved, but they certainly did not “resurrect themselves”?

Ok, if you insist on using the term "free will," I'll go with you here. This freedom to choose to be Satan's children lacked knowledge, wisdom, and any insight into truth. So then, how could it be a "free will" choice? It was made in ignorance and stupidity. In fact, it was made in bondage to sin, since Jesus said "he who sins is a slave to sin." If by sinning, a person chooses to be Satan's child, he is already a slave to sin. This how people start sinning, it's because they are born with it.
Adam and Eve were not “born with sin” and yet they sinned, so if there are a lot more ways to sin every mature adult will sin.

We do have knowledge of good and evil, so there is a choice, but we cannot keep from every sin all the time (our knowledge produces way too many ways to sin). Paul in Ro. 7 was alive and doing great with the first 9 commandments, but coveting was his down fall. So was Paul making free will choices to keep the first 9 commandments?
So then, you are saying that a person must become righteous first, before becoming a child of God?
NO! They just need to be willing to accept pure charity (like a poor true bagger) as pure charity for even selfish reasons (selfish reasons are not righteous since being unselfish is righteous).
I think you are inconsistent in your conversation. You claim that a person by himself can make the worthy choice of accepting Christ (that's doing something, BTW, and according to scripture it is a worthy choice, since righteousness comes by that faith with which we make that choice), and yet you deny that man can do something worthy. I see inconsistency here.
I never said: “a person by himself can make the worthy choice of accepting Christ”, but they just need to be willing to accept pure charity (like a poor true bagger) as pure charity for even selfish reasons (selfish reasons are not righteous, since being unselfish is righteous). What “worthy” thing did the prodigal son do?
Only believers are willing to do what you describe, and that faith is the gift of God. We have to have that gift first, then we can exercise the hope of God's forgiveness in Christ. Therefore, God's grace comes first, then our faith logically follows, then obedience.
God is always gracious with everyone, but some accept His grace and others reject His grace.
Satan's will was wrapped up in his conceit. So, from Satan's POV it was "free will" but from God's POV it was slavery. And it's the same with men. People see their personal autonomy as their most precious possession, yet God calls it bondage because it is contrary to how man was designed. We were created to glorify God in our lives by the faith that God is working His will through us. Lacking that faith is what autonomy is, and is therefore the essence of sin.
TD:)
I do not think all people see their autonomy as being that “precious”.

So satan was always conceited?

So does the person predestined to go to hell, glorify God?

If “autonomy” is the essence of sin is God autonomous and thus the essence of sin?

Just very limited autonomy allows humans to Love not like a robot, but Love like God Loves us.
 
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tdidymas

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I have a question. Would you explain this for us without opinion and using scripture?

ITim. 2:3-4
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
This is one single verse that Arminians like to quote because it appears to be a stand-alone statement. But let me point to other scriptures which indicate that Arminians might not be fully understanding what the apostle is trying to teach in this statement.
1. Jesus gave his life as a ransom "for many" - not all in this context.
2. Jesus blood "purchased men from every tribe, tongue, and nation" - not all.

So then, what if "all men" does not refer to every person on earth? What if it refers to all nations, all kinds of people? It would fit the context, if we understand that Timothy was a Jew and very possibly had a prejudice against gentiles. You could claim that my idea is just speculation, but so is yours. Therefore, you can't base a whole soteriology on this one verse of scripture, and call this verse a "slam dunk." My point is that if the interpretation of this verse is contrary to what Paul clearly teaches elsewhere, then that interpretation doesn't hold water.
 
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tdidymas

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The law of God is not faith.
Rom 3:27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
The reason why the natural thinker can't obey God is that he doesn't do it in faith.

IMO the free-willite looks to himself for obeying God by means of his "free will", rather than to God for His working through them.

“Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:31‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Only by having faith can we be freed from our slavery to sin. The law of God is still the law which He gave thru His commandments.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:1-6‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Your ignoring the context that Paul is using his statements in 1 Cor 2 and adding to what he said. The term “spiritual things” is a very vague term and the context he used this term in was in reference to the Corinthian believers whom he said were still fleshly and unable to comprehend spiritual things. So Paul is not saying that people cannot believe the gospel if they are fleshly because he is telling the fleshly Corinthians believers they cannot understand spiritual things. They’re still new Christians. Look around you, how many Christians here on CF have been Christians for years and can’t understand “spiritual things”. Both you and I have been Christians for years and even we can’t agree on spiritual things.

The term is very vague to you because you are not considering the context, that Paul is talking about the gospel he preaches. Spiritual things then becomes very specific to the things about the gospel. Such things are only discerned in the spirit, which requires faith that God is working.
TD:)
 
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