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  1. JSGuitarist

    The man behind the iron cage

    And yet that did not stop Heman the author of Psalm 88 from sending up his prayers day by day to God from deliverance. So far as this man was concerned, God had abandoned him, and he was as good as eternally forsaken. The question is then, why did he even bother to send up prayers? Why did he...
  2. JSGuitarist

    The man behind the iron cage

    But you have not been absent of hope. You've confessed hope even on this board a few weeks ago about having hope of soon coming into salvation. Why do you say have had no hope? But even so, have you considered Psalm 88? Where in this Psalm does the author show any hope?
  3. JSGuitarist

    Salvation and my hypocrisy.

    Very good story.
  4. JSGuitarist

    The man behind the iron cage

    I'd keep in mind that in the same story, the evangelist directed Pilgrim to the narrow gate instead of the cross. Robert, if you'll read other works by the same author, you will find that he too felt like he had blasphemed the Spirit, and was convinced that God had abandoned him. Even after...
  5. JSGuitarist

    Paul's blantant contradiction

    I see. Maybe I can be of help here, Lord willing. I'm going to try and bring out the meanings of Romans 7 and 8, and I pray that this helps you. The verse is qualifying the kind of slavery intended. Specifically, it's a type of slavery that results in fear. There are two different types of...
  6. JSGuitarist

    Paul's blantant contradiction

    I hate to do this, I don't like calling translations into question publicly, but because it would be more edifying, if the NIV is referring explicitly to the Holy Spirit (which I'm assuming by the capitalized S), that translation is not correct. If you translate it literally, it comes out this...
  7. JSGuitarist

    Paul's blantant contradiction

    Bro, you didn't quote the whole verse. Romans 8:15 (ESV) - "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" Why did you skip over Romans 7? In that chapter it addresses the...
  8. JSGuitarist

    Door shut or open: Atonement theories collide

    Were I to try and reconcile the concept of particular atonement and the necessity of striving and asking, this is how I would put it... Some might look at verses like these and think, "If Christ has already paid for the sins of the elect, then what is the point of striving? They are paid for...
  9. JSGuitarist

    free will in calvinism?

    As far as your definition goes, God didn't simply wind up the clock and then let things roll as He decided they would without ever touching the world again. His activity and intervention even in events of the Bible show that He is the greatest contributing factor in all of history, and is not...
  10. JSGuitarist

    free will in calvinism?

    Friends, let's remember that the OP does not want contention. Let's respect his wishes.
  11. JSGuitarist

    free will in calvinism?

    In concerns to how far extended the sovereign government of God extends, this verse says a lot: "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord." - Proverbs 16:33 This is why at various points in the Bible you will see lots used to determine particular matters, such as...
  12. JSGuitarist

    Please Pray For My Salvation

    My prayers are with you Robert. May Christ ever be abundant and beautiful to you!
  13. JSGuitarist

    Has my heart hardened

    Amen :)
  14. JSGuitarist

    Wild Question Re: Calvinism/Arminianism

    As been said before, they are without excuse. Even the lost who have never heard the Gospel have the law written on their consciences, and so the question will come down to this on Judgment Day: "You knew right and wrong. You knew the law. The witness to the law lived inside of you from day...
  15. JSGuitarist

    My Pastor Is A Calvinist....But

    I could give you an opinion, though I'd prefer you PM me when you answer this for the privacy of your church, just so they aren't identified by the details (and neither you): what is the nature of this criticism? What are they saying? How are they going about it? Are they searching Scripture...
  16. JSGuitarist

    Has my heart hardened

    Dear sister, you are a far greater sinner than you think you are. The problem is that you are trying to make yourself right before God. You're hoping that if you have just the right amount of repentance, the right kind, that God will take what you've given Him and then in turn grant you...
  17. JSGuitarist

    called to preach

    Two books worth checking out on the matter might be "The Christian Ministry" by Charles Bridges, and "Lectures to my Students" by C.H. Spurgeon. I haven't read the former, and have only read the first few lectures of the latter, but they should be well-insightful on this matter. You can get...
  18. JSGuitarist

    dating, marriage and attraction

    If the attraction is that serious of an issue, you probably shouldn't. You don't want to drag her. The solution for both of you is to make yourselves attractive, make yourselves likeable. Externals aren't everything, but if physically you're not attracted or perhaps turned off, don't. You'd have...
  19. JSGuitarist

    Can someone hear the call to preach thats unsaved?

    I couldn't account for your pre-conversion days, the desire might have been inside of you for purely natural reasons, but the call by God to preach is itself indeed supernatural. It seems odd to me to think that you had the call before you were saved because really, your first and primary...
  20. JSGuitarist

    When God calls the sinner to salvation the sinner is given the choice at that moment

    This verse encapsulates the issue quite well. Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." My dear brother, you realize what you are doing here? You're trying to...