Chilldogg77 said:
"On our own" means without God. No-we can't. We don't have the faculties to see God with physical eyes or hear Him with physical ears. We have to see Him through our souls, through the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. It is His Spirit that reveals the truth to us. Those who are not indwelt require proof for what they believe because they do not hear or see. They've read the same word from God that Christians have, but without the Holy Spirit revealing to them the truth of it, to them it is just a book written by men. THey hear God's word, but their eyes haven't been opened to the power of it, to the fact that it is a living, breathing, document. To them it's just a book. Here is the scripture that shows this:
Matthew 13:10-23
10*And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11*He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12*For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13*Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14*And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15*For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16*But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17*For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 18*Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19*When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20*But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21*Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. F27 22*He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23*But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
This shows God's sovereignty. Ten through fourteen deal with God's sovereignty, and the rest deal with the actions of man for which God has hidden His truth from them.
Romans 8:29-30:
29*For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30*Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
God is sovereign and has predestined His chosen vessels. Since many of us were born into a physical republic, we think that's how God operates, too. But it isn't. The world is a Theocracy. This does not mean that we shouldn't strive to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; satan will often use this to twist scripture and attemt to impede people from entering God's kingdom, saying that if God is sovereign, they do not need to seek Him, regardless of His will for them. This is emphatically not the case. We are all to seek Him, because this is the natural means God has chosen to employ in our salvation. Cooperation between God and His creatures. ( See Matthew 4 for an example of how satan distorts scripture.) But God promises to reward those who faithfully seek Him.
More evidence that we cannot be saved without God. We are saved by grace through faith. As it is written in Ephesians 2:8
2:8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
We cannot know the truth of God who cannot be seen or heard with temporal faculties. How can we know Him who we have not seen? If we could arrive at this through reason, we wouldn't have so many world religions. There are highly intelligent people from every nation. But there is a difference between God's wisdom and the limited wisdom of man. As it is written:
1*Corinthians 1:17-31
1:17For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, F3 lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
1:18For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1:19For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
1:20Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1:21For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
1:22For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1:23But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1:24But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1:25Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1:26For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1:27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1:28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1:29That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1:30But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1:31That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
THere is so much more on this in the Bible, too, but if I wrote it all this post would be unbearable long.
If you baked a cake for a friend Christmas and you had it sitting on your counter, and you saw someone heading toward it with a plate and a fork, would you not tell the person not to eat it? Wouldn't you tell the person you had baked it for someone else? In the same way, God is sovereign over His creation that He likewise created for His own purposes.
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