Thank you for your help.
It's funny that you should mention Luke 16:31. I was thinking about this verse and a debate with Dr. Bart Erhamn and Mike Licona. I think it went something like this..Licona asked Bart what if he saw a man (pardon the vulgarity) decapitated and resurrected three days after death, what would he think of that or call that. His reply was basically "Meh, strange things happen." Do you think on certain people, maybe the people that fall on stony soil, miracles can make the heart harder?
Last question. I'm sorry I'm all over the place here. Do Lutheran's believe in Prevenient grace? I guess I don't understand how the gospel can truly be available to all. It says Jesus will not lose any the Father gives Him. That verse makes me think grace isn't truly available to all and some are going to hell no matter what. If that makes any sense.
Well, thank you for your reflections! These are great questions, and you've touched on a very large but interesting subject, but I'll try not to go on for too long. Please bear with me.
Miracles - John gives us a very clear and concrete insight into the purposes of miracles.
"Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." So, the purpose of miracles is certainly to point us to God's grace, namely Jesus Christ. But some will receive Christ and others not, which is why miracles can also indirectly serve as testimonies against the unbeliever, so that they are without excuse in being judged. The fault is not with God and His means of grace, but with the people who, through rebellion and sin, attempts to overthrow God.
Prevenient grace - Scholars throughout Christendom understand this a little differently depending on their framework, but in short, yes, this is a Lutheran position. That is, based on verses such as 1 Corinthians 4:7, 2 Corinthians 3:5, Philippians 1:6, and Psalm 21:4, and along with Agustine's argument against the Pelagian heresy; salvation, from beginning to end, is entirely from God. We summarise this as Sola Gratia.
I think perhaps what you're picking up on or feeling from your studies is a friction between rationalism and Scripture. What I mean by this is that the Calvinistic system and the Arminian system (Roman and Eastern Orthodox aside), are logical in their own right, but they have rationalistic tendencies. Basically, they're attempting to scientifically dissect or solve a holy mystery. In this respect, Lutheran and many Anglicans are a bit closer to Eastern Orthodox.
Let me give you a few examples: We don't understand scientifically how Jesus walked on water, yet most Christians can agree on it and believe in it. It's not blind faith, but (1) an acknowledgement of our limited understanding, and a submission to God. (2) We know it's possible because God is almighty. And (3) It's not the
how that is important, it's the
why that matters; it's not how a miracle occurs that holds any value, but why it occurred - its purpose - which is to point us to Christ.
The above is a very simple mystery, but the Bible is full of great and unsearchable mysteries. Consider the Trinity, or Jesus Christ who is fully man and fully God, or the depth of sin, or the cross! There is no logic or reason in the world to fully grasp these things. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12, now we know in part, but soon we will know in full.
So, just because we cannot fully understand something, doesn't mean that it's false. It just means God and His ways are greater than us. The Bible gives us many paradoxes, again, like the Trinity, that we accept through faith, trusting in what God has revealed to us to be true, even if we can't entirely understand it. Salvation is another great mystery in Scripture. On one hand, Scriptures say that God died for all; Christ took upon Himself the sins of the whole world - not just a few; the Gospel is for all - not just a few; God wills all to repent and believe - not just a few. Yet, the Bible also teaches that many will perish. These are not contradictory statements.
The Biblical teaching that Christ died for all, but not all will be saved is a doctrine that is prone to be mistreated through rationalism. The Calvinistic system (though inherited from Agustine) is a reaction against the rationalism of Rome, and Arminianism is a reaction against Calvin. They're all guilty of forcing the philosophical idea known as The Problem Of Evil upon Scripture, but the problem is that this philosophical idea is not compatible with Biblical thought. It doesn't apply, because that's not the framework Scripture operates in.
The Lutheran position is sometimes called Crux Theologorum, which is essentially recognising that we cannot understand why some are saved but not others; it's a holy mystery, just as the Trinity is a holy mystery. We confine ourselves to proclaim what the Bible says: Salvation is from God, damnation is from man. This equation is good, true and unproblematic by virtue of God being greater than math.
So, in a word, Christ did die for all and the Gospel is for all, but God's grace is resistible. There are those, by God's grace and the power and working of the Holy Spirit, believe in Jesus Christ. And there are those who, by their own evil will and works deny God's grace and resist the Holy Spirit.