I can only try. Many are called, but few are chosen. Jesus is talking about the many people who WANT to be Christians.
How? How does God make sinners who are spiritually dead want to become a Christian?
But many of them want to also do things their way, and not God's way. They think they can be real nice to pelple, and ligth candles in memory of the dead, and pray to Mary, and do all sorts of charity work, and kneel before all sorts of idols.
No external act is necessary for salvation. Salvation is by divine grace through faith alone (Romans 3:22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9, much more scriptural references). Jesus said you must be born again spiritually.
How a spiritually dead sinner turn to God?
There are others who hear the word, and get all excited, but then lose their excitement and go back to their life of sin. (Oh, just think about the parable of the sower) But God is rather specific in His requirements about how we are to go about believing in Him. The few who do it His way, through the use of their own free will, will find Him, and He will never let them go.
Parable of the Sower
There are 4 Parables of the Sower. Three parables of people who made a profession of faith but then fell away and only the last parable Jesus gave is of real saving faith:
Matthew 13
The Parable of the Sower
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.
3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4As he was scattering the seed,
#1
some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. (If a farmer threw the seed and some of it went beyond the furrow only to land on that hard surface, it would never grow. It could not penetrate the ground. This illustrate that people will hear the gospel and think nothing of it).
#2
5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. (The rocky ground in this parable represents the people who will reject the gospel. Also Luke explains that the seed that landed upon the stony soil "lacked moisture" (Luke 8:6). There wasn't any root to capture the moisture. This means people who will initially receive the gospel, but thorns or the sun will cause them to fall away.)
#3
7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. (After the seeds are sown and they begin to germinate, weeds also begin to grow from the fibrous weed roots hidden in the ground. The weeds then choke the life out of the grain.)
#4
8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a cropa hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear." (Some people will initially receive the gospel, and ultimately bring forth fruit.)
The parable shows how people will respond to the gospel. All the soils are basically the same--the only difference is whether the
1. dirt is hard,
2. has rock underneath it,
3. has weeds in it, or
4. is good. The issue is not the soil; rather, it is the condition of the soil. That means that all people could receive the seed.
Keep in mind, soil represents SIN.
Any kind of soil could receive the seed if it was broken up and cleaned of weeds. So, the key to the parable is that the response a person has to the gospel depends upon the condition of that person's heart (sin).
Jesus explains further:
18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
How a sinner recieve the gift of faith through GRACE?
You also questioned John 15:16 This entire discourse is between Jesus and His disciples. Of course He specifically chose each of them. We are told in Scripture that He chose each of them. That verse has absolutely nothing to do with His choosing individuals to be saved. Jim, you can't take a verse out of its context and expect to make it fit into another unrelated context.
I would suggest you try reading John Chapter 13, through 15 to get the full and complete meaning of what Jesus was talking about.
John 15:19 Please reread the above paragraph.
I would go down to verses 26-27
"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning."
The Holy Spirit calls and chose us.
2nd Thessalonians 2:13 Well, let's look at two verses there.
13. "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
14. Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Here is a classic example of what I wrote in my threads. God certainly knew who would be found in the Book of Life. But, as these two verses clearly prove, the people Paul is writing to had to develop their "belief of the truth", which certainly denotes the use of their free will. After all, they were called by the gospel, right. And we can certainly (and logically) conclude that others heard that same gospel and decided not to believe in Jesus, right? After all, I bet you know some people who have heard about Jesus but have decided not to believe in Him. Couldn't it be the same for paul and his preaching?
People heard but their sins prevented them to be convicted by the Holy Spirit. Its not their choice to reject salvation, it is their choice to keep sins in their lives. Spiritually dead sinners cannot know nor understand salvation unless the Holy Spirit convicts them to repent. Mark 3:29
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."
1st Peter 2:9 Peter is talking to believers. But look at verse 7, and you will see "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient" Hummm.... The faithful are "believers" And the non-believers are "disobedient". Now, that sure sounds like free will to me, with some believing and others not believing. But you call it what you will...
Yes... writing to believers reminding them that God chose us and why we are suffering in this sinful world. Again, how does a sinful person become a believer?
Revelation 17:14 Once again I believe this is in reference to God's omniscience in that He knows who will be found in the Book of Life. In that regard, the saved definitely are "called" and "chosen." But "faithful" seems to once again reflect a sense of free will, doesn't it. Hey, you be the judge on that.
How does a faithful become a believer?
And yes, I stand by all of my entries in this post. I believe tht it you open your mind, read what I have written, and try to understand, you too will wind up thinking that "predestinate" refers only to God's omniscience in that He knows who will be saved and who will be lost, but being no respecter of persons, He causes neither.
Matthan
You have not answered my question.
