Results 1 - 7 of 7
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | God grant repentance? | Gal 3:23 | Lookn4ward2Heavn | 187428 | ||
1. You say, "Unrepentance is not a habit or an attitude...therefore, God must change that nature." Are you suggesting that repentance is an impossibility unless God does something physical to man's natural or spiritual substance? Or, that repentance is some form of physical/spiritual substance that God places into a man in order to "change that nature"? 2. 1 Cor 1:27-28 merely describes the character or condition of those when chosen and who made the choice; it does not say how that choice was made. 3. Are you suggesting that the TEV is not a reliable translation. In the TEV preface of the NT: "The primary concern of the translators has been to provide a faithful translation of the Greek text." It would seem their aim is the same as the NASB or ESV translators. I also prefer the NASB in my studies but refer to that version where I feel the translation gives the better meaning that is intended. Therefore, what God is giving is not "repentance" itself but the opportunity to repent. 4. To answer your question: God is grants men the opportunity to change, that is to repent. Whether they repent or not is up to them. I can only suggest that your question presupposes an erroneous concept of what is repentance. |
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2 | God grant repentance? | Gal 3:23 | DocTrinsograce | 187433 | ||
Dear Lookn, Regarding your question #1: Yes, "...repentance is an impossibility unless God does something physical to man's natural or spiritual substance." The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV) Furthermore... We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. (Isaiah 64:6a ESV) Good works, like repentance, can only be done by the regenerate (Titus 1:16; 2:14; 2 Corinthians 7:10). (See also post #151466, on regeneration.) It is granted to those as empowered by the Holy Spirit (see Acts 11:18) "When a man is converted to God, it is done in a moment. Regeneration is an instantaneous work. Conversion to God, the fruit of regeneration, occupies all our life, but regeneration itself is effected in an instant. A man hates God -- the Holy Spirit makes him love God. A man is opposed to Christ, he hates his gospel, does not understand it and will not receive it -- the Holy Spirit comes, puts light into his darkened understanding, takes the chain from his bondaged will, gives liberty to his conscience, gives life to his dead soul, so that the voice of conscience is heard, and the man becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus.And all this is done, mark you, by the instantaneous supernatural influence of God the Holy Spirit working as he wills among the sons of men." --Charles Hadon Spurgeon "Regeneration is the spiritual change wrought in the heart of man by the Holy Spirit in which his/her inherently sinful nature is changed so that he/she can respond to God in Faith, and live in accordance with His Will (Matthew 19:28; John 3:3,5,7; Titus 3:5). It is an inner re-creating of fallen human nature by the gracious sovereign action of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8). This change is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. It originates not with man but with God (John 1:12, 13; 1 John 2:29; 5:1, 4). It extends to the whole nature of man, altering his governing disposition, illuminating his mind, freeing his will, and renewing his nature." --J. I. Packer In Him, Doc |
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3 | God grant repentance? | Gal 3:23 | Lookn4ward2Heavn | 187439 | ||
Doc, I Cor 2:14 in no way says or can be correctly interpreted as saying that "God does something physical to man's natural or spiritual substance." As I read it, all it says is that the man, as a sinner, does not value God's word and, therefore, rejects it because he has no spiritual apprehension of it's significance; that is basically it. Is 64:6a states that the transgressor's righteousness, in comparison to God's standard of righteousness, are unacceptable. Nothing here about change of nature as you suggest. The same goes for Titus 1:16; 2:14; 2 Corinthians 7:10, and Acts 11:18. Your interpretation to me has no bearing on the verses you cited. If Packer is suggesting what you have stated, I respectfully submit that my reading of the Bible shows he also is misinterpreting the verses. |
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4 | God grant repentance? | Gal 3:23 | hopalong | 187443 | ||
Dear Lookn, I beg your pardon my friend, but Paul goes a bit further than your post seems to indicate. Quote: "As I read it, all it says is that the man, as a sinner, does not value God's word and, therefore, rejects it because he has no spiritual apprehension of it's significance; that is basically it." 1Cor2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. The unsaved individual ,not only does not esteem the God's Word, but he cannot even bear listening to it, nevermind understand it. Remember, we are speaking about a creature that is a spiritual cadaver. To his way of thinking, the Gospel is a joke; something made up by religious fanatics! I'm sure that in your own experience in evangelizing, that you have found youself, so to speak, talking to a "stone wall"! That is why we pray that God will change this person's heart! A changed heart will result in a changed will, don't you see. God bless you, Old 'Hopalong |
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5 | God grant repentance? | Gal 3:23 | Lookn4ward2Heavn | 187456 | ||
1. I fail to see where the context of the verse undermines how I have understood it. It rather further supports and clarifies my position. Nowhere is a change in the substance/nature of the physical/spiritual person shown to be involved. 2. There are unbelievers who have understood what the Bible says but refuse to attach any significance or value to it in their lives. They refused, not because they did not understand but because they did not believe it had any relevance in their lives. 3. There is no arguing we pray for God to change a person's heart, but the kind of change you suggest is not, as far as I can see it, in the Bible or even in the verses you cited thus far. |
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6 | God grant repentance? | Gal 3:23 | hopalong | 187460 | ||
Dear Friend, it appears that the "bone of contention" beteween you and I is regeneration itself. We both know that being "born again" entails a radical change. The question is at what stage of our conversion was our nature changed. From our studies in 1 Cor 2, we learned that the unsaved (natural) man is dead to spiritual things. To him the things of god are foolishness; that by his very nature, he is incapable of even understanding spiritual things. That being the case, repentance must be granted as a gracious gift to this helpless enemy of God. From 2 Tim 2:25, Paul shows that this helpless rebel, this slave to Satan, this man whose very will is captive to evil, is not beyond the saving power of God Almighty! For the Scripture proclaims:..." perhaps God may grant them repentance". Ezek 36:26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. That is the kind of change that I was speaking of. That is the kind of change that changes the natural man to the spiritual man. Hoppy |
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7 | God grant repentance? | Gal 3:23 | humbledbyhisgrace | 187472 | ||
Greetings Hoppy! Well said my Brother! Amen and Amen! 1 Chronicles 29:11 "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as Head above all" "The Sovereignty of God is an expression that once was generally understood. It was a phrase commonly used in religious literature. It was a theme frequently expounded in the pulpit. It was a truth which brought comfort to many hearts, and gave virility and stability to Christian character. But, today, to make mention of God’s sovereignty is, in many quarters, to speak in an unknown tongue. Were we to announce from the average pulpit that the subject of our discourse would be the sovereignty of God, it would sound very much as though we had borrowed a phrase from one of the dead languages. Alas! that it should be so. Alas! that the doctrine which is the key to history, the interpreter of Providence, the warp and woof of Scripture, and the foundation of Christian theology, should be so sadly neglected and so little understood." - A. W. PINK By Faith, Steve |
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