Subject: Predestination: scriptures meaningless? |
Bible Note: I will have to answer this in two posts:--length YOU SAID: "...unbelief is not "a" sin... Rom 5:18-21" and accused me of “completely ignoring the scripture.” I must apologize for not directly addressing your “particular” Scripture. I thought the other 7 or so verses revealed to you that UNBELIEF IS a SIN. While I would agree man is “totally depraved” and has a sin nature that can only be changed by re-birth (and until then he will never seek for God, neither can -Rom 3), this is not the meaning of the term UNBELIEF. So your proof text: Rom 5: 18-21 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience MANY were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall MANY be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: the free gift came upon all men unto justification (Are “ALL” without exception justified—again UNIVERSALISM). This cannot mean that all men will be saved; salvation is only for those who exercise the gift faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 1:16, 17; 3:22, 28; 4:5, 13). Like the word “many” in v. 15, Paul is using “all” with two different meanings for the sake of parallelism, a common practice in the O.T. (which he knew fluently). …..do I need to give you more examples of how the term “all” is used in Scripture? Again, CONTEXT! Look at: Rom 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one MANY be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto MANY. Paul uses the word “many” with two distinct meanings in v. 15, just as he did the word “all” in v. 18. He has already established that all men, without exception, bear the guilt of sin and are therefore subject to death (Rom 3). So the “many” who die must refer to all Adam’s descendants. CONTEXT, BTW I do not see the term UNBELIEF used? ---- YOU SAID: Everyone IS lost in the sin condition of the “flesh”: Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. After we choose Christ we are born of the Spirit and can live in our new spirit nature by dying to the flesh. So you are saying that every sin (prior to salvation) is “physical” and not “spiritual”? The verse you quoted proves that everyone has a sin nature (thus the spiritual natural leads to the physical one and “both” sin or are in sin or have the nature of sin), but I DO NOT see where it says that “only the flesh sinneth” and not the spirit or soul of man? Why would the spirit need to be created “new” IF it had not sinned against God? Actually if you will look at vs 14 of Rom 5 (since this seems to be your favorite chapter) it disproves what you are asserting: Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. Paul is saying even without the law, death was universal. All men from Adam to Moses were subject to death, not because of their sinful acts against the Mosaic law (which they did not yet have), but because of their own inherited sinful nature. |