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NASB | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
Subject: THE CROSS |
Bible Note: Greetings Tim! My friend, something tells me that's a loaded question. I know you've gone over the issue many times. So if you're trying to "win me back" to the Arminian camp--YOU'RE IN A LOSING BATTLE! LoL! It all goes back to the BEGINNING, Tim. And it just so happens that you and I differ sharply on what God did in the BEGINNING. From this disagreement, very little of our theology will be similiar. Nevertheless, I will entertain you. I believe the following examples clearly teach regeneration preceding faith: Joh 8:47 He that is of God heareth the words of God: for this cause ye hear them not, because ye are not of God. Read it carefully. Even dig out your Bible and read the whole chapter in context. Notice Jesus didn't say "If you want to be of God, then all you need to do is hear" (or believe!). No, he said you CANNOT hear because you ARE NOT of GOD. Being of God comes first, then you hear, not vice versa. Of course, we are now talking about the effectual calling of God. ONLY those predestined to be saved will be effectually called (Rom 8:28-30). Oh, and furthermore, we are all alike children of the devil, until, by His grace, God regenerates us to hear his message by giving us a heart of flesh (Eze 36:26). Thus, regeneration precedes faith. Faith isn't something we do. It's what we don't do. It's an emptying, a turning away from self toward God--the Author, the Perfector, the Giver, and the Object of our faith. Salvation is all of grace, individually by the will of God alone and for His purposes alone (John 1:13, Rom. 9:16, Eph 1:4, 2 Thess 2:13). In Christ, JIBBS |