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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: Is God omnipotent? |
Bible Note: Dear Tim, Gal. 2:16 - "know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified." "Does this verse say that we are justfied prior to or after faith?" "So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus." In the natural sense it seem that faith preceeds regeneration. But the verse does not specify the origen of the faith itself. My belief is that the order of salvation is less important than discovering the source of faith itself. If faith is something of my own, and my exercise of it is what turns the key in the lock of eternal life, if my assent to believe is crucial then I have something of which to boast. Don't get me wrong, I am not attempting a dodge from the order of salvation. Faith may also accompany the new birth, but our main concern is where faith comes from to begin with. Whether it preceeds or occurs simultaneously with re-generation, it make no difference to the larger question. Does fallen man really have the ability to believe or disbelieve as he chooses? Is'nt it true that if you believe something to be true, that it is impossible not to believe it, unless your mind is changed by new information which persuades you otherwise? If this is true in general, then it must be doubly true for the lost sinner. He is not a blank slate or neutral where the gospel is concerned. To the contrary, he is utterly opposed to the truth of God! Those who reject the gospel are simply responding to what they consider foolishness. Who could blame them? The gospel is spiritually discerned and the lost sinner is carnal. He is 100 per cent "old man". Dead in sin, a slave to sin and to the devil, without God and without hope in the world. It is not because they believe the gospel but reject believing that they perish, but as the bible says, they consider it to be foolishness after having heard it! What then makes the difference between those who believe it and those who think it foolish? The power of God! 1 Thess 1:5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. John |