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NASB | Acts 8:13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 8:13 Even Simon believed [Philip's message of salvation]; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he watched the attesting signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. |
Subject: How do I make sense of the context? |
Bible Note: "I came willingly to the Cross." Me, too! :) You wrote: "Not if you didn't know you needed the cross and once you did were offered irresistible grace." Order's reversed. It was God's efficacious grace that made me realize my need for Jesus Christ in the first place. Or, as the song goes: "T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear." You wrote: "But never mind that tell me how Muslims fit in the grand scheme of things. First the must be enlightened somehow thus seeking freedom from sin" Part of general revelation (that which all humans possess) is the conscience or moral sense. Everyone's got it, and Romans 2 tells us that God will judge both those with and without the written Law on the basis of that revelation. So the Muslim and the atheist both know they sin, know on some level of their guilt. "Unfortunately they are seeking the wrong god." It is not just misfortune. They are rebelling against God. You wrote: "Calvinist say were are so lost in sin that we reject a need for salvation and it isn?t until God elects us to receive that are eyes are opened and then we are offered irresistible grace which we can?t resist." Not exactly. Calvinists do not say that the unregenerate reject a NEED for salvation; they reject the only thing that WILL save. And election occurred in eternity past; it is God's efficacious, inward call during the lifetime of the individual that does the trick. The irresistible grace actually causes our eyes to be opened. At the risk of offending a bystander with quoting someone else, here is the way the Puritans put it: "Q. 31. What is effectual calling? A. Effectual calling is the work of God?s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel." You wrote: "Then Calvinist say that is manipulation but God is allowing us to exercise choice. What was the choice? To accept something that is in fact irresistible? That is not a choice." I never said it ultimately WAS choice on our parts. What I did say is that we willingly came to the Cross. When grace had its effect, we WANTED Jesus Christ. --Joe! |