Gargantua, you are a Christian right? You do not speak the words of Christian love. Even if I am your enemy, you must still love me. If you are not a Christian, say what you will. But if you are, we are brothers, and nothing in any Scripture gives you the right to address me with such venomous language. Furthermore, you may be in violation of your terms of agreement with FR. I thought true Christians kept their promises. You know full well this is not the kind of conversation this site was designed to promote.
Nevertheless, since I am still free to write a response, despite your protestations, I will. Please feel free to “put me where I belong” afterword. I will not hold it against you.
Calvinists believe John 3:16. All who believe in Jesus will have eternal life in Him. No Calvinist doubts that. The question is not whether those who believe will be saved. They will. The question, raised and answered by Scripture, is whether belief is even possible to one whom God has not chosen. However, since you say you know all about the election passages in Scripture, I have no need to point them out to you. What you do with them is between you and the God who wrote them. Not me.
As for your misconception about total depravity, yes it is true that on any given day, we tend inwardly toward murders and lusts, just as James teaches:
“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:1-4
So your question is fair. Why do we not descend to expressing the full measure of the evil that resides within us? The answer is simple. God won’t let us:
“Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” Psalm 76:10
He has his plan, and he will not let either you or I do so much evil that his plan would fail. He has many children he is bringing into his ark of safety, Jesus. When all whom he has chosen are on board, the flood of judgment will come. But not a moment before his plan calls for it. Even the worst deeds among humankind do no more than advance His righteous plan:
“For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.” Acts 4:27-28
Peace,
SR
We are saved when we use the free will God gave us to elect to believe in His Son Jesus, just as did that sinner hanging on the cross next to Jesus.
Christ didn't say to him, "Surely I tell you, this day you will be with me in Paradise: My Father has chosen you but not that guy hanging next to you."
No, Christ said: "Surely I tell you, this day you will be with me in Paradise: your faith has saved you."
See the difference? I told you not to pester me about this any more, but you just had to come back with your pious garbage because you Calvinists just can't help yourselves. You'd rather believe that God specially chose you out of everyone else in the world, and it is this despicable conceit and lack of humility; this PRIDE that makes me ill.
God is a jealous God. God would prefer that none should perish. The Bible tells us this in so many words. Why do some perish anyway? Because they choose not to believe. Go away from me. Get thee behind me. Go screw with the head of some impressionable punk who doesn't know the difference bewteen what the Bible actually says and your evil, self-aggrandizing spin on its meaning.
Last warning. I will pull out the whole fullisade of rebuttal and condemnation if you persist. Scripture says "be ready to answer when asked why you have the hope that you do in Christ." It does NOT say, "Go try to sell your man-made prideful piety to even the already saved."
Get lost, and take your lies with you.
;-\ on the