I do not think that all who say the Sinner's Prayer are of the elect because only God can determine who His elect are. Nothing we can do will change that. Therefore, some who say the prayer are pretenders.
All who follow Christ's voice are not necessarily His sheep. One must persevere and continue to follow His voice. Following it for a few years and then not following His voice does not make you a follower of Christ when Judgment comes.
But that does not seem to match scripture. I would say that the only way it could be possible for anyone to recognize Christ's voice would be through grace. Does this mean that God stops His grace for some, but not others? Or, in the alternative, is God's grace so weak that it can be overridden by man's whim? John 10 does not read like this at all to me. For example:
John 10:8-9 : 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
Whoever enters will be saved. Therefore, the gate is closed to those who will not be saved. There is no room in Christ's fold for those who are not His sheep. They will not hear His voice because they will never pass through the gate. In addition, if Christ lets those who are not His sheep into His fold for a while, wouldn't that make Him a thief? Shepherds only allow their own sheep into their own pens. One is a thief if he allows other sheep in. Under your system, the analogy completely breaks down here.
John 10:14-15 : 14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. (emphasis added)
Problem number 2. Jesus only lays down His life for His sheep, not the pretend sheep who later leave. Clearly, Jesus lays down His life only for the sheep who KNOW HIM.
I agree. One could be considered "saved", but I don't define "saved" as being of the elect. Just like I don't define being healed of a sickness as being invunerable to future sickness. I won't ask the follow up question, as then we'd start that awful cycle again...
But that does not seem to match scripture. {One must persevere and continue to follow His voice.} I would say that the only way it could be possible for anyone to recognize Christ's voice would be through grace. Does this mean that God stops His grace for some, but not others? Or, in the alternative, is God's grace so weak that it can be overridden by man's whim?
Perseverance is not found in Scriptures? I'll get back to that in a second. But your other comments: yes, we only recognize God's voice through grace. No, God's grace never "stops" falling on men - but as we have discussed about wicked men and Romans 3/Psalm 14 et. al - the wicked man will utterly REFUSE to accept this grace. God's grace is not 'weak', but God gave us the ability to choose. We have a familial relationship with God, not so much a legal relationship. Thus, God doesn't desire to force us to "choose" Him. He calls to us, deeply desiring for us to turn to Him, while He gives us opportunity and tools to do just that. Regarding man's "whim", your wife could have overridden your "offer that she couldn't refuse" as well. In the subject of love, it takes a giving of one's self to the other, not a forcible and necessary choice for the other's perceived "good".
Now, back to perseverance. This is what our Lord and Savior HIMSELF taught regarding the possibility of falling away:
Matt. 7:18 - Jesus says that sound trees bear good fruit. But there is no guarantee that a sound tree will stay sound. It could go rotten.
Matt. 7:21 - all those who say "Lord, Lord" on the last day will not be saved. They are judged by their evil deeds.
Matt. 12:30-32 - Jesus says that he who is not with Him is against Him, therefore (the Greek for "therefore" is "dia toutos" which means "through this") blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. This means that failing to persevere in Jesus' grace to the end is the unforgivable sin against the Spirit. We must persevere in faith to the end of our lives.
Matt. 22:14 - Jesus says many are called but few are chosen. This man, who was destined to grace, was at God's banquet, but was cast out.
Luke 8:13 - Jesus teaches that some people receive the word with joy, but they have no root, believe for a while, and then fall away in temptation. They had the faith but they lost it.
Luke 12:42-46 - we can start out as a faithful and wise steward, then fall away and be assigned to a place with the unfaithful.
Luke 15:11-32 – in the parable of the prodigal son, we learn that we can be genuine sons of the Father, then leave home and die, then return and be described as "alive again."
John 6:70-71 - Jesus chose or elected twelve, yet one of them, Judas, fell. Not all those predestined to grace persevere to the end.
John 15:1-10 - we can be in Jesus (a branch on the vine), and then if we don't bear fruit, are cut off, wither up and die. Paul makes this absolutely clear in Rom. 11:20-23.
John 17:12 - we can be given to Jesus by the Father (predestined to grace) and yet not stay with Jesus, like Judas.
John 6:37 - those who continue to come to Jesus He won't cast out. But it's a continuous, ongoing action. We can leave Jesus and He will allow this because He respects our freewill.
John 6:39 - Jesus will not lose those the Father gives Him, but we can fall away, like Judas. God allows us not to persevere.
John 6:40 - everyone who sees the Son and believes means the person "continues" to believe. By continuing to believe, the person will persevere and will be raised up. Belief also includes obedience, which is more than an intellectual belief in God.
John 6:44 - Jesus says no one can come to me unless the Father "draws" him. This "drawing" is an ongoing process.
John 10:27-28 - when Jesus says, "no one shall snatch them out of my hands," He does not mean we can't leave His hands. We can choose to walk away from Him.
Rev. 2:4-5 – Jesus tells the Ephesians that they abandoned the love they had at first and have fallen. Jesus warns them to repent and do the works they did at first, otherwise He will remove their lampstand (their awaited place in heaven).
Rev. 3:4 - in Sardis, Jesus explained that some people received the white garment and soiled it with sin.
Rev. 3:5 - Jesus says whoever conquers will not be blotted out of the book of life (see Exodus 32:33). This means that we can be blotted out of the book of life. We can have salvation, and then lose salvation by our choice.
Rev. 3:11 - Jesus says to hold fast to what we have, so that no one may seize our crown. Jesus teaches us that we can have the crown of salvation and lose it.
Rev. 13:10; 14:12 - we are called from heaven for the endurance and faith of the saints, keeping the commandments and faith.
Rev. 21:7 - we must conquer in order to share in our heritage and become a true son of Jesus.
Rev. 22:19 - we can have a share in the tree of life in God's holy city and yet have that share taken away from us.
This is taken from www.scripturecatholic.com
There is even longer list, if you also consider the writings of Paul and the rest of the NT. Brother, we CAN fall away, there is no doubt on that. The elect cannot, but NO ONE knows who that is in this life.
Whoever enters will be saved. Therefore, the gate is closed to those who will not be saved. There is no room in Christ's fold for those who are not His sheep. They will not hear His voice because they will never pass through the gate. In addition, if Christ lets those who are not His sheep into His fold for a while, wouldn't that make Him a thief? Shepherds only allow their own sheep into their own pens. One is a thief if he allows other sheep in. Under your system, the analogy completely breaks down here.
First, the gate is NOT closed - it doesn't say that! It says ONLY the "sheep" will enter, presumably, the elect. Second, you are saying that only those who FIRST enter the sheepfold THEN hear the voice of Christ. Again, it doesn't say that, either! Christ doesn't "let" anyone into the sheepfold "for awhile". You are trying to equate entering the gate as the moment you proclaimed YOURSELF of the elect. Only the elect will enter through Christ. The rest will either try to enter "through another way" or not make the "effort" to enter the sheepfold. A thief is one who enters the sheepfold without going through the gate. That is clear from the verses. These verses are about the elect, not every Christian who proclaims "Lord, Lord". If you are not abiding in Christ, today or tommorrow, you are not going to enter the sheepfold. Only those who abide in Christ will enter.
If anyone's analogy breaks down, it would be yours - as then you would have "goats" entering into the sheepfold - then having Christ toss some of them out - while the Scripture tells us ONLY the SHEEP enter the sheepfold. Nothing else. Thus, ALL Christians are not entering the sheepfold. Only the elect. Here is where the virtue of hope and perseverance comes into play.
By the way, did you notice that it was the sheep who entered the sheepfold, and that the Shepherd did not lasso and drag them in through the gate???
Problem number 2. Jesus only lays down His life for His sheep, not the pretend sheep who later leave. Clearly, Jesus lays down His life only for the sheep who KNOW HIM.
Jesus died for ALL men, that is clear from other verses. That Jesus lays down His life ONLY for the sheep is another way of saying that only the sheep will benefit from Christ's death. Goats will not utilize the graces and gifts given to them. Thus, in a sense, Christ's death is only effective for the sheep. It is an opportunity for ALL men, just as Adam's sin was a curse for ALL men.
Regards