Brother Ducky
New member
Lydia in Acts 16:14 makes a "decision for Christ" but only after there is a change in her heart done by God. I take this to indicate that regeneration preceeds repentance.
How 'bout you?
How 'bout you?
Lydia in Acts 16:14 makes a "decision for Christ" but only after there is a change in her heart done by God. I take this to indicate that regeneration preceeds repentance.
How 'bout you?
Lydia in Acts 16:14 makes a "decision for Christ" but only after there is a change in her heart done by God. I take this to indicate that regeneration preceeds repentance.
How 'bout you?
Yup! The spiritually dead don't assent to anything until quickened by the Spirit to spiritual life. Lazarus was not contemplating a "free will" choice to obey the command of our Lord to "come forth". :squint:Lydia in Acts 16:14 makes a "decision for Christ" but only after there is a change in her heart done by God. I take this to indicate that regeneration preceeds repentance.
How 'bout you?
Yup! The spiritually dead don't assent to anything until quickened by the Spirit to spiritual life. Lazarus was not contemplating a "free will" choice to obey the command of our Lord to "come forth". :squint:
AMR
Spiritual death/relational separation from God is not identical to physical death where our faculties are gone.
God does not command men everywhere (Acts) to repent and believe if it is impossible to do so in response to His convincing/conviction.
God alone regenerates, but it is not causative/coerced apart from our response to Him.
The image of God is defaced, not erased in man (bondage of the will is an overstatement).
There is not an identical correspondence between Lazarus and relational salvation (the analogy fails).
No, it is much worse! Physical loss of "faculties" only point to the horrible spiritual death and loss of the soul due to rebellion against God.
Physical death and the subsequent rotting of the body in the grave, is a picture of the "second death" when the souls of sinners will forever decay in Hell.
This "command" is reiteration of the everlasting Law of God, under which all men abide according to the original Covenant of Works. This Law is still taught . . .
But it IS impossible for spiritually dead sinners to spiritually function or respond in obedience under the Law towards God in any way. They can't, even when they make attempts at being "religious." No sinner can overcome his physical death, let alone reverse his spiritual death to which he is consigned.
The only power that convinces and convicts a sinner to repent and believe, is the power of the Holy Spirit, who first gives new life to that sinner, enabling him to repent and believe. Unless the Holy Spirit works in this way with spiritually dead sinners, they remain without any powers or abilities of their own to translate from death to life.
If God did not choose to bring some sinners to new life, no sinner would ever be able or willing to respond to God. Dead men, rotting away, cannot respond to life or living ever again.
Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is a great miracle and grace given from God . . . and that is exactly what you are denying. You deny God's power and grace. Tsk, tsk!
And you deny the doctrine of Total Depravity. Such is the heresy called "Pelagianism."
The truth only fails to be effectual, due to unbelief and denial of truth. Only those given new spiritual eyes from the power and grace of God, are enabled to see. The rest remain spiritually dead and blind.
Nang
Spiritual death/relational separation from God is not identical to physical death where our faculties are gone. God does not command men everywhere (Acts) to repent and believe if it is impossible to do so in response to His convincing/conviction. God alone regenerates, but it is not causative/coerced apart from our response to Him. The image of God is defaced, not erased in man (bondage of the will is an overstatement). There is not an identical correspondence between Lazarus and relational salvation (the analogy fails).
Paul wasn't speaking of just the physical death of the body in Romans 6. He is refering to the carnel nature all the sons of adam are born with, except you, you didn't receive you adamic nature at birth like the rest of, you found it at the altar of humanism which doesn't want to believe man is a fallen creature.
You have more in common with freelight than you think.
Faith and Repentance are evidences of the New Birth, not the causes.
Regeneration is the sovereign act of God whereby He imparts His very life and His very nature to the believing sinner
Repentant faith is the revealed CONDITION, not cause, of new birth
Lydia in Acts 16:14 makes a "decision for Christ" but only after there is a change in her heart done by God. I take this to indicate that regeneration preceeds repentance.
How 'bout you?
If you have a Bible database or Bible program, do a search of the word "repent." Most mentions are in the Gospels and in Acts. What would Lydia, a Gentile, have need of changing her mind about? (Repentence is a change of mind.) She was not a Jew. She did not need to re-think her faith due to Christ being her promised Messiah. Lydia was affected by the work of the Holy Spirit. When she yielded to Him then she became a new creation in Christ.
What would Lydia, a Gentile, have need of changing her mind about?
Your link is not working, yet I believe Lydia worshiped God before God accepted her repentance/ it could support both views:
repentance>regeneration
regeneration>repentance