Apparently, I am wrong about the meaning of this verse. Yesterday I was told that this passage is about whosoever chooses God of their own free-will. Then only this portion of the passage was quoted:
12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
What troubles me about preachers only qouting portions of a text without giving proper exegesis is that the text then becomes a pretext. Yet I am sure this preacher is convinced he is not doing so. This preacher has an obvious love for God's Word. Yet, when it comes to God's sovereignty in election, well...read the next verse.
13children born not of natural descent,[a] nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
I am really not sure what I could add to this verse to make it more Calvinistic. I am not sure what to take away to make it less. Perhaps I should leave well enough alone.
3 comments:
It's according to how far you take it, I suppose! ;)
On cannot merely make a decision to be saved. It is God's work, a miracle that He does in the human heart. That's one of the problems I have with "easy prayerism". Abra-cadabra, repeat this formula, and Shazam! You are now saved. It's much deeper than that. The Lord must draw the sinner. And He must do the saving.
Ed
As I think back over my own conversion, I definitely see myself drawn. Entering the faith was basically inescapable for me. I was wooed from the inside. How could I then turn my back on the greatest love I'd ever encountered? Impossible. God breathed life into me when I needed it most.
"The Lord must draw the sinner. And He must do the saving."
I agree with Ed.
:-)
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