When I was unregenerate, yes: I was in constant rebellion. I no longer recognize that person.
Now, I still sin, but feel sorrow even for smaller transgressions, and God provides discipline and strength to reform that part of my life, slowly washing me.
The surest sign of one's election is a confident perseverance in sanctification.
I think I’m generally in agreement with you but again I have questions. Isn’t applying the text only to the unregenerate and interpretation? Also do you find these types of memes and approach to sharing truth effective in engaging those who don’t already agree with you or is it mostly getting other reformed Christians to cheer for your boldness to speak inflammatory truths. I’m genuinely curious.
1. The text makes it clear that God sanctifies the regenerate, making them God loving instead of God hating. That has been my experience since being drawn into Christ.
2. I am not trying to "engage" the reprobate. Laser is my journal. I share what is going on with me. God not only ordains who is redeemed but the method: those He regenerates finds the telling of faith by Christian saints to be sufficiently compelling, ultimately unable to resist God's drawing.
3. The truth is inflammatory and offensive to the god hating, but God's saints find it more and more a comfort as they are washed in sanctification.
Evangelical (unreformed) protestants have adulterated God's word, attempting to make it easier to hear for the world.
God's word is for Christians, not the world.
I certainly misunderstood the purpose of the notes.
I agree that evangelical Protestantism has made so many compromises with the world that it’s tough to recognize the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
But I still wonder if you find the reformed view without fault or weakness? And if so, how do you think about the patristics and the Eastern Orthodox who, at least in their own view, are not adulterating the word of God differ on key subjects such as determine election and predestination Free will total depravity, etc?
I find the reformed tradition to be all that's left of the Western Church, and Catholicism to be an apostate religion.
The Eastern Church was praised by the reformers, even while there is a significant divide, mainly that Orthodox believe that you can never be sure of your salvation and that a constant stream of ascetic works are needed to improve your odds of being saved.
The Western (Reformed) Church has taken Scripture literally when it says that God has predestined His elect people to be redeemed through Christ by no merit of their own and by no choice of their own: God regenerates His elect people at a time of His choosing and they then are drawn into Christ forever, as is evident by their transformed life (fruits) and steadfast clinging to the means of grace.
I love my Orthodox brothers.
