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I firmly believe that the only way that a person can understand anything about the doctrine that Jesus taught is if the Holy Spirit (one who reveals) reveals it to the bible student. God will not allow the truth to be revealed until the person has denied himself (his own intellect). The scriptures should be our only source of doctrinal information and not other men's writings and interpretations. I feel that your many degrees and dependence upon other men's interpretations of the scriptures is a deterrent to God allowing the truth of Christ's doctrine to be revealed to you. Jesus, himself, taught the apostles, except for Paul, and he did not go to the rest of the apostles to learn the doctrine of Christ, but went off to himself and was taught by the Holy Spirit.
When you see a SINNER visiting your church for the first time. And some point during the church service, this SINNER gets up and walks to the altar and gives their life to God. Did the SINNER have to believe they needed to be SAVED in order to go to the altar, or did the SINNER go to the altar because they saw other people going to the altar?
They went to the altar because THEY BELIEVED they needed Salvation. So at this point, the SINNER is believing there is a GOD. Can the SINNER physically see GOD? Can the SINNER audibly hear God? NO, they cannot!!
But they still believe they NEED GOD and His Salvation. The act to which made them stand up, walk to the altar, begin giving their life to God, is the act of FAITH.
They don't SEE God, HEAR God, have no real reason then to believe in God, but they do believe and act upon it. They did this by Faith believing there is a God who can SAVE them.
NO ONE is saved ACCIDENTLY, it's ALWAYS ON PURPOSE that someone gets SAVED. And THAT on purpose Salvation ONLY happens, when FAITH takes place.