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Are you saying that their value is found in their destruction?

Yes, but tares produce no harvest.

If the soil was dead, how did the thorns grow?

You are saying that the natural fallen man has no faculties whatsoever. This is not so. He can understand the gospel and respond to it. Jesus didn't say the Jews weren't a fig tree. He said they bore no fruit. The harvest is what separates, and not the leaves.

You believe the point is growth. The point is the soil. Only one soil produces the desired effect. Tares grow. They never produce wheat.

So what do you make of scripture where Jesus says my sheep hear my voice? Are all sheep? Why do not all follow?

It's not obvious or written in the passage. Neither does it say persevering maintains salvation. Neither would I be so certain of the bet if I were you since I know heaven is my home because I am kept by the power of God, but you don’t know if you will persevere or not.

This is the point of contention: not what is heard, but how it is received. All hear the same message. Only some respond unto salvation. The real question in my mind: are some able to respond in this way and others not? And what role does God have, if any, in this?

Who made the soil?

pfs...Calvinism accepts 4 soils.

You're wrong. Your very first point you butcher. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. To you, nothing means nothing but with an exception. So if you define nothing with an exception, to me that means something. So if you are going to reinvent definitions and add to...

I would take the time to respond if I thought it would make a difference, but I do not believe this to be the case. Grace and peace.

One is persuaded...that is what faith is...the persuasion by the Spirit of the revelation of God. Otherwise, it's foolishness.

This is gobblygook. Regeneration is what makes the grace of God apparent.

Your questions are legitimate, but your conclusion is wrong. Let's go in order: 1. God always decides after the pleasure of His own will. That is, God decides not out of obligation; rather, He makes decisions based on what produces His desired end. Some verses that teach this are Isaiah 46:10...

pfs...God never does anything on a whim. pfs...as the gospel is God's general means of salvation, no Christian should neglect the great commission nor should any hearer neglect its call.

Hebrews 1:3 describes Jesus as upholding all things by the word of His power. It may well be that Jesus is creating each moment in time anew.

Psalm 118:24...This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I'm not so sure you understood what Jesus said on the subject. He gives eternal life and no one can pluck them put of His or the Father's hand. Paul never says anything that contradicts this. I recognize that there are verses that seem to suggest otherwise, but if the truly did say otherwise...

I never said God always provided these things. God's word goes forth and accomplishes what He wills, and never returns to Him void. It accomplishes what He pleases and prospers in the thing whereunto He sends it...Isaiah 55:11. Read the verse. God sends forth His word for specific purposes, and...