How (Alleged, Natural) "Total Depravity" leads to (Actually, freely-chosen) Total Depravity.

[studentoftheword]

And a comparison with the Gospel shows these are the Heavenly Treasures the Lord told us to store in Mat 6. Matthew 6 also knows absolutely nothing of "Total Depravity" and on the contrary presumes believers especially, but even non-believers, can pray, work and fast.

(1) As for non-believers, Acts 10 shows that not all their actions are "totally depraved" or sinful: "30 So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God." (Acts 10)

Since Cornelius was a naturally virtuous pagan/non-Christian, and God has Mercy on those who are such, he was led by an Angel to Christ.

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I say

I think your a little mixed up here in what your saying about unbelievers and what your saying about Cornelius ------

Cornelius was a Christian already -----and so were his family --all were believers -----the angel did not bring him to Christ ---the Angel was a Vision he had who came to him ==== to tell Cornelius that God accepted his prayers and gifts to the poor as an offering and gives Cornelius instructions to send for Peter ------read the scripture below ----

Acts 10
Cornelius Calls for Peter
10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.

2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.

5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter.

6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa
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This is your quote here ------

but even non-believers, can pray, work and fast.

(1) As for non-believers, Acts 10 shows that not all their actions are "totally depraved" or sinful

I say -----as far as you saying this -------
but even non-believers, can pray, work and fast.

Well I say------- they can but their sins and iniquity keeps God's face turned from them so He does not hear their pleas ------God can never entertain sin in any way or fashion as he is a Holy God ------

God hears what unbelievers say but he do not hear to Answer their prayers -----or acknowledge their works or fasting -------

We cannot just say we don't believe what this scripture says and throw it out like bath water -------if you don't believe this Scripture then you don't believe any Scripture ---as all scripture is God inspired ---

Isaiah 59:2 ------Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.


Your Quote here -----
As for non-believers, not all their actions are "totally depraved" or sinful

This is how I see this your statement here ------i agree that unbelievers can have actions that are not sinful ===they right actions do not earn then points with God in any way as again their sinful nature hides God's Face from them -------and therefore their right actions only pleases themselves and boost their Ego ------it does nothing to please God -----without the Right Faith you cannot please God ------

Just wanted to clarify this ------unbelievers do not have Faith in Jesus Christ ------

 

[XavierJesusLovesIndia]

Just passing through. SOTW, Cornelius believed in God in a generic sense but not explicitly in Jesus Christ. He was a Gentile, a Roman centurion in fact. That's clear from Acts 10. He didn't have the Holy Spirit in him yet. He receives Him in vs 44.

"Acts 10 Peter Meets Cornelius
24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28 Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”
30 So Cornelius said, [i]“Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your [j]alms are remembered in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. [k]When he comes, he will speak to you.’ 33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”
Preaching to Cornelius’ Household
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. 36 The word which God sent to the [l]children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— 37 that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom [m]they killed by hanging on a tree. 40 Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission[n] of sins.”
The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And [o]those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
Then Peter answered, 47 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days."

 

[studentoftheword]

Just passing through. SOTW, Cornelius believed in God in a generic sense but not explicitly in Jesus Christ. He was a Gentile, a Roman centurion in fact. That's clear from Acts 10. He didn't have the Holy Spirit in him yet. He receives Him in vs 44.

read this ======this is the truth here about who Cornelius was -----your right here that he received the Holy spirit after hearing the Gospel at his house ------but Cornelius was heard by God because he had converted to the Jewish Religion and reverenced God -------so God heard His prayer --------so he was not an unbeliever ---he was in fact a believer -------

Cornelius was a Jewish proselyte -------

Proselyte
In Old Testament times a foreign resident
Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14

In New Testament a person of Gentile origin who had accepted the Jewish religion, whether living in Palestine or elsewhere

Matthew 23:15; Acts 2:10; Acts 6:5; Acts 13:43

Who was Cornelius in the Bible
https://www.gotquestions.org/Cornelius-in-the-Bible.html

Despite being a Roman, Cornelius was a worshiper of God, a Jewish proselyte known and respected by the Jewish community (Acts 10:22). Cornelius was a devout man who regularly prayed and gave to charity (verse 2). One afternoon, while Cornelius was praying, he saw a vision of an angel of God, who told him that God had heard his prayers (Acts 10:30–31). The angel told Cornelius to find Peter, who was staying in Joppa at the house of Simon, a tanner (verse 32). Cornelius immediately sent two of his servants and a devout soldier to Joppa to find Peter and bring him back.

Meanwhile, God was preparing Peter’s heart to minister to his coming Gentile visitors. God gave Peter a vision of an assortment of animals, both clean and unclean (Acts 10:11–12). Peter heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat” (verse 13). Peter resisted this command, having never eaten non-kosher food before (verse 14), but the voice replied, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (verse 15). This vision was repeated three times, and then Peter heard the Spirit saying that three men were looking for him and that he should go with them without hesitation (verses 19–20). Peter found Cornelius’s two servants and the soldier, and they told Peter of Cornelius’s visitation by an angel and asked him to come and speak to Cornelius (verse 22). Peter invited the men to stay the night, and the next day Peter followed them back to Caesarea (verse 23).

When Peter entered Cornelius’s home, the centurion fell at Peter’s feet in reverence, but Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up . . . I am only a man myself” (Acts 10:25–26). Peter then reminded Cornelius that it was against Jewish law for Peter to be associating with Gentiles. However, Peter explained, God had shown him in a vision not to call any person common or unclean. Peter understood that the animals in his vision were symbolic of the Gentiles, to whom God was preparing to give the gospel (Acts 10:28–29). Cornelius then told Peter about the angel who had told him to seek out Peter. Both Peter and Cornelius saw that God had acted to bring them together.

Peter then said, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right” (Acts 10:34–35), and then he preached the gospel to everyone gathered in Cornelius’s house. As Peter was speaking, the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by speaking in tongues, and were baptized with water (Acts 10:44–48). Peter and the Jews who were with him saw the beginning of something new God was doing: “They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have” (verse 47). The “mini-Pentecost” in Cornelius’s house was proof positive that the gospel was for all people, not just Jews (see Luke 2:10; Matthew 28:19)

In considering the story of Cornelius in the Bible, it is important to note that being religious is not enough to save a person. Cornelius was as devout as they come, and he worshiped the one true God. Yet he still needed to hear the gospel and respond to it positively. That’s why God sent Peter, so that Cornelius could hear of the death and resurrection of Christ, which Peter clearly preached (Acts 10:39–40, 43). It was only after Cornelius and his household received the message about Jesus that they received the Holy Spirit and were born again. The story of Cornelius not only shows the necessity of the gospel but it indicates that God will move heaven and earth to bring the gospel to those who are ready to receive it.

 

[Locoponydirtman]

Faith is not a meritorious work by which man makes God a debtor. Faith is a Grace given by God. All of the Graces of God are His mercy toward us because His compassion.

 

[brightfame52]

Faith is not a meritorious work by which man makes God a debtor. Faith is a Grace given by God. All of the Graces of God are His mercy toward us because His compassion.

Towards His Elect, Faith is a Gracious Gift to Gods Elect Titus 1:1-2

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;