Then how do unregenerate people do things from the heart that are God's will like what Christ said the Samaritan did? There is no law against such things, which means it's not sin, which is what God wills.
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Then how do unregenerate people do things from the heart that are God's will like what Christ said the Samaritan did? There is no law against such things, which means it's not sin, which is what God wills.
Why then do some unregenerate people hunger and thirst for righteousness? When Christ said this no one had been regenerated.
Blessed are the ones hungering and thirsting for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6
Already explained this. Outward conformity is not always inward reality. Proper inward reality is necessary to obedience as well. Otherwise, why would Jesus chastise the Pharisees who were outwardly in conformity?
This is not true. People are regenerated in salvation. OT saints were saved the same as today.
You're just flip flopping around to avoid being pinned down. You said in post 1,068 that being regenerated means being born from above. Are you saying that people before Pentecost were born from above?
It's an important question. And yes, people were regenerated and born from above before Pentecost. It's impossible to have an intimate relationship with God otherwise.
I repented a long time ago when I found out that my own righteousness was as "filthy rags (literally a woman's menstrual rag!), cf. Isa 64:6). When I stand before my Creator and Redeemer, I know whose righteousness I will plead. And it won't be my own!
You say you are not convinced? Well, what about Abraham -- the [spiritual] father of all those who believe? Was he not justified by faith when God reckoned/counted/credited/imputed his own righteousness to the patriarch? Read the entire chapter of Romans 4 carefully.
Also, check out this link to blbclassic.org that defines the Gr. term logizomai (Strong's 3409).
https://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G3049&t=KJV&page=2
Oh...So God imputed your sins unto Christ, but not Chris's righteousness unto you? But you need to be JUSTIFIED like Abraham was (see Romans 4). Being indwelt by the Holy Spirit is NOT sufficient for your salvation because all Christians are still sinners. No one lives in this life a perfect holy life. This is why you NEED to be justified by God with Christ's righteousness since he did for the elect what even the elect cannot do in this life. You need to be declared RIGHTEOUS by God. And if you insist that you don't need Christ's righteousness imputed to you, you will surely die in your sins.
The passage above doesn't teach that "some unregenerate people hunger and thirst...". You read a ton of your own personal presuppositions into bible passages. The unregenerate Hate God, hate his Christ, hate godly wisdom, hate godly knowledge. Anyone who hungers and thirsts for righteousness is either a born again child of God OR has been regenerated by bring effectually drawn by God to Christ for the day of his new birth.
I hungered and thirsted for righteousness well before I believed in Christ. I even mocked Christians back then. So your claim that all unregenerate people hate righteousness and godliness is simply ignorant and not based on experience like I've had.
My faith isn't grounded in people's personal, subjective, unverifiable experiences. The Word of God is TRUTH, not our, personal subjective experiences. Moreover, how do you know that God wasn't already at work in your soul? You could have been in a state of regeneration already on your way to your new birth in Christ.
Also, hell will be loaded with "virtuous, good, religious" people who also "hungered and thirsted". The difference between them and true Christians is that the former believe they can achieve righteousness on their own -- that they can even improve to the extent of reaching perfection, in some cases.
Also, I wrote a series of posts several months ago that argued that the unregenerate want nothing to do with God, his Son, his salvation, his truth, with biblical knowledge, wisdom, understanding, etc. I suspect you don't want to know the truth but here are the post numbers anyway: 9667, 9668, 9669, 9891 all of which were posted on Atonement thread. The unregenerate have NO HEART for God or his Truth.
We are not born cursed by God with a guilty or corrupt nature and this is certainly what you are implying.
James 1:14-15
New American Standard Bible
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death.
We are not enticed by the lust of Adam or Eve but "by our own lust".
Jeremiah 17:10
New International Version
10 “I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”
There is no reason to "search" the heart if all are born corrupt.
Yes, just LIKE Adam was enticed by his own lust. In other words, like father, like son -- each and everyone us. We inherited his sin nature, which is why the sons of men are called evil in the bible! Moreover, because Adam was appointed by God to be mankind's Federal Head, his sin is imputed to us -- See Rom 4, 5 and 1Cor 15.
While God did not "curse" us with a "corrupt" nature, he certainly ordained and designed mankind to be negatively impacted by sin in man's entirety -- body, soul, spirit, mind, heart, conscience, emotions, etc., etc. Look at sin as a disease that inflicts great damage to our entire being. Adam was physiologically impacted, and he passed those negative traits unto all his posterity, most likely through his sperm which accounts for the highly unusual "seed" language in Gen 3:15 and the necessity of the virgin birth for Jesus.
But God searches all hearts -- the righteous and wicked alike. What do you think God will be doing on Judgment Day when he judges both the righteous and the wicked?
In other words, those of the self-proclaimed chosen few.
Wait...let me guess...you know you are in the Book of Life. Am I right?
Such assertions are baseless.