John 6:29~~Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
Josefnospam, From all the posts I have read from you, I assume that you are a new believer or have found a place that is teaching Hyper- Calvinism that is antagonizing your personal choice. You need to make sure that your belief is your OWN when it comes to believing in The Lord Jesus Christ. It is on your shoulders, you have to believe with your personal volition to be saved.
"That YOU believe" in John 6:29 is in the ACTIVE voice in the Greek. The Active Voice commands us the we have to use our personal volition and God does not violate our freewill.
gr8grace, I am disappointed to hear you accuse Josefnospam of "Hyper-Calvinism." Also, the comment that "the devil believes in limited atonement" sounds like you intend to join the ranks of those just looking to flame anyone they disagree with. I hope these are isolated incidences and that you do not intend to continue such behavior.
Also, you are misrepresenting Josefnospams position and also that of reformed people when you accuse us of denying the volition of the will in faith. That is a misrepresentation. What reformed people do teach is that God changes the nature of a man (josefnospam correctly alluded to the change of heart). So then, when a person is changed by God, he wants to believe, he desires to believe, and he will believe. Thus I would suggest that both Josefnospam and myself would be in complete agreement with the active voice.
On the other hand, you seem to again make mistakes in you understanding of the koine greek. Commands are not related by the active voice, but rather the imperative mood, or hortatory subjunctive mood is how the greek language give commands. While the verb πιστευητε is subjunctive, it is not a hortatory subjunctive, and thus not a command.
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
The verse has nothing in it to suggest all men have the ability to believe. What it teaches is that if we have faith, this is the work of God. The normal libertarian free will position postulates that faith is the work of man for God. The scripture does not teach that, but teaches that faith is the work of God in man. So then, Christ is not only the savior, but the author and finisher of our faith. Christ is the savior, and the one who works in our choices, will, and volition to produce faith in us.
If you go on in the same Chapter... john 6:44 also makes this same scriptural teaching clear.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day.
Notice here the inability of men to "come to me" or have faith. Notice how the context again speaks of faith as the work of God. Our volitional and willfully chosen faith comes only when God sovereignly draws men. The end of vs 44 makes it clear that each and everyone drawn is raise up to eternal life in the last day, or is saved. So then, if men do not believe, it is because they are not drawn. If men do choose to believe, it is the work of God in man, and not the work of man for God. If faith were the work of man for God, it would be meritorious and then faith would be a synergistic work that cooperates with Gods part and then salvation would not be totally by grace, but only partially by grace.