Unable to Believe the “Foolish” Gospel

[Dougcho]

The Best Election Verses
“election” means: God chooses to give faith to some people so they
will be able to believe in Jesus and the Gospel.

Acts 3:16
NKJV ------- “Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness …”
LB ---------- “Faith in Jesus’ name — faith given us from God — has caused this perfect healing.”

Acts 13:48
KJV --------- “… as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”
NKJV, NASB,
and NIV ---- “Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word
of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”
NLT --------- “When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord
for His message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers.”
It appears that the appointing and choosing comes BEFORE believing.

Acts 16:14
KJV --------- “… whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended
unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”
NKJV, NASB “… and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”
NLT, LB ---- “… the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.”
NIV -------- “The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.”
For Lydia to accept what Paul was saying, God had to open her heart.

Romans 9:11-33
NKJV --- “(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls)
… For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy
… Therefore, He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens
… that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy,
which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called,
not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea:
‘I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved.’
‘And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people’,
There they shall be called sons of the living God.’ ”
God chooses who gets elected; it’s not of wanting or willing, and it’s not of works.
God chooses who gets mercy, compassion, etc.
God chooses who gets to be called “beloved” and “sons of the living God”.

2 Peter 1:1
KJV, NKJV --- “To those who have obtained like precious FAITH with us …”
NASB --------- “To those who have received a FAITH of the same kind as ours …”
NLT ----------- “This FAITH was given to you …”
LB ------------ “… the kind (of faith) that Jesus Christ our God and Savior gives to us.”
It appears that faith is given by God and received by us.

Jude 3
KJV, NKJV, NASB “… the FAITH which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
NLT -------------- “… the FAITH that God has entrusted once for all time to His holy people.”
LB --------------- “… the truth which God gave, once for all, to His people …”
It appears that faith is entrusted to certain people (and given to them).

HEARS the Gospel >>>> God gives the FAITH required >>>> BELIEVES the Gospel

 

[electedbyHim]

The Best Election Verses
“election” means: God chooses to give faith to some people so they
will be able to believe in Jesus and the Gospel.

Acts 3:16
NKJV ------- “Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness …”
LB ---------- “Faith in Jesus’ name — faith given us from God — has caused this perfect healing.”

Acts 13:48
KJV --------- “… as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”
NKJV, NASB,
and NIV ---- “Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word
of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”
NLT --------- “When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord
for His message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers.”
It appears that the appointing and choosing comes BEFORE believing.

Acts 16:14
KJV --------- “… whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended
unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”
NKJV, NASB “… and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”
NLT, LB ---- “… the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.”
NIV -------- “The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.”
For Lydia to accept what Paul was saying, God had to open her heart.

Romans 9:11-33
NKJV --- “(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls)
… For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy
… Therefore, He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens
… that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy,
which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called,
not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea:
‘I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved.’
‘And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people’,
There they shall be called sons of the living God.’ ”
God chooses who gets elected; it’s not of wanting or willing, and it’s not of works.
God chooses who gets mercy, compassion, etc.
God chooses who gets to be called “beloved” and “sons of the living God”.

2 Peter 1:1
KJV, NKJV --- “To those who have obtained like precious FAITH with us …”
NASB --------- “To those who have received a FAITH of the same kind as ours …”
NLT ----------- “This FAITH was given to you …”
LB ------------ “… the kind (of faith) that Jesus Christ our God and Savior gives to us.”
It appears that faith is given by God and received by us.

Jude 3
KJV, NKJV, NASB “… the FAITH which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
NLT -------------- “… the FAITH that God has entrusted once for all time to His holy people.”
LB --------------- “… the truth which God gave, once for all, to His people …”
It appears that faith is entrusted to certain people (and given to them).

HEARS the Gospel >>>> God gives the FAITH required >>>> BELIEVES the Gospel

Excellent.

But the many will not "believe" this.

Faith and belief are interchangeable in the Bible.

On one hand, there is no difference between faith and belief. The two terms are often used interchangeably. The Gospel of John was written so that “you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). The Gospel of John does not even use the word faith, although the concept of faith is thoroughly woven into John. Throughout Scripture, there is no distinction between faith and belief.

On the other hand, in popular English usage, the word faith often has a deeper meaning. Belief often refers to an intellectual acceptance of facts. If you ask the average person on the street if he believes in Alexander the Great or Abraham Lincoln, he would probably interpret the question to mean, “Do you believe that such a person existed?” Most, no doubt, would answer in the affirmative. However, faith, in modern usage, has the added idea of trust and commitment.

Many people believe that Alexander the Great existed. When he was alive, many had faith in him as well, trusting him to protect them, lead them into battle, and expand the Greek Empire. However, it would be safe to assume that no one alive today is trusting him to do anything for them. They believe in his existence, but they do not have faith in him.

Most people believe it is important to eat healthy foods and exercise regularly; however, most people do not personally eat healthy food and exercise regularly. They believe that a certain set of facts is true, but they have not committed themselves to the implications of the facts. They have belief but not faith, in the modern sense.

Likewise, many people today believe a certain set of facts about God, and in some cases their facts may be completely orthodox. However, if they have never committed themselves to God, if they have not trusted Him, then they do not have faith or biblical belief in Him. Biblical faith (biblical belief) is never simply giving assent to a certain set of facts. Biblical faith is trust and commitment that result in a change of behavior. James 2:19 puts it this way: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” The demons believe that God exists, and they may even know more about God than people do, but they do not have faith in Him. Unfortunately, many people have the same kind of belief that the demons have, but that it is not sufficient for their salvation.

This concept can be illustrated another way: three people board a commercial airliner to travel to a distant city. The first is an engineer who designs and builds airplanes. He is also a pilot. He knows how everything works. Furthermore, he is a personal friend of the pilot who will be flying that afternoon, and he knows him to be very competent. He boards the plane with full confidence. The second person is just the average business traveler. He knows a little bit about airplanes but just doesn’t think about it too much. He takes his seat and starts reading a magazine. The third is deathly afraid of flying. He breaks out in a cold sweat. It takes all he can do not to turn and flee down the gangway. With much fear and trembling, he gets on the plane, sits down, and hopes he can fall asleep and not wake up until they land. So the question is, “who has more faith in the plane?” The answer is that they all have the same amount of faith. All of them have boarded the plane and committed their safety to the plane and the crew. They will only arrive at their destination if the plane arrives. If the plane goes down, they will go down, too. All the people who got on the plane were committing themselves to the plane—they believed (or had faith) in the plane. Those who stayed at the airport, even if they had complete confidence that the plane would arrive as scheduled, did not exercise faith in the plane. They did not commit themselves to it.

In summary, faith and belief are used interchangeably. However, the New Testament does recognize that people can have false faith or incomplete belief, which is inadequate. The difference is not between the two words but between the concepts of mental agreement and wholehearted commitment. In modern usage, belief often refers to mental agreement, and faith refers to wholehearted commitment. As long as that distinction is maintained, it doesn’t matter which words are used. However, we need to be careful not to import the modern usage back into specific New Testament passages.

 

[Dougcho]

Of course, we're NOT talking about intellectual belief
... as many in the pews for years have been guilty of.
I can see someone believing in the Gospel story, etc.
but NOT having faith that it will do them any good.
Perhaps this would be a case of intellectual belief,
which is NOT saving belief.

 

[Dougcho]

Let's not forget the words of Jesus ...
“No one can (is able to) come to Me” (John 6:44 and 6:65) ... without God’s help!

Jesus says God has to draw (Greek: helko - compel, drag; Vines #1670) people to Him (John 6:44)!

Does this mean that God has to drag even some of His elect into a state of belief?

 

[Dougcho]

Let's not forget the words of Jesus ...
“No one can (is able to) come to Me” (John 6:44 and 6:65) ... without God’s help!

Jesus says God has to draw (Greek: helko - compel, DRAG; Strong's #1670) ... people to Him (John 6:44)!

Emphasis on DRAG ...
This word "helko" is used in the following NT verses ...

“Do not the rich oppress you and DRAG you into the courts?” (James 2:6)

“… they seized Paul and Silas and DRAGGED them into the marketplace” (Acts 16:19)

 

[electedbyHim]

Emphasis on DRAG ...
This word "helko" is used in the following NT verses ...

“Do not the rich oppress you and DRAG you into the courts?” (James 2:6)

“… they seized Paul and Silas and DRAGGED them into the marketplace” (Acts 16:19)

ἕλκω
helkō; a prim. vb.; to drag; draw; haul: — drag(1), dragged(2), draw(1), draws(1), drew(2), haul(1).

 

[hawkman]

Because of what is clearly stated in the NT …
unredeemed man is NOT able to believe in Jesus and
the “foolish” Gospel … due to a multitude of reasons!

Paul and Silas told the jailor to believe on The Lord Jesus Christ . And he DID ! At least this is what I read clearly stated in the NT Acts Chapter 16 .
Was the jailor an unredeemed man ? Dougcho

Acts 16:31 Context​

28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

 

[hawkman]

Posts deleted .

1.2: Anyone who is not a Christian is only permitted to post in the Question and Answers section, and those who identify themselves as Christians will be held accountable to conduct themselves as such. If they are truly governed by the Holy Spirit, they will not continually engage in goading, mocking, insulting, trolling, berating or inciting other members to anger and resentment. They will post in a Spirit of kindness and respect, even if there are doctrinal disagreements, and be quick to reconcile if differences of opinion should get heated. Disciplinary actions will be taken against those whom staff regards to be naming the name of Christ and yet are holding the truth in unrighteousness.

 

[Hopeful 2]

Sorry for the confusion ... it's not my intention.
Before the foundation of the world, God decided to
pour out His grace (unmerited favor) on some of humanity.
Yes, He did have His reasons for doing so!

I don't believe that at all.

Since all humans were totally unable to choose (for themselves)
to believe in Jesus and the Gospel (as per reasons in the OP),
God gave His "elect-chosen-called" the necessary faith
to believe in Jesus and the Gospel.

What is the proof of having received that alleged gift ?