To you it has been given to know...

[XrzrX]

Simple question..
Why would Jesus use parabolic language to obfuscate a Message that the unregenerate were totally incapable of understanding anyway?

 

[CrowCross]

Simple question..
Why would Jesus use parabolic language to obfuscate a Message that the unregenerate were totally incapable of understanding anyway?

Chapter and verse please.

 

[XrzrX]

Chapter and verse please.

Matt 13:11/Mk 4:11/Lk 8:10

 

[Carbon]

Chapter and verse please.

Exactly!

Why would people ask questions without giving chapter and verse? That's wanting an answer, possibly out of context.

 

[XrzrX]

Exactly!

Why would people ask questions without giving chapter and verse? That's wanting an answer, possibly out of context.

Sorry, I'd edit it but we can't.

 

[CrowCross]

Matt 13:11/Mk 4:11/Lk 8:10

It's about the discernment given to the followers of Christ...and not to the non-followers.

Jesus spoke in parables not to confuse us but to invite us if we have ears to hear.

 

[XrzrX]

It's about the discernment given to the followers of Christ...and not to the non-followers.

Jesus spoke in parables not to confuse us but to invite us if we have ears to hear.

If people are born without the ability to see the truth, as Calvinists believe, again, why the need to "hide" anything... they CAN'T see anyway.

 

[CrowCross]

If people are born without the ability to see the truth, as Calvinists believe, again, why the need to "hide" anything... they CAN'T see anyway.

Apparently they have ears to hear. Those who remain unregenerate don't.

Perhaps it repells those who don't have a heart for Jesus.

Parables have a way of revealing our spiritual conditions......That's my take.

 

[XrzrX]

Apparently they have ears to hear. Those who remain unregenerate don't.

Perhaps it repells those who don't have a heart for Jesus.

Parables have a way of revealing our spiritual conditions......That's my take.

Again, that's the "means" (by which He accomplishes His will) argument.. the point is, He doesn't need to "repel" them, again, they have Zero ability to see or hear. It's redundant.

 

[QVQ]

Again, that's the "means" (by which He accomplishes His will) argument.. the point is, He doesn't need to "repel" them, again, they have Zero ability to see or hear. It's redundant.

I would offer
Matthew 7:6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

In fact, even though Christ cloaked His message and His identity, He was trampled and torn to pieces.

Just a thought.

 

[XrzrX]

I would offer
Matthew 7:6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

In fact, even though Christ cloaked His message and His identity, He was trampled and torn to pieces.

Just a thought.

Well, you are actually trying to answer the question of why He "did", when the real question is why He "would". The why He 'did' is easy, He came first to Israel.. and to effect His mission, it was 'given' to the 12.. not to 'the elect'. But, for the Calvinist.. Why "would" He have to?

 

[ReverendRV]

Simple question..
Why would Jesus use parabolic language to obfuscate a Message that the unregenerate were totally incapable of understanding anyway?

Because the Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation; the person is not that Power...

The Birds ~ by ReverendRV * October 21

Matthew 13:4 GW; Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them.

Jesus used four examples of ground to teach about our Hearts and described them like different kinds of Soils which received a Farmers seed. One was freshly tilled soil, another was weedy soil, yet another was rocky soil, but one was the hardest soil of them all; the trodden path where nothing grew. Jesus would go on to explain that the seed symbolizes his Gospel and its effect on the different types of ‘Souls’. ~ You may have the hardest heart there is and the birds just carry the seed away, but I have news for you; Jesus went on to say that if the birds didn’t fly away with the Gospel seed, you WOULD believe and be Saved. The reason for this conversion is because of how dynamic the Gospel is! The Gospel is the power of God unto Salvation. It is the same power that God raised people from the dead with. You don’t stand a chance and have no control over it; the Gospel can penetrate your Heart no matter what. If you don’t like feeling out of control like this, wait until you hear the rest of the story; the worse is yet to come…

Jesus said that the birds are Satan stealing the Gospel seed from those who don’t understand, lest they believe and be Saved. There is a Spiritual War going on and we’re in the middle of a battle. If you don’t like being out of control regarding the Power of the Gospel, you really shouldn’t like having no control over Satan taking away your best chance in life! What you need is Understanding; let me help you. ~ Have you ever Lied? What name do you call a person if they tell Lies? Have you ever stolen something? What name do you call someone that steals? Are you beginning to understand? Jesus said that Hatred is Murder in the Heart, certainly a hard Heart has hated; right? Have you ever hated anyone? These are only three of the Ten Commandments, shall we go on? If God judged you by this standard would you be innocent or guilty? If you understand, you’d be guilty. Does this bother you?? God sends guilty Sinners to an eternal Hell; but you don’t have to go. You can hang up a scarecrow to keep the birds away…

Jesus was hung on a Cross like a scarecrow. The reason for this was so that he could receive the Wrath of God for Sins he never committed. Jesus lived his whole life and never Sinned by breaking any of God’s Laws. This made him like a spotless lamb whose fleece is white as snow. Jesus gladly gave up his life and shed his blood so that we wouldn’t have to go through this as punishment for our Sins. He died and was buried in a borrowed tomb, but rose from the dead after three calendar days. He conquered death and the grave, and after forty days he ascended to Heaven where he awaits the day he’ll bring us to himself. We’re Saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus as our Risen Lord and Savior, without our tilling the ground. Repent and go to a Church that teaches the Gospel and the Bible. ~ Alfred Hitchcock made a horror film called ‘The Birds’. Nature began to turn on Mankind and the fowls of the air started to attack. No eye or ear was safe from them and many would lose their lives. Stay close to Jesus and you will be safe…

Matthew 13:18 KJV; But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

 

[XrzrX]

Because the Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation; the person is not...

The Birds ~ by ReverendRV * October 21

Matthew 13:4 GW; Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them.

Jesus used four examples of ground to teach about our Hearts and described them like different kinds of Soils which received a Farmers seed. One was freshly tilled soil, another was weedy soil, yet another was rocky soil, but one was the hardest soil of them all; the trodden path where nothing grew. Jesus would go on to explain that the seed symbolizes his Gospel and its effect on the different types of ‘Souls’. ~ You may have the hardest heart there is and the birds just carry the seed away, but I have news for you; Jesus went on to say that if the birds didn’t fly away with the Gospel seed, you WOULD believe and be Saved. The reason for this conversion is because of how dynamic the Gospel is! The Gospel is the power of God unto Salvation. It is the same power that God raised people from the dead with. You don’t stand a chance and have no control over it; the Gospel can penetrate your Heart no matter what. If you don’t like feeling out of control like this, wait until you hear the rest of the story; the worse is yet to come…

Jesus said that the birds are Satan stealing the Gospel seed from those who don’t understand, lest they believe and be Saved. There is a Spiritual War going on and we’re in the middle of a battle. If you don’t like being out of control regarding the Power of the Gospel, you really shouldn’t like having no control over Satan taking away your best chance in life! What you need is Understanding; let me help you. ~ Have you ever Lied? What name do you call a person if they tell Lies? Have you ever stolen something? What name do you call someone that steals? Are you beginning to understand? Jesus said that Hatred is Murder in the Heart, certainly a hard Heart has hated; right? Have you ever hated anyone? These are only three of the Ten Commandments, shall we go on? If God judged you by this standard would you be innocent or guilty? If you understand, you’d be guilty. Does this bother you?? God sends guilty Sinners to an eternal Hell; but you don’t have to go. You can hang up a scarecrow to keep the birds away…

Jesus was hung on a Cross like a scarecrow. The reason for this was so that he could receive the Wrath of God for Sins he never committed. Jesus lived his whole life and never Sinned by breaking any of God’s Laws. This made him like a spotless lamb whose fleece is white as snow. Jesus gladly gave up his life and shed his blood so that we wouldn’t have to go through this as punishment for our Sins. He died and was buried in a borrowed tomb, but rose from the dead after three calendar days. He conquered death and the grave, and after forty days he ascended to Heaven where he awaits the day he’ll bring us to himself. We’re Saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus as our Risen Lord and Savior, without our tilling the ground. Repent and go to a Church that teaches the Gospel and the Bible. ~ Alfred Hitchcock made a horror film called ‘The Birds’. Nature began to turn on Mankind and the fowls of the air started to attack. No eye or ear was safe from them and many would lose their lives. Stay close to Jesus and you will be safe…

Matthew 13:18 KJV; But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Thank you brother, the Gospel is always music to my ears. Second simple question, why would Satan have to steal a seed from an unregenerate?

 

[ReverendRV]

Thank you brother, the Gospel is always music to my ears. Second simple question, why would Satan have to steal a seed from an unregenerate?

Because as I said, if the Seed remained; it would germinate. Everything Satan does, he has to do; because of God's Providence...

Providence ~ by ReverendRV * August 20

Psalm 145:13 NET; Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and your dominion endures through all Generations.

There are many false teachings about religion and often they infiltrate our thinking, causing us to have a point of view that God didn’t mean for us to have. Our verse reminds me of a couple of errors that have crept into the Church. ~ Open Theism believes in a Christ-like God, but one who has left us to our own devices; because he isn’t Omniscient. Deism is the belief that an unknown God created everything, and also left us to our own devices. Who would want a God that would leave us and not use his own devices for our sake? ~ The evidence that the Church has been infiltrated by these false beliefs is the diminishing of a very important teaching from the Bible; God’s Providence. You ask, “What exactly is Providence?”

God has the right to Govern his Creation; an everlasting Dominion that endures through all generations of humanity. In the Garden of Eden God gave Man Dominion over the world as its Governor; likewise God is our Governor. When we welcome our own Dominion, we validate the Dominion of others; if God is real; he IS your Governor. ~ The Theologian Jacob Arminius teaches us this, ‘My sentiments respecting the Providence of God are these: It is present with, presides over all things, according to their essences, qualities, relations, actions, passions, places, times, stations, and habits, are subject to its governance, conservation, and direction. I except neither particular, sublunary, vile, nor contingent things, not even the free wills of men or of angels, either good or evil: And, still more; I don’t take away from the divine Providence governing even Sins themselves, whether we consider their commencement, their progress or their termination.’ ~ But you object, “How then is it even my fault when I Lie or steal??” The answer is found in the Bible; Jeremiah said that Judah sacrificed their children in a fire to a false Idol; but God said it never entered his Heart and Mind to ‘Cause’ them to Sin. And the Bible says when Joseph’s brothers sold him into Slavery, that the brothers meant it for evil but God Meant it for Good; to save many lives…

Through his Providence, God governs us in a way that he is NOT the Author of Sin. The Bible says that one of God’s names is translated as “God will Provide”; God does provide us a way of escape! In the Old Testament Abraham was sent by God to sacrifice his only begotten son. His son Isaac noticed there was no animal for the offering, but Abraham knew that God would provide a lamb. As Abraham was about to Sacrifice his son, God stopped him and testified of their Faith. Over to the side there was a ram caught in a thicket of thorns by its horns; God provided a Substitute for the Sacrifice! The Lord Jesus Christ is our Substitute who was executed for our Sins; the religious people of that day meant this for evil, but God meant it for our good. Put your Faith in the Risen Lord Savior Jesus Christ and your Sins will be Forgiven; you will not have to pay the eternal Punishment for them in Hell. Repent of your Sin, confess Jesus Christ as your LORD; and find a Church that will help you along your way. ~ We need a God who won’t leave us without the use of his devices. We’re Saved by Grace through Faith; not by our own devices…

Genesis 22:8a ESV; Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”

 

[ReverendRV]

I have a one page Gospel Tract for every day of the year...

Do you believe in Providence?

 

[XrzrX]

I have a one page Gospel Tract for every day of the year...

Do you believe in Providence?

I believe in Provision.. but not to the exclusion of Determinism. I have what seems to be a minority view, that sometimes God is 'meticulously deterministic' and sometimes not.. but ultimately, His will is always accomplished. That He is absolutely Sovereign, which is a Position, not an "action". God makes a way, and He is The Way.

 

[XrzrX]

Because as I said, if the Seed remained; it would germinate. Everything Satan does, he has to do; because of God's Providence...

Providence ~ by ReverendRV * August 20

Psalm 145:13 NET; Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and your dominion endures through all Generations.

There are many false teachings about religion and often they infiltrate our thinking, causing us to have a point of view that God didn’t mean for us to have. Our verse reminds me of a couple of errors that have crept into the Church. ~ Open Theism believes in a Christ-like God, but one who has left us to our own devices; because he isn’t Omniscient. Deism is the belief that an unknown God created everything, and also left us to our own devices. Who would want a God that would leave us and not use his own devices for our sake? ~ The evidence that the Church has been infiltrated by these false beliefs is the diminishing of a very important teaching from the Bible; God’s Providence. You ask, “What exactly is Providence?”

God has the right to Govern his Creation; an everlasting Dominion that endures through all generations of humanity. In the Garden of Eden God gave Man Dominion over the world as its Governor; likewise God is our Governor. When we welcome our own Dominion, we validate the Dominion of others; if God is real; he IS your Governor. ~ The Theologian Jacob Arminius teaches us this, ‘My sentiments respecting the Providence of God are these: It is present with, presides over all things, according to their essences, qualities, relations, actions, passions, places, times, stations, and habits, are subject to its governance, conservation, and direction. I except neither particular, sublunary, vile, nor contingent things, not even the free wills of men or of angels, either good or evil: And, still more; I don’t take away from the divine Providence governing even Sins themselves, whether we consider their commencement, their progress or their termination.’ ~ But you object, “How then is it even my fault when I Lie or steal??” The answer is found in the Bible; Jeremiah said that Judah sacrificed their children in a fire to a false Idol; but God said it never entered his Heart and Mind to ‘Cause’ them to Sin. And the Bible says when Joseph’s brothers sold him into Slavery, that the brothers meant it for evil but God Meant it for Good; to save many lives…

Through his Providence, God governs us in a way that he is NOT the Author of Sin. The Bible says that one of God’s names is translated as “God will Provide”; God does provide us a way of escape! In the Old Testament Abraham was sent by God to sacrifice his only begotten son. His son Isaac noticed there was no animal for the offering, but Abraham knew that God would provide a lamb. As Abraham was about to Sacrifice his son, God stopped him and testified of their Faith. Over to the side there was a ram caught in a thicket of thorns by its horns; God provided a Substitute for the Sacrifice! The Lord Jesus Christ is our Substitute who was executed for our Sins; the religious people of that day meant this for evil, but God meant it for our good. Put your Faith in the Risen Lord Savior Jesus Christ and your Sins will be Forgiven; you will not have to pay the eternal Punishment for them in Hell. Repent of your Sin, confess Jesus Christ as your LORD; and find a Church that will help you along your way. ~ We need a God who won’t leave us without the use of his devices. We’re Saved by Grace through Faith; not by our own devices…

Genesis 22:8a ESV; Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”

But again, how could a seed germinate in a spiritually dead unregenerate?

 

[Carbon]

Again, that's the "means" (by which He accomplishes His will) argument.. the point is, He doesn't need to "repel" them, again, they have Zero ability to see or hear. It's redundant.

The devil sure does not know who the reprobate are so he is doing his job to make sure the gospel don’t stay around very long to take root. But that’s just the wayside. Some seed fell among the vines and others, stones also. The seeds that fell among the thorns and rocks took root quickly, showing quick signs of life.
As the gospel is proclaimed in the world there are those who could care less, they hardly even hear it, they understand nothing (the wayside) then there are those who hear it and they seem to be all for it (vines, thorns, rocks) They take it and run just to give it up later. The devil didn’t pick these up because they grabbed it quickly. And of course God would heal them if they would see and believe. But they cannot as the prophecy tells (Matt 13:14-16).

The devil can’t take the seed from the good soil. And it “proves itself to be good” which is not the case of the other grounds. The wayside is hard and proves itself to be reprobate quicker than the vine, thorns and stony hearts.

Why do the others grounds fall away eventually? Well John gives us a clue in 1 John. Because they are not of us, if they were they would have remained. But to show they are not, they left.

Why does God allow the reprobate to hear the gospel? That’s what you’re really asking, right? Why are you concerned about just the wayside?

 

[Carbon]

But again, how could a seed germinate in a spiritually dead unregenerate?

It can’t

 

[Carbon]

Thank you brother, the Gospel is always music to my ears. Second simple question, why would Satan have to steal a seed from an unregenerate?

Knowing the wheat and the tares will grow together until the end, you can’t know the condition of any heart, heck, scripture says you can’t even know or understand your own heart.