Dead or Alive

Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 8:06:38 -0600
From: pduggan
Subject: Dead or Alive

The will of the reprobate are always dead.

The will of the elect become alive.

Is there a common operation of the Spirit towards those in the church which makes them alive while still remaining dead?

Paul



Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 14:30:26 -0000
From: “garver”
Subject: Dead or Alive

Well, if you push the dead-alive thing too far — so that the elect and reprobate never share any actual operations of the Spirit — you end up having NO “common operations” of the Spirit and that too would run afoul of the WCF.

joel



Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 8:43:39 -0600
From: pduggan
Subject: Dead or Alive

Clearly that would. And so, Saul can receive an operation of the Spirit to enable him to prohpesy and the goats can cast out demons, and everyone can say “Jesus is Lord” by the Spirit. But the WCF teaches that those who do so have dead wills, does it not? And Jesus teaches he “never knew them”.

Paul



Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:54:43 -0600
From: Mark Horne
Subject: Dead or Alive

Jesus only “never knew” the people in Israel who said good things about his preaching but never became his disciples. This passage simply does not apply to any of the issues to which it has been applied. Visitors outside the Church who have never been baptized but who like a preacher should hear about this warning.

Mark