2 Pet 3:16: "as also in all Paul's letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction."

We Speak truth in LOVE

1. Argument: God opened her heart to receive the word, then she heard and then she was saved.
2. Answer: Our Calvinistic friends have things out of order. Lydia began as a worshiper of God (vs. 13­14). And after she heard Paul and Silas and Timothy preaching, then her heart was opened. She responded and obeyed the Lord (v. 15). [Note: Calvinists want to use this passage but exclude the baptism.]

1. Read verses 1­8. In this passage, we see again the free agency of man in choosing to obey or disobey God.
2. Those who are spiritually minded will be obedient to the commandments of God.
3. Those who are carnally minded will be disobedient. It is just that simple.
4. God does not force anyone to accept or reject His will.

" No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day . "It is written in the prophets , ' And they shall all be taught of God .' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. " (John 6:44-45)

1. This verse is commonly used to support the idea that God directly calls the sinner to salvation. However, Calvinists never quote the very next verse that tells you how they are drawn. "Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me"
2. So how does the Father draw? When a sinner "hears and learns".
3. Unless the Calvinist is willing to say that all men learn the gospel directly from God, like Paul in Gal 1:12, the verse is of no value to support the false doctrine of irrisistable grace. If they did believe this, then all men are inspired, just like Paul.
4. Further, Rom 10:14, is a parallel text and specifically refutes irrisistable grace. Here we have the same process as in John 6:44. A sinner must first hear a preacher to believe. Read Rom 10:14 for yourself. But it even gets worse for the Calvinist, for Rom 10:17 says faith comes from hearing a preacher, preach the word of God. Calvinsts say faith comes directly from God and bypasses the preacher.

We are saved by the grace of Almighty God (Eph. 2:8­10). However, we accept this grace by our own faith, not because God forces us to accept it.

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