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Jesus is the exception, you should know that,if you didn't, you dont know the Jesus of scriptura Again none in the flesh can please God Rom 8:8
You should already know what I mean by the flesh,if you read the thread ! unregenerate, the natural man. That man cannot please God Rom 8:8
Biblically, it is the sinful nature we have from the spreading curse from sin since the fall. Of course real believers who are already in Christ are not unregenerate. We who are in Christ are called to the will of God that should be observed. But since the topic is about seeking God to start with, which I myself have a memory of doing, and that's not saying there were no sins, I point out, again, that no one has an excuse for not responding to what there is that can be known of God, with evidence around us. That has been said, Romans 1:19-20. If any can't possibly search for God, that would be their excuse, that they do have. That passage clearly shows they have no excuse, so they don't even have that excuse that they could not possibly search for God. That wouldn't have been true.
My perplexity is not that people cannot search for God, but that most people are deprived of any knowledge of Jesus Christ and the gospel. I would say that it is impossible to become a Christian without hearing or reading the gospel. There are many heathen who live perfectly "Christian" lives and have a deep, abiding belief in one God, but who, for reasons beyond their control, have no knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Very true Fred. There is no excuse for not seeking God and knowing God, and obeying God, not even that we are unregenerate and so could not possibly seek God. That is not an excuse because it is a false claim. God is not far from any of us, and is clearly evident in all of His creation.
Absolutely not. But that is not what is at question here. The question is, can man seek God? The answer is an obvious, YES! Man can seek God because God put evidence of Himself throughout creation and put the need to find God, the need for relationship with God, in man's heart. It was the desire to be like God, to be one with God, that condemned Satan, and that same desire with which he tempted Adam and Eve. Thus, through placing himself in the place of God, mankind chose to seek God within himself rather than seeking the One True God, and so brought condemnation upon himself. But that does not negate the evidence of Himself that God placed in creation, nor man's responsibility to seek God. The need for Jesus is to restore that relationship, not to have the ability to seek God in the first place.
The point is that man does not seek God. Nobody seeks God. Psalms 14 and 53 which are quoted by Paul in Romans 3 makes that explicitly clear. There is none that seek God, not even one.
There is none that DOES, not none that CAN. There is a huge difference between ability and action.
Man naturally unregenerate in the flesh #1 Cannot please God Rom 8:8 and #2 doesnt seek after God Rom 3:11 Period !
Either one must conclude that man must be infinitely stupid if any one of us among the untold billions have never sought God, or that there is a particular reason, other than lack of intelligence, which prevents any of us from doing so. After all, according to Paul, God has made His presence abundantly known through His creation.
Absolutely His presence is abundantly known. But our fallen nature has us seeking inward to fill the void that being separated from God created in our heart. But Jesus, through His death, opened a way for mankind (past, present, and future) to seek God (John 12:32). So the Holy Spirit works in our life, long before we are saved, to draw us back to God and help us seek God.
Precisely. You have accurately spelled out why it is that man not only does not seek God, but cannot seek God on his own. His fallen nature, as you said, prevents us from seeking God. Apart from Jesus seeking His sheep, all would be lost.
No difference in this case, the doesnt is due to the inability, just like no man will come to Christ for life Jn 5:40
The Creation knowledge of God is insufficient for a Spiritual Knowledge of God which is a blessing of Eternal Life which Christ only gives to the Elect the Father has given Him Jn 17:2-3
Precisely. There is a vast difference between General Revelation through creation and Special Revelation through God, the Holy Spirit.
Jesus draws ALL MEN, to Himself. Not just His sheep, but ALL men. We love Him because He first loved us. We seek Him because He first sought us. There is not a single person who has ever or will ever live that cannot seek God and find Him.
Do you believe that people who die before birth are capable of seeking God and finding Him?
