Those Scriptures once again were:
First,
Jer. 17:9a, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure."
In order to understand Scripture correctly, one must consider both the immediate context
and NT teaching. The immediate context includes:
Jer. 17:5, "Cursed is the one who trusts in man... and whose heart turns away from the Lord."
Jer. 17:7, "But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him."
Jer. 17:10, "I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct,
according to what his deeds deserve."
Jer. 12:1,
3,
14,
16, "You are always righteous, O Lord... you see me and test my thoughts about you...
This is what the Lord says... if the wicked learn well the ways of my people... then they will be established among my people."
Jer. 14:10, "This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah, They greatly love to wander...
so the Lord does not accept them; he will now ... punish them for their sins."
Jer. 18:8-11, "
If that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned...
And if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it...
So turn from your evil ways, each one of you."
Second,
1Cor. 1:18-21, "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe."
The immediate context includes:
1Cor. 1:23-24, "We preach Christ crucified... to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
Commentary: Again, "We preach to all natural men", and "to those natural men God has called". From this we learn that
God's method of saving sinners or natural men is via revealing the Gospel, and we know from
1Tim. 2:3-4 that God desires all to believe. This prompts the question: Is "desire" in
1Tim. 2:3-4 synonymous with God's "calling" in
1Cor. 1:24--and we might add with God's "drawing" in
John 12:32 and with God's "invitation" in
Matt. 22:14?
The last verse and
John 13:18 indicate that although God loves and wants to save every natural man, some ignore/reject/resist His desire/calling/drawing/invitation and are therefore not chosen or saved, while some do NOT resist God's calling but rather believe the Gospel, realizing its wisdom and power to save, at which point they become chosen/elect.
Continuing with the context:
1Cor. 1:26, "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called... Not many were influential." They were natural men in the lower social class, but yet they believed or cooperated with God's calling.
1Cor. 1:27-28, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise... the lowly... and the despised". God's saving of despised natural men was intended to humble all natural men, so that "no one may boast before him" (
1Cor. 1:29).
1Cor. 2:1-2, "When I came to you, brothers... I proclaimed to you... Jesus Christ and him crucified." Paul reiterated that God saved some natural men via them accepting Paul's preaching of the Gospel.
1Cor. 2:10, "God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." God's HS enables natural men to believe the Gospel and be saved (or not).
Third,
Deut. 29:4, "To this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear."
Commentary: Tulipist - God sovereignly withheld grace from them! Moses blamed Israel's lack of faithfulness/obedience on God
(cf.
Rom. 1:18-23).
Immediate context:
Deut. 28:1 &
15, "If you fully obey the Lord your God... God will set you high above all the nations on earth...
However, if you do not obey the Lord your God... all these curses will come upon you." Commentary - This verse implies
that the Israelites are free to obey or disobey.
Deut. 29:9, "Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do." Commentary - This seems
to indicate that the Israelites can follow or not follow the terms.
Deut. 30:19b-20a, "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life,
so that you and your children might live and that you may love the Lord your God." Commentary - This is the clearest
statement of what Moses meant, and it obviously teaches that the Israelites are deemed to have MFW.