GLOMUNG: This is where there is a problem, when you say " human being who can't understand the gospel" what do you mean?
JACK: I mean two things: first Christ said that those who heard Him were unable to understand his meaning. "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear my word." (Jn. 8:43). He further said in that same chapter, "He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God" (Jn. 8:47). Notice the sequence in that verse. Only those "of God" could understand what He was saying. Second, Paul wrote, "For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (I Cor. 1:18). The word rendered "foolishness" is the Greek word where the English word "moron" comes from. To those who are perishing, the message of the cross is equated with morons. They have no understanding of it. That's what I mean. I Cor. 2:14 indicates they can not receive it.
GLOMUNG: The gospel is "Christ was crucified as a victim for our sins, for those who believe in Him, their sins are forgiven, and as Christ rose from the dead, so shall they". gospel = good news. The gospel is not the Bible. Any person can understand the gospel, it is substitutiary atonement, nothing to hard to grasp about that.
JACK: If anyone can understand the gospel, what did Jesus mean when He told this unbelieving crowd, "He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God"? That doesn't sound like what you just said. If a person isn't of God, he cannot hear God's words. Isn't that what the Lord said?
GLOMUNG: "can't see the gospel" - what is meant by that? what do you think the "gospel" is?
JACK: Paul is defending his apostolic office in 2 Corinthians and explaining that he has given these people God's Word, plainly. "Since we have this ministry as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating THE WORD OF GOD, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God" (4:1-2). He is talking about his ministry giving forth--his words--"the Word of God." Notice what he said immediately after this, "And even if OUR GOSPEL is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving that they might not see the light of the GOSPEL of the glory of Christ who is the image of God." So, I would conclude two things here: The Word of God Paul calls the Gospel, and second, this gospel is veiled to the unsaved so they can not see it or understand it They are blind to it. If the gospel can be understood by all people, which is your position, for what reason does Paul clearly state here that those who are perishing are blind to the gospel and the gospel is veiled to them? That would sound to me that he is saying they can't understand it. If they could, they wouldn't be perishing.
GLOMUNG: "spiritually dead" - yes, to be spiritually alive, all you need to is acknowledge the obvious, that Christ died for your sins,
again, this is not a concept that is beyond the ability of even the least of mankind.
JACK: But who has the sole authority to give life? In Ezkiel 37 it specifically says that God gave life to the dead bones in the valley. Jesus said, "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes" (Jn. 5:21). Are you saying the dead sinner has the ability to make himself alive? Paul described the believers in Ephesus as, "[once] dead in tresspasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). There are three common words used in the NT that are translated "dead." The most common is THANATOS. But the term that Paul used in this passage is NEKROS meaning corpse--dead body. It speaks of death as being unresponsive to stimuli. I visited my dentist last week, and sometimes he deadens a tooth so he can work on it. A dead body will not react to any stimuli whatsoever. A sinner who is dead in sin is totally unresponsive to any stimuli He must first be made alive before he can react to the gospel.
GLOMUNG: your scripture quote of 1 Peter does not support (or have anything to do with) your comment, and the comment
on " demons realize the they have no part in redemption" is meaningless. They do everything within their power to oppose redemption.
JACK: You had made the comment that angels, demons and even Satan had free will. I was pointing out that those beings were not objects of Christ's redemption. The wording in Peter's epistle carries the idea that they are observers and not participates. Christ did not come as an angel but as a human being. Satan was a glorious angel named Lucifer who fell into pride and sought to displace God Himself. Just as Adam and Eve, before they acquired the sin nature, fell into sin and incurred the Adamic nature and brought death to the entire race. These beings were created without sin, but they were not created infallible--they did fall. That was my point.