AC
Each time you and Pilgrim post, I am blessed.
I do think man has a role...
Now the Calvinist believes that when it comes to salvation, man does not have a role except for that of being the subject to whom grace and forgiveness is given or not given. So no responsibility, no action, no ability to boast so that all glory be to God. Are you sure you're Calvinist?
Is their a process in which one is saved? How does it play out? Is their a radical change in that person? What are the fruits of this change?
I think you are asking me for the Arminian definition of salvation? I am happy to give it, but I'm so paranoid about going off topic because I really want to reconcile the contradiction. This is also my way of describing salvation, and not really text-book Arminianism.
The Holy Spirit calls to the hearts of all men. In the hearts of sinners the Spirit's activities are three fold: (1) Revealing to the sinner the holiness of God (2) Convicting the sinner of his guilt and separation from God (3) Revealing to the sinner the way to reconcile the difference, by surrendering his will to the Spirit's will. The role of the Gospel is that it is the ultimate truth revealed to sinner of the workings of the Spirit within him.
Although there may be lots of reasons why a sinner claims he will not believe (science, relativism, hypocritical Christian), there is really only one reason and it is the same reason Adam fell. The desire to live for one's own self instead of God's.
When a sinner relents of his own hold over his life and surrenders to the Spirit's will, the Holy Spirit, who has been standing at the door of the sinner's heart, will now come and dwell within. The sinner, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, then is led to repentance and placed upon the path towards Christlikeness.
The radical change and fruits of the spirit are attributed to the real, supernatural power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within a believer.
Now, the Calvinist is opposed to the idea that man would be able to take any credit for his own salvation. That if there is any choice whatsoever, that would be deny God of His glory. I don't believe this is so. It's like we are all in a rushing river. The water is the Holy Spirit and the current is His calling of us to the Father and Son. The sinner is in the water, feeling the current, yet he is holding on to the shore, resisting the current. Now, if the sinner lets go and is carried to the promised land, he would be a fool to say "I made it here by myself." He was carried there. What he would instead say is "Why did I foolishly resist for so long." This is not robbing glory from God but is glorifying Him for His unconditional love for all mankind, to love and call even those who will not let go.
See, I don't think you can take a purely technical analysis of something as grand and experiential as the conversion of sinners to God....I don't think we can break it down into a formula.
The only thing I would say here, my friend, is that John Calvin himself came to his conclusions through logical arguments such as I presented. He did not, by his own account, develop ideas such as "once-saved always-saved" solely through reading scripture, but as the result of a logical deduction that began with the premise that mankind is capable of no good deed. His second premise was that any action leading towards salvation is a good deed. Therefore man cannot contribute to his own salvation. Those to whom salvation are given must be entirely an act of God. God would not give salvation to those who will reject him. Therefore, salvation given will not be something man will or can reject.
