Dear Lazarus,<br><br>IRT:<br>"So, salvation is NOT of the Lord as Jonah wrote...it's actually of Him AND us?"<br><br>Salvation is of the Lord. But we who obtain salvation must obey God; the key is that we cannot obey God unless God draws us to Him first. So even though there are conditions on being in God's grace, it is still God Who comes to us that we might be saved, not vice versa; therefore salvation is of the Lord.<br><br>IRT:<br>"I must be synergism since God can't save ANYONE without their cooperation."<br><br>God can save anyone He chooses to: He simply has chosen to save those who humble themselves and hear His voice. But men do not have the power in themselves to follow God, this is why He has given us power by His grace to follow Him.<br><br>IRT:<br>"The bottom line is that we bring SOMETHING to the equation? Namely our will/effort/decision....i.e., WORKS!"<br><br>The error you make is that you assume anything done by man is work. But faith is not a work, nor is repentance, love, forgiveness, humility, and open-heartedness.<br><br>IRT:<br>"In direct contrast to:<br><br>Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. <br><br>How can you not see this?"<br><br>Because there is no contrast. God did not choose me because I wanted to serve him or because I was good enough. He chose me because He foreknew that I would repent and believe in Him when He drew me to Himself.<br><br>IRT:<br>"JoshT - if you are in the military...bless you and your service to the Country. If not....never mind....you're just another Arminian quack."<br><br>WELL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE? YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE blessed redeemed that God adores and sees as most precious. Any child of God is a brother of mine, and I am glad that we can dwell together in the bond of unity in His Spirit.<br><br><br>In Christ,<br>Josh