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I guess my belief about this issue and who is elect is this - that God in His omnicense somehow (I don't think I spelled that right!?) knows beforehand who will believe in Him and those are the elect. Now is this something you say or do you say God just randomly picked us out.
Okay... here's the biblical teaching concerning "Predestination". God, in His perfect wisdom determined to save a definite number of people out of race of mankind. This "election" of individuals was 100% UNconditional, in other words, God's choice was not based upon ANYTHING that had to do with them, including "If they should believe, etc." Understand this.... God knows BECAUSE He has determined all things. God's knowledge is not something based upon anything other than His own will, i.e., facts, possibilities, no not anything outside of Himself. What you are wrestling with here is actually the doctrine of "foreknowledge". God knows "before hand" because He has decreed it. It's like an architect can say what a building will look like before it is built, even before the plans are drawn up because the "idea" originated in his own mind. Thus God, in His eternal counsel, determined who was going to be saved and thus He "knew" who was going to be saved. Simple, eh? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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I've always just believed that all babies are covered under the blood of Christ because they haven't come to any age of accountability - and that only God knows when this is for each person. But the only way your view of this makes sense to me is if God somehow knows which ones would have believed in him if they had grown to the age of accountability.
There is nothing in Scripture that speaks of any "age of accountability". <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> This is pure fabrication which was designed as an effort to defend the Arminian's doctrine of salvation, which is grounded in the myth of "free-will", etc. So, first of all, you are going to have to throw that idea out the window. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/giggle.gif" alt="" />

The issue here is easily explained when/if you accept the Bible's teaching concerning the state of man after the Fall, aka: "Original Sin". This term refers to the punishment which God put on all mankind due to Adam's trangression. It consisted of two parts: 1) Guilt! Adam, as the Federal Head of the human race (duly appointed representative), acted in behalf of all mankind. So, when he sinned, the guilt incurred was also passed on to all men. Thus the Bible teaches that at birth, all have Adam's guilt imputed to them, so that they are inherently under the wrath and judgment of God. 2) Corruption! All men, being the descendants of Adam and Eve are born with a corruption of nature, aka: Total Depravity. That means that their souls, their very nature/disposition is an emnity with God (they hate God) and all that is good. Men sin naturally and all that they think, feel and do is sinful.

Therefore, until God regenerates an individual's soul, that person will never even have a desire to love God, repent of sin or have any interest in Jesus Christ. All men are born sinners and liable to condemnation; yes even at conception. There are no "innocent" babies.

You can read more from these articles found here:

The Doctrine of Man.

The Foreknowledge of God.

In His Grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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