A Couple of Questions

Acts 13: 23-25 “Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.”
In the scripture above John the Baptist is described as preaching a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. The question I would ask is “Did the people who heard John preach repentance have the ability to make that decision? One assumes that John told them of sin and the need to repent of it. To literally change direction and forsake wrong doing? So being in their fallen state could they lift their minds to such a lofty state as to forsake sin and accept the baptism that John offered there at the river Jordan?

Mark 6: 7-13 “And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.”

Again I ask the same question about the those who heard the disciples preach repentance to them. “Did the people who heard disciples preach repentance have the ability to make that decision? In their fallen state how could the lift themselves to such a state of mind that they could not only understand what was preached to them but make the decision to accept it as the truth.

Given the proclamation that Christ Jesus made that if the people of the village gave them no welcome that they should shake the dust from their feet and that it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement. It is obvious that God expected them to hear the disciples out and make a decision.

Now if we accept that no one can approach Jesus of Nazareth except that the Father draw them near. This is the truth because the bible tells us so. How could these folk in their depraved state hear this truth and make a decision? Another scripture comes to mind.

Hebrews 11: 1- 3 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

The scripture above begins a discourse describing how Yahweh took the obedience of a number of Old Testament saints to be Faith. So when the disciples came to a village and preached repentance when the people were convicted to accept their testimony as the truth and to turn from sin. Yahweh took their obedience as Faith. And yes there is a scripture that implies that Faith is a gift from God. There is some controversy about that particular verse and what the base languages were saying. But if the Holy Spirit convicts the hearts of people and they are moved to obedience thereby exhibiting Faith in the Yahweh Elohim and the Saviour, Jesus of Nazareth. Surely that is a thing to make the heart of the reader rejoice.