Quote:
Originally Posted by Dieter Schneider  Can we really predict / plan when a person will be converted? Surely NOT! |
Dieter,
To a certain extent, of course we can. People are "ordinarily" saved through the preaching of the Gospel. It doesn't have anything to do with willy-nilly planning and predicting, it's just what the bible tells us. Similarly, we also see certain patterns and ideas in scripture, for instance that God works in/through families as a unit. Families were often brought into the Church through the conversions of heads of households (normally men exccept perhaps in the case of Lydia). Particularly germane to the question is the statement made to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16: "Believe and you will be saved, you and your household." Because the jailer was converted, his family also had a chance to hear the Gospel which they wouldn't have had otherwise.