I don't think God gives everyone equal graces, but He gives everyone sufficient grace to turn to Him in some manner. Otherwise, this would nullify Scripture that says "God desires all men to be saved", among others like it.
Anyway, God gives the "X" amount to all of His elect, and He does not for everyone else. Man contributes nothing to his own salvation. It is all in God's hands.
I see it in a reverse order. Since God wants all men to be saved, HE does not "pick and choose" which will be tossed out based on no evidence of response. Thus, God foresees those who reject Him outright. The rest will be predestined. This fits well with God being positively in control of the elect and ALLOWING the condemned to condemn themselves. IF you say God chooses the condemned, you say God is the author of sin - which is not a Christian concept.
it doesn't seem to me that God would be in full control if He ever rolled the dice on anything.
LOL! Why wouldn't God be in control when He foresees all of our actions and is able to aid those who even try slightly to come to God?
Finally, I believe that God retains His justice because He has no duty to save anyone.
Strictly speaking, if God did not present any Scriptures, you'd be correct. But He has PROMISED He desires men to be saved! All of them. He DIED for ALL of them. He binds HIMSELF to the salvation of mankind - if you believe that God is righteous. Thus, God presents the ability for ALL men to be saved - if only they do not "close their eyes to the light".
To me, this sounds like a very passive control, at best. God watches and knows what man will do, but God does not intervene, at least very much.
God is more active than a baseball owner watching a game. We require His graces daily. We rely on Him for every good gift. But this doesn't do away with our ability to refuse Him. People do it all of the time - even regenerated people.
That He died must have been necessary, in view of His justice, or else He committed suicide unnecessarily. It would make no sense for Him to give up His life if a viable alternative was some other way.
As I said, God is not bound by necessity in the HOW in saving us. Nor did Christ commit suicide since He didn't kill Himself. He gave Himself up in obedience to the Father, an expression of ultimate love. God went to the extreme to show His love for us.
God has no such duty to save.
He does if He binds Himself to such a task - which He did in the Garden of Eden. IF God is righteous, we trust that He will execute this promise.
Yes, there is scripture on this, but we have an honest disagreement on the subject of the judgment, in cases like this. Based on the context, I believe that judgment can be either for salvation or for other rewards once in heaven.
So how would you explain the many verses of Scripture that rules out the "judgment based on rewards within heaven"? There are quite a few that make it clear that judgment is for heaven or hell. Some of these verses are spoken to CHRISTIANS, the "saved"! What then?
In my view, there is no such thing as "man's morality". There is only God's.
I think you mean that man's morality has little worth when it contradicts God's morality. Man has many ideas of morality - some really think it is OK to kill unborn kids...
Regards
I don't think God looks at all at our responses to make the decision. He neither ignores His foreknowledge, nor does He consider it. IMO, He bases the decision solely on His own will, not our actions.
IF you say God chooses the condemned, you say God is the author of sin - which is not a Christian concept.
In my view, God makes these choices simply by not affirmatively granting grace. How does this make Him the author of sin?
Why wouldn't God be in control when He foresees all of our actions and is able to aid those who even try slightly to come to God?
I was saying that if God takes a chance on man's will, which could go either way, in theory, then He would not be in control. If, as you say, God looks so much to His foreknowledge, then why would He bother with someone He already knows is a lost cause? Is God "hoping"?
FK: "Finally, I believe that God retains His justice because He has no duty to save anyone."
Strictly speaking, if God did not present any Scriptures, you'd be correct. But He has PROMISED He desires men to be saved! All of them. He DIED for ALL of them. He binds HIMSELF to the salvation of mankind ...
How would expressing a desire impose a duty? I desire a new Mercedes. If God bound Himself to the salvation of all mankind, then why shouldn't He fire Himself? I could agree that God bound Himself to saving the elect whom He chose at the beginning. On this, He is batting a thousand. But God has no duty to save any particular individual, just because he is human.
So how would you explain the many verses of Scripture that rules out the "judgment based on rewards within heaven"? There are quite a few that make it clear that judgment is for heaven or hell. Some of these verses are spoken to CHRISTIANS, the "saved"! What then?
I'm not aware of any "judgment" verses that rule out rewards not related to salvation. I think there are some verses that do refer to salvation and some that do not. ... I didn't think you believed in "saved" Christians. Given that, it is difficult to interpret who you really mean.
I think you mean that man's morality has little worth when it contradicts God's morality. Man has many ideas of morality - some really think it is OK to kill unborn kids...
It's just a different way of looking at it. Whenever I hear a man talk about his own morality I always laugh, especially when it involves liberal relativism. :) I find it simpler to think of there only being one true morality, that defined by God.