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To: Blogger
However, nobody comes to the Father unless the Spirit draws him, and of all that the Father gives Christ he will lose nothing. The very faith to believe is a fruit of the Spirit of God in our lives, for our nature will give us an inclination to turn from God, not to Him.

That goes without saying. No one can come to the Father unless previously drawn.

We are much closer together on man's righteousness than one would imagine. But I am "Calvinistic" (non hyper-Cal) in my view of how man fits into the equation.

I hope so. But my understanding of the 'Calvinistic" view is that man really has no input in the matter. Thus, the idea that man is totally dead and God picks and chooses for His own reasons whom He will send His Spirit to, refusing to send it to others. I personally disagree with this concept, as it makes perseverance, repentance, and obedience a moot point. Certainly we can do none of these without God. But to say that God does it all makes a mockery of Final Judgment.

Regards

2,948 posted on 12/24/2006 12:57:15 PM PST by jo kus (Humility is present when one debases oneself without being obliged to do so- St.Chrysostom; Phil 2:8)
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To: jo kus

Read Romans 9 and just meditate on it. God would be just if he sent all of us to Hell. NONE of us deserve Heaven. NONE of us will choose Him if not drawn. Every one of us loves our sin. We don't want to submit to God. We are rebellious to Him. It is only Mercy that gives us salvation. If He sent it to noone, then He would still be just. But, Romans 9 says he sends it to some. Why some and not others? So that the objects of His mercy can understand grace. If we didn't see the fullness of evil, we could not understand good. God is God. He can and does do as He wishes. He doesn't force people to go to Hell. He lets them have the natural inclination of their hearts. Yet, for some, the objects of His mercy, He makes them alive to and through His Spirit and draws them to Himself. There is no such thing as free will to a lost person. A lost person is not free but is willingly enslaved to their sin. They wallow in it. They don't want to do without it. They are not free, but it is not God enslaving them. It's their own selfish fallen self. True free will comes about when God quickens a Person to His Spirit and regenerates that which was dead. Once the damage that Sin did is repaired and a person that was dead is now alive, he/she WILL come to Christ and through the true faith in Christ (which even itself is a fruit of the Spirit), will believe. Christ will lose NONE of these who come to Him and none come to Him without the Spirit's drawing.

Again, Romans 9 is really a clear outline of this doctrine. At first, it may be difficult. But eventually you find it lovely. Rather than puffing one up, it is humbling to know that for nothing in myself, God chose me. It doesn't hamper evangelism for as far as I know God chose the whole world. I let Him be God and do as He wills and I am myself and obey His Word.

There is no cause for mockery in the final judgment for nobody can stand up and say that they deserve anything other than Hell. Just because God showed mercy on some, doesn't mean that the rest did not deserve their fate. They are guilty as charged and lived their lives avoiding submitting to God. They wanted God to have nothing to do with their lives. God gives them their wishes. For eternity, they will be separated from Him.

For the objects of His mercy, they have truly been made free. He whom Christ has made free is free indeed (which implies they weren't free to begin with because they were 'made' free). We can choose to do things in this life for God's glory. We will never be judged for our sins because Christ already took our judgment/punishment. But we are judged for our works. Some will be in heaven with nothing to show for it. They lived selfishly. They lived more for self than Christ or had bad motivations in the things they did. Others have sacrificed much for the Lord. Their reward will be great.

Hyper-Calvinism/double predestination is not biblical. Man is still responsible. God is still sovereign. God works out the balance and we follow and obey Him.


2,960 posted on 12/24/2006 10:04:03 PM PST by Blogger
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