"Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them." -- Psalm 139:16 "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass" -- Job 14:5
And if Job's testimony and the Psalms aren't enough, we have the NT echoing the OT...
"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation" -- Acts 17:26
God is the author and maker of every life.
Amen.
Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." -- Isaiah 43:4-7"Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
KOSTA: God could be completely dispassionate as regards our stay here. In fact, the eastern Church teaches that God is indeed dispassionate when it comes to mankind.
Kosta, how is it the EO disregards so much clear Scripture? I just don't recognize this dispassionate, impersonal, stoic, impotent God who sort of creates and then steps aside to watch how it all plays out. That's not the God the Bible reveals.
God is impartial to the works of all men because all men are equally fallen. But God is not impartial to His children whom He has named, numbered and called to Him.
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." -- Job 14:4
Thus, all the righteous works of men mean nothing. It is only the righteousness of Christ that is good in the eyes of God, imputed to those whom God has chosen as His children, according to His own purpose.
That's what we thank God for. That's where our gratitude lies -- not for our own abilities but for God's grace through Christ alone.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." -- Romans 5:5-6"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
In these two short verses we have a total repudiation of your earlier point -- 1) God's love is given to us by the Holy Ghost
2) We are redeemed not after and because we have become righteous through our works or done anything to merit our salvation, but while we are still "without strength" Christ dies for the "ungodly."
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" -- Ephesians 2:4-5"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
I just noticed for the first time that Ephesians 2:4-5 is a total repetition of Romans 5:5-6.
Almost as if God planned it that way.