I think it's important to keep this in perspective Mitch. I believe "free will" is the sin of Adam. I believe the whole concept goes back to Adam's desire to be independent of God. It is Adam saying to God, "I will take the fruit." And what you have seen on this thread is this rebellion rearing it's ugly head. It is a nasty attitude that lurks in all of us. "I" will make the choice. "I" am free to do what I want. Some of us just like to defend it or justify it more than others. I simply don't believe people understand what they are saying. They are blinded. And, yes, these are very fine Christians. You only have to look back at many of the posts to see that this is so.
Where this sin leads is to more heresy and corruption. Catholics abandoned Augustine's warnings on this over 1500 years ago and look where they are today. Protestants are on the same road.
I think it's very important to get people to understand this heresy. It is a subtle cancerous error than entwines itself around the spinal core of just about every doctrine of faith. It has been my experience that the less people embrace the "I choose", the closer they understand about "God choose". It's all about God's sovereign and loving control over their lives. I saw this to be true in my life. That is why I bring it up. May God grant us His mercy to understand His grace. What do we have that we have not received from God?
For myself the thought that "I" did anything worthwhile in regards coming to God is laughable (amongst many other more sobering things!)It is indeed all 'Him' (with whom we have to do)that has done and is doing it all.When I do whatever I want it is not in His direction.However I believe He is changing the things I want.I find myself wanting different things now.Coveting different things,finding different things beautifull,finding different things desirable.
Those things God shows me makes the 'choice' between Him and not Him practically moot.I suppose I could turn my head and go another way and I find within myself a very strong urge to do just that.The beauty,the truth,the reality,the overpowering goodness of God towards me always lets me see and feel the chain that binds me to that anchor.I'm so thankfull for that as I have and do sorely test the strength of that chain all too often.
Please excuse my rambling.I'm simply trying to be candid and do not care wether I might say something wrong and fall into a gotcha! Not that I think you are like that at all HD.I think I need to go head butt a brick wall now.To either clear my head or knock some sense into it!
God bless
So they are Christians which I would surmise you mean saved. But have fallen into error which again I would surmise you mean they are at risk of loosing their salvation? If that is true were they elect and saved or were they not elect and just going through the motions? That’s not a gotcha question. It’s a legitimate observation of the duplicity of statements as I see it.
If they are one of the elect they are “once saved always saved”. Yet those who hold to the concept of predestination would renounce those who hold to once saved always saved.
In Revelation we are cautioned about being blotted out of the book of life.
Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 22:19 - And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book.
Psalm 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
Exodus 32:33 But the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.
How can we be blotted out of the “book of life” if we weren’t once in it?
We also know that there are those who’s names were not written in the Lambs Book of Life.
And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 17:8)
So it can’t be that all people are written in the Lambs book of life but if they die without turning to Jesus are taken out of the Lambs book of life. It’s only those who believe that are written in the lambs book of life.
Were those people who were once in the “book of life” predestined for a period of time but later not? Where they predestined and “written in the book of life” but later un-predestined and “blotted out” of the book of life?