Posted on 03/18/2013 12:23:39 PM PDT by darrellmaurina
Romans 9:15-24
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
GRPL Ping.
Calvinist huh? Yawn.
You’re right. The yucky wart/mole on Obambi’s face has moved to his chin. Udder’ ‘dan ‘dat, it looks like him . . . or at least like his brudder’.
James 1:13-15
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
BWA HAHAHA
I’ve been quoting that Demotivational poster for years!
God has mercy to those who ask sincerely for forgiveness. I find it humorous that today’s secular society has little time for God, but they all seem to think that they are going to heaven.
Whenever a celebrity dies from an overdose or from some other cause that was brought on by their behavior, the media lionize them and talk about how this or that person is up in heaven with some other great celebrity.
There is no sense of God’s justice at all. They view God as some sort of Santa Claus who grants all his children presents upon their death. But the Almighty and Merciful God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as well as of Jesus, His Son, is a just God and will not be mocked.
Seems more like scriptural to me. And that's nothing to yawn about.
Hoss
Cherry picking aint scriptural.
Isa 6:9 And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'
Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
Isa 6:11 Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,
That is what I thought until I recalled he would have had many face lifts.
BTW-Isaiah 6:8 is frequently quoted in missions to save the lost. However, this was not Isaiah’s mission according to Isa 6:9-11. It was exactly opposite.
That’s real encouragement right there. < sarc >
Hmmm. Let's see...
Ephesians 1:3-5 :"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according the purpose of his will,"
And check out verse 11 also.... "In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,"
Romans 8:28-29: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."
Romans 9:10-18: "and not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls--she was told "The older will serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills."
From Christ himself: John 10:25-30: "Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. the works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
John 6:44: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."
That's just a few "cherries" -- but they're mighty good ones.
Hoss
But you can’t deny that God’s purpose through Isaiah was Israel’s salvation. The whole book is God begging Israel to get right. But God, being who He is, knew they would reject Him. It’s really that simple. God knows who will reject Him and who will accept Him, but His desire is that all are saved.
Isaiah 55:6&7
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isa 49:15
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Golly! A half dozen verses that reference something about election, vs 500 verses about the role of faith and believing. Hmmm...
“No one has ever been up to Heaven except the Son of Man who came down from Heaven. The Son of Man must be lifted above the heads of men—as Moses lifted up that serpent in the desert—so that any man who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that every one who believes in him shall not be lost, but should have eternal life. You must understand that God has not sent his Son into the world to pass sentence upon it, but to save it—through him. Any man who believes in him is not judged at all. It is the one who will not believe who stands already condemned, because he will not believe in the character of God’s only Son. This is the judgment—that light has entered the world and men have preferred darkness to light because their deeds are evil. Anybody who does wrong hates the light and keeps away from it, for fear his deeds may be exposed. But anybody who is living by the truth will come to the light to make it plain that all he has done has been done through God.”
We are chosen IN HIM.
Ephesians 1:13 - “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit...”
Job 1:1 There was a man in the Land of Uz, whose name was Job.
The Calvinist presupposition will mess up your reading of scripture. Those passages should serve more as an encouragement to God’s children, that God will do what He promised, that we will be conformed into Christ’s image. It says nothing about whether or not He intends for all men to be saved.
You’re reformed because God reformed you. It takes the same sovereign grace for people to see the doctrine of election and be humbled by it. You’ll get very little agreement from folks on FR and will most likely get lots of ridicule. Taken comfort in your knowing the truth. God saved you against your will and that is Grace with a capital G.
The scriptures are clear. Whom God predestinates, He calls. Whom He calls, He justifies. Whom He justifies, He glorifies. This is not a scripture of hope for those who think they had the good sense to convert. It is a hope that springs from the knowledge that you are in the hand of God, and no one can wrest you out. As Jesus Himself said, ALL those whom the Father gives Him WILL come to Him. Salvation is the work of God from the alpha to the omega.
Amen!
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