Posted on 01/20/2002 5:02:48 PM PST by CCWoody
Another trick question! How about 'believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved? (Acts.16:31)
Are you telling me that Jesus, himself, had no free choice?
Good advice, you ought to take it.
Yes.
God, in His sovereign grace, chooses to bring some into faith and the rest He allows to continue down the path of destruction.
Salvation is a choice made by God, not man.
Regeneration (God's Grace) precedes faith.
These guys never cite the verse, they do not want you to check what it says.
The verse is Mat.11:21-24
Nope.
Jesus has the same Free Will as any man:
I am saying that His free choice is to always obey the Father, for that is what He Wants to do.
Yes Do you believe that God is powerful enough to provide a way for ANY sinful man to turn to Christ if God made up his mind to do so?
See that quote, that is from OP. Note the word permission
See, how you have to have a permissive will placed in so you will not God the one responsible for sin. In other words, it is the individual who is permitted to use his own will to choose
In order for you to stay anywhere near the Bible you have to pretend that God is not directly responsible for sin
Yes, but God only provides the way for those He hath chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
Think, please, friend FReeper! If you continue to insist on your stated point as though I have not stipulated it--when I most certainly have!--you will be seen by thoughtful folks to be only crabby (grin).
If you can get over that hurdle of rather pointless misunderstanding (grin again!)--and it should be easy for a mature believer, who is not carnally interested in being pointlessly disagreeable--then you will finally see what I am saying. What I am saying is what I said in #680, 681, and 684.
And when you realize that I am tenaciously defending the free offer of the gospel, you will finally see what I was saying in #73, too.
And when you understand the issues of sin, including unbelief--including, perhaps, the sin of obstinacy (another teasing grin!)--you will finally see what OrthodoxPresbyterian has been saying in these zillions of recent posts concerning Matthew 11. (For goodness sakes, do read OP's posts. The Presbyterians are not crazy. At one time in their histories, all of the mainstream Protestant denominations were strong in predestinarian doctrine.)
Every mainstream Christian, perhaps every true Christian believes in an atonement which is wide enough for all. But that is not even the issue. What we Calvinists are talking about is the Power of the Cross of Christ.
Jesus could have not gone to the cross. True or False?
"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will"
It was not possible, for the Father had decreed that the Son must die to purchase His Elect from the penalty of Sin.
It is a contradiction for you to say that Jesus DID have free choice, and for you to say in a different answer that it was not possible for Jesus to exercise his free choice.
Jesus indicated by His answer that he could have NOT chosen the cup of suffering.
Matthew 26:52 "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"
That which prevented Him was not an eternal decree. It was His free choice to see the scriptures fulfilled.
So, then, do you think that since Jesus does know what free choice is that he is POWERFUL enough to provide free choice to ALL of His creatures.
Do you believe that God is LOVING enough to provide a way for ANY sinful man to turn to Him?
Ahhh...the refreshing cerebral approach.
The choice is Man's...
The Word says: Matthew 18:13-15 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
God is no tyrant...His word was written to all mankind...and it says Deuteronomy 30:18-20 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.
The fact of the matter is no Man knows who is or isnt destined for Salvation or how God has laid out his plan for salvation...so to expound upon it is foolishness.
All mankind is allowed access if they choose to believe and walk in obedience then they will be accepted.
Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.
Yes, but God only provides the way for those He hath chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
Jesus Christ the Son of God died to take away every person's sin on the whole face of the Earth. He accomplished his mission nearly 2000 years ago. He took ALL the world's sins upon him on cross of Calvary. He died for mankind while mankind was still his enemy. All the apostles left him. NO HUMAN WAS ON HIS SIDE, ALL FORSAKE HIM. No human will be sentenced to eternal hell because of any sin they commited on Earth umless they commit the one sin which will not be forgiven. That one sin that can doom a person to hell which won't be forgiven, even by our all compsionate, forgiving and loving saviour, is rejecting his free gift of eternal life by not acknowledgeing him, and not accepting him as your Lord and Saviour and not loving him with all your heart mind and soul.
All have been forgiven of all sins except for the sin which won't be forgiven.
God makes no one be with him, it's your choice where you spend eternity.
But how can a fallen man, spiritually dead in his sins, choose to believe and walk in obedience?
Romans 3
10: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12: They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Do you believe God is RIGHTEOUS (Fair) enough to provide a way for ANY sinful man to turn to Him?
Yes, but God only provides the way for those He hath chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
The fact of the matter is that as long as Man is alive and has not committed the unforgivable sin [:o)] then he has opportunity to repent and walk in the Word.
:o)
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