Funny, but not surprising, that you chose to ignore the following verses:
And even if there is cause for offense, the one who judges - who harbors the resentment - is cut-off as long as he refuses to forgive.
Who said there is no forgiveness? But forgiveness comes with repentance. There is no free lunch.
But what's "pathetic" in my view is man - any man - judging God.
Who is judging God? Me?
The error of man's judging God by his own rules of logic (e.g. either/or, the Law of the Excluded Middle) was the point of my post 4598 and the "sermon" at 4633.
The error of man's judgment is for some to presume that they are God's mouthpiece and to posit that anything that opposes their opinion or belief is judging God. As for the Law of Excluded Middle, the middle must be provable and real to show that the either/or choices are a false dilemma. The problem is proving that the third choice is real and rational. And those who peddle divine spokesmanship cannot prove anything unless one already believes in the third option as real.
You are telling me that predestination and free will can "co-exist" but you do not show how that is possible or even real. I take it that your definitions of predestination and free will are vastly different from standard definitions, in which case please define them.
To me a predestined world is a divine theater where different actors act out specific roles in order for the heavenly play to come to a predetermined, scripted end. The actors are not at all at any liberty to change the script or their assigned characters, even though they may wish it. There is no room for any free will on that stage.
Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every [thing], and [that] no thought can be withholden from thee.
The Bible states that many things are hidden from God. Go figure.
Likewise the parable in Matthew 20 sums up the error in resenting God's will for us
Some people do blame and hate God for everything. That's unfortunate. Christians believe that God is Love and His will is desire, a desire that all mankind is saved. Love doesn't impose; love only desires.
Man is not the measure of God...For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts...Isa 55:8-9
Yeah, and the good Apostle tells us "But we have the mind of Christ" [1 Cor 2:16]...as usual.
Being forbid to partake of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.. How is it that mankind can make judgments on most anything? Rightly?..
Through scripture(Sola Scriptura) or by lame or ingenious dogma devised by other men.. is a way.. i.e. ceremony, sacraments, liturgy, testimony of "saints", tradition, even spiritual modeling(Icons)..
Then you are making personal judgments as you are demurring to established rules of conduct.. LAW works.. until it doesn't work anymore.. Then you need opposite judgments to deal with overages that mankind is prone to.. The "LAW" is indeed a TEACHER.. What it teaches is its own limitations..
The "law" is weak toward flesh.. Flesh requires law to forbid chaos.. but it is a hard taskmaster, even brutal.. The spirit is more discriminating but still weak..
The only way(to know good and/from evil) is for fully interacting personal contact with the Holy Spirit.. Even then you can misread or not be open to the Holy Spirits(paeacletes) "help" in that way.. We MUST be sanctified in our choices.. i.e. weaned.. Weaned from our desires and qualia to righteousness.. i.e. good as opposed to evil..
ONLY God knows or can know the ultimate good from the evil of a thing.. Thats WHY Jesus left the Holy Spirit to guide us as much as we are willing to be guided.. Are "YOU"(and me) unwilling to be guided toward "the GOOD" sometimes?.. I know from experience I am.. and probably you are too..
Thats WHY we are not to touch the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil".. STILL.. If "you"(somebody) does not know the Holy Spirit he is in a world of hurt.. How can you know Him?.. Throw yourself at his "feet"(right where you are) and repent of all known arrogance.. and plead "MERCY"...
Man is not the measure of God.
We must receive all of the words of God even if they are hard to accept and that includes not dismissing Gods words based on our own mortal reasoning or desire.
You are telling me that predestination and free will can "co-exist" but you do not show how that is possible or even real. I take it that your definitions of predestination and free will are vastly different from standard definitions, in which case please define them.
Like the word ratio does not apply to a single number, the term rational does not apply to God; there is no ratio in Truth there can only be a ratio to Truth. God is absolute. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts.
Your challenge:
But Gods says:
The new heaven and earth (Revelation) is not a possibility. It will be because it is Gods will, He has spoken it.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30
Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, - Ephesians 1:3-5
In the passage weve been discussing, John 21, Peters freedom of movement is love. He wasnt being forced to love Jesus to a certain level (more than these) - but Jesus made it very clear by repeating it three times that loving Him is the necessary qualification to feed His lambs. Peter evidently had a problem keeping his priorities straight:
And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand [of him whom] thou wilt send.
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, [Is] not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, [even] he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. Exodus 4:10-16
No one and no thing can thwart the will of God. That is the bottom line.
Not Satan, not Moses, not Peter, not Herod, not Paul, not the people when Jesus entered Jerusalem, not you, not me, no one - and that includes Mary.
Now I realize that many of my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ put great stock in Marys submission to Gods calling. I strongly suspect her submission is why they are so compelled to venerate her as an example of how everyone ought to submit to the will of God.
But in no way could she have thwarted the will of God. If she had balked like Moses or if she had refused then Jesus would nevertheless had become enfleshed. With God, all things are possible.
But Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. - Matthew 19:26
But we know that his fate has already been sealed. Revelation 20
BTW, your comments on judgment call for another sermonette but I didnt want to overload this post so more later.
If so, then it should be noted that both Leviticus 19:15 and John 7:24 tell us righteous judgment is not based on appearances:
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. John 7:24
I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather [suffer yourselves to] be defrauded?
Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that [your] brethren.
Matthew 7:1-5 speaks of judging people:
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. - Matthew 7:1-5
In Matthew 7, Jesus Christ raises two aspects of mans judging. The first, verses 1-2, warns us that if we judge another, we will be judged exactly the same way. And that is righteous judgment consistent with the Lords prayer in Matthew 6:15 whereby we ask God to forgive us our debts exactly the same way we forgive others.
The second is judging false prophets which Christ encourages us to do. Note in Matthew 7:15-20 we are to know they are false by their fruits a good tree does not produce bad fruits.
This is also righteous judgment, of the same vein as I Corinthians 5 which tells us to examine the fruits within our own assembly and remove everyone whose fruits are specifically: fornication, covetousness, extortion, idolatry, drunkedness, railing.
The bottom line is to stay away from prophets (people who want to teach us) whose fruits are bad. The fruits of the Spirit - the good fruits are:
Romans 2:1 further shows that if a man judges another condemns himself:
If we judge another person, we will be judged exactly the same way.
In sum, hate the sin and love the sinner.
To God be the glory!