To: WhatsItAllAbout; Dr. Eckleburg; fish hawk
"So again I would ask what's the point if the universe is deterministic, and how could a man be held responsible for his actions if God controls every molecule, in his body and every thought he thinks and there is no randomness in the universe?" In this you are at least beginning to catch the implications of Paul's description of the Gospel, even if you are walking right into the very question he knew Roman believers would ask in 57AD..."You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?"
You just have not come to grips with his answer,"On the contrary, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, O man, who answers back to God?..." Check it out. Romans 9:19, one of the most troubling verses in the Reformation.
To: Dutchboy88
Right on Dutch Boy! This is more interesting than most Bible studies I’ve been to. Sometimes truth is hard to understand but it is always truth. Maranatha
42 posted on
05/09/2010 11:28:53 AM PDT by
fish hawk
(Dreaming in my flight, I fly beyond my dreams.)
To: Dutchboy88
So if God's answer to man in Romans 9:19 is that man has no choice but is accepted or rejected as God desires without any recourse, then God is morally responsible for his sin?
I agree the potter can fashion a vessel for his desired purposes so how can he then judge the vessel for fulfilling his purposes?
Should the interpretation of Romans 9:19 be that God made some men for sin, so he could show the men made for his pleasure what a great God he is for saving them from the fate given to the sinners.
If Christ didn't die on the Cross for all mankind's sins, but only for the elected few then God's grace doesn't abound, and his love is limited to the few who had no choice in the matter.
But on the other hand Romans 10:9-13 seems to say man has freewill and Christ's salvation is available for All so it would seem the individual man is morally responsible for his own sins and God's grace has no limits.
So which is it? One or the other, or is it some combination of the two?
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