Results 1 - 7 of 7
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 33923 | ||
Lionstrong; Rather than give a definition for what I think "free will" is, I would rather just basically say that God does not create us to be robot's. | ||||||
2 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | Curtnsally | 34048 | ||
Zach Not to be too dogmatic, but can you support that with scripture? Blessings Curt |
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3 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 34304 | ||
Curt; Actually "robots" are not mentioned in scripture. That is my point. In Christ zach† |
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4 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | Curtnsally | 34309 | ||
Hi again! I see where you are going, but I think that we have to separate the question of salvation from other activities when we consider "free will" and "election". If one were to believe in the doctrine of election, that we are "elect" or "chosen" by God for salvation, that does not necessarily imply that we must be robots in other activities. Is that a fair distinction to draw? We can be elect in salvation and have free will to live and make choices beyond that. Thoughts? Cur† PS: I liked you cross so much, I plagerized it for my signature... if its ok with you! |
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5 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 34324 | ||
Curt; let me post what my favorite Christian author said; Failure to distinguish the part of God from the part of man in salvation has prevented countless seekers from finding peace, and left whole sections of the Church of Christ powerless for long periods of time. There are some things which only God can do, and there are other things which only man can do It is vain for us to try to do the work which can only be done by sovereign grace; it is equally vain for us to implore God to do what has been commanded by sovereign authority. Among the things which only God can do, is the work of redemption. That glorious work owes nothing to the effort of any man; It was all of God, and man could simply have no part. Christ’s work on Calvary made atonement for every man, but it did not save any man. Salvation is personal. It is redemption made effective toward the individual. Salvation is the work of God in the heart, made possible by the work of God on the Cross. Both the once-done work of redemption and the many-times-multiplied work of salvation are in the class of things which only God can do. No man can forgive his own sins; no man can regenerate his own heart; no man can declare himself justified and clean. All this is the work of God in man Universal atonement makes salvation universally available, but it does not make it universally effective toward the individual. If atonement was made for all men, why are not all saved? The answer is that before redemption becomes effective toward the individual man there is an act which that man must do. That act is not one of merit, but of condition. THIS ACT OF APPROPRIATING SALVATION IS ONE WHICH ONLY MAN CAN DO. Failure to distinguish God’s part from man’s has resulted in mental confusion and moral inaction among Christians. In the things-which-God-cannot-do category is this: God cannot do our repenting for us. In our efforts to magnify grace we have so preached the truth as to convey the impression that repentance is a work of God. This is a grave mistake, and one which is taking a frightful toll among Christians everywhere. God has commanded all men to repent. It is a work which only they can do. It is morally impossible for one person to repent for another. Even Christ could not do this. He could die for us, but He cannot do our repenting for us. God in His mercy may “incline” us to repent and by His inworking Spirit assist us to repent; but before we can be saved we must of our own free will repent toward God and believe in Jesus Christ. This the Bible plainly teaches Repentance involves moral reformation. The wrong practices are on man’s part, and only man can correct them. Lying, for instance, is an act of man, and one for which he must accept full responsibility. When he repents he will quit lying. God will not quit lying for him; he will quit for himself. When stated thus frankly everything seems obvious enough and we may wonder how reasonable persons could expect someone else to relieve them of their personal obligation to repent. The “all has been done, you can do nothing” emphasis has caused no end of confusion among seekers everywhere. People are told, they can do nothing in the direction of salvation; even to suggest such a thing is to offend God: So they are tossed helplessly between the first Adam and the last Adam. One did their sinning for them and the other has done everything else. Thus the nerve of their moral life is cut and they sink back in despair, afraid to move lest they be guilty of sinful self effort. At the same time they are deeply troubled with the knowledge that there is something seriously wrong with their religious lives. The remedy is to see clearly that men are not lost because of what someone did thousands of years ago; they are lost because they sin individually and in person. We will never be judged for Adam’s sin, but for our own. For our own sins we are and must remain fully responsible The idea that we can delegate repentance is an erroneous inference drawn from the doctrine of grace wrongly presented and imperfectly understood. Another thing God cannot do: He cannot believe for us. Faith is a gift of God, to be sure, but whether or not we shall act upon that faith lies altogether within our own power. The realization that we are personally responsible for our individual sins may be a shock to our hearts, but it will clear the air and remove the uncertainty. Returning sinners waste their time begging God to perform the very acts He has sternly commanded them to do. Repent and believe is the order. Faith will follow repentance, and salvation will be the outcome. Any interpretation of free grace which relieves the sinner of responsibility to repent is not of God nor in accordance with revealed truth. They listen to the sermon and then go their way, waiting in vain for God to do the things He has commanded them to do. Until this is corrected we can hope for very little power in our churches. (Tozer) |
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6 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | Curtnsally | 34327 | ||
Zach I was ok debating you... a little harder debating A.W. himself! I still am not 100 percent on this question, and will continue to work on it. Blessings Cur† |
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7 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 34335 | ||
Curt; I'm still seeking God's direction myself concerning all the questionable texts that Christian's discuss. There are no easy answers to be sure In Christ zach† |
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