Results 1 - 6 of 6
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | kalos | 369 | ||
Yes, we have limited free will. God has His plan and ultimate purposes. But if one chooses to reject God, that person will suffer the consequences. . . . The Bible says that God made hell only for Satan and his angels because it is a true statement. . . .Regarding sinning after we are saved: 1) 1 John 1:8 NASB If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 2) Grace is not a license to sin (Rom 6). 3)Rom 3:28 NASB For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 4) It is true that one who is truly saved will manifest fruit or proofs of their salvation. BUT the evidences of genuine saving faith are the result, not the cause, of one's salvation. 5) Salvation is a free gift. It is not earned by keeping the law or doing good deeds, although these would be present in the life of a believer. 6) Eph 2:8-9 God's Word version: "God saved you through faith as an act of [grace]. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. It's not the result of anything you've done, so no one can brag about it." | ||||||
2 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 32860 | ||
While I believe that Scripture is clear that the illumination from our spiriutal dead state is all God's doing, because a corpse cannot impart life to itself, but once made alive by God, we are enabled by God to see ourselves as He sees us. As sinners who need to repent and believe. God's part in salvation is the spiritual awakening, and at that point man's part is to repent and believe. Scripture says: Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Repenting is something God commands the one whom He has awakened spiritually. God does not do our repenting or believing for us. Each person is responsible to repent of their sins. God didn't do our sinning for us, and He cannot do our repenting for us. But I must also say that Scripture says: the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance (Rom. 2:4) So God leads us up to the point where we are enabled to do the actual repenting. But the choice to repent is wholly our responsibility. | ||||||
3 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | charis | 32866 | ||
Dear Zach, Greetings in the name of Jesus! The theory of freewill salvation depends on the 'input' of the individual. However, as you have said, God initiates this, so He is the sole Author of our salvation. It is not repent and believe, but be apprehended by God, believe, then repent. Without God-initiated faith, repentance is impossible. After this, we have *responsibility* and *enabling* to serve the Lord, not 'freewill.' He chose us, not the reverse. Peace and joy in Christ Jesus, charis |
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4 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 33356 | ||
charis; I agree ...... He chose us. He is the author of our salvation. No one seeks after God, except those whom God has first sought out. We love Him because he first loved us. No man can come to Jesus, except God draws him John 6:44 When God by his mercy and grace reveals Himself to us, we are then enabled to choose whether or not to believe. |
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5 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | charis | 33402 | ||
Dear zach†, Greetings in the name of Jesus! I am not Calvinist (or at least the Calvinists wouldn't accept me! :-)), but I cannot agree that we make the choice to be saved or not. You wrote "He chose us. He is the author of our salvation." The key would be that *us* and *our* would be impersonal terms, denoting that God chose everyone, but it didn't become personal salvation until we (personally, individually) received Him. I believe that He knew *me* (not *us*) and called *me* to His feet, and THAT is salvation. I prefer to put that eternal decision (judgement) in God's capable hands. Honestly, I *choose* not to get into a more detailed explanation than that. :-) Just a thought. The *church* (ecclesia) is the 'called out' assembly. This, IMHO, denotes that Someone did the calling out from the 'crowd' of potential candidates (the lost). To me, God called me personally, not generally. Otherwise, the church would be the 'deciders' or the 'chosers' or the 'receivers' or the 'confessors' of God. I do believe that we must confess Christ, and live in Him in order that His sanctification would continue to work in our lives until we meet Him. But my salvation rests solely on His personal choice of me. Now I serve Him. I can never 'return the favor!,' but I want to please my Savior! One man's opinion. In Christ Jesus, charis |
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6 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 33929 | ||
charis; I have enjoyed your well thought out responses to my questions and notes, and i think we pretty much think the same on this issue even though our wording and understanding differs somewhat. I too believe salvation is personal to each individual. I believe that God, and not man inititates salvation, that He is the author, and also the finisher of salvation. As concerning the sanctification process which you briefly mentioned, I think that is a topic not dicussed in detail as often as it should be. When I mention salvation, I see salvation as an umbrella under which are justification, sanctification (both initial, and ongoing), and also glorification. I think that in order to properly understand salvation, which is a broad term, one must first have a good working knowledge of the terms I justy mentioned, and if I read you correctly, I believe that you do. Let me give you my basic definition of these 3 terms: Salvation is in 3 tenses Justification-we have been saved (past tense) from the penalty of sin. Sanctification- we are being saved (present tense) from the power of sin Glorification - we yet shall be saved (future tense) from the presence of sin sanctification is not merely activism in the sense that everything depends on me, neither is sanctification merely passivism, meaning just let God do it for me. But true Bibical sanctification is us co-operating with the Holy Spirit as He works with us and allowing Him to work through us. Sanctification becomes a quality of life through a two-way relationship: the believer in Christ, and Christ in the believer: The Holy Spirit working in us as we co-operate with Him (Sanctification is not passive) Justification is by faith, Sanctification is by faithfulness. Justification is for the repentant sinner. Sanctification is for the surrendered disciple. Glorification is for the victorious saint. Justification takes care of the past. Sanctification takes care of the present. Glorification takes care of the future. Yours in Christ zach |
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