Results 1 - 3 of 3
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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† | 34433 | ||
Lionstrong; "The Bible is the revelation of an infinite mind that presents all sides of the truth ... We are not to try to explain away the clear teaching of the Word of God as to the sovereignty of God on the one hand, nor the clear teaching of the Word of God as to the freedom of the human will on the other hand." (Dr. R.A. Torrey: The Importance and Value of Proper Bible Study). All offers of salvation in the NT are directed to the will, of the being that has been made alive at the time of regeneration All men are invited to accept the salvation that God has provided in Jesus Christ. “Whosoevr will” (Rev. 22:17) means just what it says (Dr. Harry A. Ironside) Rev. 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Lets dig into that verse… 1. the Spirit calls us to “come” (that’s the Spirit’s invitation, He inititates the whole salvation process, not we) 2. those that hear call back in response “Come” (come into my heart Lord Jesus) 3. let those who are thristy come 4. “whosoever will” let him take the water of life freely (notice we must reach out and take what we have been invited to take, and that is the free gift of life. 5. “whosoever will” means whosoever will, and on the negative side of this it means whosoever won’t, nevertheless, the offer is extended to all. How can man be held accountable to God for his actions in judgment without freewill? Do those who die unbelivers get judged for something that they could not be responsible for? What kind of God would judge someone for his or her inability? Is it fair to send someone to hell for sins he was forced to commit having no freewill? John 5:40 And YE WILL NOT COME to me, that ye might have life. "the work of conversion is the response of the heart and mind to the conviction. the Spirit's work is to convict, but He never forces the person who is convicted to respond to conversion against his own will. Man is a free moral agent. He has the precious heritage of liberty, a gift from God, and the Holy Spirit of God respects that right. " (L. Strauss) "Whosoever believes shall be saved" John 3:16 (Not whosoever God makes a believer) |
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2 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 34502 | ||
Zach: I must say that in typical Arminian fashion, you quote all of the "whosoever will" passages, which do not present the slightest problem for the Reformed theologian; and completely ignore those passages which explicitly speak of man's inability and unwillingness to come to Christ unless persuaded to do so by the Holy Spirit. Those persuaded to do so will willingly embrace Him, and those not persuaded to do so will willingly reject Him. Our wills are constrained by our nature, and our sinful natures must be changed supernaturally so that we will indeed love God instead of hate Him. 'And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."' --John 6:65 (not "The Father accepts whomever decides on this/her own initiative to come to Him.") "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." --John 6:44 (not "you are free to accept or reject Jesus") "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." --John 6:37 (not "God accepts whoever comes to Christ on their own"; notice in all of these verses who is initiating and causing the activity) We can play "quotation ping-pong" all day long if you wish Zach, with every Arminian quoted being contradicted by a Reformed theologian. Those of us in the other camp understand the Arminian view far better than you seem to understand the Reformed one, so it really doesn't contribute to the discussion to hear from any Arminian scholar unless the Arminian view is being misrepresented by us. I contend that it isn't being misrepresented here, only challenged. In closing, you write: "How can man be held accountable to God for his actions in judgment without freewill?" We do have free will, and our depraved nature makes us want nothing but sin (Romans 3:10-18). Until God changes us, that is all we will ever want, and we are unable to want anything else (Romans 8:7-9). Paul anticipates your question, however, and answers it in Romans 9:19 ff. "Is it fair to send someone to hell for sins he was forced to commit having no freewill?" No one is forced by God to be a sinner (James 1:13). Thanks to the Fall, that is what we WANT to do. It is our nature. Sin itself is a willful rebellion AGAINST God's will. That is the category in which we all have found ourselves. The difference between us and the non-Christian is that God has allowed some to continue down the sinful path to destruction, and has rescued some of us, changing our natures and causing us to WANT to embrace Christ. Just to clear up your understanding of effectual calling, here is the Westminster Shorter Catechism's rendering of the doctrine: "Q31. What is effectual calling? A. Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our will, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel." So, according to our view, it is God who enlightens our minds (not us), God who enables us to embrace Christ (not us), and God who renews our wills (which were previously contrained by our fallen, depraved natures), and God who persuades us to trust in Christ (we trust, but it is God who must persuade us to do so, and He accomplishes this perfectly). --Joe! |
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3 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | Robert Nicholson | 34508 | ||
Brother Joe: Just a few thoughts. When we give our testimony we will often relate the events which lead up to the time we were saved and our life in Christ after we are saved. Before we were saved we did not realize that in fact it was God through his Spirit who was dealing with us and that he was active in each step of the way. Likewise, when we were brought into saving faith in Christ, even the understanding that filled our soul "that Christ died for me" was given by the Holy Spirit, not by our own intellect. Similarly, in our Christian experience, we think that we make certain choices and yet in retrospect, we see God's hand on our path. As I sinner I am invited to "come", told to strive to enter in and given the sense that there is urgency in the matter. I may think that these thoughts are my own but after I am saved I will realize that it was God who was inviting me to come. Eph. 1 for example is wonderful truth given to believers; "Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the World" "Predestined to the adoption of sons". The difference in views seems to be: "did God force me to come by his Spirit?" Or "did the Spirit of God lead me to Christ". In others words did I have the choice to say no to the strivings of the Spirit of God? We know that in the days of Noah we see the longsuffering of God Gen. 6 "My Spirit shall not always strive with man" Also in 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." I notice however, that he "is longsuffering to usward" and in the days of Noah "he was longsuffering while the ark was being built" As a result those whom upon the lord had mercy "Noah and his family" were saved and today those whom the Lord in his mercy wishes to save, he will continue to work with until they are saved" Years ago, I recall a preacher who used to say "when the last soul is saved, the Lord will come" We notice that people such as Saul of Tarsus who were brought as it were kicking and screaming to Christ. Some would say that the Spirit of God is seeking a kind of people ie., lost sinners to come to Christ. Others, contend that certain people by name will be brought to Christ. I think that the important thing is, that we do not trifle with the strivings of the Spirit of God. I have told the unsaved, to be thankful if God is making their life miserable and speaking to them about their sin and need. I personally come to the point at which I realize, that I cannot second guess the Divine Foreknowledge of God. Your brother by his grace Robert |
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