Results 1 - 20 of 190
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Results from: Notes Author: zach† Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 32858 | ||
Yes, I personally believe that we have free will after we become saved. We still sin don't we? So if we say that we don't have free will after becoming saved, we would have to conclude that God does our sinning for us after we are saved. And we know that is NOT the case. We choose to sin even after being saved. Again I repeat, God does NOT take away our free will once we are saved | ||||||
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 | 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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4 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 33358 | ||
kalos; God plays the major part in our salvation. Before salvation we are dead spiritually. And the dead cannot bring itself to life. Being raised from the dead, whether physically or spiritually is an act that only God can accomplish. So without God raising our dead spiritual corpses there would not be any salvation, because if salvation was dependant upon us, it could never come about. Only God has the power able to raise the dead. | ||||||
5 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 33566 | ||
Kin; Scripture says: God will never leave us or forsake us. And you can believe that is true. The other side of the coin is, we can forsake Him. The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. (2 Chr. 15:2) and other verses as well. |
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6 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 33922 | ||
Curt Thank you, and I agree with that In Christ zach |
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7 | 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. | ||||||
8 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 33924 | ||
ank; So basically your saying God is the conductor on the train which leads to hell. Is that correct? |
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9 | 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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10 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 33937 | ||
excellent point kin In Christ zach |
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11 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 34303 | ||
Lionstrong; Let me simply say; Without choice love is rendered as something meaningless. A relationship is bilateral-"it takes two." Love can go one way, but a relationship is two-way. Relationships are ongoing dynamic sort of things which take two (at least partially) willing persons. The relationship that God wants to enter into with us is not a love which is forced upon us. In Christ zach† |
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12 | 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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13 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 34321 | ||
Joe! To answer your question; "would we be the slightest bit willing to embrace Christ were we not enabled and persuaded by the Holy Spirit to do so?" My answer is absolutely not. I'm sorry my answer is not in much more detail at this time, but because of how busy I currently am, I hope to address this topic in much greater detail in the very near future, if the Lord tarries. And at that time, I plan to outline my thoughts using Scripture as my authority. Until then In Christ zach† |
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14 | 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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15 | 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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16 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 34368 | ||
Curt; I know all about tokens. I use to ride subways and trains. And sometimes I decided to get off before I reached the end of the rail. In Christ zach† |
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17 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 34376 | ||
Curt Sometimes I chose to, one other time I fell off. But no one ever threw me off. But either way I got off before the final destination. In Christ zach† |
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18 | 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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19 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 34480 | ||
Lionstrong; Rather than get into a heated debate with you on this subject, because God has called us to peace, I will leave off this subject with you. I have posted scripture ONLY, in a reply to etta, and you said my view was unBibical. Now I have posted the comments of Mr. A.W. Tozer, a man most of the Evangelical Christian world considered a godly man, who went home to be with the Lord in 1963. But even this man of the faith's words you have called Arminian hogwash. So if Scripture is unBibical to you, and great men of the faith are considered inferior to your thinking then my appeal on this subject has come to a halt] In Christ zach† |
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20 | What is Free Will? | Bible general Archive 1 | zach† | 34481 | ||
Curt; Thank you very much for this post. Yes I agree with what A.W. Tozer says here, and I find nothing unBibical in his writtings. I hope Lionstong gets a chance to read this also. In Christ zach† |
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