Results 401 - 420 of 500
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Reformer Joe Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
401 | Christian Primer Terms? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 18146 | ||
Charis: Not that I haven't read your request that we give OUR answers, but it does sound that what you are looking for is a catechism. Why "re-invent the wheel" when a catechism (such as the Westminster Shorter Catechism or one of the many other evangelical ones) serves the very purpose you are seeking? They are used as educational tools to help seekers/new converts/children grasp the basics of the faith in a manner that is easy to understand. Why don't you take a look and see if this will help, and I am sure that someone on the forum will work with you if that doesn't pan out. A whole host of catechisms can be found at www.reformed.org under the link "Historic Church Documents." Others can be found at www.reformedreader.org under "Baptist Documents." These are worth a looksie for everyone in my opinion, even if you don't agree with every last point of doctrine contained therein. --Joe! |
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402 | God's sovereignty means no free will? | Ezek 36:26 | Reformer Joe | 18111 | ||
Short answer? No, God's sovereignty does not eliminate free will. Our natural depravity (resulting from the Fall), however, means that we will never WANT to choose God apart from our regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, our sinfulness and our deserving of Hell completely rests on our shoulders, not God's. However, in His sovereignty, God stepped in and replaced our "hearts of stone" with "hearts of flesh" (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26), and we then desired to embrace Christ. However, since I can almost hear the collective groaning of those who see another Calvinism/Arminianism debate coming across here, I would recommend that you use the search feature and type in the words "free will" to see the discussion that has preceded your arrival. By the way, welcome to the Forum! --Joe! |
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403 | How do we know the Bible is the truth? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 18092 | ||
David: If you are asking if we can know with 100 percent objective certainty that the Bible is the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then the answer is no. That having been said, the evidence does lean heavily in favor of the Bible being an accurate historical record of the events it records. In addition, its internal consistency is second to none, especially considering the 1500-year time span over which it was written. Philosophically speaking, I hold that it is reflects better than any other text what we can observe about humanity's nature. I also hold that unless I had been supernaturally enlightened, I would be rejecting Christianity not on the basis of a lack of evidence, but due to a will which wanted nothing to do with the God of the universe or Jesus Christ. For a more detailed account of why we can trust the Bible, I would recommend that you start with a book entitled "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. It is very readable and provides fascinating evidence for the historicity of the resurrection as depicted in the Bible (and if the Bible is right on something as big as THAT, then incredulity must fade a little regarding other parts of it as well). Thanks for asking! --Joe! |
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404 | Whatever happened to John 17:21? | Heb 6:4 | Reformer Joe | 17967 | ||
Well, Bill, if you agree with everything I hold, then we can be one! Are you willing? :) --Joe! |
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405 | Joe, what is Paul and Hebrews 'the Law'? | Heb 6:4 | Reformer Joe | 17915 | ||
Bill: Thoughts? Of course! You should know me better than that by now... :) "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." --Matthew 5:17-19 Whoever teaches the commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. What commandments is Christ speaking of? Have heaven and earth passed away yet? Then why do some try to annul God's moral commands? As far as dismantling the Law, I am supporting no such thing. God's moral requirements both are encapsulated in the decalogue, but also pre-date the law as well. His moral requirements for humanity extend back as far as the garden, long before Moses came down from Sinai. Paul even mentions this in Galatians: "What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise. Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made." --Galatians 3:17 The covenant made with Abraham was pre-Law (in the Mosaic sense). It was not a covenant of works, but rather a covenant demonstrating God's grace. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. If God's moral requirements only exist in the form of the Mosaic Law, we not only have the question of those who pre-date the Law, but also those who lived afterward but were not under the Law of Moses (i.e. the Gentiles). Paul speaks to them in Romans: "For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them" --Romans 2:11-14 We can glean several truths from these few verses: 1. Gentiles do not have the Law (of Moses) 2. They do instinctively the things of the Law (Does this mean sacrifices? I doubt it) 3. They have the Law (or law) written on their hearts. Again, is this the system of sacrifices or feasts? It seems that when Paul talks about the Law, he is referring to different aspects of the Law depending on different circumstances. 4. All who have sinned without the Law will perish without the Law. Therefore, only the Jews were "under the Law" in the first place, in the Mosaic sense. However, we are all accountable to the moral law of God, which is seen and expressed clearly in the Law of Moses, but also is eternal. We see God expressing his covenant of works with humanity in Genesis 2:16-17, based on His perfect standard of morality. Our first parents were not under the Mosaic covenant, nor the covenant of Abraham, but still obligated to follow the moral directives of God. Why do you contend that when Christ died and rose again that the moral requirements of God, which did not begin at Sinai, ended at Calvary? Again, I am not arguing that any of us are able to keep the requirements of God's moral law. That is why God established his covenant of grace with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:15) and later more specifically with Abraham though which all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. God's covenant of grace was fulfilled at Calvary, and all who trust in Christ are part of that covenant. However, all humanity, as descendants of Adam, are part of the covenant of works established by God, which has never been nullified. The reason I am saved is that I am in Christ, who fulfilled the covenant of works for me and all who believe. One other question that would help clear things up on your perspective for me, Bill: what can I do as a Christian to honor God in my daily life that is not expressed in the Law? If the moral law passed away with the Mosaic Law, how am I to please God without obeying the moral commands found in the Pentateuch? --Joe! |
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406 | Shouldn't we obey ALL God's Word? | Matt 6:14 | Reformer Joe | 16385 | ||
Bill: The difference is that the New Testament (Hebrews in particular) tell us that the Old Testament system of sacrifice and feasts was a mere foreshadowing of what was fulfilled in Christ on the Cross: "For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." --Hebrews 10:1-4 However, nowhere will you find support that God's moral commandments are any less binding on the believer. We do not earn our salvation by them, but God-honoring works are the mark of every true believer. So says the post-Cross James: "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" --James 2:14 James spends the rest of the chapter explaining why the answer is "no." This is not legalistic "you must earn your salvation by good deeds." Nor is it antinomian "no matter how your life is lived, you know that you are saved simply because you claim to believe a set of facts which may or may not have the slightest impact on your life whatsover." It is the Biblical idea demonstrated clearly in the answer to Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 35: "Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness." This is the only way, in my view, to reconcile the importance that the entire Old and New Testaments place on faith AND works in salvation. Or, as the saying goes: we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. --Joe! |
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407 | peace | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 16380 | ||
Yes, I am judging you by the same standard by which you should be judging things. And I do have all the answers to life's important theological questions. They are leather-bound in one volume on my desk in front of me. Don't worry, however; I am done "preaching" that you should be "reading" the Bible God has given us. You keep searching for that "something more" (which really seems to be "something else" in your case). --Joe! |
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408 | is the NIV a good bible to read? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 15887 | ||
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409 | Does this mean God is the author of sin? | 2 Sam 12:11 | Reformer Joe | 15646 | ||
Bob: I wondered where you had been off to! I took some time before responding to read some of the answers from others on this forum, and I imagine that you were not terribly satisfied with most of those explanations, either. Your post does bring me to something I had wanted to fit in earlier: whether using the words "author," "cause," and "source" synonymously is correct here. Here is my understanding: Q: Where does sin originate? A: The sinful hearts of human beings. Before we have performed a single sinful act, we are sinners in our hearts. Jesus made this clear in the Sermon on the Mount regarding sinful acts: "'You have heard that it was said, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY"; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.'" --Matthew 5:27-28 Even those who lack the opportunity or fear the earthly consequences of carrying out this act still have sinned; Christ even used the word "already" to indicate that as far as God was concerned, the act had been carried out in the sinner's heart. That answers the question of the authorship of sin. It is the sinner himself. ------- Q: What choices will the unregenerate make? A: Every thought and act of those who are not followers of the Lord Jesus Christ is marred by sin and selfish motives, and their every act is tainted by sin and displeasing to God. Paul says that they are slaves to their sin, and will produce nothing but sinful acts: "because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." --Romans 8:7-8 Therefore, God continually brings into existence people who will, from birth to death, rebel against Him. He knew this from eternity past; this is no "cosmic accident." ------- Q: So how can God decree sin (along with all other things) without being the author of it? A: Here is what I come up with: ...by bringing sinful people into EXISTENCE (seen above; that includes all of us before we place our trust in Christ). ...by providing the ABILITY and OPPORTUNITY to sin. For example, an invalid could be a rapist in his heart, but God has not allowed him the capability to allow that already-existant sin to be carried out. Others, however (such as Absolom), have not been limited in their capacity to carry out this sin. Again, sin exists in the mind of sinners. They are the authors of it, notwithstanding any external reason(s) preventing them from carrying it out. This should be a very sobering thought for individuals who think that the fact that they do not act on their sinful impulses somehow makes them better than those who do. Many times the only thing keeping sinners from committing very heinous crimes is cowardice. ...by limiting the EXTENT of the expression of the sinful act. Absolom was brought into existence by God; he was born a sinner, so that he was bent toward evil. That evil heart constantly will reject what is of God and selfishly seek its own ends. God, having judged David for his sin with Bathsheba, made it so that Absolom would have the ability and opportunity to carry out the sinful desires of his heart. All of this, even though perpetrated by Absolom and arising from the sinfulness in his own heart, was decreed by God to serve His ends (i.e. judgment upon David). Absolom was still sinning even if he hadn't slept with his father's concubines. God, through external means, merely gave form to how Absolom's sinfulness found expression. A very crude analogy is how the water of a river will inevitably flow downstream, but it is the shape of the riverbanks which determines the path it takes. Re-direct the river, as God does with human beings and their opportunities and empowerment, and the water will still flow, only in a different direction. The good news is that God eventually limited the extent to which Absolom's rebellion would occur, just as He limits the extent to the damage which sin does to the world in our day. As bad as the world is today. imagine how horrible it would be if the expression of sinfulness was not checked! Therefore, God brings sinners into existence when and where He wants them to exist. He gives all individuals a certain amount of power and opportunity within the spheres of their existence, and all unregenerate people will continually use the power and oppurtunity they have to act out the sin they have already authored in their hearts. God in his wisdom controls and decrees all of the external variables so that the inevitable sinfulness originating within His creatures is carried out only in the manner in which He decrees, to serve His eternal purposes. --Joe! |
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410 | Who and what is this vers about? | Deut 32:30 | Reformer Joe | 15496 | ||
The Rock is God. The "them" refers to the ten thousand, not the two. The Rock (of the two) has sold the ten thousand into their hands. It is referring to God's omnipotence. Hope this helps! --Joe! |
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411 | The bible is a work of fiction - discuss | Gen 1:1 | Reformer Joe | 15495 | ||
Why do you believe the Bible as fictional? I pity those who reject the truth just to make them more comfortable leading the life that they do. Thanks! --Joe! |
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412 | How inspired is the NAS Bible today? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 15403 | ||
I say that all Scripture is divinely superintended by the Holy Spirit in all of the original manuscripts (option #2, but including all of the Psalms and the Pentateuch). My question for you: Why do you select the NASB as inspired? What about the the King James Version? What about the NKJV? What about the NIV and the NRSV and the NLT? They differ in their translations (although not in any essential way, I admit). And then, what about the New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses? Are all of them inspired? If not, how do you determine which one(s)? Also, why would God divinely inspire so many translations of His Word in the second half of the 20th century alone? Seems like that would be overkill on his part. Thanks! --Joe! |
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413 | Jesus judgemental? | Matt 11:20 | Reformer Joe | 14642 | ||
How is this for judging? "Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. 'Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you." --Matt 11:24 See Jesus dealing with the Pharisees. See what Jesus says after John 3:16. I wouldn't call it being judgmental, but He certainly is pronouncing judgment upon these individuals using God's holy standard. In other words, you conversation partner needs to read the gospels a little more closely if he thinks Jesus was a meek little guy who just went around speaking "warm fuzzies." Thanks! --Joe! |
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414 | If God knows all,why create the universe | Deut 29:29 | Reformer Joe | 14290 | ||
Gee, I kinda like the "Sunday School" answer. the fact is that we are the creation and He is the Creator, and understanding our place in the "pecking order" is what we humans struggle with the most. Selfishness? I think that is putting God on a human level. The Potter has a right to do with the clay as He wishes (Romans 9). All of this is His. All of this is for His glory. It cannot really be called selfishness when no one else has a claim on anything in existence but Him. The universe is God's self-expression. Just as a painting reflects the thoughts and character of the painter, so the universe was designed to point to and glorify the Creator. Note that this isn't pantheism, where the universe IS God, but rather a theism in which the universe's purpose is to display the marks of the One who made it. --joe! |
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415 | What's God's purpose in life? | Deut 29:29 | Reformer Joe | 14284 | ||
Bill: God's purpose is to glorify Himself. I recently read an article in Discipleship Journal which explained this in the most excellent fashion. It went something along the lines that God, being holy, must honor and esteem that which possesses the highest moral perfection. And God, being infinite in His perfection, must be what He honors and esteems the most. That is indeed self-centeredness, but self-centeredness is only sinful if the self is not worthy of being the center of one's existence. God is, of course, worthy. Therefore, He created not out of a need of companionship (the Trinity from all eternity has provided blissful, perfect companionship for each Person therein). He did not create out of a need, because that would be stating that God needs something outside of Himself, which is clearly contrary to Scripture. Everything God created and every way that He interacts with His creation is ultimately for His glory. That includes saving sinners (showing his love and mercy), and demonstrating his justice and wrath to those who do not repent. Why is God's motivation? To bring glory and honor to Himself. And our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. --Joe! |
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416 | For Joe. | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 14029 | ||
It is indeed wrong for Christians to seek for answers to the nature of God's existence and of His chararcter and the state of man outside of the Bible. What we see here is more than just a pondering of things that are not revealed in Scripture; what is being demonstrated in this thread is a complete ignorance of what God has said about Himself in the Bible. If we believe in the Bible (and I do), let's believe what the Bible says about God and humanity and sin and salvation and judgment and mercy. It is simply ridiculous to say, "I wonder" when the truth is there for all believers to pick up and read. --Joe! |
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417 | Who created god? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 13984 | ||
No one created God. He is uncreated, always having existed. he is the First Cause, from which all effects have their ultimate origin. --Joe! |
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418 | All of God's decree is not predestined? | Gal 2:17 | Reformer Joe | 13974 | ||
Bob: What did you think of my view that the intentions of man are the source of sin rather than the way in which those intentions are carried out? While God does not control our wills, he does limit the way in which the individual wills of humans can express themselves. Therefore, by sovereignly placing us in various times and places in human history, and by limiting and extending our sphere of influence, and by means of such tools as divine interaction and human interaction and circumstances and a whole host of other things we can't even begin to wrap our minds around, God controls the manifestation of the sinfulness in our hearts. There is much in the Bible that supports the idea that the sin of humans is not merely the actions themselves, but the sinfulness that exists in the mind/heart: "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit." --Matthew 7:17-18 In Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that those who hate their brother have committed murder in their hearts, and those who lust after a woman have committed adultery in their hearts. If God limits my opportunity to have sex with a woman who is not my wife, that does not mean that the lustful intention is not there, and therefore, the sin already exists. If I do indeed commit adultery with my body rather than just my heart, that is an outward expression of MY sinful intentions, but obviously it is something that God has incorporated into His sovereign plan, because it occurs. God did not tempt me; God did not place the evil desire in my heart; God did not encourage me. However, if I am an adulterer, God brought the woman across my path in the first place, controlled the circumstances which allowed us the time to develop whatever relationship there would be, controlled the circumstances which allowed us the opportunity to find the secluded spot to commit our sin, and he didn't prevent us from acting out our sinful desires. Again, the desires are ours, the sin we commit is ours, but it is God who controlled all external circumstances which paved the path to the adultery. This brings to mind another good example. After the Bathsheba incident, God said to David (through the prophet Nathan): "Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.'" --2 Samuel 12:11-12 Here we see that God "will raise up evil" from within David's own household to dishonor him the same way that he dishonored Uriah. God says specifically that this is what he WILL do, not what may happen as a result. He gives specifics on how this will occur and who will witness it. In other words, God decrees it. And the decree is fulfilled in a few chapters with his son Absolom: "Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, 'Give your advice. What shall we do?' Ahithophel said to Absalom, 'Go in to your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.' So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel." --2 Samuel 16:20-22 We can conclude the following from this part of Scripture: 1. David's sin with Bathsheba and the sin of Absolom are interrelated, namely, that the latter is judgment upon David for the former. 2. God did not "make" Absolom sin. He was led into his sin by his own rebellion against David and directed by the advice of Ahithophel. 3. God said it would happen, and it did. His decree was for evil to befall David. How else could we put these two passages side by side and conclude that God did not decree that the evil would occur, and that it was decreed to serve God's purposes? Absolom's sinful intent was already present, and God directed that, providing the circumstances so that Nathan's prophecy would come true at the hands of Absolom. What do you think? --Joe! |
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419 | But aren't they mutually exclusive? | Gal 2:17 | Reformer Joe | 13871 | ||
Bob: You wrote: "In this post, you use the phrase "God's sovereign will" a couple of times. By this, do you mean 'God's predetermined, unchangeable plan which includes everything that comes to pass in time?'" I do. You also wrote: "How does the concept of God "actively permitting" something fit into the concept of God "absolutely predetermining" every detail of history before any of it began? As I understand it, the concept of God "actively permitting" something must mean that there was *real* choice available (ie. that there really was both the *ability* to choose and the *opportunity* to choose), and that, although God would certainly have known what the choice(s) would be, He did not pre-destinate what those choices would be." I don't consider "decree" and "predestination" to be synonymous. Predestination, in my view, is the element of decree which reflects what God will actually do Himself. Biblically, the term is used to describe the eternal destiny of those whom He regenerates, and that is wholly a work of God in the Reformed view. Of course, we are heading into some pretty deep philosophical waters when we start to discuss God's choices and our choices with relationship to time, and grasping all the nuances of that could very well be out of our reach. Perhaps one good way to examine the notion that God limits our freedom without excusing us from the blame for our sin is to examine sin from the perspective of human nature. Human beings are sinful by nature; EVERYTHING a non-Christian person will do will be displeasing to God, simply because the unregenerate are slaves to sin and acting in accordance with their nature. this is the idea of total depravity. There is not one fiber of our unsaved selves that is not corrupted by the Fall. In this sense, the unregenerate cannot help but sin. Therefore, since God allows the existence of humanity, there can be no question that he allows humans to sin. Sinners are what we all once were by our very nature. What God does control, however, is how that sin finds expression (i.e how that sin is carried out). In my limited perspective, it would seem that he could do that in several ways. Simply denying a particular human's access to opportunity would not change the fact that he will sin, but it will control how he will sin. For example, if I were a misanthropic person who wanted to destroy humanity, God could take that desire within me and use it ultimately for His glory without putting in my hands the political and/or technological power to accomplish my desires. I am still the one sinning, but God controls how and when I am able to exercise what I want to do. Another way he actively directs the "flow of sin," so to speak, is through direct suggestion. god knows that Satan is bent on destruction and will use any opportunity he can get to bring ruin to God's creation. Why, then, does God say to him, "Have you considered my servant Job?"? God did not suggest that Satan do anything to Job, but knowing Satan's nature and voltitional bent toward eveil, he pointed him in the direction of Job without authoring the destruction that Satan would bring upon him. Circumstances contribute to how sin is expressed as well, and circumstances are controlled by God. Circumstances by their very nature limit our ability and opportunity, not to BE sinful (as that is a given), but HOW we sin. Therefore, we do not have unlimited choices about the manner in which we will sin, by virtue of the limitations and circumstances in which God has placed us. However, God, knowing our hearts from eternity past, and our will and determination to sin, has already determined how, when and where we will be able to exercise that will to sin, all for his glory. Again, the sin comes from our fallen nature, but it is God who has decided "how much rope" and even "what rope" to give us. --Joe! |
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420 | Part 2 of 2: How can both be true? | Gal 2:17 | Reformer Joe | 13836 | ||
Bob: It is a bit of an oversimplification to say that Calvinists do not believe that man has free will. What Calvinists state is that after the fall, man does indeed have free will, but his nature is corrupted by the fall in such a way that whatever his choices will be, he will not choose to do anything that is pleasing to God; he cannot submit to God's law, as Romans 8:7-9 explicitly states. For example, I was born a sinner. However, that sinful nature never manifested itself in the form of homosexual acts, murder, or building graven images and worshiping them. I have never chosen to engage in such activities. However, I have lied and I have acted selfishly a countless number of times. Therefore, while I have rejected some actual sins, before my conversion there was not the slightest inclination to act for good with the motive of giving glory to God. It took the Holy Spirit's regeneration, quickening my spiritual deadness before I could even place my trust in Christ for the forgiveness of my sins. Therefore, it is most correct to say that our wills are damaged as a result of the Fall's curse, rather than non-existent. Maybe the best way to sum up "decree" is merely God stating, "This will happen." I recently read a short part of one of John Piper's books which dealt with a similar problem with regard to God's sovereign decree: the question, "Why should I pray, then, if all is decreed?" Piper framed it in the context of a conversation between two individuals, with one asking why one should pray if God has already determined what would happen. The basic response (and this is a very rough paraphrase) was that the God who knew what He would do also knew that the praying person would be praying for it. Therefore, God knew that a person in his free will would pray for something, and he would decide to work in accordance with that prayer. The other man responded by saying something along the lines of "So, if you didn't pray, it wouldn't have happened." The praying person agreed, which thoroughly confused his challenger. But if that were the case, he continued, then God also knew from eternity past that he wouldn't pray. He compared it to a sovereign decree that someone would die from a bullet wound. If there were no bullet, the man wouldn't die from a bullet wound. The fact is, however, that because it is decreed, there WILL be a bullet coming from somewhere. God doesn't fire the shot, but He says, "It will happen." The same could hold true for evangelism. Why evangelize?, people say to Calvinists. One, because God told us to, and two, God sovereignly governs the universe so that many of his elect will come across the paths of believers who will share their faith. Epehesians 2:10 illustrates this quite well, that God arranges before hand our good works, so that we will walk in them. While it is our will that we do them, God also has sovereignly prepared them beforehand. Same holds true for sin, in the view of Calvinists. Sin is the expression of man's will. God knows that human beings (especially the unregenerate) will sin. There is no question that they will sin. God places individuals in situations where their sinfulness will find expression in a way that looking back on it from the end of human history, God's sovereign plan will be clearly seen. This is demonstrated all throughout Scripture.God hardens Pharaoh's heart so that he will not repent. In fact, he gets more harsh, so that even after he has relented after his first born dies, he still goes chasing after the nation of Israel. God decrees that the military buildups of Assyria and Babylon will occur to test and judge His own people. He ordains that His prophets will die horrible deaths despite following Him. He decrees that His only begotten Son will die for me, and that the Pharisees would be the one to do it, and that one of the Twelve would be the one to betray Him. Therefore, I would conclude that "God's decree" is that from eternity past, God delared what would happen, what He would do Himself, what He would allow, and what He would prevent, so that He would be glorified in all things (Romans 8:28). God, by creating sinners, decreed that sin would occur as he would permit, for His glory. The sinful nature is ours, and we have sinful intents, but God directs through circumstance and other means how and when those sinful intents will be manifested. --Joe! |
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