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NASB | Jonah 2:9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Jonah 2:9 "But [as for me], I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I shall pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!" |
Subject: Does God choose us? |
Bible Note: Dear New Creature, Yes! That is precisely the argument that Paul anticipates as he explains the doctrine of Effectual Calling. He wrote "You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?'" (Romans 9:19 ESV) Check it out. A right understanding of the doctrine inevitably leads a person to ask this question. I would even say that if you do NOT find yourself asking that question, then you aren't following Paul's didactic argument. The 1689 LBCF (chapter 3, paragraph 1) summarizes it as follows: "God hath decreed in Himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears His wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing His decree. (Isaiah 46:10; Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 6:17; Romans 9:15, 18; James 1:13; 1 John 1:5; Acts 4:27, 28; John 19:11; Numbers 23:19; Ephesians 1:3-5)" The presupposition that responsibility and control are necessarily contingent is a false dichotomy. (Man rarely finds himself in agreement with God regarding what we think of as fairness. I have never really understood that. Seems to me the last thing we'd want is fairness! What we really want is mercy!) But we'd have to dig into all kinds of discussions on causality to properly deal with all of that. Nevertheless, brother, I'd really urge you to contact me directly via email. That way we can honor our host's wishes to maintain an amicable spirit on the forum, as we agreed to do when we joined. Thank you! In Him, Doc |