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NASB | Luke 8:13 "Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 8:13 "Those on the rocky soil are the people who, when they hear, receive and welcome the word with joy; but these have no firmly grounded root. They believe for a while, and in time of trial and temptation they fall away [from Me and abandon their faith]. |
Bible Question:
How do you then interpret the verses I listed (and the many others) that talk about "our choice"? I've talked to other Calvinists and they all ignore the verses about our choice in the Bible and quote out a few verses that can be interpreted to fit their needs. The "Free Will" theory holds up throughout the Bible while the "Predestined" theory holds up only in a few parts of the Bible and each of these parts can also be interpreted using the "Free Will" theory. ---------------------------------- You mentioned John 6:44. I agree that no sinner can make the first move in the salvation process. Fortunately, God has already made the first move through Jesus. It's now up to us to accept this. Also, if you put John 6:44 in context and read the entire section, you'll see a whole different meaning. John 6:38-40 - tells us that Jesus is sent to do the Father's will which is that EVERYONE who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. John 6:44 in simply saying that no one is going to Heaven unless God Allows it. God wants everyone to be saved (this is backed up by other verses I'll supply if needed). John 6:45 "...EVERYONE who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me." It doesn't say "only those I choose will come to me" John 6:47 "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life." John 6:51 "...This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." He's saying that he will give his life for the world, not a elect group in the world. ------------------------------------- Eph 1:4-5,11. Again, put it in context. God predestined us as a whole not a group to have the opportunity to be saved. When it talks about us being predestined for foreknew, it's talking about God's plan - that through Jesus we can be saved. When it talks about the Elect, that's simply another way to talk about the people that have accepted Jesus. Today, we use the terms Christian, born-again, believers, etc... Back to Ephesians, at the end of chapter 1, Paul tells them that they were included in Christ when they heard the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation. In other words, when they heard about Jesus, they were included in God's plan. Paul next states that "Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,..." Notice the "Having believed" -- this implies that they had a choice to believe or not. ------------------------------------ A couple other question to ponder: If God chooses only some people to be saved and not others and we have no control over that then why did Adam and Eve eat the fruit? Why did God flood the world to remove all the evil people? Why did Jesus have to die for our sins? If God decides alone who will and will not go to Heaven, why did these things (and others) happen? But if God wants everyone to be saved, but through his great love allows us to make the choice, then these things are easily explained. |
Bible Answer: The common trait of all the verses you quote is that they all say that the man who chooses Christ will be saved. BUT THEY NEVER SAY WHAT KIND OF MAN CHOOSES CHRIST! This is the case with all so-called "free will" verses. The verses supporting predestination, on the other hand, are very explicit: they all say that no man can choose God unless God enables them to; or they say that God has chosen certain people to respond to His call. Taking this in view, it is very consistent to conclude that God foreordains whom He will save; and when these people choose God, they will have everlasting life. But if you simply say that sinful people who despise God somehow, magically, choose God; then you are really saying that man is not thoroughly sinful, that the inclinations of his heart are not evil continually, and you still have no explanation for how a corrupt man could choose Christ and a way of life which is entirely against all the sinfulness within that sinful man. And you also have no explanation for all the verses which explicitly state that God has predestined a people to Himself. I suggest YOU read John 6:44 in context. In the midst of telling people how to be saved, Jesus makes the EXPLICIT point that they cannot do it on their own. They have not ears to hear. Only the elect, those few who are responding to Christ, are saved; and He makes it clear, properly giving glory to God, that the ones responding have been chosen and predestined by God -- in other words, they are not choosing on their own, but God Himself is drawing them. So, clearly, God's drawing precedes their choosing. In context, the point is clear that Jesus says ONLY the ones who are drawn will be saved; for indeed they are the only ones who are enabled to come to Christ. |