Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Acts 8:13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 8:13 Even Simon believed [Philip's message of salvation]; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he watched the attesting signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. |
Subject: How do I make sense of the context? |
Bible Note: You wrote: "As I said in a earlier post I see much of the predestination explanation as the finite, using finite reasoning, based on finite logic attempting to explain an infinite God." How is logic finite or infinite? You use logic all the time to put God into categories. For example, we both believe that God is infinitely wise. By the use of logic, we determine that, according to the law of non-contradiction, that God cannot and will not do anything UNwise. There is logic applied to God? Is that a faulty conclusion? Logic is not something invented by humanity to DETERMINE the way things are; it is the tool to RECOGNIZE the way things are. Unless you can show me how God is shown to defy logic (and by this I mean to act or to be differently than He has clerly revealed Himself to be), there is no reason to throw the God-given and biblically assumed logical order out the window. As far as your light example, I think you missed the point of the imaginary conversation (by the way, what has been shown to move faster than light?). God has not ordained that the sunlight that warms us and causes our crops to grow should just come from nowhere. Do we have sunlight because the sun is a reactor or because God gives us the sunlight? The answer is that BOTH are true. We could apply that to any situation. Do we have our Bible because God revealed Himself to us or because men took time to write down that revelation? Are you an American because God made you one or because your mother out of her own choice gave birth to you here? Do we have our daily bread because God gives it to us or because we go out and work and use the wages to purchase bread that comes from the labor of agricultural workers? All of these situations can be summed up in one of Prayerful's statements: "God never ordains an event without a cause." If you can show me an example to the contrary in your own life or in the Bible, I would welcome discussing it. Now, the problem I have is that you would probably agree with all of the examples I have given above that God accomplish his purposes largely through visible causes. However, if I were to ask, "Are you a Christian because God caused you to be one or because someone at some point preached the gospel to you and you were convinced of its truth and freely embraced Jesus Christ?" your answer would NOT be "both." Or if I asked, "Did God ordain my friend's salvation as an answer to prayer or did he willingly come to the Cross?" The first option is unthinkable to you, but the second we would both agree would describe reality. This is the other important point Prayerful makes: "God has established the universe so that in larger measure it runs by prayer, the same way he has established brightness so that in larger measure it happens by fire." This is not to say that God is limited to working through answering prayer any more than light MUST exist because there is a source of fire. That is why Piper uses the term "in large measure." It is the way God has NORMALLY chosen to work. People do not come to faith in Christ without hearing the Gospel, which usually requires the free choice of a human being to share it with them. Yet we are perfectly comfortable in saying God sends the Gospel to the unreached person. Was it the missionary's decision or God's decision that the unreached person hear the Gospel? The answer again is "both." And that is also why when I am asked, "Did my prayer make a difference?" I can say YES. When I am asked, "Was God's work in part an answer to my prayer?" YES. "Did I choose to pray?" YES. "Did God ordain both my prayer and the outcome of the prayer?" YES. --Joe! |