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NASB | Romans 9:18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 9:18 So then, He has mercy on whom He wills (chooses), and He hardens [the heart of] whom He wills. |
Subject: The question exists in Paul's Theology |
Bible Note: Part 2 of 2 "If God did not want people to go to hell, would anyone go to hell?" Again, Yahweh Himself testifies that He does not want anyone to perish (Ezekiel 18:30-32), and the Lord also tells us that He did not come (Word incarnate) into the world to destroy anyone (Luke 9:56)... so if you, I or anyone else chooses to reject Christ and follow the appetites of the flesh, making everything that is not God a god, we are making the conscious choice of rejecting God's Salvation and selecting eternal damnation! God's desire that all shall Live does not equate to God's Willing that all shall Live... if God would force His Hand upon Creation controlling every single aspect of existence, then, and only then, would we all end up in Heaven or in hell or as His whim designs it: some in Heaven the rest in hell! But since God made us in His image and likeness, we have the ability to choose: we can humbly subject our will to His and accept His Gift of Life or we can chose to reject His Gift and, by default, select damnation! For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone," and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for. (1 Peter 2:6-8) It is not that God Wills some to Live and others to perish, it is that, through our personal “choice” when we reject Christ (the Resurrection and Life) we automatically chose death (eternal damnation): death is destined for all who willfully reject Christ! "Did the world turn out differently than God wanted it to?" It is evident that God's Creation was as He Commanded it into being (Genesis 1:31); yet, it was Adam who had the responsibility of stewardship (Genesis 1:28) and we know how well he did (as well as the rest of humanity has done throughout time)! In order to better understand the relationship between Creation and God (evil vs. good) we must learn from Jesus' Word (Matthew 13:24-30 and Luke 13:6-9)... it is God's Mercy that folds upon itself to allow us to come to the full understanding of Faith: full obedience and dependency on Jesus Christ! "But if our faith is a gift from God then, if we are truly His - no one and nothing will ever take us away from our beautiful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." This is so true... yet, though the Gift is eternal and we are complete in Him... we must acquiesce to His Will... we must humbly obey and abide in Him (Galatians 5:16-26 and 1 Thessalonians 3:8)... Jesus did not say that because He came to the world all believe and are saved... He said that those who believe and stand till the end will be saved! (John 1:9-13; 3:14-21; John 5:24) Believing in Christ does not mean saying "I believe" or "I am saved" or "I am reborn..." Jesus tells us that we must persevere, that we must abide in Him (John 15:5-6; 8:31-32; Luke 18:8), that we must obey! (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46; John 15:7-14) God Bless! Angel |