Subject: How did sin originate |
Bible Note: Hi CDBJ I’m thankful for your thoughtful reply, you are easy to converse with which is a rarity in online discussions. You wrote: [snip] I am a very, very firm believer in eternal security and this is one point that I can't be budged from, no mater how people try to twist scripture around, grace is grace. I’m glad you believe that but don’t you think perseverance of the saints is dependant on predestination being true? You wrote: [snip] Can one ever enjoy something that is done for them when the person that did it is forced to do it: do you see where I am coming from? Maybe. I think your problem with grasping the doctrine lies in the fact that you bring some foreign notion to it, namely that predestination implies coercion. It doesn’t. The fact, the Biblical fact that is, that God foreordains everything that comes to pass does not imply he forces His will on the choices men make. Calvin warned us that we should handle this particular doctrine with care and shouldn’t take it too far, to inquire into God’s mind why He does what He does Calvin thought was sinful. We should simply deal with the scriptural truth as it was laid down for us in the Holy Writ. Does it teach predestination? Yes it does (you admit that as well). Does it teach that God coerces people into doing what He foreordained? No it doesn’t. Does it follow, logically, from the premises that if God foreordains everything then man’s choice is coerced? No it doesn’t. So then, this is where I think we should stop our inquiry and this is where Reformed Christianity stops together with apostle Paul “O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?”. You wrote: P.S. If you want to get those ugly black blobs out of your post, change your default font to ARIAL 10; I use 14 so I can see it easer but the key is ARIAL Well actually my settings have no influence on how your browser displays stuff, I wish it had actually for then my job, which is web development, would be a lot easier then it is now ;-) Any problems you might be having with how text is displayed in your browser is either the developers’ fault (but they will never admit it) or your browser’s settings have to be changed. Cheers |