Are Certain People Predestined to Choose to Live a Life of Belief
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Hard to say about what those who are predestined...
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:16
But then again the same can be said about believers...
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Rom 12:2
But in principle, what is doctrine but a belief?
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:16
But then again the same can be said about believers...
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Rom 12:2
But in principle, what is doctrine but a belief?
They choose to believe false doctrine because they hate the truth that would save them.. They love the false doctrine because they think it is the right way. But it is the way that leadeth unto death... They are given over to delusions and deception because they have rejected the Love of the truth..
Proverbs 16:KJV
25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
2 Thessalonians 2: KJV
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
God foreknows who is going to reject the Love of the truth and from that foreknowledge he then predestines those who will be raised from the dead and transformed into the Likeness of our LORD Jesus Christ..
Romans 8:KJV
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Proverbs 16:KJV
25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
2 Thessalonians 2: KJV
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
God foreknows who is going to reject the Love of the truth and from that foreknowledge he then predestines those who will be raised from the dead and transformed into the Likeness of our LORD Jesus Christ..
Romans 8:KJV
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
I would be more inclined to say our beliefs are shaped by what has been revealed
to us; some things I had to ponder and it was not like flashes of lightning to realize
I believed one way or another about certain things: in many cases, it was a simply
coming to understand that I had eventually landed on one side or another of an issue
and I was not perturbed to discover that I believed some things quite contrary to what
the majority of Christians seem to hold to be true while I find some of the majority's
beliefs on some matters (one in particular) quite abhorrent. Other things I have looked
into and pondered and understood this side of it and that side of it and seen validity in
both sides and not deemed it necessary to make a choice to call myself Calvinist or
Arminian, for instance, and in other issues not cared a whit what people believed, as if
it was nothing really to do with me at least not yet for now, and I am totally okay with that
Other things did seem to come to me out of the blue but even then since I was listening
for a time to quite a few programs every week day while at work, who knows what I may
or may not have absorbed, though for sure I did not automatically agree with everyone
and everything I heard. No way! Some people right away drew me or repelled me, and
I would listen regardless as long as they were teaching from and expounding upon Scripture.
to us; some things I had to ponder and it was not like flashes of lightning to realize
I believed one way or another about certain things: in many cases, it was a simply
coming to understand that I had eventually landed on one side or another of an issue
and I was not perturbed to discover that I believed some things quite contrary to what
the majority of Christians seem to hold to be true while I find some of the majority's
beliefs on some matters (one in particular) quite abhorrent. Other things I have looked
into and pondered and understood this side of it and that side of it and seen validity in
both sides and not deemed it necessary to make a choice to call myself Calvinist or
Arminian, for instance, and in other issues not cared a whit what people believed, as if
it was nothing really to do with me at least not yet for now, and I am totally okay with that
Other things did seem to come to me out of the blue but even then since I was listening
for a time to quite a few programs every week day while at work, who knows what I may
or may not have absorbed, though for sure I did not automatically agree with everyone
and everything I heard. No way! Some people right away drew me or repelled me, and
I would listen regardless as long as they were teaching from and expounding upon Scripture.
I would be more inclined to say our beliefs are shaped by what has been revealed
to us; some things I had to ponder and it was not like flashes of lightning to realize
I believed one way or another about certain things: in many cases, it was a simply
coming to understand that I had eventually landed on one side or another of an issue
and I was not perturbed to discover that I believed some things quite contrary to what
the majority of Christians seem to hold to be true while I find some of the majority's
beliefs on some matters (one in particular) quite abhorrent. Other things I have looked
into and pondered and understood this side of it and that side of it and seen validity in
both sides and not deemed it necessary to make a choice to call myself Calvinist or
Arminian, for instance, and in other issues not cared a whit what people believed, as if
it was nothing really to do with me at least not yet for now, and I am totally okay with that
Other things did seem to come to me out of the blue but even then since I was listening
for a time to quite a few programs every week day while at work, who knows what I may
or may not have absorbed, though for sure I did not automatically agree with everyone
and everything I heard. No way! Some people right away drew me or repelled me, and
I would listen regardless as long as they were teaching from and expounding upon Scripture.
to us; some things I had to ponder and it was not like flashes of lightning to realize
I believed one way or another about certain things: in many cases, it was a simply
coming to understand that I had eventually landed on one side or another of an issue
and I was not perturbed to discover that I believed some things quite contrary to what
the majority of Christians seem to hold to be true while I find some of the majority's
beliefs on some matters (one in particular) quite abhorrent. Other things I have looked
into and pondered and understood this side of it and that side of it and seen validity in
both sides and not deemed it necessary to make a choice to call myself Calvinist or
Arminian, for instance, and in other issues not cared a whit what people believed, as if
it was nothing really to do with me at least not yet for now, and I am totally okay with that
Other things did seem to come to me out of the blue but even then since I was listening
for a time to quite a few programs every week day while at work, who knows what I may
or may not have absorbed, though for sure I did not automatically agree with everyone
and everything I heard. No way! Some people right away drew me or repelled me, and
I would listen regardless as long as they were teaching from and expounding upon Scripture.
Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters
Ephesians 2:8 [FONT="]For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
How would you interpret Ephesians 2:8? I believe God gives you the faith to believe.
[/FONT]
Ephesians 2:8 [FONT="]For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
How would you interpret Ephesians 2:8? I believe God gives you the faith to believe.
[/FONT]
What do you mean by go to hell? Hell is the grave as translated from four different words in the original languages of Hebrew and Greek: Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, and Tartarus. It basically means the grave (holding place of the dead until the second coming of Christ followed by the resurrection and judgement of all, except for Tartarus, where the fallen angels are being held), and Scripture states that the dead know nothing until that time, so... Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do you believe His death on the cross paid the price for your sins and that a life more abundant has been promised to you through His resurrection, that your faith is a gift from Gd that comes with promises of life ever after if your name has not been blotted out of the Lamb's book of life?
of course our Creator knows the beginning and end of all things, and all in between,
every thought, decision, choice that we will ever make, what has this to do
with what we do in/with our lives? you make it sound as if His knowing our
hearts is a deterrent to how we live our lives...frankly, I'm thrilled that
He knows me so well, it is quite comforting...
every thought, decision, choice that we will ever make, what has this to do
with what we do in/with our lives? you make it sound as if His knowing our
hearts is a deterrent to how we live our lives...frankly, I'm thrilled that
He knows me so well, it is quite comforting...
We all believed in false doctrine at some point.
We all believe in some sort of false doctrine right now.
How am I able to say this?
1 Corinthians 13:9-12
[FONT="]9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.[/FONT]
[FONT="]10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.[/FONT]
[FONT="]11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.[/FONT]
[FONT="]12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.[/FONT]
We all believe in some sort of false doctrine right now.
How am I able to say this?
1 Corinthians 13:9-12
[FONT="]9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.[/FONT]
[FONT="]10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.[/FONT]
[FONT="]11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.[/FONT]
[FONT="]12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.[/FONT]
F
"Never allow anyone to deceive you into believing that God has placed an arbitrary limitation upon the efficacy of the blood of Christ, or that there are those who cannot repent, even if they would, simply because God has deliberately placed them outside the scope of His redemptive purpose! In doing so it makes God the culpable cause of the absence of faith in those who do not have faith in Christ. Why do they not have faith? Because God has not gifted them with faith. Making God morally responsible for the unbelief of the unbeliever. God forbid!
Such is not the teaching of the Bible, for the Lord Jesus Christ made it abundantly clear that the reluctance is on man's part, not on God's!
Without freedom of choice it is equally impossible to obey or to disobey to be commended for the one or to be condemned for the other!
Some would have you believe that only those can obey the Gospel and accept Christ as their Saviour, to whom God has given the ability to obey as a purely arbitrary, mechanical act on His part, leaving no option in the matter to any individual either way! On the basis of this strange hypothesis, the fearful judgment of God is to fall upon those who have remained in their rebellious state of unbelief, only because they have been unable to exercise an ability to obey the Gospel, which only God can give, and which He has refused to give them! Needless to say, such an idea can only serve to bring the righteousness and judgment of God into contempt and disrepute.
The revelation that God has given to us by His Holy Spirit through the apostles is delightfully clear: "if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (I John 2:2); "Who gave himself a ransom for all" (I Timothy 2:6); "... that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).
It is your inherent right to choose which is at the very heart of the mystery, both of the mystery of godliness and of the mystery of iniquity."
Major W Ian Thomas, The Mystery of Godliness
Such is not the teaching of the Bible, for the Lord Jesus Christ made it abundantly clear that the reluctance is on man's part, not on God's!
Without freedom of choice it is equally impossible to obey or to disobey to be commended for the one or to be condemned for the other!
Some would have you believe that only those can obey the Gospel and accept Christ as their Saviour, to whom God has given the ability to obey as a purely arbitrary, mechanical act on His part, leaving no option in the matter to any individual either way! On the basis of this strange hypothesis, the fearful judgment of God is to fall upon those who have remained in their rebellious state of unbelief, only because they have been unable to exercise an ability to obey the Gospel, which only God can give, and which He has refused to give them! Needless to say, such an idea can only serve to bring the righteousness and judgment of God into contempt and disrepute.
The revelation that God has given to us by His Holy Spirit through the apostles is delightfully clear: "if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (I John 2:2); "Who gave himself a ransom for all" (I Timothy 2:6); "... that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).
It is your inherent right to choose which is at the very heart of the mystery, both of the mystery of godliness and of the mystery of iniquity."
Major W Ian Thomas, The Mystery of Godliness