Does God chose people?

[SeaBass]

i'm here to thank God that He is God, and not SeaBass, and that His mercy exceeds the mercy of SeaBass!

what can i do but be glad and thank Him? truly, apart from Him, i am nothing.

God foreknew that those in that predestined group Christian would be sons of God, Eph 1:4,5. So apart from this group you would be apart from God and nothing. You or me as individuals apart from this group cannot be of God, cannot be His son. So God never unconditionally elected you or me as individuals before the world began apart from the group.

 

[saved1975]

Peace be still. For the day cometh.....If God couldnt do whatever he wanted and was bound then he would br lesser than me. I have free will but God is bound? Satan get thee behind me, for behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

God is bound by His word, He will never do anything against His word.
God has put everything on a faith basis, and recorded in His word, [The Bible], God has given mankind a free will, And will never go against our will.
God needs a body on earth to do His work for Him, Jesus is the head, and born again Christians are His body, Jesus always works through His body, We are His mouth, hands and so on.

 

[danalee]

God foreknew that those in that predestined group Christian would be sons of God, Eph 1:4,5. So apart from this group you would be apart from God and nothing. You or me as individuals apart from this group cannot be of God, cannot be His son. So God never unconditionally elected you or me as individuals before the world began apart from the group.

I havent read anyone apart from the group (Christians) talk about predestination?

 

[secularhermit]

Mar 10:40 But it is not for me (JESUS) to say who will sit at my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he chooses."

Here, again, the reason why He chose Israel among others:

Deu 9:5 Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

 

[posthuman]

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest,
and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts:
we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

(Psalm 65:4)

amen! i thank Him for choosing me, though i am utterly unworthy

 

[SeaBass]

I havent read anyone apart from the group (Christians) talk about predestination?

Calvinism says before the world began, God (randomly) chose certain individuals unconditionally to be saved leaving the rest to be lost. If that was the case, the God chose individuals separate and apart from the group.

 

[posthuman]

Calvinism says before the world began, God (randomly) chose certain individuals unconditionally to be saved leaving the rest to be lost. If that was the case, the God chose individuals separate and apart from the group.

not sure about the "randomly" bit, and really more concerned with what the scripture says, not what any human makes of it..

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
(Romans 9:14-16)

if God has chosen to show mercy to some and not to others, what is it to you?
how shall we respond?
shall we judge God? or shall we continually seek His mercy and rejoice that we have found it?

the command is to give thanks in everything, so how can i thank God that i was wise enough to choose Him? i will thank Him that He put it in me to be able to do so, because apart from Him, no wisdom is in me. then the glory is His alone!

 

[Hoffco]

to posthuman, you are invited to come to "the letter to the Roman" and add your support to my posts. The rest of you who hate God's clear word, please stay away! Love to all Hoffco

 

[SeaBass]

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest,
and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts:
we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

(Psalm 65:4)

amen! i thank Him for choosing me, though i am utterly unworthy

Joshua 24:5 "And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah."

Deut 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed;"

1 Kings 18:21 "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word."

James 4:8 "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."


Psa 65:4 would be a Hebrew idion where an active verb is used to say God actively does some thing, but in reality God simply allows or permits it to happen.. God allows/permits men to choose and approach Him.

 

[posthuman]

so SeaBass,

tell me who to thank if i choose life over death.
whom do i praise for this excellent decision-making skill?

 

[SeaBass]

not sure about the "randomly" bit, and really more concerned with what the scripture says, not what any human makes of it..

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
(Romans 9:14-16)

if God has chosen to show mercy to some and not to others, what is it to you?
how shall we respond?
shall we judge God? or shall we continually seek His mercy and rejoice that we have found it?

the command is to give thanks in everything, so how can i thank God that i was wise enough to choose Him? i will thank Him that He put it in me to be able to do so, because apart from Him, no wisdom is in me. then the glory is His alone!

Before the world began, no one existed, no one had done any good or evil Rom 9:11, so every one was alike and choosing between like things is randomness.


Rom 9:15 does not give the basis as to why God has mercy upon some and not others but verses as Jer 18:8,10 show that obedience to God, or lack thereof, is why God has mercy on some and not others. Pharaoh disobeyed God, so God showed no mercy. THe king of Nineveh obeyed so God showed mercy. God owed neither King anything but showed mercy according to their obedience or lack thereof.

Can Calvinism give us as basis as to why God has mercy upon some and not others?

 

[SeaBass]

so SeaBass,

tell me who to thank if i choose life over death.
whom do i praise for this excellent decision-making skill?

If you choose God, you are only doing your duty, Lk 17:10, yet you are still an unprofitable servant in need of grace.

 

[SeaBass]

to posthuman, you are invited to come to "the letter to the Roman" and add your support to my posts. The rest of you who hate God's clear word, please stay away! Love to all Hoffco

Making God out to be an unmerciful, ungraceful, unjust, unloving ogre is "God's clear word"?

 

[SeaBass]

Can Calvinism give us as basis as to why God has mercy upon some and not others?

I've asked this question to Calvinists on other forums, they could not give an answer, it leaves a large, gaping black hole in Calvinistic theology. Can you fill in that black hole?

 

[posthuman]

Can Calvinism give us as basis as to why God has mercy upon some and not others?

can we stop talking about a man neither one of us knows, and talk instead about God and what He's revealed about Himself through His Word and His prophets?

PSALM 75

1 Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.
2 When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.
3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.
4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.
9 But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

if it's in anyone's heart to do good, to walk humbly, and to love righteousness, has anyone put that in their own heart, or did God create in us a love for Him?

the chief end of man is to worship the Lord -- how shall we proclaim His goodness? by celebrating the work of our own hands? or His!

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
(Romans 7:18)

shall i praise my heart for the obedience of it? who has given us a spirit of obedience? did we create it for ourselves?

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
(Romans 8:12)

to what are we indebted?

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
(Romans 8:14-15)

have we created in ourselves a spirit of adoption? NO! but we received it!

thank God always for this! there is no other!

For we are saved by hope
(Romans 8:24)

hope in ourselves? pffft. that is no hope at all.

 

[posthuman]

If you choose God, you are only doing your duty, Lk 17:10, yet you are still an unprofitable servant in need of grace.

at what point do you start thanking and praising God? because i desire to bring you to that point

 

[posthuman]

Making God out to be an unmerciful, ungraceful, unjust, unloving ogre is "God's clear word"?

how can you so fearlessly pretend to sit in judgement over the Maker of heaven & earth?

 

[SeaBass]

at what point do you start thanking and praising God? because i desire to bring you to that point

I can thank and praise God for salvation and the blessings that come with being a Christian. BUt I cannot do that until I first choose God and become a Christian.

 

[posthuman]

I can thank and praise God for salvation and the blessings that come with being a Christian. BUt I cannot do that until I first choose God and become a Christian.

Wonderful! then what are you waiting for?
do it!

(hey who gave you the power to do that?)

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
(Zechariah 4:6)

 

[SeaBass]

how can you so fearlessly pretend to sit in judgement over the Maker of heaven & earth?

Making God out to be an unmerciful, ungraceful, unjust, unloving ogre is what Calvinism does.


Do you have children? If so, do you tell them to clean their room or be punished yet you lock the bedroom doors making it impossible for them to clean their rooms, so you make them, against their will/having no choice but to disobey you just so you can punish them? Is that how you deal with your children?