Free Will - A More Exhaustive Look

[FreeGrace2]

FreeGrace2 said:
OK, please explain how to be "filled with the Holy Spirit" per Eph 5:18. It is in the imperative mood, the mood of COMMAND! How does one obey that specific command?

Most evangelicals have been very poorly taught and think once saved, fruit will automatically be produced. Not so.

Once a person has been born again, and has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit works within that person in many ways.

I didn't ask HOW the Spirit works in thae person.

I asked how to be filled with the Spirit. A totally different question.

[UOTE]In Eph 5:18, has reference to the regenerate person. A person that already has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and "to be filled with the Spirit is a working of the Holy Spirit enabling the person to offer up spiritual sacrifices, as referenced in 1 Pet 2:5,- Ye also as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.[/QUOTE]
This is no answer to my question.

We can grieve the Holy Spirit in many ways. One way is to be drunk with wine to excess.

I didn't ask that either.

Why are you dodging my question?

Doesn't Strong's concordance provide any help for you?

Paul telling us not to grieve the Holy Spirit does not mean that we will, does it?

Of course it does. Otherwise, why say "don't do something" that you can't do anyway?

That makes no sense.

So, you stll haven't answered my question of HOW to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is a command to be obeyed, and yet, you don't know HOW to be filled, or you would have simply answered THAT question.

Instead, to took a trip around the block in order to avoid answering the question that you have no clue what the answer is.

 

[ForestGreenCook]

Genuine question ...
Why did God give some to teach and preach ?...I ask this because of your reply above...

Can you clarify further?

 

[FreeGrace2]

I have explained Eph 2:8 to you in my post # 797. Why do you keep repeating questions that I have already explained to you?

Why did you copy and paste post 808-810 then?

And, you NEVER answered my question, at least not the biblical answer.

 

[FreeGrace2]

Eph 2:8 is all about Jesus faith, not mankind's.

You continue to be a false teacher. And you can't even answer the question about how to be filled with the Holy Spirit, since it is a command to be obeyed.

Do you comprehend the significance of NOT obeying commands of the Bible?

 

[ForestGreenCook]

FreeGrace2 said:
OK, please explain how to be "filled with the Holy Spirit" per Eph 5:18. It is in the imperative mood, the mood of COMMAND! How does one obey that specific command?

Most evangelicals have been very poorly taught and think once saved, fruit will automatically be produced. Not so.

I didn't ask HOW the Spirit works in thae person.

I asked how to be filled with the Spirit. A totally different question.

[UOTE]In Eph 5:18, has reference to the regenerate person. A person that already has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and "to be filled with the Spirit is a working of the Holy Spirit enabling the person to offer up spiritual sacrifices, as referenced in 1 Pet 2:5,- Ye also as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

This is no answer to my question.


I didn't ask that either.

Why are you dodging my question?

Doesn't Strong's concordance provide any help for you?


Of course it does. Otherwise, why say "don't do something" that you can't do anyway?

That makes no sense.

So, you stll haven't answered my question of HOW to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is a command to be obeyed, and yet, you don't know HOW to be filled, or you would have simply answered THAT question.

Instead, to took a trip around the block in order to avoid answering the question that you have no clue what the answer is.[/QUOTE]


You are misreading me. I did not say that we cannot grieve the Holy Spirit. I said that we would still grieve the Holy Spirit, No matter if Paul did tell us not to.

Your answer to how to be filled with the Holy Spirit is in 1 Pet 2:5, as I pointed out to you in the above sentence. Did it not register with you?

 

[FreeGrace2]

This is no answer to my question.

I didn't ask that either.

Why are you dodging my question?

Doesn't Strong's concordance provide any help for you?

Of course it does. Otherwise, why say "don't do something" that you can't do anyway?

That makes no sense.

So, you stll haven't answered my question of HOW to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is a command to be obeyed, and yet, you don't know HOW to be filled, or you would have simply answered THAT question.

Instead, to took a trip around the block in order to avoid answering the question that you have no clue what the answer is.

All of the above are quotes from my post. They appear as your quotes. Please figure out how to fix your error.

You are misreading me. I did not say that we cannot grieve the Holy Spirit. I said that we would still grieve the Holy Spirit, No matter if Paul did tell us not to.

Your comment was so unclear then. It clearly appeared to mean that believers don't grieve the Spirit.

Your answer to how to be filled with the Holy Spirit is in 1 Pet 2:5, as I pointed out to you in the above sentence. Did it not register with you?

That's it? Just throw out a citation?

OK, if that's all you can do. Let's LOOK at the verse.

" you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

So, how does this verse answer my question? I don't see an answer. Peter is addressing believers CORPORATELY, not individually.

Obeying commands is INDIVIDUAL, not CORPORATE. Do you understand the difference? I wonder.

Anyway, since 1 Peter 2:5 isn't an answer to how to be filled with the Holy Spirit, go back to your Strong's concordance and keep studying until you find the answer.

Do you comprehend the significance of NOT obeying commands of the Bible?

You cannot explain HOW to be filled with the Spirit. No one can obey that command UNLESS they KNOW how to be filled.

Same as for every command. No one can obey any command that they do not know HOW to do it.

No one can accidently be filled with the Spirit either. So don't count on luck. Ain't gonna happen.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Paul telling us not to grieve the Holy Spirit does not mean that we will, does it?

No, I don't think so . . . and follow your thinking here.

People respond to the Gospel of Christ by hearing it. When people heard the Gospel, such as through the apostle Paul, they were given the opportunity to compare that Gospel to their very own lives . . . and confirm its validity.

 

[FreeGrace2]

ForestGreenCook said:
Paul telling us not to grieve the Holy Spirit does not mean that we will, does it?

No, I don't think so . . . and follow your thinking here.

People respond to the Gospel of Christ by hearing it. When people heard the Gospel, such as through the apostle Paul, they were given the opportunity to compare that Gospel to their very own lives . . . and confirm its validity.

Please explain WHY Paul gave the 2 commands about what NOT to do to the Holy Spirit if believers don't do such things.

This is an example of why evangelicals are so confused about the Bible. They basically ignore biblical commands by simply not believing that they are able to do what is forbidden.

Doesn't work that way. A command is given so that the recipients will NOT commit the action. That clearly means that the action is quite possible.

I wonder is 2TG is able to answer my question about HOW to be filled with the Spirit?

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

That may work fine for you, but, for myself, I do not rely upon other person's interpretation of the scriptures, believing that the scriptures prove themselves.

Okie doke.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Day 303 of the timeline, chronological reading plan shows us the Power of God in how He is able to intellectually restrict anyone He desires to become unable to understand matters in general. Below is a classic example, taken from Luke 18:31-34. The Scripture set reads as follows:

HNV – “He took the twelve aside, and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Yerushalayim, and all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed. For he will be delivered up to the Goyim, will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit on. They will scourge and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again." They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they didn't understand the things that were said.”

The reality of Christ’s Holy Words and Prophesy were hidden from His Disciples. Again, the question should be, “Why? Why would God desire that these details be recorded within His Bible? Obviously, we are looking at another example of Holy Mind Control in that the Lord restricts what the Disciples were allowed to understand and not understand. Does that sound like “free will”? I contend that the Lord desires that we recognize and know His Almighty Power. Verses 31-34 above is a clear example of how the Lord manipulates the minds of humanity to achieve His Eternal Plan.

After Christ rose from the dead, the remaining eleven Disciples used the experience of Luke 18:31-34 to further comprehend God’s Supreme Power. Indeed, after Christ rose from the dead, Spiritual Scales fell from the Disciple’s eyes, and were thus allowed to comprehend that their former minds were restricted from fully understanding the former prediction of Christ regarding all that would happen to Him.

There very well may be more than one reason why the Lord restricted the minds of His Disciples, but one thing that we all can clearly see and know through these texts is that God is Powerful. God has the ability to cause living creatures to think along a specific path to ensure a particular goal and objective. Throughout Scripture, we repeatedly find the Lord enabling, limiting, and controlling the minds of humans and determining their level of ability to think, comprehend, and understand. It is the Lord who opens the minds of “men” and the Lord who closes them. The Lord’s capacity to control minds is obvious:

Luke 24:45 NLT – “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

Job 17:4 NLT – “You have closed their minds to understanding, but do not let them triumph.”

So far, we have covered about 145 unique Scripture sets that prove a rather exhaustive source of material, showing that God is in control and that we are not. In looking at all of these passages, it is only reasonable to begin to tell oneself that perhaps there Truly [is] something about a restricted or limited sense of “free will.” Perhaps “they” are right. Now that we are ¾ of the way through the Scriptures to be provided in this project, I hope that credit will be given to those who believe in a restricted sense of “free will.” We need to stop with the disparaging comments, scorn, and ridicule. For those who believe in limited “free will,” as I do, it has been made crystal clear that we have excellent reasons for believing what we believe.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Sticking with the theme of Day 303 of the timeline, chronological reading plan, we jump back just a few days to Day 290 to recap the same essential teaching from yesterday’s post. It reads as follows:

Luke 9:43-45 NLT – “Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God's power. While everyone was marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, "Listen to me and remember what I say. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies." But they didn't know what he meant. Its significance was hidden from them, so they couldn't understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.”

It seems that a likely reason for the Lord stripping the Disciples of their “free will” to understand what Jesus was telling them is that if they Truly understood what He was saying, they may have physically fought against the idea and rallied against the Jews and Gentiles who murdered Him. An example of this is found in the story of Peter, who protected Jesus with a sword as Christ was being arrested. Below, we find that Peter is free to become physically violent against the odds.

John 18:10 NLT – “Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest's slave.”

It wasn’t until later that Peter fell under a similar restriction by the Lord when Peter’s heart became hardened, and he could not respond to Jesus, his Beloved Friend. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, precisely as Powerfully predicted by the Lord.

The Bible clearly shows us that for the Lord to orchestrate, He must be in control of what people think, say, and do. There is no other way, and our Bible proves it page after page. The evidence of a controlling God has reached a stage of being overwhelming. It is undeniable that humans are never “free” of Spiritual control, for the scope of control is determined by who our Spiritual Father is.

John 8:44 NLT – “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

John 14:8-9 NLT – “Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?”

Hopefully, Jesus is the Father of those of us here. But if Jesus is not our Father, the only other option is the Devil himself. We cannot be our own Spiritual Fathers. There are only the two previously mentioned options . . . Jesus or the Devil. We either possess the Mind of Christ or the mind of the Devil. There are no other options. We do not possess the “mind of Matthew,” or the “mind of John,” or the “mind of Mary,” but we are held captive by the Devil to do his will, or we are set free of Satan and Enabled by the Spirit to Love God with all our heart, soul, and mind so that we might Live!



Mind of Satan

2 Timothy 2:25-26 NLT – “Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.”



Mind of Christ

Ezekiel 36:25-27 KJV – “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

Each passage set says the same essential things. “Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts” is what results in their coming “to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap”). It is clear . . . God must change the way we think so that we will Turn to Him, Repent, receive the Holy Spirit, receive Christ in the fullest senses, and Live forever with the Saints in Heaven. The Ezekiel passages show us in greater detail what it means for God to “change our hearts,” as noted in 2 Timothy above. When given new hearts, we are caused to walk in the Lord’s Statutes; we will keep the Lord’s judgments and do them. We will think in a more Pure, Righteous, and Holy manner.

Who caused all of these things to happen? A human, exercised through his sense of “free will”? Or shall we follow the Word of God and recognize that He takes responsibility for the entire process of Redeeming His Elect?

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Day 307 of the timeline, chronological reading plan shows us, once again, the reality behind the disbelief of the Blessed Jews and why they were unable to be Faithful to their God. The incredible text reads as follows:

John 12:37-40 NLT – “But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: "LORD, who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?" But the people couldn't believe, for as Isaiah also said, "The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts--so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them."

Does the above Scripture describe the principle of “free will”? Of course not. The above Scripture tells, if anything, the utter Power and control of God over His creation. First, there is the prediction of Isaiah:

Isaiah 53:1 NLT – “Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?”

The logical question might be: Will God ever open the Spiritual Eyes of Israel? Yes, the Lord has promised such, proven by the Scripture below:

Romans 11:25-26 NLT – “I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, "The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.”

This is very much a massive part of the Mysterious Plan that Paul speaks of in Ephesians and Colossians:

Ephesians 3:9-11 NLT – “I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Colossians 2:2 NLT – “I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.”

Do we all have complete confidence that we understand God’s Mysterious Plan? To understand this Plan, we must first recognize God's Raw, Almighty Power. As we read through the Bible in a timeline, chronological order, we should note every piece of Scripture that demonstrates this incredible Source of Power. Second, we need to recognize the ways in which the Lord executes His Holy and Mysterious Plan. Have “you” read the entire Bible in a timeline, chronological order? Are you confident you understand God’s Mysterious Plan outlined in the Old Testament? Do you recognize how that Plan is being fulfilled in the New Testament? When you read the Bible, do you recognize elements of that Plan yet to be fulfilled?

Lastly, because the Lord opens our eyes at different times throughout our lives, can you describe your life transition where the purging of the Sinful Nature changed your thinking processes? Do you recall when your change of thought began to take place? Do you remember the moment in time when God opened your mind so that you could start to see this “life” according to the Spiritual Realms? Has God yet to prove to you that He is controlling your life, or do your sins demonstrate that you are still under the power and control of Satan?

 

[Asterismos]

God created people to worship Him and love Him. God will intercede in His Election lives, the elect don't have free will. Malachi 3:2. But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner fire, and like fuller's sope. Jesus will return to Jerusalem 7th trump, and action immediately starts with house of God. The false preachers go into the pit with satan. 3:3. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness. The fake shepherds are so complacent and stupid, they dont realize their hellfire bound. These fake preachers are spirtual murderers. God is finished with their bull crap. 3:16. Then they that fear (love) the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord heard, and heard of it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. Those who love and serve Jesus will enter kingdom of God. The wicked have spot in hell. The fake shepherds are going into lake of fire with satan on judgement day. And anyone who names satan their king will follow satan into lake of fire. God will not force anyone to love Him. Those who have free will have choice to make. To follow Jesus or satan. And theirs the millennium, every one is in their spiritual body, were done with our flesh when the 7th trump comes. Those who are spiritually dead will have full understanding, and reason. God will allow them to choose between Him and satan.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

God created people to worship Him and love Him. God will intercede in His Election lives, the elect don't have free will. Malachi 3:2. But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner fire, and like fuller's sope. Jesus will return to Jerusalem 7th trump, and action immediately starts with the house of God. The false preachers go into the pit with Satan. 3:3. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness. The fake shepherds are so complacent and stupid, they don't realize they're hellfire bound. These fake preachers are spiritual murderers. God is finished with their bull crap. 3:16. Then they that fear (love) the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord heard, and heard of it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. Those who love and serve Jesus will enter the kingdom of God. The wicked have a spot in hell. The fake shepherds are going into the lake of fire with satan on judgment day. And anyone who names satan their king will follow satan into the lake of fire. God will not force anyone to love Him. Those who have free will have a choice to make. To follow Jesus or satan. And theirs the millennium, everyone is in their spiritual body, were done with our flesh when the 7th trump comes. Those who are spiritually dead will have full understanding and reason. God will allow them to choose between Him and satan.

Thank you, Asterismos, for your contributions. I must say, though, that I had a bit of a tough time understanding your message. I'm sure that it's my fault and am unable to comprehend your wisdom.

I hope that you don't mind, but I edited what you wrote above.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Day 315 of the timeline, chronological reading plan is evident and transparent in how humans come into a Right relationship with God, and it does not come by human choice, but by choice of God Himself. Three passages from this Day read as follows:

John 15:2 NLT – “He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.”

John 15:5 NLT - "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:16 NLT – “You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.”

John 15:19 NLT – “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

John 15:25 NLT – “This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: 'They hated me without cause.”



Prophetic Scripture fulfilling John 15:25:

Psalm 35:19 NLT – “Don't let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat. Don't let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow.”

John 15 is rather remarkable in how the writer depicts the productive Power of God in our lives. Let’s look at the passages and see if we cannot glean their significance.

In 15:2, who prunes the Elect? Do we prune ourselves through exercising “free will,” or does God the Father take credit and responsibility for this action? Right . . . human “free will” is not a part of the pruning process.

15:5 shows us who is responsible for accomplishing Righteous and Holy acts. Do we humans receive credit for performing Holy acts and saying Holy things, or is it through Jesus that we, True Christians, can accomplish them? Who takes credit? Us, or Jesus Christ? Right . . . “free will” is once again not included in this Spiritual program.

15:16 shows us that God clearly takes full credit for His relationship with His Elect. Who chose whom? Did the subject of the passage choose God, or did God choose them? Where is their choice in this Spiritual process? And how are we able to produce Spiritual Fruit? We must be chosen by God and then be activated by Christ, for apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.

15:19 shows that the True Elect of God will be “removed” from this world. We are to become like the Nazarene Christ who was set apart. Just as Christ is set apart, so are we, through the Circumcision of Christ, where we are made “complete” and where the Holy Hands of Christ defeat Satan and his accompanying Sinful Nature. But did we choose to remove ourselves from this world? Who takes credit for such action? She we credit our sense of “free will,” or shall we credit the Lord for bringing us out of the captivity of the Devil?

15:25 shows us that those who oppose Christ do so without reason or understanding. They have been pre-disposed to deception, for the Lord has kept His Mysterious Plan hidden from their minds and hearts. These people are all under the Curse of the Lord . . . the Curse perfectly outlined in Romans chapter 5 that is traced back to Adam and Eve and their Spiritual “fall.” And this is the quintessential “mind of Satan,” for this mentality causes people to do things they would never do of their own volition. This Curse forces people into a psychological nightmare they cannot avoid, for these people will do things that are powered outside of themselves.

Romans 7:16-20 NLT – “But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.”

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Having found an additional passage from Days past in the timeline, chronological reading plan, let’s visit Day 218. The passage addressed today is Zephaniah 3:9, where the promise of restoration is issued. It reads as follows:

Zephaniah 3:9 CSB – “For I will then restore pure speech to the peoples so that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him with a single purpose.”

Why would the speech of “the people” need to be restored and restored from what? Think about it: How can one be pure of speech unless Christ has purified their heart? Can something pure come from something corrupt?

What seems to be clear about this passage is that until a person has been redeemed from the Curse that causes us to follow the evil ways of Satan, we are incapable of calling upon the Holy Name of the Lord. What is more, until a person has been Purified, they are again incapable of serving the Lord. When a person is Purified by the Hands of Christ, and when the Holy Spirit leads them, our collective worship will reflect one purpose. We will be united, for our speech has been Purified through a Purified heart.

Where is “free will” in this passage? Humans don’t have the “free will” to be Pure of speech? Can’t we choose to worship God with a single purpose on our own? Can’t we determine these things ourselves, or do we require the restoration of God to accomplish such a feat? To achieve these things, we must be restored by the Lord? Absolutely, for True Christians [will] develop the Mind of Christ, and is the Mind of Christ divided? No, of course not. The Lord must change our minds because we do not have the capacity to do so ourselves.

One possible alternative to what I’m offering is that the Bible could certainly be in error. So, will we agree with the Bible or deny its obvious words?

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Once again, I have found an additional passage from Days past in the timeline, chronological reading plan, regarding the idea of “free will.” let’s visit Day 274. The passage addressed today is John 01:13, where the Scriptures seem to clearly state that a “man” is not reborn because of their plan or choice, but they are reborn because it was the desire of the Lord.

NIV – “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.”

What is the process of rebirth? Does God give us any Scripture to inform us of how this process works, or, what it “looks” like? Rebirth begins in the following manner. First, rebirth does not come by the decision of a person, but by the decision of the Lord.

Exodus 33:19 NIV – “And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

Above, God referenced Himself 6 times by using the word, “I.” Note that there is no “you.”

John 15:16 KJV – “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

Above, who chose whom? Although these men being referenced were the Lord’s Disciples, are we to suggest that the process for choosing the 12 is different from choosing who will be given to Christ, where none shall be lost? Below, this issue of "free will" has been clearly addressed, and the facts are this: God chooses His Elect and those who are not chosen, we should not argue about it . . . but look at us. We are argumentative regarding this issue . . . and I highly recommend that it be stopped.

Romans 9:15-21 NLT – “For God said to Moses, "I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose." So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth." So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen. Well then, you might say, "Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven't they simply done what he makes them do?" No, don't say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, "Why have you made me like this?" When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn't he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?”

I dare say that when a person claims that they are responsible for “choosing” the Lord, they are in diabolical disharmony with the Lord, for we do not possess the right to strip the Lord of His Saving Power and Plan. We are not in control with our sense of “free will,” but the Lord is in control by His sense of willful Power. We possess no Power. We have power, but not Power to change nor control anything, for this is solely the Work of God and not “self.”

 

[oyster67]

Free Will - A More Exhaustive Look


Nothing exhaustive about it... unless one is trying to deny this simple truth. Choose this day who you will follow, and whether you will believe Calvinist Heresy.

If you have not chosen to follow Jesus, please do so today.

Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

 

[oyster67]

they are reborn because it was the desire of the Lord.

If that were the case, then all men would be born-again.

2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Please give yourself (and the rest of us) a break and come to the Light today.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Please give yourself (and the rest of us) a break and come to the Light today.

LOL . . . I supported what you wrote until your assumption that I exist in Spiritual Darkness.

Have a good day, champ!