Free Will - A More Exhaustive Look

You are not "forced". You examine evidence make your own decision of what to believe. Like everyone else.

And you have used your freedom ot choice (free will) to make a bad decision. The Bible cannot support two opposite sides of any argument. There is only 1 truth. Everything else is a lie.

This is not about man's freedom of choice. This is God's sovereignty. But He doesn't micromanage.

Bingo.

Day 225 of the timeline, chronological reading plan offers another incredible statement regarding the free and unrestricted ability to choose the Lord, or in this case, the ability to “recognize” the Lord. Jeremiah 24:6-7 offers the following:

NLT – “I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.”

Question: Will Israel have the natural ability to “recognize” the Lord if He does not grant them such a heart? We have already covered this concept from Day 80 of the TC reading plan in Deuteronomy 30:6, which says the following.

Deuteronomy 30:6 NLT - “The LORD your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!”

As we can see, there is a Purpose to the Lord's promise of granting changed hearts . . . the Blessing that Abraham had received. As so, it is fair to ask . . . What would happen to the Lord’s Elect if the Lord chooses not to grant a changed heart? Without this changed heart, would we not be like the Sadducees, Pharisees, and teachers of the law? Is this not the Purpose of Christ?

John 9:39-41 NLT – “Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment--to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”

If our Triune God has not granted us a new heart, how can we choose to “love Him will all our heart so that we may live”?

Deuteronomy 30:6~ The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

God put the fear of the Jews into the hearts of the people for several reasons; to show the other nations His strength, His power and protection. The nation of Israel today is much different than in the old testament. Today the state of Israel is made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. There are people of the other tribes living there I am sure just as there or non Jews living in Israel.


If you read Isaiah 1 you will find that God wants nothing to do with them in the state they are in.


There is only so much that God will take before He cuts the 12 tribes off. They had the choice then just as we have the chose today to serve or not serve God.


Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.


Yet in Isaiah 1:18 God does say to Israel and us: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

And it is because of passages like Deuteronomy 30:6 and verse seven of Jeremiah chapter 24, that makes me often write about Circumcision, in how it is first necessary to receive this Circumcision (of the Heart) SO THAT we might Love the Lord and "Live."

Jeremiah 24:7 NLT - "I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly."

Until we receive New, Circumcised Hearts, no one can recognize God as the Lord. Sure, they can fully believe in their hearts that they recognize God, but to what depth? Do they REALLY acknowledge Him? Is He REALLY the Master of their lives? Do we REALLY reflect the Glory of the Lord more and more as we are being Sanctified?

Have our hearts REALLY been Circumcised by Christ?

Colossians 2:11, 13-15 NLT - "When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision--the cutting away of your sinful nature. ... 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross."

Any person who undergoes this perfectly clear Operation of Christ (as presented above), will be a New Creation. There is no option but to begin to reflect the Glory of God more and more, for the Devil and his minions have been disarmed if a person has received this most incredible Spiritual Circumcision. Any person that has received this Circumcision, they have been released from the captivity of the Devil and there is no longer a Spiritual force guiding and manipulating them into sin. They have been released . . . set free.

I hear all that you are saying, but how does the following Scripture fit in with what you're conveying?

Romans 11:7-8 NLT - "So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have--the ones God has chosen--but the hearts of the rest were hardened. 8 As the Scriptures say, "God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear."

I am 70 Y.O. And have the early stages of dementia so it is hard to comprehend some things. When I look at this I see it in black and white. We have a chose Jesus told us in Matthew 13:36-43 The explanation of the parable of the wheat and the tares. Verse 36. Jesus sends the people away and speaks only to the disciples. Verse 37. He that sowed the good seed is the Son of Man “Jesus” Verse 38. The field is the world. The good seed “the wheat” are the children of the kingdom. The tares “the bad seed” are the children of the wicked one “Satan” Verse 39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are the angles. Verse 40. The tares are gathered first put into the fire and burned; so shall it be at the end of the world. Verse 41. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; Verse 42.And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Verse 43.Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Here is your chose you can either choose to be a child of The Son of Man and shine forth as the sun; or you can choose to be a child of the wicked one “Satan” and end up in the furnace and be burned up. You get to choose that is the free will that God gives us. There is no other chose.

I hear what you're saying.

Verse 38 above, which you have pasted for us to consider, states that there are those who are children of the wicked one. Why are they considered children of Satan? Doesn't a person have to be reborn to escape the captivity of the Devil? And isn't this what yesterday's post was about, which is that God must give His Elect new hearts so that they can acknowledge the Lord?

Jeremiah 24:7 NLT - "I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly."

To be wholehearted, a person must undergo the Circumcision of Christ . . . I also posted these verses yesterday, verses that clearly show what Spiritual Circumcision is about. But back to the Jeremiah passage . . . how does the Jewish Tanakh translate our ancient Bible?

Tanakh: "And I will give them the understanding to acknowledge Me, for I am the Lord."

What does this mean for those who are not given the ability to understand and acknowledge the Lord? Do they still possess the ability to choose the Lord? In my estimation, it is utterly impossible if not completely foolish to suggest otherwise. This is what the Bible is about, which is that no one can come to God unless He so chooses and enables them first. For goodness sakes, this is the Heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And if this is the Heart of the Gospel, and if virtually no one is acknowledging this uber easy to understand concept, what does this say about the condition of today's modern-day "church"?

Very, very few actually understand the Gospel, and because extremely few are able to explain it as Philip explained it to the Eunuch, it's no wonder that extreme few even attempt to share that Gospel, the Story of God.

Lets take a deeper look at the parable of The Weeds “the wheat and the tares”

Lets read this parable: Copied from BibleHub.com


Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.26But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.27So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?28He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?29But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.30Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Jesus is speaking to the people and tells them another parable. Remember who is speaking throughout here “Jesus” What is the subject that Jesus starts with? The Kingdom Heaven it is likened unto a man. Who would that man be? A man that sowed good seed in to his field. Verse 25 tells us something happened.( don't be like me and read over this and one day be rereading it and go how many times have I read this and never put it together.) The men: the workers that should have been on watch slept, they went to sleep on the watchtower. His “the owner of the field” enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and then left. [Easton's Bible Dictionary - Tares Tares [N] the bearded darnel, mentioned only in Matthew 13:25-30. It is the Lolium temulentum, a species of rye-grass, the seeds of which are a strong soporific poison.] As the crop begin to grow both the good fruit “wheat” came up and the bad fruit “tares”. The sleepy workers asked the man “the owner of the Kingdom of Heaven” Didn't you sow good seed in the field? If so how come there are tares also. Verse 28 pay attention to this An enemy has done this. An enemy of the man whose field is likened unto the Kingdom of Heaven has come and sowed his bad seed into the field. The servant wants to know if they should go and pull out the weeds(get rid of them: kill them) Verse 29 is important in the timing. The man; the owner of the field tells the servant NO do not pull up the weeds because when you pull up the weeds that look just like the wheat you might get some of the wheat also and kill it. Let both the good seed “wheat” and weeds “tares” grow together. Stop right here put on your thanking cap open your eyes and ears this is important teaching from Jesus who is telling this parable. Verse 30. Let them both grow together until THE HARVEST; then I will send out the reapers. The man who owns the field gives the reapers some orders that they are to follow. First thing I want you to do is gather the tares bind them into bundles to burn them. What is the first thing gathered? The tares, the weeds. Then gather the wheat into my barn.

Iam not sure why 1/2 of this is crossed out but if you can still read it please do and if anyone know why this happned let me know I will try and repost it also.

Try and read the post I just put up. Part of it has been crossed out of some reason.

Yes. I was able to read the post. Thank you for the offering.

36Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.37He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;38The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;39The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus sends the multitude away the disciples come to Him and ask Him to explain to them the parable of the tares of the field. Who is going to do the explaining here? Jesus. When Jesus explains something it is explained. Lets start with the first explanation: The sower of the good seed is The Son of Man; The field is the world. I want to stop right here. The field is the world; not only here but take [Matthew 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.] The field here is the world. Keep this in mind because we will come back to it.

Back to Chapter 13:38 The good seed are the children of the kingdom:

[seed σπέρμα (sperma) Strong's Greek 4690: From speiro; something sown, i.e. Seed; by implication, offspring; specially, a remnant.]

But the tares are the children of the wicked one. Who is the wicked one? Satan. The enemy that sowed the bad seed the tares is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are the angles. The tares are gathered and burned in the fire. Who is gathered first? The tares! Ho are the tares the children of the wicked one; who is the wicked one? The devil who is Satan. Who is taken first? The children bundled and made ready for the fire. Then the children of the kingdom are gathered and where are they put into the barn of the Lord. The kingdom of The Lord God.

We have free will to make one of two choices. Heaven or Hell.

Remember I said we would get back to Matthew 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. How may pastors have you heard say “I want to be the first on taken.” Praise God we are all waiting for that day when Jesus comes to take us first. The false Jesus coming to take you first. Jesus makes it so simple for us. We have the freedom to choose do I follow Jesus or do I follow Satan there is not another chose. There is no rapture to choose it is just not there. It is either A. Jesus or B. Satan which do you chose?

Amen God claims the little ones for sure

“And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:15-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Some contemporary verses

“Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19:13-15‬ ‭KJV‬‬

We also hear of angels watching over little ones a few times , and a dire warning from God not to harm a child

“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:2-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I agree with you completely there’s a lot of biblical evidence for just that an innocent child indeed but also us grizzled ole thief facing imminent death for his sins can believe it

“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭23:42-43‬ ‭

Jesus says verily a lot in his words , it means “ truly and certainly “ when he does this it’s a point of important faith that could be hard to believe “ truly truly I tell you “ certainly I tell you “ he’s saying this to a man about to die “I tell you certainly today you will be with me in paradise “

death isn’t the end and innocents belong to God

I agree that we must make a choice. However, the Bible has shown that we must be Enabled to make that choice. The Bible is clear that we must be given a New Heart so that we can Truly and actually recognize God at a Spiritual level rather than a surface, worldly level.

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Like so ^

Amen and thankyou