I agree. This verse comes to mind:
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 1 Cor. 3:6
Balancing free will with spreading the Gospel
- Thread starter retrofuturist
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 1 Cor. 3:6
L
Locoponydirtman
Guest
Free will is a construct of egalitarianism, which is anti-christian.
All human will is bound to sin amd death until set free by the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the gospel, who convicts of sin and death and convinces of Christ. Then the will freed from sin amd death is submitted and bound to Christ and His word. Libertarian freewill is a myth.
So be a living witness as much as you can and preach and teach when ever you can. Leave the working to God.
All human will is bound to sin amd death until set free by the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the gospel, who convicts of sin and death and convinces of Christ. Then the will freed from sin amd death is submitted and bound to Christ and His word. Libertarian freewill is a myth.
So be a living witness as much as you can and preach and teach when ever you can. Leave the working to God.
Amen! Precious friend, A Very Warm Welcome To Chat.
Please Be Very RICHLY Encouraged And Edified In
The LORD JESUS CHRIST, And His Word Of Truth, Rightly
Divided (+ I and II).
Grace, Peace, And JOY!… + RICH Blessings
Greetings brothers and sisters,
I wanted to ask about people's experience in balancing the imperative to spread the gospel with the respect for people's free will and spiritual autonomy afforded by God.
God never forced or compelled anyone to follow him, even as the nation of Israel continually failed to redeem itself and perpetuated sin for centuries. On the other hand, we are taught in the New Testament to spread the gospel and make new disciples in the name of Jesus Christ.
How do you yourself balance those competing tensions in doing the Lord's work? Got any insights or experiences worth sharing with others?
Thank you, and Happy Easter friends. Christ is King!
Paul.
God never forced or compelled anyone to follow him said:
Everyone, everywhere, at any time is able to come to Christ if they call upon His name,
Greetings,
By this I meant that God never forced anyone to have a relationship with him. If people are prideful or worship idols, God won't stop them, but he won't want a relationship with them.
Likewise, Jesus made known the way to the Father but never forced anyone to follow it. Further, the Holy Spirit may be surrendered to, but will not take possession of someone against their volition, as a demon would do.
I hope that makes sense, I'm still a bit of a noob.
Paul.
Just remember, Jesus was very clear about who He was and what He was offering. He told people to "go and sin no more." Present the Gospel and if people reject it, kick the dust off your feet and keep moving. The Holy Spirit will do the work.
My sister shared a story on FB about a man that was working at a newspaper. He felt to go speak to a co-worker about the Lord. So he went into the office to speak to him and invite him to Easter service. The co-worker was an atheist and was rather rude and said he wasn't interested in going to church. The Christian man felt bad and was sure the Lord had told him to share the Gospel and couldn't understand how he got it so wrong. Years later he became a pastor. A man came to him one service and said " I need to introduce myself, you don't know who I am. He said " Just before Easter a few years ago when you worked at the newspaper, you told a man there about the resurrection and explained the evidence for it. I don't think you know it but I was on the floor, working on tile behind the big desk. When you said that I began to think, " I need God in my life". I told my wife to be ready because we were going to church on Easter. He said " because of you I came to faith, my wife came to faith, our teenage son came to faith."
We never know who we are reaching. As one song says, " I catch 'em, He cleans 'em. We are fishers of men. We share and leave the rest to God.
Good topic, Paul.Greetings brothers and sisters,
I wanted to ask about people's experience in balancing the imperative to spread the gospel with the respect for people's free will and spiritual autonomy afforded by God.
God never forced or compelled anyone to follow him, even as the nation of Israel continually failed to redeem itself and perpetuated sin for centuries. On the other hand, we are taught in the New Testament to spread the gospel and make new disciples in the name of Jesus Christ.
How do you yourself balance those competing tensions in doing the Lord's work? Got any insights or experiences worth sharing with others?
Thank you, and Happy Easter friends. Christ is King!
Paul.
Many have erred in their methods and mindsets about spreading the Gospel. The Roman Catholics of the Middle Ages felt that forcing it down people's throats at sword point worked well. Then the Calvinist then came along and told their followers not to bother because God had already picked out who was going to hell and heaven and that no one really had a choice anyway. The Bible says in Romans 1 that all men have a seed of knowledge from evidence of creation all around them. The Bible still commands us to go forth and teach men the Gospel and share the insight that we have gained through study of His Word and understanding given by His Spirit. We are to teach and share, never force-feed. God knows who will ultimately be good soil, but this is through His foreknowledge of who will choose, not through predetermination without offering a choice.
Acts 17:30
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”
Romans 10:13
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
John 4:35
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”
Luke 10:2
“Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Greetings,
By this I meant that God never forced anyone to have a relationship with him. If people are prideful or worship idols, God won't stop them, but he won't want a relationship with them.
Likewise, Jesus made known the way to the Father but never forced anyone to follow it. Further, the Holy Spirit may be surrendered to, but will not take possession of someone against their volition, as a demon would do.
I hope that makes sense, I'm still a bit of a noob.
Paul.