Predestination is misunderstood...

  • 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.

maxamir

Active member
Mar 8, 2024
369
32
28
I stand naked before Him every time I have a shower.

I am not unaware of how exhaustive divine determinists demand to be recognised as fellow Christians who preach the same gospel as other Christians, on the basis that we all profess using similar vocabulary, belief in some of the same gospel foundations; but when we disagree with and reject exhaustive divine determinist distinctives, with no reticence, they accuse us of preaching a different accursed gospel and call us heretics. You can't have it both ways, maxamir.
there is only one Gospel and any so called gospel which proclaims that salvation is dependent upon the choice of men is a gospel of Satan.

another jesus.jpg
 

maxamir

Active member
Mar 8, 2024
369
32
28
Grace was the reason you were made able to understand.

God's gentle power (grace) suppressed your depraved flesh, so that your soul was able to see what was needed to become saved.

You were blinded by your flesh which opposes God. Grace subdued your flesh into silence.
Then..... God let your soul to decide what you were to believe.

This same grace is applied to unbelievers flesh at some point.,... and their souls will to reject God... just like Satan and his angels did.

Romans 1:18-25 is a perfect example of how God was working in the unbeliever who would in the end reject God. For it says they reached the point where they knew God and needed to create lies to suppress the truth... God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

You are not a programmable puppet. Calvinism was an attempt to explain things gone bad.

grace and peace ....................
you have perfectly defined how Roman Catholicism sees grace which is a cooperation between man and God but Scripture declares that salvation belongs to the Lord and not the choice of men because man is born spiritually dead and can not even see the kingdom of God unless they are first born again let alone choose it.

Tulip 03.jpg
 

maxamir

Active member
Mar 8, 2024
369
32
28
Incoherent to you, others understood.

Faith comes from the word. Faith is not simply the work of a man's volition (will). Hebrews tells us faith is assurance and conviction. (Heb.11:1) There is an absolute certainty when one has faith, a certainty you will literally stake your life on. I can say "I believe God cares for me", but it's not till I get in the "sticky" situation do I see whether I truly have faith or whether I am simply relying on the strength of my own will.

Your inability to understand how a man can use His volition to agree with God when shown the truth is most likely why you don't comprehend what I said. You speak as if you are just a puppet, unable to do even the things God created us to do by design. Men can believe whatever they want, but it takes believing the truth in order to have faith. The word is truth and only when it is working in your soul does a man have faith.

Psalm 119:11
Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

You hide the word in your heart by believing on it and keep on believing but it is the word (truth) that has the power of faith, not our willingness to believe. God honours His word and saves the believer. The most power our wills have is to reveal who we are.
your words were incoherent because they were contradictory but you seem to not have noticed it.

Every person believes something but saving faith is a gift from God that God grants by grace through the preaching of His word and is not something that man generates within himself.

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
 

maxamir

Active member
Mar 8, 2024
369
32
28
ok well start wishing the same for others then

Because John Calvins say you must only be concerned about the good things God has in-store for you, should not mean you should be more concerned by bad things he has in store for others which you clearly are
God commands His people to love others and the greatest way to do so besides laying down their lives for them is to lovingly warn them and preach the true Gospel to them and not a false gospel which does not save anyone.
 

maxamir

Active member
Mar 8, 2024
369
32
28
The Doctrines of Grace are founded upon man being spiritually dead because of the Fall and therefore salvation has to be completely of God by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.

Why don't some of you here try being like the Berean's and see if these things be true rather than robbing a perfectly jealous God of the glory of His salvation.

TULIP01.jpg
 
Dec 18, 2023
6,403
406
83
God commands His people to love others and the greatest way to do so besides laying down their lives for them is to lovingly warn them and preach the true Gospel to them and not a false gospel which does not save anyone.
John Calvin quoted as saying this


John Calvin is perhaps best known for his doctrine of predestination. He taught that God determined before all time who would be eternally saved and who would be condemned to hell. Christians, he said, should not question God's plan, but rather trust in God's good intentions for their personal life and destiny.


John Calvin says you should not question God's plan but only trust Gods good concerns for your personal life

How come you ain't honoring that by being concerned of his concerns of what he will do to others which is not good.

Oh and if John Calvin wrote this tulip doctrine how come it's questions Gods plan
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
1,797
234
63
there is only one Gospel and any so called gospel which proclaims that salvation is dependent upon the choice of men is a gospel of Satan.

View attachment 262587
And so, you have just validated other Christians arguing that you have a different unsaving gospel . If you claim their gospel is so fundamentally different from yours, that theirs is a false gospel, then if they have the right gospel, yours is so fundamentally different from theirs that yours is a false gospel. And those you anathemise are quite in keeping with your judgment of their faith to anathemise you.
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
1,797
234
63
The Doctrines of Grace are founded upon man being spiritually dead because of the Fall and therefore salvation has to be completely of God by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.

Why don't some of you here try being like the Berean's and see if these things be true rather than robbing a perfectly jealous God of the glory of His salvation.

View attachment 262590
We are spiritually sick and dying because of our personal unforgiven sins. We are not dead yet.


And if you choose your one favourite proof text from the above menu, let's discuss what it means "taking due regard for its context".
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
1,046
158
63
In John 6, Jesus equated eating the bread with believing Him and His words. Do you think that once we first believe enough to first be regenerated, we can stop believing Jesus and His words but remain in aeonous life, which Jesu defines in John 17:3 as experientially knowing Him and His Father?
Please define 'aeonous life.'

Thank you...
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
1,046
158
63
We are born innocent and with an innate participatory knowledge of and an intimate relationship with God, somewhat akin to the babies non-intellectual relationship with its mother. We go astray from that intuitive experience of God as we become exposed to and take on ungodly ideas and attitudes and behaviours from our environment.
Might this apply?


Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them.
But the disciples rebuked them.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven
belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there." Matthew 19:13-15​
grace and peace .......
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
1,046
158
63
you have perfectly defined how Roman Catholicism sees grace which is a cooperation between man and God but Scripture declares that salvation belongs to the Lord and not the choice of men because man is born spiritually dead and can not even see the kingdom of God unless they are first born again let alone choose it.
You are still not getting it, and only citing examples of how you misunderstand what I have said.
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
1,797
234
63
I believe this

Jesus said whoever eats will never die. I trust him
He said whoever drinks will never thirst. I believe him
He said whoever believes will never die, and will be raised.
He said unlike the food they ate the day before. or the Manna that God gave their fathers. whoever eats that bread will still die. but whoever eats the bread he came to give will live forever.

I also believe what Jesus said in John 3, about how one is born again. He used the example of Moses lifting the serpent. Whoever in faith looked to that serpent lived, Whoever did not died. The people who looked looked because they trusted God. those who did not look had no trust in God. As Jesus also said. whoever believes is not condemned, whoever does not believe is condemned already.

You said - "If we look to the cross in faith. we are born again (regenerated) and saved forever. God said we will never die. I trust him."

Look is a present tense verb. We have to be looking in the present to be having aeonous life in the present. Otherwise Jesus would have said "If we ever looked at some time to the cross in faith, we are saved forever and will never die."

But He didn't say that. He used the present tense.


I said- "God saves by grace through faith. God wants all to be saved. He has put away the sins of all through Christ, and is not reckoning anyone's sins to them in this particular new testament period."

You said - "What?"

I said- "The only ones who will not be saved are those who actively reject Jesus from being King and saviour over them."

You said - "May I ask where you are getting this idea from?"

2 Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was (En - imperfect indicative) in Christ reconciling (KatallassOn - present active participle) the world to Himself, not imputing (logizomenos: present deponent participle) their trespasses unto them, and having committed (2nd aorist middle participle) to us the word of reconciliation."

This means that while God was in Christ [on earth] he was at that same present time

What?


May I ask where you are getting this idea from?


No we are born dead, under adam.

[quote[We go astray from that intuitive experience of God as we become exposed to and take on ungodly ideas and attitudes and behaviours from our environment. Neither those who are justified by His death and saved by believing in His life, His resurrection, nor those who are justified by His death but deny His life, His resurrection, did anything to earn the expunging of their sins by the death of Jesus. God did that on His own initiative. But some actively deny Jesus' resurrection and reject Him as King; or some reject God as Lord over them even if they have not heard of Jesus. These earn their own exclusion from God's restored and healed kingdom on earth.
Again, Where are you getting these ideas from?[/QUOTE]

Jesus said whoever eats will never die. I trust him
He said whoever drinks will never thirst. I believe him
He said whoever believes will never die, and will be raised.
He said unlike the food they ate the day before. or the Manna that God gave their fathers. whoever eats that bread will still die. but whoever eats the bread he came to give will live forever.

The bold verbs are all present tense. He does not say -

Whoever ate at some time will never die. I trust him
Whoever drank at some time will never thirst. I believe him
Whoever believed at some time will never die, and will be raised.
Whoever ate at some time that bread will still die. but whoever ate at some time the bread he came to give will live forever.

You are interpreting these present tense verbs as if it were an aorist aspect verbs, which is why you are wrong..

You said, "I also believe what Jesus said in John 3, about how one is born again. He used the example of Moses lifting the serpent. Whoever in faith looked to that serpent lived, Whoever did not died. The people who looked looked because they trusted God. those who did not look had no trust in God. As Jesus also said. whoever believes is not condemned, whoever does not believe is condemned already.

If we look to the cross in faith. we are born again (regenerated) and saved forever. God said we will never die. I trust him.

The Old Testament passage does not say that after having looked to the bronze snake, if someone was bitten again, they were immune from the poison because they had already looked once before. The text implies that whenever, and as many times as, someone was bitten, they needed to look at the bronze serpent. Your text makes my case. The only deadly sin was not looking to the bronze serpent because of not trusting God. That's what I am saying. The only deadly sin for which we forfeit aeonous life with God in the NOW, is refusing to trust God and His appointed King in the NOW.
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
1,797
234
63
I believe this

Jesus said whoever eats will never die. I trust him
He said whoever drinks will never thirst. I believe him
He said whoever believes will never die, and will be raised.
He said unlike the food they ate the day before. or the Manna that God gave their fathers. whoever eats that bread will still die. but whoever eats the bread he came to give will live forever.

I also believe what Jesus said in John 3, about how one is born again. He used the example of Moses lifting the serpent. Whoever in faith looked to that serpent lived, Whoever did not died. The people who looked looked because they trusted God. those who did not look had no trust in God. As Jesus also said. whoever believes is not condemned, whoever does not believe is condemned already.

You said - "If we look to the cross in faith. we are born again (regenerated) and saved forever. God said we will never die. I trust him."

Look is a present tense verb. We have to be looking in the present to be having aeonous life in the present. Otherwise Jesus would have said "If we ever looked at some time to the cross in faith, we are saved forever and will never die."

But He didn't say that. He used the present tense.


I said- "God saves by grace through faith. God wants all to be saved. He has put away the sins of all through Christ, and is not reckoning anyone's sins to them in this particular new testament period."

You said - "What?"

I said- "The only ones who will not be saved are those who actively reject Jesus from being King and saviour over them."

You said - "May I ask where you are getting this idea from?"

2 Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was (En - imperfect indicative) in Christ reconciling (KatallassOn - present active participle) the world to Himself, not imputing (logizomenos: present deponent participle) their trespasses unto them, and having committed (2nd aorist middle participle) to us the word of reconciliation."

This means that while God was in Christ [on earth] he was at that same present time

What?


May I ask where you are getting this idea from?


No we are born dead, under adam.

[quote[We go astray from that intuitive experience of God as we become exposed to and take on ungodly ideas and attitudes and behaviours from our environment. Neither those who are justified by His death and saved by believing in His life, His resurrection, nor those who are justified by His death but deny His life, His resurrection, did anything to earn the expunging of their sins by the death of Jesus. God did that on His own initiative. But some actively deny Jesus' resurrection and reject Him as King; or some reject God as Lord over them even if they have not heard of Jesus. These earn their own exclusion from God's restored and healed kingdom on earth.
Again, Where are you getting these ideas from?[/QUOTE]

Jesus said whoever eats will never die. I trust him
He said whoever drinks will never thirst. I believe him
He said whoever believes will never die, and will be raised.
He said unlike the food they ate the day before. or the Manna that God gave their fathers. whoever eats that bread will still die. but whoever eats the bread he came to give will live forever.

The bold verbs are all present tense. He does not say -

Whoever ate at some time will never die. I trust him
Whoever drank at some time will never thirst. I believe him
Whoever believed at some time will never die, and will be raised.
Whoever ate at some time that bread will still die. but whoever ate at some time the bread he came to give will live forever.

You are interpreting these present tense verbs as if it were an aorist aspect verbs, which is why you are wrong..

You said, "I also believe what Jesus said in John 3, about how one is born again. He used the example of Moses lifting the serpent. Whoever in faith looked to that serpent lived, Whoever did not died. The people who looked looked because they trusted God. those who did not look had no trust in God. As Jesus also said. whoever believes is not condemned, whoever does not believe is condemned already.

If we look to the cross in faith. we are born again (regenerated) and saved forever. God said we will never die. I trust him.

The Old Testament passage does not say that after having looked to the bronze snake, if someone was bitten again, they were immune from the poison because they had already looked once before. The text implies that whenever, and as many times as, someone was bitten, they needed to look at the bronze serpent. Your text makes my case. The only deadly sin was not looking to the bronze serpent because of not trusting God. That's what I am saying. The only deadly sin for which we forfeit aeonous life with God in the NOW, is refusing to trust God and His appointed King in the NOW.
Please define 'aeonous life.'

Thank you...
Jesu define is in John 17:3 "And this is aeonous life, to know [experientially, relationally] You the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you sent." It is living in the present in open fellowship with the great I AM [and other lesser "I am" - s.]
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
1,046
158
63
You said, "I also believe what Jesus said in John 3, about how one is born again. He used the example of Moses lifting the serpent. Whoever in faith looked to that serpent lived, Whoever did not died. The people who looked looked because they trusted God. those who did not look had no trust in God. As Jesus also said. whoever believes is not condemned, whoever does not believe is condemned already.
Those who do not believe are condemned already. Why?
Because, they refused at some point the drawing of God that must precede being presented the Gospel.

The Father's drawing must precede the act of regeneration which takes place when the Father will hand those who accept His drawing over to the Son.

So when they do not believe? It indicates that the Father refuses to hand that one over to His Son. God condemned them for refusing.

God's drawing that was resisted took place prior to hearing the Gospel.
When they resolved to reject the process of God's drawing them? They were marked as condemned prior to hearing to believe in Christ.

For the Father draws each and every person in a very personalized way. In a manner which is designed to bring each soul to become wanting to get closer and closer to the beauty of His essence.

grace and peace ..............
 
Mar 7, 2024
837
63
28
Grace was the reason you were made able to understand.

God's gentle power (grace) suppressed your depraved flesh, so that your soul was able to see what was needed to become saved.

You were blinded by your flesh which opposes God. Grace subdued your flesh into silence.
Then..... God let your soul to decide what you were to believe.

This same grace is applied to unbelievers flesh at some point.,... and their souls will to reject God... just like Satan and his angels did.

Romans 1:18-25 is a perfect example of how God was working in the unbeliever who would in the end reject God. For it says they reached the point where they knew God and needed to create lies to suppress the truth... God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

You are not a programmable puppet. Calvinism was an attempt to explain things gone bad.

grace and peace ....................
None of that lines up with what the bible teaches. You're merely expressing your private philosophy and it is contrary to Gods Word. Private interpretations always lead to false doctrine, we don't have the privilege to add our private view or take anything away from Gods perfect and inerrant word.

You should consider the fact that, there is a way that seems right to man, but the ed thereof is destruction. And lean not on your understanding and philosophy, but live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

See, man has nothing to boast about. Man is naturally proud and boastful about how smart we are, but mans wisdom is foolishness to God.
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
1,046
158
63
Jesu define is in John 17:3 "And this is aeonous life, to know [experientially, relationally] You the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you sent." It is living in the present in open fellowship with the great I AM [and other lesser "I am" - s.]
Ok... now I see...
You just spelled it a little differently.

Taken from another person's notes while he was listening to a teaching of my pastor.....

" everlasting/eternal {aionios} life."

My pastor said 'aionios' means either eternal or everlasting.

When applied to God?
He has no beginning. So it is eternal life.

When applied to creatures?
We have a beginning with no end. So then it should be rendered everlasting life.

That was what you were getting at?

grace and peace .............
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
1,046
158
63
None of that lines up with what the bible teaches. You're merely expressing your private philosophy and it is contrary to Gods Word. Private interpretations always lead to false doctrine, we don't have the privilege to add our private view or take anything away from Gods perfect and inerrant word.
Be careful how you judge... You may be the one you speak against.
 

Lafftur

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2017
6,748
3,556
113
Indeed, God commands you to repent and believe but if you look to your repentance, faith and choice as being the reason why you are saved instead of the grace of God which grants you such ability then you are not yet saved no matter how holy you may claim to be, because God resists the proud and only gives grace to the humble.
I’ve been reading the book of Jeremiah….

God so greatly pleaded with Israel and Judah to repent and return to Him but, they CHOSE not to.

Mankind has always had a choice and God has always had a choice. It amazes me that God has chosen to save us. I am in AWE of His great love. :love:
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
1,046
158
63
Jesus said aeonous life is to know the only true God and the Son. John 17:3. So, did Adam know God and the Son before he sinned?
Well.. Satan and his angels knew the Son before they sinned... Just like Adam knew before he sinned.

You have an element of inconsistency while simultaneously giving a sense of reasonableness...