Predestination or free will?
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M...,
That is incorrect.
Further, no one is a slave to Christ.
Slave definition;.....
1: a person held in servitude as the chattel of another
2: one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence
See the conflict?
It is true, we don't sin any loner willfully. We sin passively, and we repent immediately.
We will struggle with this corrupt body of death until we receive our glorified bodies. the main thing is we don't give ourselves over to a life of sin, we at war against sin all the time. The Holy Spirit always gives us victory over all of our sins, so they can't overtake us or consume us.
All of us sin wilfully at times.
What is "sinning passively"? And not everyone does repent immediately.
Yep.
Yep.
The gift of the Holy Spirit guarantees our salvation. But many Christians struggle with sin in areas of our lives.
M...,
A repented person does not.... passively/willfully ....sin.
Yes...unwillingly...on occasion when trapped...which is usually caused by our letting our guard down for a few minutes giving satan a opening.
Jesus disagrees,
We all sin and many times justify it. It's in out nature. If we could be perfect then Jesus died for nothin.
Matt 5 has lists of examples, here is a sample.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
C
claysmithr
Guest
A Calvinist dies and goes to Heaven.
He sees two doors. One is labeled free will, and the other is predestination. He walks through the predestination door and an angel asks him why he was here. The Calvanist replies, "I saw this door and decided to walk through it." The angel replies, "You can't be here, you chose this."
Dejected, he goes into the other door. Its angel asks him why he was here.
He replies, "I had no choice"
He sees two doors. One is labeled free will, and the other is predestination. He walks through the predestination door and an angel asks him why he was here. The Calvanist replies, "I saw this door and decided to walk through it." The angel replies, "You can't be here, you chose this."
Dejected, he goes into the other door. Its angel asks him why he was here.
He replies, "I had no choice"
We don't sin occasionally, we sin constantly. That's why we are told to pray always. The flesh never rests, it seeks it's own way all the time so we can't afford to rest either.
The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
(Psalm 94:11)
(Psalm 94:11)
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
(Psalm 118:8)
(Psalm 118:8)
I've never heard anyone put it this way...I think I agree...
You look at your freewill as something that kept you from God.
I've seen other men look at their freewill as something good.
i have often thought, that everything i've done according to my own will and choices has been vanity and evil, but everything that God has done in and through me, according to His will and His purpose, has been virtue, and goodness.
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)
(Romans 7:18)
the will that is present in me that wills what is right is not from me, but from Him.
in that sense my free will only gets me in trouble, but His predestination saves: Saul became Paul, and when he did, it was no longer Saul/Paul who lives, but Christ dwelling in him. Saul acted 'freely' according to Saul's will. Paul over and over described himself as a bondservant ((yes, "slave" is a fully justifiable translation)) of Christ.
an Arminian dies and then decides not to go to hell.
purgatory is where Arminians who haven't made up their minds yet hang out.
how would you describe the exchanging of the heart of stone for one of flesh ((Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26, Jeremiah 24:7 etc)) and the renewal of the mind ((Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Ephesians 4:23 etc)) ?
you think that's mockery?
i think you spoke before you thought.
i think i see an overwhelming number of people look at their freewill as absolutely sacrosanct, as though the #1 absolute truth about which all other truths must revolve.
so much so that they are willing to conform their understanding of the nature of God if it conflicts with their freewill, but they are not willing to conform their understanding of their own free agency if it conflicts with the sovereignty of their Creator.
we are quicker to let go of the idea that God is over all things than the idea that man is master of his own destiny.
I actually half agree with this, but feel we are slave one way or the other. Either we are slaves of sin, or slaves of Christ.
Then the question becomes: are you a slave of Christ because you chose Him with your freewill?
Or are you a slave of Christ because He first drew you, healed your blindness, planted a seed of faith inside you, and gave you the Holy Spirit to finish the good work He began in you?