Predestination or free will?

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ForestGreenCook

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F...,
Absolutely wrong and not scriptural.
We must repent, we must be baptized and then live a righteous life according to G-d's commandments and will....with full faith.

Call that process as you wish...it is required.
Preston, I understand your position, but all scriptures must compliment each other and not contradict each other. Repenting, believing, confessing, obedience, and many other commandments God has instructed his children to do to earn salvation, not eternal salvation, but a salvation we can enjoy right here on this earth, Salvation according to the Greek definition means "a deliverance". We are delivered from many things as we live here on this earth when we obey God's commandments, such as, when we have an illness and ask God to heal us of that illness and when he does, that is a deliverance ( salvation ). Somewhere, I think it is in Proverbs where God says "there are six things I hate, yea, even seven, and at the top of the list is a proud look ( pride ). God wants us to depend upon him for every thing and not upon our own understanding. I, very much of the time, find myself depending upon my own understanding and have been chastened by God for it. I think that we all have too much pride. Depending upon ones self to get to heaven is not pleasing to God, and is an action that tries to limit his power ( Dan 4:16 ). I think that before anyone can understand Christ's doctrine they must be able to know the difference in those deliverance. I believe that more salvation scriptures have reference to deliverance as we live our lives here on this earth than do the ones pertaining to our eternal salvation.
 

ForestGreenCook

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F....,
Man must not do anything...... to receive eternal salvation...what?
Where did you get that from?
The Bible tells us what we must do...Repent, be baptized and live a righteous life.

I don't call that works....but, some do.
Preston, if it is an action on your part to allow God to save you, then you are actually saving yourself by your actions ( works ). And limiting God's power ( Dan 4:16 ).
 

ForestGreenCook

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I did not accuse Danny wrongly.


Go back and read the post you quoted.

First, Danny stated:

"I know you don’t believe in God's Word" and

"You eject God's Word because God doesn't conform to your wicked expectations"

There was no call for those vicious words. God's Word tells us we are to be kind one to another, we are to be especially good to those who are of the household of faith, we are to each esteem other better than ourselves.

Secondly, Danny stated that "we don't sin as the reprobate do".

Do you believe your sins are any different than the sin of the unbeliever? I surely don't believe mine are any different. Sin is sin. Sin is "missing the mark; to err"





Do you believe the "no good thing" which dwells in your flesh is any better than the "no good thing" that dwells in the flesh of the unbeliever?
I believe that the natural man described in 1 Cor 2:14, that is void of the Spirit will not even consider that there is a God, because God is a Spirit, and we must worship him in spirit and truth, John 4:24, and the natural man cannot discern spiritual things. He also loves the state of sin that he is in.
 

ForestGreenCook

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Just for salvation and the choices related to that. I do not think it is really healthy knowing that God knows the outcomes of our choices. It is real easy to get cocky and overconfident while serving God. That usually brings on chastisement and a humbling experience.

God can use us mightily and still let us turn away and be lost in the end. Look at Solomon, we have two books written by him but he still turned to idolatry in the end. I think he had too much wisdom and got cocky. All said and done, we need to work out our salvation soberly with a fixed heart. :cool:
You cannot work out your own eternal salvation, but you can work out your own deliverance ( salvation ) here on this earth. All scripture must harmonize!
 

ForestGreenCook

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Just for salvation and the choices related to that. I do not think it is really healthy knowing that God knows the outcomes of our choices. It is real easy to get cocky and overconfident while serving God. That usually brings on chastisement and a humbling experience.

God can use us mightily and still let us turn away and be lost in the end. Look at Solomon, we have two books written by him but he still turned to idolatry in the end. I think he had too much wisdom and got cocky. All said and done, we need to work out our salvation soberly with a fixed heart. :cool:
As far as Solomon is concerned, He was eternally saved, and no one loses their eternal salvation. All that Christ died for on the cross will live in heaven with him without the loss of even one. My Father which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand ( John 10:29 ). We probably all have our idols, such as, our car, our house, even ourselves.
 

ForestGreenCook

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Romans 10:9-10 King James Version (KJV)
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

I guess Gods word spells it out.."good works" is a manifestation of God working in our lives AFTER weve recieved salvation...God doesnt NEED us to choose Him...we can do NOTHING (works included) that will EVER be good enough...salvation is a GIFT from my God to me SHOULD I (see scripture above)...
Jewel, We must keep the scriptures in context. The people that Paul is talking about is in verse 1, and they are those people who have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. We, as children of God, can experience a deliverance ( salvation ) here on this earth by an understanding of the truth of Christ's doctrine. I guess you are listening to some false teaching, and not understanding my explanation of the two different types of deliverance.. If Paul was talking about the natural man, void of the Spirit, they would not understand a word he is saying about those spiritual commandments.
 

John146

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Did you not read Eph 1 with an open mind,because it very plainly states that God did, indeed, predestined those that he choose.
Ephesians 1 clearly states that God has predestined those who are already in Him, in Christ. Predestination has nothing to do with salvation, but what is afforded in the future to those who are in Christ. The destination of those in Christ is the future adoption which is the redemption of the body (Romans 8:23). It is the future hope of the believer who is in Christ.
 

Deade

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As far as Solomon is concerned, He was eternally saved, and no one loses their eternal salvation. All that Christ died for on the cross will live in heaven with him without the loss of even one. My Father which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand ( John 10:29 ). We probably all have our idols, such as, our car, our house, even ourselves.
1 Cor. 6:9, 10 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." Nuff said.

Grinning-nodding-sm.gif
 
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I believe that the natural man described in 1 Cor 2:14, that is void of the Spirit will not even consider that there is a God, because God is a Spirit, and we must worship him in spirit and truth, John 4:24, and the natural man cannot discern spiritual things. He also loves the state of sin that he is in.
ok.

That does not answer the questions I asked:

Do you believe your sins are any different than the sins of the unbeliever?

Do you believe the "no good thing" which dwells in your flesh is any better than the "no good thing" that dwells in the flesh of the unbeliever?



 

preston39

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Preston, I understand your position, but all scriptures must compliment each other and not contradict each other. Repenting, believing, confessing, obedience, and many other commandments God has instructed his children to do to earn salvation, not eternal salvation, but a salvation we can enjoy right here on this earth, Salvation according to the Greek definition means "a deliverance". We are delivered from many things as we live here on this earth when we obey God's commandments, such as, when we have an illness and ask God to heal us of that illness and when he does, that is a deliverance ( salvation ). Somewhere, I think it is in Proverbs where God says "there are six things I hate, yea, even seven, and at the top of the list is a proud look ( pride ). God wants us to depend upon him for every thing and not upon our own understanding. I, very much of the time, find myself depending upon my own understanding and have been chastened by God for it. I think that we all have too much pride. Depending upon ones self to get to heaven is not pleasing to God, and is an action that tries to limit his power ( Dan 4:16 ). I think that before anyone can understand Christ's doctrine they must be able to know the difference in those deliverance. I believe that more salvation scriptures have reference to deliverance as we live our lives here on this earth than do the ones pertaining to our eternal salvation.
F...,
While some of your points are true, that spin of scriptures I cannot accept.
The Bible's list of obedience performances concerns our spiritual life....not earthly life.
G-d is more concerned of our permanent status than this temporary one...IMHO.
 

ForestGreenCook

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1 Cor. 6:9, 10 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." Nuff said.

View attachment 185316
In the scriptures, there are many names that the church is called by, such as, The Kingdom of God ( Mark 9:1, And he said unto them, verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power. ) Luke 16:16, The Law and the prophets were until John, since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. church of God, little flock ( Luke 12:32, Fear not little flock for it is the Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom ), church of the first born Hebrews 12:23. None of the sins listed in this scripture will enter into heaven, but some of the people who have commit them will, What about David the apple of God's eye? What about Paul. None of the people that are doing these sins will not be permitted to enter into the church. .
 

ForestGreenCook

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Jul 8, 2018
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F...,
While some of your points are true, that spin of scriptures I cannot accept.
The Bible's list of obedience performances concerns our spiritual life....not earthly life.
G-d is more concerned of our permanent status than this temporary one...IMHO.
If it is by our obedience performances that that gets into heaven, then that is salvation by works.
 

preston39

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If it is by our obedience performances that that gets into heaven, then that is salvation by works.
F...,

That is NOT what The Bible refers/Infers as works.
I assure of one thing...if one does not do the above...don't expect to receive eternal salvation....... nor the five crowns.
That is what The Bible teaches me and reflects G-d's intent..
 

ForestGreenCook

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Ephesians 1 clearly states that God has predestined those who are already in Him, in Christ. Predestination has nothing to do with salvation, but what is afforded in the future to those who are in Christ. The destination of those in Christ is the future adoption which is the redemption of the body (Romans 8:23). It is the future hope of the believer who is in Christ.
In the matter of adoption herein the US, First you pick out the one you want to adopt, second, you pay the price of the adoption, third, you go and pick the child up and take him home with you. First God picked out the children he wanted ( Eph 1:4 ) Second, God sent his Son to this earth to pay the price for the children he choose ( John 6:37-40 ). You are right, the third, and last step to complete the adoption is when Christ comes and takes us home.
 

ForestGreenCook

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F...,

That is NOT what The Bible refers/Infers as works.
I assure of one thing...if one does not do the above...don't expect to receive eternal salvation....... nor the five crowns.
That is what The Bible teaches me and reflects G-d's intent..
Preston, it would help me if you would give me book, chapter and verse for a reference to your statement. Sorry that I need a reference, I guess it is because I am not as well read as you.
 

Deade

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In the scriptures, there are many names that the church is called by, such as, The Kingdom of God ( Mark 9:1, And he said unto them, verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power. ) Luke 16:16, The Law and the prophets were until John, since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. church of God, little flock ( Luke 12:32, Fear not little flock for it is the Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom ), church of the first born Hebrews 12:23. None of the sins listed in this scripture will enter into heaven, but some of the people who have commit them will, What about David the apple of God's eye? What about Paul. None of the people that are doing these sins will not be permitted to enter into the church. .
The church was never referred to as the "kingdom." Christ Himself said to Pilate His kingdom was heavenly.

John 18:36 "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." :cool:
 

ForestGreenCook

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Jul 8, 2018
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F...,
While some of your points are true, that spin of scriptures I cannot accept.
The Bible's list of obedience performances concerns our spiritual life....not earthly life.
G-d is more concerned of our permanent status than this temporary one...IMHO.
Preston, I respect your desire to hold on to the scriptures that you have been taught as to your eternal salvation. My understanding and belief is different than yours, and it took me many years of studying and the revelation of the Holy Spirit within me to settle on the belief that I have, I was 62 years old before the scriptures began to harmonize and not (seemingly) contradict. I believe that the prophets of old were inspired in their writings by God himself. I further believe that the scriptures contained in the King James bible are instruction letters mostly written to the churches ( God's children ) as instructions as to how God's children should live their lives while they live here on this earth. I am sorry about injecting so much information about myself, but thought it might help you to understand why I uphold certain scriptures to explain my belief.
 

ForestGreenCook

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The church was never referred to as the "kingdom." Christ Himself said to Pilate His kingdom was heavenly.

John 18:36 "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." :cool:
Christ is the King of his kingdom, he is also the husband of his church and the church is his bride. Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I believe we do this at times when we are in church under the preaching of the gospel. 2 Sam 9, I believe that Mephibosheth is a type of the new testament church and feeds at the table of the king which is Jesus who set the church up. Luke 9:27, But I tell you the truth, there be some standing here, which will not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God.
 

ForestGreenCook

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Christ is the King of his kingdom, he is also the husband of his church and the church is his bride. Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I believe we do this at times when we are in church under the preaching of the gospel. 2 Sam 9, I believe that Mephibosheth is a type of the new testament church and feeds at the table of the king which is Jesus who set the church up. Luke 9:27, But I tell you the truth, there be some standing here, which will not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God.
Christ's kingdom, his church, is in this world, but not of this world, just as his elect are in this world, but not of this world
 

ForestGreenCook

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ok.

That does not answer the questions I asked:

Do you believe your sins are any different than the sins of the unbeliever?

Do you believe the "no good thing" which dwells in your flesh is any better than the "no good thing" that dwells in the flesh of the unbeliever?
sometimes they are, but the difference is that we will repent and ask God to forgive us and the natural man would never do that, because he does not think he is sinful,