Understanding God’s election

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cv5

Well-known member
Nov 20, 2018
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Man's great, awesome, mighty and sovereign "free" will is nowhere to be found in this chapter. :rolleyes: Ishmael and Esau did not get to choose their spiritual destiny anymore than Issac and Jacob did theirs.
Yup devastating ignorance is yours in great revenue.

And it is obvious that your grasp of the Old Testament is abysmal. Which of course leads to your total inability to comprehend Romans 9.

And even the humblest Bible student can arrive at the conclusion that Jacob did in fact CHOOSE to "hold on" to the covenant given to Abraham, and his inheritance and the responsibilities of priesthood. I mean that is his name for pity sake...."heel-holder" the "holder on-er". Which again is amplified In devastating manner in Gen 32:24-30. Jacob literally would not let go of the covenant promises given by Jesus God. Jacobs entire life was patterned in this manner. Jacob "held on" tenaciously. And every bit of it was an act of his own free will, An act of his own choosing.

Likewise Esau definitely made his own free will decisions to abandon it. He considered it worthless. He walked away from it. He pursued his own will and went his own way.

Your stygian ignorance is woefully embarrassing. Your posts are filled with wrongheaded unbiblical nonsense.
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
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Mockery. No one who reads you should be surprised .

You are as hate filled as you are ignorant.

The thing about unbeliever Trolls is, they think they can follow POES Law and get away with it.

You can't.
I'm not hate filled as you suppose. Neither am I ignorant or a troll. I am teasing you a bit because your knickers are in a knot, and because your words ring more true of you than me.
You actually believe you follow laws because you know their outward form, but neglect their understanding.
Perhaps you can share why God created the Sabbath?
 
Nov 30, 2024
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I'm not hate filled as you suppose. Neither am I ignorant or a troll. I am teasing you a bit because your knickers are in a knot, and because your words ring more true of you than me.
You actually believe you follow laws because you know their outward form, but neglect their understanding.
Perhaps you can share why God created the Sabbath?
The word Sabbath is in the New Testament of the King James 55 times.
 

JMH

Member
Nov 30, 2024
77
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I have not swamped the OP with a lot of Scripture quotations,
but hopefully you will recall the NT verses which confirm the following …


Man is doubly incapable of believing in Jesus and the Gospel
1 – Because of the disobedience (sin) of Adam and Eve,
all humans are born with an inherited sin nature,
and are bent on sinning instead of following God (Romans 3:9-18).
Having a saving faith is against their very nature!
2 - All unsaved humans are captive prisoners of Satan,
and are bent on doing whatever he wants them to do (2 Timothy 2:26).
Jesus came to set the captives of Satan free (Luke 4:18).
Having a saving faith is against our enemy’s plans for them,
which, of course, is spending eternity with Satan and his demons in hell.
If the God-worshipping Lydia (Acts 16:14) needs God to give her the necessary
faith to believe in Jesus and the Gospel, surely everyone does also!
Similarly, the “anyones” who believe in Jesus in verses such as John 3:16
are the ones whom God has given saving faith!


Father God elects (chooses) and calls whomever He wishes
Jesus says to the elect, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you ….” (John 16:15).
Surely, here is a strong hint that we should investigate this matter further.
Romans chapter 9 is the most famous proponent of God’s election …

“… that the purpose of election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls.
… So then, it is not of him who wills (to be elected, chosen, and called),
nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” (Romans 9:11-16)

God gives grace to whomever He chooses, but no one deserves grace (unmerited favor)!
God gives justice to whomever He chooses, and everyone deserves justice!
God wishes that all could be saved, but it is not possible because He insists on His justice.

“You love justice and hate evil.” (Hebrews 1”9)
God is not willing that any (of us) should perish, but that all (of us) should repent …
… the “us” referring to His elect, who are promised salvation.
Christians are called to confess and repent of their on-going sins,
and the blood of Jesus will cleanse them of all their unrighteousness (1 John 1:7-9).


The reason why Father God chooses some, but not others
Father God chooses to elect some people for His great pleasure.
He chooses to elect some to demonstrate to the whole world
His great love, mercy, grace, etc. (Romans 9:23).
He chooses to elect some to be companions for His Son throughout eternity (Scriptural?).
Those not chosen are given justice, which sadly is what they deserve.

Those whom Father God gives to Jesus are guaranteed salvation
This is all about the unconditional security of the born-again believer.
Multitudes of NT verses are God’s promises of salvation given to His elect.
Surely, those of us who are born again should be continually praising God and
thanking Him for choosing us … and for the Holy Spirit sanctifying us unto holiness
… and for Jesus interceding for us before Father God in heaven.
John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"
Everyone can usually quote John 3:16 but very rarely continue on with the rest of scripture. It's God a lone who changes the heart of His elect. By Grace we have been saved and not of our works lest anyone boast. When you meditate on that each day His grace becomes greater and greater and greater. We serve an amazing God!!
 

JMH

Member
Nov 30, 2024
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What difference can prayer make if God has already determined all things that will come to pass?
Prayer is how we speak to and hear our Holy Heavenly Father, It's not that we have to pray it's that we want to pray.
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
3,435
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What difference can prayer make if God has already determined all things that will come to pass?
Prayer can be a means for God to reveal to you that you are walking in the Spirit.
For, for the spiritual, God will lead us into our prayers; thought it may seem that we did it on our own.
For when you pray for something righteous and it comes to pass?
That will be God's confirmation that you are walking as He desires.

Your prayer does not make something happen. Your prayer was made by you to reveal what God knows was to happen.
It happened because you grew enough in truth to know how God thinks in a matter.

grace and peace ...................
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,174
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Prayer is how we speak to and hear our Holy Heavenly Father, It's not that we have to pray it's that we want to pray.
Prayer is our means of communicating with the Lord. He communicates to us through his word. Biblically, the Lord can be touched with our prayers and supplication, and has the authority to answer our prayers, even change his mind on matters (as long as it does not interfere with his plans according to scripture).
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,174
3,699
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Your prayer does not make something happen.
Many examples in scripture say otherwise. Prayer can cabuse things to happen, that would not and should not have happened, but because we prayed, God made a way.
 

Rufus

Well-known member
Feb 17, 2024
3,052
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Is a one year old child just learning to think with language a sinner?

Yes!

But, does he deserve Hell?

Careful what you ask for.
So, tell me...Since YOU think it would be unjust of God to sentence such child to hell, then you must think that a just God must save all infants, babies and youngsters who have died without any true knowledge of good and evil? If so...on what basis since the very young cannot exercise faith
 

Rufus

Well-known member
Feb 17, 2024
3,052
411
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God gave them time to discover what their choices would be.
Choices that God in His omniscience already knew before they were born.


God knowing how one would choose, is not to be equated with God making them make that decision.

You're so limited. (God always knew I would say that about you).
And where in Romans 9 does it say that? You see how you so quickly and willingly you pervert God's word by adding your carnal presuppositions to it? You just read into any given text anything you want just as long as it supports your false gospel. And what part of this passdage, can't you understand:

Rom 9:10-15
10 Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac
. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad — in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls — she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13 Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses,

"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." ?
NIV

In eternity God decreed their eternal destiny. The "sacred, vaunted, sovereign 'free' wills" of the people involved in the two examples of divine election are nowhere found in this passage. Esau was born a rebel and he died a rebel against God because that was his eternal destiny. Likewise, Jacob was also born a sinful rebel, yet because God decreed in eternity to save him then in space and time Jacob eventually trusted in the Lord unto salvation of his soul. Jacob was the recipient of God's Effectual Call (v.12) And that was his divinely appointed destiny.

And this next verse clinches it ever so tightly:

Rom 9:16
16 It does not, THEREFORE, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.
NIV

The "therefore" looms quite large in this verse because Paul is drawing the logical conclusion to what he just finished saying in the previous verses. Notice that the verse doesn't say, "It does, therefore, at the end of the day ultimately depend on man's desire and effort to be saved".

And have you never read:

1 Peter 2:8
8 and,


"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."


They stumble because they disobey the message — which is also what they were destined for.?
NIV

And Peter again wrote:

2 Peter 2:3
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
NIV

These false teachers sound a lot like you and your pastor (a/k/a "good teacher"). You, like they, just make things up when it suits your purpose -- just as you did in your post above. And I would suggest that "their condemnation" has long been hanging over them" for all eternity!

And then we have this passage:

Rom 9:22-24
22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath
prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory24 even us, whom he also [effectually ] called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
NIV

And when did God make all this preparation? In eternity -- before any saint or sinner did anything good or bad!

Also, God's foreknowledge is nowhere to be found int his passage. Your absurd view of election has God electing his elect after they first elected God! :rolleyes: Moreover, God chose Jacob over Esau BEFORE he "saw" either of them do anything good or bad. God's election is not based on a scintilla of merit found in any sinner simply because there is no good in any sinner! Only God alone is good (Mk 10:18)! (I wonder why Jesus didn't make an exception for "innocent" infants, babies and young children. Maybe you can run that by your "good teacher" and get his take? Maybe innocence isn't good enough to gain eternal life?) :rolleyes: I think it's written somewhere that only the righteous or holy will see God. But I will stand to be corrected...

There's an awful lot in Romans 9 that you obviously do not desire to understand. Instead, you're quite content to corrupt and distort the clear teaching of this passage to advance your false version of the gospel. God's decretive will is front and center in this passage, yet you turn around and try to make man's will the centerpiece instead -- all based on your carnal idea of what true justice is.