Understanding God’s election

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Rufus

Well-known member
Feb 17, 2024
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And, much of my growth also after I left.
Though the school was anti-fundy in many ways.
Many came out of fundy backgrounds and were glad to find a place to grow beyond it.
Yet, it was still too fundy for my needs.

And, you are free to think as you do towards free willers.

They did not understand why they had free will granted to them by grace.
Its easy to do...
And, neither do you understand how God granted you to free will by grace.
That is why we must be saved by grace.
For, grace frees up our imprisoned will.

Merry Christmas....
But you have no idea how it "frees up our imprisoned will"! God sets his elect FREE from their multi-faceted imprisonment so that they enabled to freely choose to obey the Gospel.

And Merry Christmas to you, as well.
 

Rufus

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Feb 17, 2024
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God chose that specific line to carry forth the promised seed of Genesis 3:15. They served God’s purpose according to the seed.
Fine! I have no problem with that. But when you say that God's elect = only purpose or service, then that becomes very problematic. God's elect are actually real flesh and blood human beings who he has chosen to be his "peculiar" people through his salvation.
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
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But you have no idea how it "frees up our imprisoned will"! God sets his elect FREE from their multi-faceted imprisonment so that they enabled to freely choose to obey the Gospel.

And Merry Christmas to you, as well.
If someone dies. His soul leaves his body.

Is that soul freed from the flesh that opposes God?
 

Rufus

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Feb 17, 2024
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If someone dies. His soul leaves his body.

Is that soul freed from the flesh that opposes God?
God saves SOULS, not the skin that drapes our bones! (The body comes later at the General Resurrection.) The purpose of the new birth (a/k/a spiritual resurrection) is to impart spiritual life to the soul, which of course will also impact the human heart -- another immaterial aspect to man. That life that is imparted overcomes [spiritual] death which frees man FROM his imprisonment to his sinful nature, from the law which is the power of sin, from death over which Satan controls and from the utter darkness of our souls.
 

Rufus

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Feb 17, 2024
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I would like to propose that all participants in this thread make a pact (or covenant, if you will) to sheath our swords and put away our knives from henceforth. Let us all forgo the insults, the derogatory name calling, straw men, red herrings, deflections, and all other sundry forms of ad hominem attacks and instead make a concerted effort to season our speech with grace and LIGHT -- IOW replace the amount of noise on this thread with genuine substance by giving straightforward honest answers to each others questions or in a dissenting rebuttal to another's posts. Let us all strive to be civil, polite and compose intelligent, thought-provoking posts.

Besides...this idea also makes for a good New Year resolution . :)
 
Dec 7, 2024
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I would like to propose that all participants in this thread make a pact (or covenant, if you will) to sheath our swords and put away our knives from henceforth. Let us all forgo the insults, the derogatory name calling, straw men, red herrings, deflections, and all other sundry forms of ad hominem attacks and instead make a concerted effort to season our speech with grace and LIGHT -- IOW replace the amount of noise on this thread with genuine substance by giving straightforward honest answers to each others questions or in a dissenting rebuttal to another's posts. Let us all strive to be civil, polite and compose intelligent, thought-provoking posts.

Besides...this idea also makes for a good New Year resolution . :)
Amen.
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
3,448
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And, I asked what?

If someone dies?
His soul leaves his body.

Is that soul freed from the flesh that opposes God?

Your answer?

God saves SOULS, not the skin that drapes our bones! .
There is a pattern you follow that drags each exchange sideways and into a ditch.

One more time, please?

If someone dies?
His soul leaves his body.

Is that soul then freed from the flesh that opposes God?

Now here is what you apparently need to know:

Galatians 5:17

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.


Got it?
 
Jan 13, 2016
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Fine! I have no problem with that. But when you say that God's elect = only purpose or service, then that becomes very problematic. God's elect are actually real flesh and blood human beings who he has chosen to be his "peculiar" people through his salvation.
Once a person gets saved by hearing and believing the gospel, they are chosen to serve God.
 
Oct 12, 2017
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They cannot hear nor believe the Gospel nor serve God's will until God makes it so.
1st John chapter 2
Luke 24
1st Corinthians 2
2nd Corinthians 3
There are basically two reactions by people that God's drawing has had an effect upon.

1.) Those who wish the Jesus they heard about were real.
But, can not believe it.

2.) Those who hear about Jesus, and want nothing to do with it.
It's foolishness.

Its those who wish what they heard about Jesus were true, but can not believe it?
Those ones God "shocks" with the surprise of being made able to believe by grace.

But... before they believed?
They could only wish Jesus were real. They loved the idea.
Yet, not having the power within themselves to be able to believe he is real.
Those ones are positive to God's drawing.
Those ones, God saves.

There is a balance...
 
Oct 12, 2017
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They cannot hear nor believe the Gospel nor serve God's will until God makes it so.
1st John chapter 2
Luke 24
1st Corinthians 2
2nd Corinthians 3
Start showing us only numbers, please?

Take a few moments to copy and paste what those passages are saying.
And, stop broadstroking by simply citing entire chapters.
What you do makes no sense, and if they are just as lazy as you are?
They won't want to be bothered to look up what it is you did not want to copy and paste.

Do you realize how much information is to be found in entire Luke24?
How do we know what it was you were citing to make your point?

You do the work if you wish to make a point.
Luke 24?

How did this make your point?

2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

Its sloppy debating when you do that.
 

rogerg

Well-known member
Jul 13, 2021
3,889
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I would like to propose that all participants in this thread make a pact (or covenant, if you will) to sheath our swords and put away our knives from henceforth. Let us all forgo the insults, the derogatory name calling, straw men, red herrings, deflections, and all other sundry forms of ad hominem attacks and instead make a concerted effort to season our speech with grace and LIGHT -- IOW replace the amount of noise on this thread with genuine substance by giving straightforward honest answers to each others questions or in a dissenting rebuttal to another's posts. Let us all strive to be civil, polite and compose intelligent, thought-provoking posts.

Besides...this idea also makes for a good New Year resolution . :)
After reading @Genez's recent post, I feel compelled to ask you, for how long?
 

Kroogz

Well-known member
Dec 5, 2023
866
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You are stuck with the nipple of a baby bottle in your mouth!
You guys never grow up.
Always talking about how you think you were born....
Never growing up and leaving the cradle.
This. When I found Pastor Bob and he started teaching.......I KNEW I was a babe in Christ. The first 15 years I was stuck at the Gospel message and learning how to be "nice" and "acceptable."

I had absolutely, positively NO IDEA how to live the Christian way of life. And by reading through the last few pages......It seems it runs rampant in most.

The Colonol Is a legend in my book. He feeds one the meat to become a winner believer.

Pastor Bob was a lot like him. Thieme actually took him aside one time and told him to slow down a bit. He was teaching everyday and sometimes 2 or 3 times a day! Each class was far better than any "school" class.

Finding these guys was right on par with my salvation experience.

Keep up the good fight and GOOD NEWS.
 
Oct 19, 2024
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I would like to propose that all participants in this thread make a pact (or covenant, if you will) to sheath our swords and put away our knives from henceforth. Let us all forgo the insults, the derogatory name calling, straw men, red herrings, deflections, and all other sundry forms of ad hominem attacks and instead make a concerted effort to season our speech with grace and LIGHT -- IOW replace the amount of noise on this thread with genuine substance by giving straightforward honest answers to each others questions or in a dissenting rebuttal to another's posts. Let us all strive to be civil, polite and compose intelligent, thought-provoking posts.

Besides...this idea also makes for a good New Year resolution . :)
Amen. This is why I posted to Mem in #5409 by way of a constructive criticism that we try to improve our discussions on CC by doing what we can to keep the general direction going toward essential agreement/unity rather than being content (or even seeming to prefer) getting stuck going in circles regarding how to interpret GW. I suggested that we might accomplish this goal if we would bother to provide quotes when we accuse someone of saying something objectionable, because this should enable folks to clear up confusion and misunderstanding rather than veering off into ad hominem attacks, projection and arguing (cf. 1TM 6:3-4, 2TM 2:23, TIT 3:9-10, RM 16:17, 1CR 1:10, PHP 4:2).

Another suggestion is that instead of adopting "either/or thinking" as our default position we employ "both/and harmonization", which is often needed in order to sew Scripture together into one tapestry without cutting off parts. This should help us avoid the temptation to be combative and judgmental, although that might seem like more fun.

Finally, it seems to me there is a dearth of discussion about God’s all-lovingness, which may reflect our own hateful tendencies, so let us be wary of blaspheming or insulting the righteousness of the HS as well as each other and persevere in being humble or teachable, admitting our fallibility. (I so resolve for the NY :^)
 
Nov 21, 2020
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Yes, the Lord was God’s servant to this purpose. As I stated, election is to service.
Yeah Salvation service, being a Saviour Mk 10:45

For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister[serve], and to give his life a ransom for many.

Phil 2:5-8


5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Then the ones He saves is for spiritual service Heb 9:14

14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Why are you trying to make things Non Spiritual and about salvation ? Thats tampering with Truth
 
Jan 13, 2016
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Yeah Salvation service, being a Saviour Mk 10:45

For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister[serve], and to give his life a ransom for many.

Phil 2:5-8


5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Then the ones He saves is for spiritual service Heb 9:14

14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Why are you trying to make things Non Spiritual and about salvation ? Thats tampering with Truth
Your post proves my point. Jesus was God’s elect, his holy servant. When one believes the gospel and is spiritually placed in Christ, they are chosen to now serve the Lord. You put the carpet before the horse.