Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
- Thread starter LifelongLearner
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Can you share a prayer you might say for someone you know who is lost?
Also, we are commanded to pray for all manner of individuals; the lost included. And we are to pray according to the will of God. If the will of God is different from the will of the individual being prayed for, wouldn't that be asking God to override the will of the individual?
Your own free will, huh? If you want to go by what Scripture says, then please do that.
Nothing good lives in my flesh. For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other. Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! The flesh brings forth fruit unto death. Romans 7 v 18, Galatians 5 v 17, Proverbs 20v 9, Job 14 v 4, Romans 7 v 5 (Romans 8 v 13 and James 1 v 15)
of course he did, Like I did and many other
But Not because God forced him or took his free will away. he still had to chose.
He had a lot of time to think about it while he waited for Gods servant to come to him
That is the difference in our belief! You think that because you turn to God that you are then changed. I believe that I was changed which made me have the desire to turn to God in faith.
No
I believe That God offered to change me, by offering me his gift. so he did all the work necessary to bring out that change of heart and mind and call out to him like the tax collector did
Andf you believe God forced you to recieve him (I know you would deny it. but if you did not have free will to chose to say yes or no. then in reality, God forced you)
I really do have to wonder why anyone thinks being able to choose what colour of socks to wear or whether to have salad or fries with lunch has any bearing on the eternal fate of one's soul. Haha. I just can't really wrap my mind around all the silliness that goes with some of these discussions, people claiming the will of the unregenerated man is free when he is captive to the will of the devil. Claiming they were free to obey when Scripture says the opposite. They redefine the very words of Jesus Christ Himself. I suppose they want us to believe He was calling Himself an atheist????????????????????????????????????????????? Just unbelievable.
If you believe this, then you believe as I do. So, I don't know what we are arguing about! Yes, I chose to believe and place my trust God. But only because He changed me. However, He not only offered - He caused it to happen. He chose me!
Your own free will, huh? If you want to go by what Scripture says, then please do that.
Nothing good lives in my flesh. For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other. Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! The flesh brings forth fruit unto death. Romans 7 v 18, Galatians 5 v 17, Proverbs 20v 9, Job 14 v 4, Romans 7 v 5 (Romans 8 v 13 and James 1 v 15)
Something good does live inside me now: the holy spirit and knowledge of his will (the word). Through that and my own will I put to death the works of the flesh.
That's good to know. However, that is not true of the person who is of the flesh, as yet unregenerated.
One of the blatant errors free willers make is ascribing to the unregenerated man what is only true of the regenerated.
Moses looked and saw a bush on fire that was not being consumed by the fire.
This caught his attention.
Not the bush on fire but the fire not burning the bush.
Moses made a choice to go investigate what he was seeing.
Clearly Moses used his Free Will to choose to investigate.
God is the same with Moses as He is with us because He never changes.
This caught his attention.
Not the bush on fire but the fire not burning the bush.
Moses made a choice to go investigate what he was seeing.
Clearly Moses used his Free Will to choose to investigate.
God is the same with Moses as He is with us because He never changes.
lol
I am amazed people try to compair choosing salvation as the same as choosing which socks to wear.
Instead of mocking people like you continually do. Sometimes it is better to just keep quiet.
Bullies talk as you do. I remember this stuff in high school. Sometimes we just need to grow up (myself included as I can be childish at times)
Are we talking about Scripture? Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Flesh serves the law of sin. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of Light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. The wicked reviles the Lord. Oh yes, but they can give to the poor. Not germane.
Um no
I do not believe God forces people to believe, or withholds the truth from others so thay can never believe..
He chose ho based on his will
as he said in john 6. This is the will of the father that whoever sees and believes.....
many however. do not see. why? Because God did not chose them? No, In jesus words. because they do not believe
Are you arguing against there being a difference between the lost and the saved?
Filthy rags.
Well, if I Look back in my life. So long I now i believed there is God and I prayed to him with my own made rules. With 17 someone told me, that I need to believe in Jesus. I told her I dont need Jesus. 7 years later I met a girl which I wantet to have as girlfriend. She told me she cant become boyfriend to her, because i am not a Christian. I was perplex. I answered: i am baptised as child, i am konfirmiert ( protestant church) why I am not a Christian. Then she told me from the bible what is a Christian. Several months later she took me to a youth Club. The youth Pastor told me about that what Jesus did for me at the cross. Suddenly I understood I cant come to God because of my sin. All the years before this was not clear to me. Then I said if this is true what Jesus did for me at the cross, then I will come to know to know about this Jesus.
This night I confessed Jesus all my sins and ask him to forgive me and to come into my life.
Since this moment I know I belong to the precious Lord Jesus Christ.
So I expieriened that he opend my heart for to understand. And I gave response. It was a strong desire, which I never had before.
So he is the Initiator. Did I had a free will?
I would say yes. But I never would be so proud to say I said Yes to God. Its my work.
It was Gods doing! Praise the Lord he did!
No. Being saved is a different thing than doing good. The unsaved can do good things. It's not enough to be saved, but good works are good works regardless of who does them.
Loving God is doing his comandments which is to love our neighbor as ourself. I've seen unregenerate people do that. That cannot be unpleasing to God.
And? What does that have to do with whether man's will is free to choose God and believe while under the power and influence of Satan?