Can We Really Exercise Free Will?

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Kroogz said:
Correct.
John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 John 2:2
and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

2 Corinthians 5:19
that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

1 Timothy 2:5-6
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, / who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.


Acts 16: 30-31
and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”


Equal privilege and equal opportunity for ALL.
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And the thing is..... repentance/believing/salvation is actually a legal right GIVEN by God as a gift to the sons of fallen Adam.

Some CHOOSE to actualize salvation by invoking this UNIVERSAL equal opportunity inalienable right. Others CHOOSE not to.
 
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sawdust said:
No, there is neither Jew nor Greek in Christ. The Deut. verse you quoted had to do with bringing a people out of Egypt and forming a nation from them. Nothing to do with individual salvation, for as we know, not all that came out from Egypt were believers.
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While I agree with your first statement, it doesn't apply to this discussion. A true Jew was always a spiritual Jew, and not simply a physical descendant of Abraham. And the verses I shared speak to how and why God chooses. You can ignore or dismiss them if you like.
 
cv5 said:
Aaahhhmmm......Paul is speaking to ethnic Israelites here. Of the sons of Jacob type.

And not anyone else. Certainly not gentile Christians.
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God is not writing to Gentiles in the OT. Should we ignore that, or find it's application to us today?
 
cv5 said:
And the thing is..... repentance/believing/salvation is actually a legal right GIVEN by God as a gift to the sons of fallen Adam.

Some CHOOSE to actualize salvation by invoking this UNIVERSAL equal opportunity inalienable right. Others CHOOSE not to.
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And we should remind people that believing is non-meritorious......every 10 posts or so.

The calvies try to make believing in the Lord Jesus Christ meritorious.( and they all claim to believe!)

There is absolutely no merit in faith. The merit ALWAYS goes to Christ. It's His plan and He does the saving.

Acts 16:31
 
Cameron143 said:
I don't know who they are. That's why we share the gospel.
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And you can't tell them what you really believe.

God has a chosen elect. It has absolutely nothing to do with what you hear, see or believe. You are blind and cannot hear. God may save you or you may be the un-elect. The natural man cannot do anything pertaining to God.
 
Kroogz said:
And we should remind people that believing is non-meritorious......every 10 posts or so.

The calvies try to make believing in the Lord Jesus Christ meritorious.( and they all claim to believe!)

There is absolutely no merit in faith. The merit ALWAYS goes to Christ. It's His plan and He does the saving.

Acts 16:31
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They sure toot their horn like it is though.
 
HeIsHere said:
Still waiting for the "success criteria" by which god chooses to regenerate/enable/particular selection of people before faith?

If there is no criteria for the selection it is random? Capisci.

What about the one's he does not choose, please explain why they do not make the cut?

The problem is the doctrine stop trying to project on to me.
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You are clearly the problem. The criteria is God's love and the fulfillment of His promises. That is all that is required. In expressing His love and fulfilling His promises, the gospel will go forth and through faith Jesus will save His people from their sin.
 
Kroogz said:
And you can't tell them what you really believe.

God has a chosen elect. It has absolutely nothing to do with what you hear, see or believe. You are blind and cannot hear. God may save you or you may be the un-elect. The natural man cannot do anything pertaining to God.
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I tell them only what I believe. One day you will understand this.
 
HeIsHere said:
Do you tell them Christ died for them?
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That would be a straight-up lie.

They would have to say, " Christ possibly died for you. and we don't know if you're one of the elect or not."

But you and I know, the calvies are masters at word salads. Get your ranch dressing ready, you have some salad coming your way!
 
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cv5 said:
And the thing is..... repentance/believing/salvation is actually a legal right GIVEN by God as a gift to the sons of fallen Adam.
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They must all be given by God - they are not within man's power to give to himself

Repentance - given by God:

[Rom 2:4 KJV] 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
[2Ti 2:25 KJV] 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

Belief - given by God:
[Phl 1:29 KJV] 29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

[Jhn 6:29 KJV] 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Salvation - given by God:

[Eph 2:1, 4-5 KJV] 1 And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins; ...
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved
[Eph 2:8-9 KJV]
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
 
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HeIsHere said:
Do you tell them Christ died for them?
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I can guarantee that they NEVER let on about this pre-birth lottery business if and when they preach.

They spring it on them later most likely. I wonder: do they then tell the prospective member that any deviation from this doctrine makes them a "blasphemer" who "doesn't know God"?

Just my best guess based on their inputs to this thread.
 
Cameron143 said:
Are you really this ignorant? It's NOT arbitrary. It's simply God's choice based on God's love and promises. God promised Abraham a large progeny = God's people. God promised Christ a great progeny = God's people.
For this all to be arbitrary would mean it occurs randomly. It does not. It was all planned before the foundation of the world.

This is your modus operandi: to keep insisting things are so that are not. This is why you are called disingenuous and dishonest.
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You got that part right, good to see.

But why do TULIP Christians clear off the table what you just said, and tell us, that we had nothing to do with God's pick?
 
Kroogz said:
That would be a straight-up lie.

They would have to say, " Christ possibly died for you. and we don't know if you're one of the elect or not."

But you and I know, the calvies are masters at word salads. Get your ranch dressing ready, you have some salad coming your way!
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All of the double-talk is a patch job on woefully erroneous doctrine.
 
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