Can We Really Exercise Free Will?

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cv5 said:
The Church Fathers were not Calvinist.
And neither should you or anyone else be of that ilk.

BTW.....it's actually better defined as the Reformed TRADITION. And a lot of heavyweight Churches buy into it.

Fortunately, I am not the least afflicted, as I actually know better. Lucky me huh?
Well.....luck and thousands of hours of Bible lectures.
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here you go @Magenta here it is again.

Religious racism is what your dealing with.

But it gets worse m, someone telling you to abandon your life long faith.

That gets worse as it makes you feel worthless.

Responding to people when you feel this way, you may not give a response that is normally in your character, this is where they've then stole something from you.

Or when they've pulled yet another piece from you.

But you can rise above it and just respond in kindness.

A nice thought here is through the aid of our church fathers many have been led 😊
 
HeIsHere said:
I think @cv5 makes it clear that your slander is not born out by scripture, so I am borrowing from him as he puts it so nicely.

Evidently faith is the antithesis of boasting......

Rom 3:27
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
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You guys are the boasters. We credit God for our salvation. You boast in your choice.
 
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rogerg said:
[Eph 2:1, 5 KJV] 1 And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins; ... 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved

[Eph 2:1, 5 NIV] 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ... 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.

[Eph 2:1, 5 ESV] 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ... 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
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Let's fill in some strategically - albeit absurdly - left blanks:

NKJ Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Seems like pretty functional corpses even though the function is dysfunction, which is the point. Note the disobedience.

2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. Isa. 59:2 NKJ

Do you think Paul may have been familiar with Isaiah, let alone with what "spiritual death" means?
 
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studier said:
Let's fill in some strategically - albeit absurdly - left blanks:

NKJ Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Seems like pretty functional corpses even though the function is dysfunction, which is the point. Note the disobedience.

2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. Isa. 59:2 NKJ

Do you think Paul may have been familiar with Isaiah, let alone with what "spiritual death" means?
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There is no question as to what being spiritually dead means. It is clear beyond any debate: dead is dead- a lack of life - which is why God (alone) gave them life while they were yet dead
 
Cameron143 said:
You guys are the boasters. We credit God for our salvation. You boast in your choice.
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LOL.
God chose you, regenerated you before faith, and leaves others in their sin, but that is not a place from which one can boast.

Not really sure how one boasts in humility, if you do than you did not humble yourself.

I can never understand for the life of me how acknowledging that you are a sinner, and in need of help because you are weak could in some way indicate that you are arrogant and think yourself as better than others.

But that is part of the Reformed playbook to support their non-biblical soteriology.
 
I can't believe the directive to 'resist the devil and he will flee from you' because then I would be boasting? :confused:
 
studier said:
Let's fill in some strategically - albeit absurdly - left blanks:

NKJ Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked
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This verse in it's entirety should be enough to suggest an unsaved person doesn't have any freedom.

If an unbeliever is at work, he will challenge the verse all over the bible.

The dangers associated to that is a person get led astray. (Stop them in there tracks, ask the question, do do you really believe an unbeliever has any real freedom here ?

If a believer is at work posting this thread they will accept it in a blink of any eye.
 
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HeIsHere said:
LOL.
God chose you, regenerated you before faith, and leaves others in their sin, but that is not a place from which one can boast.

Not really sure how one boasts in humility, if you do than you did not humble yourself.

I can never understand for the life of me how acknowledging that you are a sinner, and in need of help because you are weak could in some way indicate that you are arrogant and think yourself as better than others.

But that is part of the Reformed playbook to support their non-biblical soteriology.
Click to expand...
Humbly acknowledging that one is a sinner and in need of a Savior is awesome. However, the natural man never comes to this estate except for the convicting work of the Spirit. It's not something that the natural man either desires or seeks, and is only evident when the Spirit is at work in an individual.

Let's see how you misrepresent this.
 
Everyone of us, if someone proclaims differently then they are lying, all of us had a moment when we bent down, cried out, went to the altar, did as the preacher said and prayed that led to our Salvation. During the Preaching there was a moment we just felt and knew I need this.

But the truth is everyone of us could have resisted, rejected that feeling, walked away from it forever.

But we didn't do any of that.

We continued praying and experiencing the presence of God.

Each one of us used Free Will.
 
studier said:
Let's fill in some strategically - albeit absurdly - left blanks:

NKJ Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Seems like pretty functional corpses even though the function is dysfunction, which is the point. Note the disobedience.

2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. Isa. 59:2 NKJ

Do you think Paul may have been familiar with Isaiah, let alone with what "spiritual death" means?
Click to expand...

Nowhere does scripture correlate "dead" with being born with an innate moral inability to respond positively to the Good News of Christ Jesus.

Seems to me "the evil one" however must have missed "dead" class in heaven… or is so self-deceived that he rejects determinism… for he tries to take the seed of God’s truth out of hard hearts “lest they believe and are saved.” Luke 8:12.
 
Cameron143 said:
Humbly acknowledging that one is a sinner and in need of a Savior is awesome. However, the natural man never comes to this estate except for the convicting work of the Spirit. It's not something that the natural man either desires or seeks, and is only evident when the Spirit is at work in an individual.

Let's see how you misrepresent this.
Click to expand...

The evil one however must have missed "reformed" class in heaven… or is so self-deceived that he rejects determinism… for he tries to take the seed of God’s truth out of hard hearts “lest they believe and are saved.” Luke 8:12.

Keep trying. ;)
 
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studier said:
Here, let me adjust the font....

PROJECTION.
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So you, too, think that Adam manifested faith in the post-Fall narrative as CV5 does? And you, TOO, believe that Adam was this superhero who sinned only because he wanted to save Eve who he loved so much even though he threw her under the bus? And CV5's latest theory is about commandments and man's ability to keep them is that God didn't give the Law of Moses to Israel expecting full, perfect and complete compliance -- only compliance "in good faith". You agree with all his unsubstantiated theories?
 
HeIsHere said:
Nowhere does scripture correlate "dead" with being born with an innate moral inability to respond positively to the Good News of Christ Jesus.

Seems to me "the evil one" however must have missed "dead" class in heaven… or is so self-deceived that he rejects determinism… for he tries to take the seed of God’s truth out of hard hearts “lest they believe and are saved.” Luke 8:12.
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Then I wonder why God is only the God of the living and not the dead!?
 
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HeIsHere said:
The evil one however must have missed "reformed" class in heaven… or is so self-deceived that he rejects determinism… for he tries to take the seed of God’s truth out of hard hearts “lest they believe and are saved.” Luke 8:12.

Keep trying. ;)
Click to expand...
Always changing the subject when you are shown to be wrong.
 
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