Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
- Thread starter LifelongLearner
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No, but rather consider that Jesus offered (in good faith) the sop of fellowship to Judas at probably all four Passover suppers.
While the host of angels looked down on the spectacle.
Why can't God!? God's elect were fully justified in His eyes in eternity when he chose the elect in Christ! You seem to forget that God's grace was given to the elect before the beginning of time (2Tim 1:9)...AND that the elect are also justified by that grace (Rom 3:23-24).
You mean here?
- Clause 1: The soulish man willfully refuses the Spirit’s teaching.
- Clause 2 (gar = “for”): His reason is that he considers it to be nonsense.
- Clause 3 (kai = “and so”): The result of this judgment is that he cannot truly know it.
- Clause 4 (hoti = “because”): The deeper reason for his inability is that these truths require spiritual discernment.
The core of the free will camp's belief is corrupt and flies in the face of what Scripture teaches
Since God alone gives understanding, then it takes the Holy Spirit to efficaciously open a sinner's HEART in order to discern.
You started well. The first 2 points are correct. The natural man believes the the things of the Spirit of God are foolishness; hence He will not receive them. You begin err after that. You attribute not knowing to believing the things of God are foolishness. The verse attributes not knowing to the fact that the things of God are spiritually discerned. You draw a conclusion that scripture does not, likely to prop up your man-centered ideology.
Hhhhmmmm interesting. Very familiar and consistent actually.
cannot does not mean can
Jhn 14:17
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, ***because*** it seeth G2334 him G846 not, G3756 (CONSEQUENTLY) neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
2334 theōréō (from 2300 /theáomai, "to gaze, contemplate") – gaze on for the purpose of analyzing (discriminating).
And who in Israel did not "see" Jesus and His mighty works? Evidently, turning your back rather than gazing upon/analyzing/contemplating Jesus has its consequences. Sounds much like the bronze serpent event.
Num 21:9
So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Wrong again. This MUST be categorized as a willful intentional attempt at promulgating a false teaching.
Wow, double election. He chooses the chosen.
He elected certain believers to be in Christ. Why He chose you and me to be in Christ and not the Garden, or the Ark or Israel, that's a mystery only known to God.
God does not elect people to salvation and then elect them again to be in Christ. There is no double election.
The Gospel + The Spirit's conviction/convincing give everyone the means and the opportunity to choose to believe or reject. Once the soulish man (1Cor2:14) stops rejecting God and His Gospel as nonsense and turns to believing it, he becomes a nepios believer still struggling with the flesh but feeding on the milk of the Word (1Cor3:1) and at some point able to digest the meat - the deep things of God (1Cor2:10) and being of the mature (1Cor2:6).