Can We Really Exercise Free Will?

[Magenta]

"World doesn't mean world", you say? I suppose that applies to all 8 or 9 different definitions of the Gr. term "kosmos"? Or just one definition?

Apparently in his world Calvinists are the only ones to acknowledge that all does not always mean all.
Of course we know this is a false belief born of his derangement syndrome and unscrupulous desire
to mock and scoff a true Biblical understanding when he attaches "Calvin" to it in any way. A wooden
reading of Scripture leaves him with a faulty interpretation. “And it came to pass in those days, that
there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” Was the whole
world taxed? No, it was not. Read in its proper context, all is often used in a limited scope.

 

[Magenta]

Free willers will scream about context but then disregard it when convenient for them.

 

[reneweddaybyday]

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

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[Magenta]

James 1 v 17-18, Numbers 23 v 19c, and from Philippians 3 v 21 ~ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation. Does He promise and not fulfill? He has the power to subject all things to Himself.

 

[NightTwister]

James 1 v 17-18, Numbers 23 v 19c, and from Philippians 3 v 21 ~ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation. Does He promise and not fulfill? He has the power to subject all things to Himself.

So fun fact, your word images remind me of those books with colored dots they give you at the eye doctor. While I'm not "color blind", I struggle to find numbers among those dots. When I joined the Army they gave me this test, and everything with the Army is binary, you are or you aren't, so they listed me as color blind. All this is to say while I don't particularly mind them, they can be difficult for me to read on my computer, and pretty much impossible on my phone.

 

[Me_Clay]

This is simply not true of you. The person without the Spirit of God has no Spiritual understanding of the Spiritual things of God. They are opposed to them. This is explicitly articulated in Scripture but you oppose it and make up your version of temporary enablement. You also claim salvation is open to all but then contradict yourself and say some have no chance since their names were not written in the Book of Life from before the foundation of the world. You say it is because God knew they would not believe but Scripture says He saves us not based on anything we have done. You also promote the idea that the gospel is not a spiritual matter counted among the deep things of God. Free willers love to distort Scripture truth like you do. They have to in order to uphold their un-Biblical beliefs and they resist correction just like you do. These truths include God's plan for redemption, righteousness, forgiveness, and the believer's union with Christ. They are considered "deep things" because they were hidden from the world's wisdom and were only revealed to believers through the Spirit of God, not by human effort or worldly knowledge. These things (redemption, righteousness, forgiveness, etc) are all part of the gospel message.

According to Paulcan a carnal person be spiritual?

So fun fact, your word images remind me of those books with colored dots they give you at the eye doctor. While I'm not "color blind", I struggle to find numbers among those dots. When I joined the Army they gave me this test, and everything with the Army is binary, you are or you aren't, so they listed me as color blind. All this is to say while I don't particularly mind them, they can be difficult for me to read on my computer, and pretty much impossible on my phone.

Well, many already feel distasteful about it. To me, suffer not a witch to live.

 

[Magenta]

So fun fact, your word images remind me of those books with colored dots they give you at the eye doctor. While I'm not "color blind", I struggle to find numbers among those dots. When I joined the Army they gave me this test, and everything with the Army is binary, you are or you aren't, so they listed me as color blind. All this is to say while I don't particularly mind them, they can be difficult for me to read on my computer, and pretty much impossible on my phone.

Well, I have close to 900 fonts downloaded onto my laptop but it has only been quite recently that I have found a font that is suitable to use basically all the time, and of course there have been many I have never used. Before that I did like to use different ones so there was some variety, and if people told me they could not read something due to the font, I was more than willing to change it to something better for them. Aside from that I do take care in selecting the font style, colour, and enhancements to make it stand out from the background to make it easier to read. I also realize there is no pleasing all the people all the time, and folks like B_H just come across as deliberately hateful with an agenda. While he pretended to be a nice guy only wanting to discuss Scripture kindly and with respect, he repeatedly showed through his actions that that was a lie, and it was not the only thing he was dishonest about. Anyways, I hope this new font is easier for you to make out. I don't think these types of boards were meant to be viewed on small devices like phones, but there is a wide range of options for people now, and phones seem to have become more prevalent. I also notice that things look completely different on my phone! The colour contrast and chroma are all quite pumped up.

 

[NightTwister]

Well, I have close to 900 fonts downloaded onto my laptop but it has only been quite recently that I have found a font that is suitable to use basically all the time, and of course there have been many I have never used. Before that I did like to use different ones so there was some variety, and if people told me they could not read something due to the font, I was more than willing to change it to something better for them. Aside from that I do take care in selecting the font style, colour, and enhancements to make it stand out from the background to make it easier to read. I also realize there is no pleasing all the people all the time, and folks like B_H just come across as deliberately hateful with an agenda. While he pretended to be a nice guy only wanting to discuss Scripture kindly and with respect, he repeatedly showed through his actions that that was a lie, and it was not the only thing he was dishonest about. Anyways, I hope this new font is easier for you to make out. I don't think these types of boards were meant to be viewed on small devices like phones, but there is a wide range of options for people now and phones seem to have become more prevalent.

Some people are just going to be hateful no matter what. They don't need a reason. Here on Christian Chat, they ironically seem to be the ones who tell us we must live by the Law. As for your images, it's just not a big deal for me so don't change anything on my account.

 

[Bible_Highlighter]

"World doesn't mean world", you say? I suppose that applies to all 8 or 9 different definitions of the Gr. term "kosmos"? Or just one definition?

The meme was referring to the obvious contextual usage of the word “world,” because nothing in the passage supports redefining it as “the elect,” either lexically or contextually. I am aware that “world” can carry different shades of meaning depending on context, but it never means “the elect.” No dictionary or Greek lexicon has ever defined kosmos that way, and the KJV translators certainly did not translate it that way. Reading “the elect” into John 3:16 would imply that the KJV translators made a major translation error, which is simply not true.

In fact, the KJV translators were extraordinarily gifted linguists, with several of them mastering Hebrew and Greek from childhood and all of them fluent in multiple ancient and modern languages. Men such as John Bois, who could write Greek at age five and read Hebrew at age six; Lancelot Andrewes, who was fluent in fifteen languages; Edward Lively, one of Europe’s foremost Hebrew scholars; and Henry Savile, a brilliant Greek scholar from youth, demonstrate the unmatched linguistic ability behind the King James Bible. Their scholarship leaves no room for the idea that they misunderstood the meaning of “world.”

Contextually and lexically, “world” in John 3:16 cannot mean a small group of pre-selected individuals. If it did, then verses like John 3:17 and John 3:18 make no sense. The text itself shows that “world” refers to mankind, not an exclusive class of the elect.



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[Magenta]

Some people are just going to be hateful no matter what. They don't need a reason. Here on Christian Chat, they ironically seem to be the ones who tell us we must live by the Law. As for your images, it's just not a big deal for me so don't change anything on my account.

Eh, we know from many of his posts before he took up his crusade against me that he suffers from CDS. So he views people through that naggot infested beard and treats them accordingly to the amount of hatred he has for some man from hundreds of years ago who is not even responsible for many of the things they scream about. For instance the free willers here have multiple times misrepresented the historical record around Calvin to promote their hatred of him and those they claim follow him, which informs us that even those who consider themselves great researchers do not care about facts and truth and honesty. They love their logical fallacies too much, and integrity gets thrown under the bus in favor of their rejection of Scripture. Even after being corrected they would come back and repeat the lies.

 

[NightTwister]

Eh, we know from many of his posts before he took up his crusade against me that he suffers from CDS. So he views people through that naggot infested beard and treats them accordingly to the amount of hatred he has for some man from hundreds of years ago who is not even responsible for many of the things they scream about. For instance the free willers here have multiple times misrepresented the historical record around Calvin to promote their hatred of him and those they claim follow him, which informs us that even those who consider themselves great researchers do not care about facts and truth and honesty. They love their logical fallacies too much, and integrity gets thrown under the bus in favor of their rejection of Scripture. Even after being corrected they would come back and repeat the lies.

I gave up on this thread about 20K comments ago. I just peek in from time to time.

 

[Bible_Highlighter]

Many here would probably not object to watching Harry Potter or other films that heavily promote magic, because they see it as harmless fantasy. But little do they realize that art often imitates life, and witchcraft or magic is a very real darkness in our world. Imitating that darkness, even unintentionally, does not make it any less dark or evil. Sparkles, new age style gemstone necklaces, and similar elements all contribute to a visual world shaped by magic. Do you believe there are female angels with halos? She had a picture of one of them. This is fantasy and not reality.

I and another believer here are simply telling you that our souls are troubled by such imagery, even if you may not have the spiritual sensitivity to recognize the evil symbolism within them.

Every believer has certain sins they find especially troubling. If an image repeatedly displayed a sin that you personally find grievous, and it was paired with a Bible verse, would it be fair for others to say you are being hateful simply because you objected to it? Of course not. Discernment and revulsion toward certain sins is not carnal hatred in God’s eyes. Christians are commanded to abstain from all appearance of evil and to hate the garment spotted by the flesh. Objecting to imagery that reflects real world occultism is not hateful. It is simply having the same mind as God. God is pure and holy and He hates witchcraft in all its forms.



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[Magenta]

I gave up on this thread about 20K comments ago. I just peek in from time to time.

I understand... and yet I think it is important to clarify what is meant by free will. Many have no idea
what the discussion is even about, and assume that because man has volition and can make choices
that his will is free. This is a philosophical construct not supported by the Bible, for Scripture plainly
states that the natural man is enslaved to sin, and we are set free by Jesus, with the words "taken captive
to do the will of the devil" largely ignored by those who wish to pretend there is no such thing as a natural
man who can neither receive nor comprehend the spiritual things of God. What they do is conflate the
natural man with the spiritual man and ascribe to the former what is only possible of the latter. FWers
love to claim 1 Cor 2:14 does not mean what it says and they rewrite other verses also, such as Jesus
saying that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. A God-blaspheming FWer claimed it meant only
anyone who chooses to sin and those are only atheists, so only atheists are slaves to sin. LOL
So I don't blame you for departing the thread. Their adherence to error is deeply ingrained.

 

[Bible_Highlighter]

Another falsehood! Adam, whose will was truly free, determined the fate of his progeny -- just like the Last Adam the Federal Head of His Father's elect determines their eternal destiny (Jn 3:8; 5:21; Lk 10:22).

We all die in Adam in the fact that we inherited physical death from him and a sinful nature.
That does not mean there is no individual accountability.

1. Ezekiel 18:20

This is the strongest and most direct verse in Scripture on individual accountability.

Ezekiel 18:20 KJV
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”

God explicitly denies the idea of inherited guilt or predetermined damnation. Each person is accountable for his own sin.


2. Romans 14:12

Romans 14:12 KJV
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”


Every individual stands accountable personally, and not solely through Adam’s sin back in the garden.
Yes, it is true that in Adam, all die, but we can choose to be in Christ and be made alive.


3. 2 Corinthians 5:10

2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”


This verse destroys the Calvinist idea of predetermined salvation or damnation. Judgment is based on what each person has done.


4. Galatians 6:5

Galatians 6:5 KJV
“For every man shall bear his own burden.”


Not Adam’s burden. Not a predetermined decree. His own.


5. Proverbs 24:12

Proverbs 24:12 KJV
“…shall not he render to every man according to his works?”


God judges each person individually.


6. Revelation 20:12 to 13

Revelation 20:12 KJV
“…the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”


Revelation 20:13 KJV
“…they were judged every man according to their works.”


This is personal accountability at the final judgment.


7. Matthew 16:27

Matthew 16:27 KJV
“…then he shall reward every man according to his works.”


Jesus Himself taught individual accountability.


8. Jeremiah 17:10

Jeremiah 17:10 KJV
“I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”


Each man is judged by his own ways and his own doings.


9. Ecclesiastes 12:14

Ecclesiastes 12:14 KJV
“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”


Again, individual accountability.


10. Matthew 12:36 to 37

Matthew 12:36 KJV
“…every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”


Matthew 12:37 KJV
“For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”


A person’s own words condemn or justify him.




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[Bible_Highlighter]

Another falsehood! Adam, whose will was truly free, determined the fate of his progeny -- just like the Last Adam the Federal Head of His Father's elect determines their eternal destiny (Jn 3:8; 5:21; Lk 10:22).

Where does the Bible say that Adam was the one who was truly free?



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[reneweddaybyday]

Aside from that I do take care in selecting the font style, colour, and enhancements to make it stand out from the background to make it easier to read.

in this life, aging takes its toll on the eyes ... in fact, the whole body ... as shown in Ecclesiastes 12.

I know you take time to put together the panels you work on as you have explained in the past. If I can read, I read ... if I can't read, I scroll past.

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[Bible_Highlighter]

(Jn 3:8; 5:21; Lk 10:22).

John 3:8

John 3:8 KJV
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Calvinist claim

Calvinists argue this means regeneration is unconditional and irresistible, because the Spirit supposedly regenerates a person without their cooperation.

Correct explanation in context

Jesus is explaining the mysterious nature, not the method, of the new birth. He is teaching Nicodemus that the new birth cannot be seen with the eyes, just as the wind cannot be seen. The point is invisibility, not irresistibility.

Jesus does not say the Spirit regenerates without faith. In the same conversation Jesus insists on belief.

John 3:16 KJV
“Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”​

​

John 3:18 KJV
“He that believeth on him is not condemned.”​

​

John 3:36 KJV
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”​

The entire chapter teaches faith precedes life, not life precedes faith.

John 20:31 KJV
“…that believing ye might have life through his name.”​

The wind illustration teaches that spiritual birth is invisible, not unconditional.


John 5:21

John 5:21 KJV
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”​

Calvinist claim

Calvinists claim Jesus quickens only the elect and does so irresistibly.

Correct explanation in context

The verse is referring to resurrection power, not selection of individuals to salvation. Jesus explains two kinds of quickening in this same chapter.

1. Resurrection life in salvation
   John 5:24 KJV
   “He that heareth my word, and believeth… hath everlasting life.”

The condition is hearing and believing.

1. Resurrection life at the last day for all
   John 5:28 to 29 KJV
   “All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth…”

Everyone is resurrected by His will, including the saved and the lost.

Meaning:

“Whom he will” refers to His right and authority as the divine Son to give life, not to an arbitrary selection. He gives salvation life to believers, exactly as He states.

John 5:40 KJV
“And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”​

If they would come, they would receive life. This contradicts the Calvinist idea of irresistible regeneration.


Luke 10:22

Luke 10:22 KJV
“All things are delivered to me of my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father, and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”​

Calvinist claim

Calvinists argue Jesus only reveals the Father to the elect.

Correct explanation in context

The passage is about divine revelation, not unconditional election.

Jesus reveals the Father to those who are humble, receptive, and childlike in faith.

Luke 10:21 KJV
“…thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”​

God does not hide truth arbitrarily. He hides truth from the proud and reveals it to the humble and believing. That is a moral condition, not an unconditional decree.

Compare this with:

James 4:6 KJV
“God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”​

​

Psalm 25:9 KJV
“The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way.”​

Jesus reveals the Father to those whose hearts respond to God’s drawing, not to an elect group predetermined without conditions.




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[rogerg]

Some here will say they are not a Calvinist, but then some of them will later turn around and state they accept or agree with the teachings of John Calvin. Personally, I see this as misleading. They should be upfront that while they do not prefer to be called a Calvinist, they do hold to his teachings. Then again, if one's Calvinistic worldview of God does immoral things like create the majority of mankind for the sole purpose to be tortured for all eternity as their one and only fate or option, then this can affect your overall attitude or behavior for the worse.



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I hold only to the teachings of the Bible alone and not to any man's teaching. That I may have come to the same conclusions as Calvin should not be surprising as there is only one true gospel, not many, and that gospel is of Christ alone as Savior, upon which I, and probably he, through God's mercy, have come to base our spiritual beliefs upon.

 

[Bible_Highlighter]

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

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Contextually, I believe this in regards to hypocritical judgment and not that believers can never judge anything.

Jesus says for us to.: "....judge righteous judgment." (John 7:24).


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[Bible_Highlighter]

I hold only to the teachings of the Bible alone and not to any man's teaching. That I may have come to the same conclusions as Calvin should not be surprising

I have heard this same statement many times, but repeating it does not make it true.

From my perspective, Calvinism tends to appeal to a particular mindset that is drawn to removing personal responsibility.
The god presented in Calvinism removes that responsibility entirely, and some find comfort in that.

as there is only one true gospel, not many, and that gospel is of Christ alone as Savior, upon which I, and probably he, through God's mercy, have come to base our spiritual beliefs upon.

I also believe that embracing the Calvinistic system requires a person to suppress the moral awareness that God placed within them. To accept that God creates the vast majority of mankind for the sole purpose of eternal torture in flames, without their choice or involvement, is not a normal conclusion for a tender and biblically trained conscience. It demands that one silence the natural moral compass that God gives to every person.

This is why the doctrines of Calvinism appear so troubling to many Bible believing Christians.
Calvinism portrays a version of God that is foreign to Scripture and inconsistent with His revealed character.

It does not give glory to the gospel by any means.




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