Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
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Is that like temporary enablement as others promote, though nowhere found in NT Scripture, which
says of believers that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, sealed unto the day of redemption?
God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
Hmmm, that was on my clipboard. We have people here who say God is unfair for revealing Himself the way He has
from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Bible in Revelation, that is to say, differently from person to person.
Of course the same person applauds the idea of God being an unjust tyrannical monster kidnapping people against
their free will if He were to act unilaterally. They call salvation a lottery and say God does things for no good reason.
Clearly the idol of free will is an evil spurring idolators on to doing and saying evil things.
Maybe that means you don't believe that Jesus really is the Savior, but instead that man can save himself by his own choices, correct?
In other words, the farmer's efficacious will and purpose will prevail over his doggy, right?
And the reason for God choosing anyone is NEVER found in the person, especially since the entire human race has been called/commanded to glorify God by loving him, believing him and obeying him. That is ALL mankind's divine purpose. And guess who is the only person on this planet whoever perfectly fulfilled God's purpose for his life?
It basically means God temporarily restrains the flesh allowing an individual to choose or reject God.
Jesus is lord and savior as long as we agree on that we will meet in the same place one day.
Seems like this would be opposed to saved by Grace, since man is still required to make a choice, even if he is enabled to do so.
It all amounts to the flesh choosing what Scripture says it cannot. Then they receive the Spirit, according to them.
Scripture says otherwise. Those without the Spirit do not belong to Christ and the world cannot receive the Spirit of truth.
Bring on the haters. They hate those Scriptural truths...
The world cannot receive the Spirit of truth, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. The world does not recognize Him. No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. The one who loves God is known by God. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile toward God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it. Whoever is not from God does not listen to us.
Okay, but perhaps your definition of Savior and mine are different. Doesn't a Savior have to be the one to do the saving, fully and completely do it with nothing remaining for those saved to do? If not, then can He really be the Savior?
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor ch 3 v 17). If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ (Rom 8 v 9b). The world cannot receive the Spirit of truth, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him (from John 14 v 17). Those not in Christ are not free (see Heb 2 v 15). Praise God if He has rescued you from the dominion of darkness! (see Col 1 v 13)
He gave himself on the cross. Without that no one whould be saved. What we do with that sacrafice takes nothing away from the fact... That without it no one would be saved.
Through no choice of his own, man is born into the human race and lives in his natural state as a child of wrath (Eph 2 v 3), not a child of God (John 3 v 3; Gal 3 v 26; 1 John 2 v 22-23; 1 John 4 v 3; 1 John 1 v 7). He lives his life driven by three main motivators: the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life (1 John 2 v 15-17). He is hostile to/unable to submit to God (Rom 8 v 7), incapable of knowing or understanding the spiritual things of God (1 Cor 2 v 14; Matt 11 v 27), because he does not have the Spirit of God in him required to give Spiritual wisdom (1 Cor 1 v 18). Considering Godly Spiritual things to be foolishness, he rejects God and His Word, which, if left unremedied, will result in his ultimate destruction, having not attained to eternal life (Romans 1 v 18-32; 1 Cor 2 v 11, 14; James 1 v 23-24; 1 Thes 2 v 13-16; 1 Peter 2 v 9-17; Revelation 14 v 9-10; John 3 v 16).
I guess my question to you in this discussion is .. what do all the "ifs" mean to you. If you follow, if you cast away, if you believe, if you choose. what do those ifs mean to you?
I know 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. Each of us has become like something unclean, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. No one is good except God alone. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit. “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” from: Romans 7 v 18, Galatians 5 v 17, Isaiah 64 v 6, Job 14 v 4, Mark 10 v 18, Matthew 7 v 18, Luke 18 v 27
They don't mean anything to me as I don't see any "ifs" as being requirements for salvation. It was all already achieved by God's grace through Christ. Those things you mentioned are given to those He saves as a result of salvation. They are not its cause.
The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians ch 2 v 14
If has a meaning. So they do mean something or that's not how God would of inspired them to write it.
that covers a lot of ground but as far as I recall they depict attributes from, not causes of.