Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
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Aaahhmmmm no. I mean TOTALLY NO.
Mal 3:16
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: (CAUSE) and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name (EFFECT).
BTW, it is LIKEWISE those Israelites who HELD ON to the covenant IN FAITH who are of those that God preserved back in the days of Elijah.
1Ki 19:18
Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
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And you were foolish enough to think that God would force Baal worshippers to love Him, contrary to their will and desire?
1Ki 18:40
And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
2Ki 10:19
Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.
Romans 3 v 9B-18~ Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin. As it is written, “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The venom of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery lie in their wake, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
John 3 verse 6, Romans 8 verse 7, Galatians 5 verse 17, 2 Timothy 3 verse 13, Romans 3 verse 18 ~ Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. The mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. The flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other. Evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. There is no fear of God before their eyes.
There we have it folks. The Calvinists totally forgot why David became the greatest king of all time.
Hint: David loved the Lord, was faithful, zealous for the Lord, HELD ON to (listened and accumulated) accurate Biblical doctrine in his heart and built Gods nation upon those foundational principles.
Act 13:22
And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
Consequently, Davids willingness to do His will brought about the greatest and most blessed era in all of Israels history.
rolleyes ... give it a rest, Rufus ... even in your own words you acknowledge "those who accept" ... which only goes to corroborate what I stated ... that under your dogma, "God only "draws" certain folks who God then causes to believe"
so we all get the "simple concept to understand" ... some just do not agree with your "concept".
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right ... which is why I asked about the stony heart ... could that be what remained after Adam sinned ?
When we look at what is written in Rom 1:18-32, we see the progression from foolish heart being darkened upon not glorifying Him as God ... not being thankful ... coming up with empty imaginations ... then stepping further and further away from God and receiving the consequence of doing so.
What I see is that whatever remained in Adam was no longer fit for God to house the new birth ... so at the time a person is born again, God removes the stony heart and the believer is given the new heart which is perfectly suited ...
James 3:8-10 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.studier said:
From Pulpit Commentary (bold mine):
Made after the similitude of God; better, likeness (ὁμοίωσις). The words, which are taken from Genesis 1:26 (καὶ εῖπεν ὁ Θεὸς ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ ὁμοιώσιν) are added to show the greatness of the sin. Theologically they are important, as showing that the "likeness of God" in man (in whatever it may consist) was not entirely obliterated by the Fall. St. James's words would be meaningless if only Adam had been created in the image and likeness of God. So St. Paul speaks of fallen man as still "the image (εἰκών) and glory of God" (1 Corinthians 11:7; and cf. Genesis 9:6). James 3:9
For our reformed brothers and sisters ... from Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible (bold mine):
which are made after the similitude of God as man was originally, Genesis 1:26 and though sin has greatly defaced it, yet there are still some remains of it: and now, what an absurd and monstrous thing is this, that one and the same instrument should be used in blessing God, the Father of all creatures, and in cursing his children, his offering, as all men are by creation, and bear some resemblance to him.
just some thoughts ...
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Let me try and help you out Rufus.
Untold thousands of Israelites were saved previous to this incident. Untold thousands of Israelites were saved afterward too.
This juncture was the low ebb in all of the history of Israel.
And doubtless there was a massive revival afterward.
[1Ki 18:38 KJV]
Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that [was] in the trench.
[1Ki 18:39 KJV]
And when all the people saw [it], they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he [is] the God; the LORD, he [is] the God.
[1Ki 18:40 KJV]
And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
Its all a bunch unbiblical hoaxing and humbuggery, blatherskite and baloney this super-determinism.
But it is far from harmless. Least of all to those proclaiming it.
Brother are they going to be sorry. Sooner or later.
So lets get this straight @Magenta :
John 3 verse 6, Romans 8 verse 7, Galatians 5 verse 17, 2 Timothy 3 verse 13, Romans 3 verse 18 ~ Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. The mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. The flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other. Evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. There is no fear of God before their eyes.
You are telling us that God CHOSE David (as the king and shepherd of His people) against his (David's) will?
A simple yes or no reply will suffice.
Psalm 36 verses 1-4 ~ An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For his eyes are too full of conceit to detect or hate his own sin. The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing. Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
My Passage of Scripture proves that God did something to make Moses notice.
That is God choosing Moses.
My Passage of Scripture also proves that after God chose Moses God allowed Moses to make a decision on what he wanted to do. It's why the Verse specifies Moses said to himself, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Moses said, I WILL which is FREE WILL!
This is how God works with ALL OF US!
Even Romans 1 tells us that God first manifested Himself to them. Then Romans 1 tells us that those He manifested Himself to refused\rejected God because they have FREE WILL to do so. Romans 1 also tells us that God eventually gave them a REPROBATE MIND.
That is how God works and how the Bible should be interpreted.
Nonsense! What happened at the Fall is exactly what God predicted would happen: DEATH! Adam died because he became separated from the Author of Life! Man's umbilical cord (in a manner of speaking) became severed from its Life Source; therefore, all mankind died!
Ask this question from a different perspective. Instead of asking it from the angle of the Fall in the original Garden of Eden, approach it by looking at the restored Garden in the Eternal New Order (Rev 21-22) and ask instead: Why will there be no sin and death in the renewed earth? What precisely will account for the universal restraint of all evil and the universal impelling of all good on this restored earth?
Also, Studier was finally on the mark by appealing to Gen 5:1ff. Since Adam was made in the image and likeness of the Creator, so too all of Adam's progeny were as well...but with a caveat. The image and likeness of God was marred significantly when Adam sinned but it didn't die. It didn't disappear. But it was catastrophically ruined. (We could look at this as a burnt out, gutted building that is only a shell of its former glory.) We get a big clue to this fact from Gen 5. Of all the descendants of Adam only Enoch "walked with God". The others? Not so much! The ruined image and likeness of Adam was passed down to all his posterity, which is why the text essentially says that Seth was made directly from Adam's image and likeness, implying an indirect connection to God's image and likeness; whereas Adam's pre-Fall image and likeness was perfectly and directly connected to God.
Of course, what made the difference between Enoch and the other descendants was God's efficacious grace; although Studier and others would be loathe to accept this and instead likely boast in the efficacy of Enoch's "freewill".
"Make" as in forced, coerced, bullied? Or "make" as in the efficacy of God's grace?
For their evil, rejecting Christ. I fail to see what that has to do with the type of punishment Christ endured. He did not suffer the lake of fire, it was not an everlasting condemnation He wore in His body it was temporal, encased in time and space.
Plus you failed to address the fact that everyone will eventually be released from death which, is the punishment Christ bore.