Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
- Thread starter LifelongLearner
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God likes His coffee the same way He likes His children...piping hot. Never forget...He brews.
Taser offers long-range capabilities so that may be preferable, plus, they are meant for humans.
Although I was attempting to use humor, albeit badly.
These free willers are not easily led to accepting the truth.
The fact is that you and your crew were called to the field of battle and did a no-show.
Losing was inevitable as you and I and the peanut gallery knew the outcome from the outset.
And you thought hurling excuses and insults was a sound battle plan?
So you lost. Again. An uninterrupted string of humiliating defeats if you are keeping count.
Sorry. Fake sorry.
If you won, as you have stated so many times, why are you still here?
It takes Faith to believe. Faith comes when you hear the Gospel preached and you believe it. Then after the preaching is done you typically go to the altar and pray and become saved through being Regeneration. But you must first believe in God before God saves you according to Paul.
He is here to puff himself up and boast in himself, as we can see from many of his posts.
1 Corinthians 1 v 30-31 ~ It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus, Who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Without regeneration there is no spiritual understanding. That's why Jesus said, "You must be born again."
In this case LUKE specifically notes they on purpose shut their ears. That's action being done in order to reject what's happening to them inside from God.
AI Overview of Regeneration
Spiritual regeneration is a process of inner transformation and rebirth, where a person's spirit or inner self is renewed and brought to spiritual life after a state of spiritual death. In Christianity, this is achieved through the work of the Holy Spirit, leading to a new heart, mind, and will that trusts in God.
I normally would never look to AI for a definition. However, this happens to be fairly accurate.
GivenHow could man turn to God unless given a new heart, mind, and will to place his trust in the Lord?
Spiritual regeneration is a process of inner transformation and rebirth, where a person's spirit or inner self is renewed and brought to spiritual life after a state of spiritual death. In Christianity, this is achieved through the work of the Holy Spirit, leading to a new heart, mind, and will that trusts in God.
I normally would never look to AI for a definition. However, this happens to be fairly accurate.
GivenHow could man turn to God unless given a new heart, mind, and will to place his trust in the Lord?
I agree. And faith only comes after regeneration, where you receive a new heart and mind!
But if you are able to shut your ears then you have some assisting in whether you believe or don't. LUKE said they shut their ears on purpose. That's action by their choice.
And LUKE says during this period when you normally begin to believe they were able shut their ears and reject.
It connects because you mentioned their hearts had been "cut". To have been "cut" required they first be saved/born again, by which, they received their new fleshy hearts (per the verses I included). From that, they repented and accepted Jesus. The saving had to come first, because they were "cut" in their hearts BEFORE they repented and accepted Jesus, with the repenting and accepting, coming afterwards. That they could be cut in their hearts meant they had already received the new fleshy heart, because their old hearts of stone could not be cut. So, therefore, salvation had come first to them, which then produced everything associated to salvation, including repenting and accepting Jesus
I believe it is possible to become saved and not necessarily, immediately, manifest the traits of salvation, or to even know it has occurred, because it is God alone who saves, not man. In fact, the traits of salvation, after salvation, will start from nothing, but will continue to grow within us throughout our entire lives.
If I wasn't clear, please let me know and I'll try to clarify.