Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
- Thread starter LifelongLearner
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But why are we His, that's the question. Is it because He dictated it to be so or because when He revealed Himself, we wanted to be His and being the God He is, only wants the best for those who love Him?
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
what difference does it make if he knows you love him, he knows.
What difference does it make if he knows your going to love him before you where born.
Your either going to love him or not love him.
You'll even probably hate him a some point in your child hood as he tries to change your nature.
Well if you love him now, we'll then what's there to worry about
And even less of a worry he knows your going to keep on loving him
Does the Holy Spirit inhabit the "area" when no one is there? How is the "area" defined specifically?
your his and you'll always be his regardless of what somebody else says.
Your his if you love him.
Jordon ... this verse is instruction for the born again believer. The born again believer is told that he or she is to turn from the world. The result of turning from the world will be the transformation that occurs due to the renewing of the mind.
Start reading from vs 1:
Romans 12:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
vs 1 – we are to yield ourselves as a living sacrifice to God ... a living sacrifice to God as opposed to the dead sacrifice under the Old Covenant. We dedicate our lives to God which is our reasonable service.
The word "reasonable" is translated from the Greek word logikos.
Vines Expository Dictionary defines logikos as follows:
pertaining to "the reasoning faculty, reasonable, rational," is used in Rom 12:1, of the service (latreia) to be rendered by believers in presenting their bodies "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God." The sacrifice is to be intelligent, in contrast to those offered by ritual and compulsion; the presentation is to be in accordance with the spiritual intelligence of those who are new creatures in Christ and are mindful of "the mercies of God."
vs 2 – in order for us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, we are instructed to not be conformed this world (world here is translated from the Greek word = aiōn = this age) ... according to William McDonald aiōn refers to "the society or system that man has built in order to make himself happy without God".
We are to stop conforming to the world in which we live and the only way we can do this is by yielding ourselves to God ... allowing Him to conform us to the image of His Son ... which is the transformation which takes place in the renewed mind ... the mind of Christ.
Trench says that the renewing of our minds "is the gradual conforming of the man more and more to that new spiritual world into which he has been introduced and in which he now lives and moves...the restoration of the divine image”.
As we are transformed by the renewed mind, we test and prove God's good and acceptable and perfect will.
What is interesting to me in reading Rom 12:1-2 is that the verbs in these verses are as follows (the verbs are underlined):
present your bodies
living sacrifice
be not conformed to this age
be transformed by the renewing of your mind
may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God
What interests me is that the renewing of the mind is not a verb ... the words "renewing" and "mind" are nouns, not verbs. So we do not "renew our minds" ... the renewed mind is the mind of Christ which is something God gives the believer at the time he or she is born again ... think about that ...As I was looking into the "living sacrifice", I thought about a song that might bless you ... please listen when you're in the mood for music ...
Yes, God's intentional will is for all sinners to repent and be saved (John 3:16),
but His permissive will allows them to ignore Him and believe Satan's lie Gen. 3:4),
just like A&E in Eden at the beginning until the end (Rom. 1:17).
It's refreshing to check in and read some actual work in such Scripture instead of all the bickering. Did you notice "transformed" is the same word used when Jesus was "transfigured" Matt17:2; Mark9:2 and how Paul also speaks of it so importantly to us in 2Cor3:18? Also, that "test and prove" word is one that speaks of assaying precious metals for purity and value. It's ultimately speaking of proving the value of God's will which is why Paul adds those 3 words to explain it.
It's defined as an atmosphere. You can feel the power and presence of God because God has been there several times when a Preacher was preaching under the Holy Anointing of God.
Universalism is a version of the reformed/calvie/tulip theory.
No matter what man does or does not do, He determines who He saves.
Calvies say~~Some
Universalists say~~All.
Freewill~~ Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved......YOU AND YOUR HOUSEHOLD.....Equal privilege and equal opportunity for ALL.
The difference is what the debate is about. Either God decides you will love Him or you decide of your own free will.
I think you might be missing the point of the difference people are espousing in this thread. ??
Is there somewhere in scripture that mentions this feeling? Is this same feeling present in other places where preachers have been?
There's no universalism in reformed doctrine. Scripture is very clear that some are saved and some are not. In your theology, it's all up to man. If every man chooses to be saved, then every man will be. That is not what scripture says.
The gift of salvation came to God's elect, even before they were born. The gift is by grace, therefore it is free to the recipient, but comes at a great cost to the one giving the gift.
I say it is free because the one who receives it was not even born yet!
You can not claim, "it is a free gift, if you will only pay me later"!
I say it is free because the one who receives it was not even born yet!
You can not claim, "it is a free gift, if you will only pay me later"!
If that is so, then it can be equally said for those who hate Him, it is because He first hated them.
Do you not teach "Jacob He loved but Esau He hated"?
That's an assumption. Can you make the case from scripture?
That verse is in the Bible. So I certainly believe it. What do you think it means?
