Can We Really Exercise Free Will?

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HeIsHere said:
Yes I need to reconcile myself to this, but TULIP impugns the character of God and creates a different god, probably why it so hard to take.
Appreciate the reminder.
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You impugn the character of God every time you insist He is unfair to do things the way He actually does,
the way Scripture shows again and again and again and again... from Genesis all the way to Revelation.

You would rather blaspheme Him than admit you are wrong. Just like your buddy.
 
Genez said:
Not all suffering is from God, though.
Some comes from simply reaping what we sow.

For example...

If I was in a forum, and was promoting false doctrine?
And, I was stubborn enough to tell myself it was sound doctrine?
A vicious cycle would be established in my life. One that was reinforced
by thinking that the negativity I was receiving was suffering for Christ’s sake.

We either reap what we sow?
Or, in grace, we reap what the Lord has sown in His plan for our life.
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So things happen in this life are beyond God's purview -- beyond his control?

What else is God not control besides some "suffering"?
 
Genez said:
You don't really know.

Why are you here if you can not contribute with understanding?
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it's not my understanding that's the fault,

It's your inability to stop feeling so hard done by and feeling so sorry for people who are totally depraved that's at fault,

Emotional erratic behaviour is your problem,.
 
Rufus said:
It translates into all the faculties of the human heart are corrupt/depraved in the quantitative sense.

And, no, Total Depravity is broken upon the new birth since the central purpose of salvation is to break the irresistible power of sin in unregenerate souls.
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So total inability is also broken. Correct?
 
HeIsHere said:
As per usual, you did not deal with the verb and you do not want to deal with the logical implications of your position to see if it can stand a stress test.

It fails on both counts.
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For you.
If it was given unto someone to believe, and then they believed, isn't the giver the source of the belief?
How many people was Paul writing to who were given to believe but did not believe on Christ?
 
Rufus said:
So things happen in this life are beyond God's purview -- beyond his control?

What else is God not control besides some "suffering"?
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Psalm147-5-Isaiah40-28b-Jeremiah32-17b-Isaiah55-9-Job36-5.png

Psalm 147 verse 5, Isaiah 40 verse 28b, Jeremiah 32 verse 17b, Isaiah 55 verse 9, Job 36 verse 5 ~ Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit. Psalm 147 verse 5 His understanding is beyond searching out. Isaiah 40 verse 28b Nothing is too difficult for You! Jeremiah 32 verse 17b For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55 verse 9 His understanding is beyond searching out. Isaiah 40 verse 28b He is mighty in strength of understanding. Job 36 verse 5
 
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Cameron143 said:
For you.
If it was given unto someone to believe, and then they believed, isn't the giver the source of the belief?
How many people was Paul writing to who were given to believe but did not believe on Christ?
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Deal with the verb that was used in the verse and how it is used in other verses and the fact that "didomi" was not used, otherwise there is nothing to discuss.
 
Rufus said:
But how could the incarnate Christ be man-centered since he was equally and fully and totally divine and human at once? :rolleyes:.
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Even before the Incarnation....
The Lord was always two natures in union!
The Incarnation only supplied the needed body.

For the Lord was always being soul (humanity) and Deity (God) in union!

Here is where that revelation was to be found in the Torah!

'You will eat the old supply and clear out the old because of the new. Moreover, ​
I will make My dwelling among you, and my soul will not reject you.' I will also ​
walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people." Lev 26:10-12​
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And they began to remove the foreign gods from their midst and to serve Jehovah, ​
so that his soul became impatient because of the trouble of Israel. Jdges 10:16​
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Jehovah himself examines the righteous one as well as the wicked one, and anyone ​
loving violence, his soul certainly hates." Ps 11:5​
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“Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, ​
the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred ​
meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts, my soul hates; ​
They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.. Isa 1:13-14​
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Deity is not soul!
Only humanity is soul!

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God is spirit (not soul), and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24​


The Lord always had two natures in union.
He was known, before the Incarnation, to the Jews, as the Lord Jehovah of Israel.

When He took on flesh in the Incarnation, his soul agreed to deny himself his right to His previous powers of Deity!


Lot's to learn!
 
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HeIsHere said:
It is a very typical response to state a person who rejects TULIP does not understand TULIP, actually I think it is quite the opposite, the

person who rejects TULIP understands it all too well and see it for what is it is >>>> not of God.
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that would be you once again leaning on your own understanding,
 
Kroogz said:
@Genez has very distinctly and very succinctly explained this numerous times. And @Magenta I am not trying to goad you or insult you.

It is a freed will that God deals with.......by His Grace and word.( most of us just call it freewill)

HEB 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

I Agree with you and mankinds problem. We are depraved. None seek God.......In and of ourselves. The Bible is clear on this.

But He sent us ALL a solution to that problem.........The Lord Jesus Christ, His Grace and His word.

The solution to your problem is the solution for all of mankind.

Not for ours only, but for the whole world.
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Yes, it's "for all mankind" in the qualitative sense but not quantitatively; for God does not love all, despises the proud, gives his grace to the humble and to his covenant God-Fearing elect, and circumcises the hearts of his covenant people. Nowhere in scripture will you find that any of these promises were made to all men w/o exception.
 
ChristRoseFromTheDead said:
So total inability is also broken. Correct?
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Yes! Both the Truth and the Spirit set God's chosen covenant people free from the addictive, controlling power of sin. Of course, this doesn't mean that believers become sinless in this age but it does mean their lives have been transformed so that now they HATE evil and LOVE what is good, so their life is a battle because believers till possess the sin nature, while simultaneously having been made partakers of the divine nature.
 
Rufus said:
Yes, it's "for all mankind" in the qualitative sense but not quantitatively; for God does not love all, despises the proud, gives his grace to the humble and to his covenant God-Fearing elect, and circumcises the hearts of his covenant people. Nowhere in scripture will you find that any of these promises were made to all men w/o exception.
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Proverbs-Fearofthe-Lord.png

The fear of the Lord leads to life, that one may rest content, without visitation from harm. Proverbs 19 v 23 He who fears the Lord is secure in confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death. Proverbs 14 v 26-27 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 9 v 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1 v 7 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor. Proverbs 15 v 33 His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. Luke 1 v 50 By the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil. Proverbs 16 v 6B
 
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