Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
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Yes, once again all of the Calvinists got KOed by the unequivocal truth of the Scriptures.
All of free will is read into texts, contradicting what is explicitly articulated elsewhere to do so.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Ah, no, this is not true, these types believe anything except what the bible actually says.
My point is that some say the sin nature overrides the soul leaving it helpless to give expression until God intervenes. If this were so, then the soul could not influence the flesh. But in Luke 6:45, and other scriptures, we find the soul influencing the flesh. This should not be so if the soul is unable to give expression.
Ancient Hebrew conception as provided by my search engine
- Integrated View: The ancient Hebrews had a holistic view of the person and did not make a clear distinction between the heart, mind, and soul in the modern sense.
- Heart (Lev): The heart was considered the place of thought, emotion, and intent.
- Soul (Nephesh): The soul referred to the entire living being or life essence, often linked to breath or blood. The Hebrew texts indicate that the soul and body were an integrated whole.
- Mind: The concept of a separate "mind" as pure intellect, distinct from the heart/emotion, was less prominent in early Hebrew thought and emerged later under Hellenistic influence.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the Calvinists have no grasp of the import of these passages, they remain clueless.
[Jos 5:3 KJV]
And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
[Jos 5:9 KJV]
And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.
[Jos 10:15 KJV] (Habitually after the victories in war)
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.
[Exo 17:16 KJV]
For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.
[1Sa 15:8 KJV]
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
[1Sa 15:33 KJV]
And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
**************************************************************************************
[Col 2:11 KJV]
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
[Deu 10:16 KJV]
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
[Deu 30:6 KJV]
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
[Jer 4:4 KJV]
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench [it], because of the evil of your doings.
*************************************************************************************
[Exo 17:16 KJV]
For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.
*************************************************************************************
Do the Calvinists detect and understand the pattern here?
Amalek/foreskin represent what?
What is God warring against "from generation to generation"?
What has that to do with these various passages NT passages?
And NO, there is zero Calvinist dogma anywhere to be found, not in a single passage quoted, if you actually know your Bible.
Calvinism = Biblical illiteracy.
[Rom 7:14 KJV]
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
[1Co 3:1 KJV]
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ.
[1Co 3:3 KJV]
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
[1Co 3:4 KJV]
For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
[2Co 10:4 KJV]
(For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds
[Heb 7:16 KJV]
Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
[Rom 8:7 KJV]
Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
************************************************************************************************************************************
You see, infantile repetition of "Church dogma" oftentimes betrays a dysfunctional heart and mind bereft of understanding.
Personally I divide humans into the material and the immaterial. Some divide the immaterial into the soul and spirit. A problem one runs into there is that the Bible often uses the terms interchangeably.
You keep moving the goalposts. We're talking about Zacchaeus. The question was: did God draw Zacchaeus? Also, what does the scripture say is the point of the story?There is no doubt whatsoever that the Calvinists have no grasp of the import of these passages, they remain clueless.
[Jos 5:3 KJV]
And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
[Jos 5:9 KJV]
And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.
[Jos 10:15 KJV] (Habitually after the victories in war)
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.
[Exo 17:16 KJV]
For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.
[1Sa 15:8 KJV]
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
[1Sa 15:33 KJV]
And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
**************************************************************************************
[Col 2:11 KJV]
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
[Deu 10:16 KJV]
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
[Deu 30:6 KJV]
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
[Jer 4:4 KJV]
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench [it], because of the evil of your doings.
*************************************************************************************
[Exo 17:16 KJV]
For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.
*************************************************************************************
Do the Calvinists detect and understand the pattern here?
Amalek/foreskin represent what?
What is God warring against "from generation to generation"?
What has that to do with these various passages NT passages?
And NO, there is zero Calvinist dogma anywhere to be found, not in a single passage quoted, if you actually know your Bible.
Calvinism = Biblical illiteracy.
[Rom 7:14 KJV]
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
[1Co 3:1 KJV]
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ.
[1Co 3:3 KJV]
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
[1Co 3:4 KJV]
For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
[2Co 10:4 KJV]
(For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds
[Heb 7:16 KJV]
Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
[Rom 8:7 KJV]
Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
************************************************************************************************************************************
You see, infantile repetition of "Church dogma" oftentimes betrays a dysfunctional heart and mind bereft of understanding.
Jordon... you do not belong in a Christian forum.
You would get kicked out of Churches after the congregation got to know you.
You are here to destroy the morale of a Christian forum.
But, you are not alone.
There are a few here that keep sending supplies to your camp...
All of this is waaaaay past your pay grade. A fact made obvious in your "reply" and "question".
And YES, those passages noted in post #24,111 absolutely positively relate directly to Zaccheaus and every other believer there ever was or will be.
https://christianchat.com/threads/can-we-really-exercise-free-will.218061/post-5617112
Well we know most of these heretical free willers do not actually go by what the Bible says, and many just make it up as they go along, rewriting verses they do not like, even the very words of Jesus Christ Himself, and also changing the meaning of words, as well as totally overlooking and ignoring other words, such as where Scripture says cannot, they interpret it to mean can, and will not means will, etc. They do not even understand and argue against that a human is born with a human nature; they pretend that human nature is not what the Bible says of it, and get all bent out of shape insisting man can do what Scripture says he cannot and will not. One or two of this type of error one might see as something that could change over time with more understanding, but a lot of the people who do this sort of thing are pathological liars, continually misrepresenting what others say and misrepresenting what the Bible says and even blaspheming God rather that ever admit they were wrong about something, so it seems systematic of a much deeper issue.
This @Cameron143 fellow sees fit to compartmentalize the Scriptures, defying the very purpose of the Book.
However, the truth is that there are no divisions, the Scriptures are a complete and harmonious whole.
And for some reason, many of these Calvinists enjoy playing the part of "Inquisitor" (of the Spanish sort), proffering inane questions in an attempt to stifle and obscure Biblical truth.