Understanding God’s election

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Nov 14, 2024
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I'll tell you once I have a working definition from another poster. I'm trying not to influence the terms we use in arguing whether freewill exists.
Why do you need to obtain a working definition of it from another poster? I am simply asking how you would describe it so that I might understand what your position is. I honestly do not know who believes what because all I saw was a bunch of bickering, and that turned me off in a hurry.
 

Magenta

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Jesus’ words in John 6:65 I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them. Plus Colossians 1:21 and 2:13; Ephesians 2:1a and 3b; Philippians 1:6 and 213
:)
 

Cameron143

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Why do you need to obtain a working definition of it from another poster? I am simply asking how you would describe it so that I might understand what your position is. I honestly do not know who believes what because all I saw was a bunch of bickering, and that turned me off in a hurry.
I understand. And I'm happy to share it with you, but when definitions aren't established, people begin talking apples and oranges. So we're on the same page, I'm trying to get a common understanding of freewill. I can almost assure you that our definitions will be different and part of the reason will be an assumption about God that is assumed and not scriptural.
 

Pilgrimshope

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it was His prerogative to dispense it to whomever He so chose to,
he did dispense his gift of salvation to those he chose to this is how

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;

but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭16:15-16‬ ‭

not everyone accepts it though and we see the result also for them in that verse which isnt a pleasant thought. Since all mankind is condemned to die eventually , God has offered all mankind mercy and grace to be saved on the condition of belief of what the lord Jesus has done for us in the shedding of his precious life on the cross at Calvary and also what he has said to us on the gospel regarding salvation.

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”
‭‭Titus‬ ‭2:11-12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

everyone has an atonement jesus purchased all humanity in his death for our sins and it calls to us all to come

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.”
‭‭John‬ ‭12:32-33‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭5:32‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭1:15-16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

If we won’t turn to God in repentance and believe because of the message of the gospel of Jesus his son there’s nothing left To save us but God doesn’t force us to believe or disbelieve he sent a message that can save to all sinners in tbe world all creation
 

Inquisitor

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Wow.
That makes completely sense.

God creates his "elected" supernaturally all the while creating other people who were never going to be elected to fill in the gaps and make life interesting I guess? :cautious:

I think it is back to the drawing board for you .... not computing with how the word elect is used in scripture I believe @Inquisitor did a good post on it.
Nothing makes sense on this thread.

God creates the vast majority of people so that He can cast them into the lake of fire?

They can suffer through life on this planet without hope, without God.

Then they can suffer for eternity.

I don't believe anyone would tolerate that kind of interpretation, a God without love.
 

HeIsHere

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5. You seem oblivious to the implication that by ignoring Paul's teaching that God loves and wants to save all people, which means that He gives every sinner volition, thereby enabling him to seek salvation--or not, you ascribe hatred for the part of humanity whose hearts God does not circumcise so they may believe and be saved and effectually force them to go to hell.
This about sums it up.
 

Inquisitor

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Why do you need to obtain a working definition of it from another poster? I am simply asking how you would describe it so that I might understand what your position is. I honestly do not know who believes what because all I saw was a bunch of bickering, and that turned me off in a hurry.
The truth is that no one fully understands how God works His plan in Christ.

A profound mystery!

We have difficulty defining the terms let alone reading the scripture properly.

So the debate most often descends into name calling.

Sad but true.
 

Magenta

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Jul 3, 2015
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@Pilgrimshope I found this post of mine from five years ago.

That would mean that God punishes people for not making a choice that was never offered to them in the first place. I do not see that as being consistent with His loving, just, and merciful character. At face value, some verses seem to suggest that is the case (as per the question Paul puts forth, to which you alluded [not you! ha this post was to someone else]), which Calvinists argue for, along with verses like Proverbs 16:4~

KJV: “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.”

NIV: “The LORD works out everything for his own ends–even the wicked for a day of disaster.”

NLT: “The LORD has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster.”

ESV: “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”

Juxtapositioned against Psalm 145:9 “The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.”

And

1 John 2:2
Christ “is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world

Romans 5:18:
“Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the
result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men
Romans 11:32: “For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all

John 12:32:
“For Christ’ love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all…”

Titus 2:11:
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men…”

Hebrews 2:9:
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor
because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone
It seems contradictory, unless you look at the root of the Hebrew word translated about various as “everything for its purpose”, “all things for himself”, and “everything for his own”. None of these translations capture the meaning of the Hebrew (ma’aneh). The literal translation of the word ma’aneh is “give an answer to” or “response”. So the phrase “all things for himself” should read “all things to give an answer to himself” or “all things to give a response to himself”. In other words, everyone is responsible for what they do and will be called into account, even the wicked for the day of distress.

Joel 2:28, 32:
“I will pour out my Spirit on all people… And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved

Revelation 22:17:
The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is
thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of water of life”

1 Timothy 2:3-6
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men…”


John 12:32 "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

Yes, God makes it possible. No, I am not a universalist :)
 
Nov 14, 2024
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I understand. And I'm happy to share it with you, but when definitions aren't established, people begin talking apples and oranges. So we're on the same page, I'm trying to get a common understanding of freewill. I can almost assure you that our definitions will be different and part of the reason will be an assumption about God that is assumed and not scriptural.
Cameron...? Cameron...? I know that you like limericks. Don't make me use one. Too late.

Please tell me what you think free will is
I want your definition not his
Can we all freely choose
Our own God/god win or lose
Is that not what the Bible teaches

Jos 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

I need to head out for a bit. I will check back later.
 

Cameron143

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Cameron...? Cameron...? I know that you like limericks. Don't make me use one. Too late.

Please tell me what you think free will is
I want your definition not his
Can we all freely choose
Our own God/god win or lose
Is that not what the Bible teaches

Jos 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

I need to head out for a bit. I will check back later.
Is the ability to choose the same as freewill?
 

Inquisitor

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Mar 17, 2022
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Yes. Can you explain the difference between election and selection?
Not until you specify which of the twelve sons was chosen, elect, spiritual.

If say Judah was elect does that mean the other sons were reprobate?

If the 12 sons were spiritual why were their offspring not elect?
 

Pilgrimshope

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Do you mean after the Holy Spirit of God has worked in us? Or are you saying you come to this realization all on your own with no help from God at all? Some want us to believe they did not need the help. Is it that with your stony heart that needs replacing and hostile-to-God mind that is incapable of obeying you came to believe and obey? That while you were captive to the will of the devil your free will could free you? That you were free to choose before you were set free? That you were raised to new life while a sinner but you were a believer counted as righteous at the same time too? Do you realize that is a contradictory position to take? It is why I believe it is consistent with all else Scripture teaches, that our hearts are circumcised before we can come to believe and obey. Heart circumcision is just that, one of many moving parts. Paul called himself a prisoner of/captive to the law of sin at work within him, and knew he needed rescuing. Romans 7 makes pretty plain that he knew he was incapable of rescuing himself.


It is only a logical conclusion to come to if you believe and/or insist I am a Calvinist, which I am not, despite however many here falsely accuse me of such. I have said I am not. Do you know that die-hard Calvinists have insisted I am a free willer? Probably in all my time here I have not subscribed to the idea of free will. One, it is not Biblical. Two, man's will is constrained by too many factors to truly be considered free. But if I say man's will is not free as per Scripture, people jump all over me and accuse me of all manner of ridiculous things. The long and the short of it that I do not believe God makes it impossible for anyone to believe and then punishes them for not believing. Nope!
“Do you mean after the Holy Spirit of God has worked in us?”

after we hear the gospel about Jesus dying for our sins that is how the holy spirit works on people to “draw “them to him. Because he died for us when we hear that message that’s the Holy Ghost speaking to the heart of a sinner

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.”
‭‭John‬ ‭12:32-33‬ ‭KJV‬‬

But you guys seem to be saying he’s gonna do some other stuff to draw only certain folks to him ? To be clear again I’m saying he already did it and then sent the message out to all people for salvation .

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;

but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭16:15-16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

what im saying is simple It doesn’t say now God will decide which of you can believe and which can’t , he said preach the gospel to everyone and whoever believes and responds will be saved whoever doesn’t believe will be damned .

It’s a message from the holt ghost God works through his word

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

There’s no other next thing is my point the holt ghost is Jesus spirit he’s already done his work for sinners . It’s the gospel he then sent to everyone .

i believe our part is this

“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:21-22‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The Holy Ghost is who spoke the words of the Bible and is how God does his work on someone’s mind and heart through the gospel message of Jesus
 

Cameron143

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Not until you specify which of the twelve sons was chosen, elect, spiritual.

If say Judah was elect does that mean the other sons were reprobate?

If the 12 sons were spiritual why were their offspring not elect?
You asked me were they elect and spiritual. I took spiritual to mean saved. If that's what you mean, then all.
 

Rufus

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Feb 17, 2024
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Nice try, but.....no.

Calvinites are the perps and denials will do you no good.
The truth is that you all repeat the lies of Satan.
Whether you know this or not.


Thank God I know better. Like REALLY know better.
Like digging to bedrock to build my house kind of better.
How would any of us "know this" since we're not mind-readers and cannot know what your inane next straw man will be?
 

Inquisitor

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"What choices", you ask? The ones God desires for me to make! Have you never read:

Phil 2:13
13 for it is God who works in you
[or if you're a free willer, he forces you like the tyrant he is] to will and to act according to his good purpose.
NIV

Since you asked, I have to presume that you've never experienced God working his holy, perfect will in you, since you're far too busy and preoccupied with glorifying your "free" will that is in bondage to sin.
Incorrect Rufus, no one has a perfect free will.

Surely you noticed how many times the apostles failed at the simplest of things.

Everyone is given over to disobedience and that includes the church through history.

Not one person is ever righteous and not even close.
 

Inquisitor

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You asked me were they elect and spiritual. I took spiritual to mean saved. If that's what you mean, then all.
So all their offspring were spiritual?

So when did God create the reprobate offspring and destroy them at Mt Sinai?
 

Rufus

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Feb 17, 2024
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If Calvinists can twist a cruel God they present into being benevolent in his cruelty?

That is a Woke God. He only identifies as being just.

It's sick.... It makes me sad to see you want it.
We don't twist anything. It is YOU who perverts God's justice because you obviously think that all mankind is worthy of God's salvation. Soo....if God doesn't make salvation possible for all then that makes him many nasty things in your world. Thankfully, I don't live in your world, nor would I ever want to!