Join For His Glory for a discussion on how
https://christianforums.net/threads/a-vessel-of-honor.110278/
https://christianforums.net/threads/psalm-70-1-save-me-o-god-lord-help-me-now.108509/
Read through the following study by Tenchi for more on this topic
https://christianforums.net/threads/without-the-holy-spirit-we-can-do-nothing.109419/
Join Sola Scriptura for a discussion on the subject
https://christianforums.net/threads/anointed-preaching-teaching.109331/#post-1912042
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Focus on the Family addresses the use of biblical principles in parenting and marriage to strengthen the family.
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Seriously, not one Scripture reference to support her opinion. Nothing.
Ahh , it is in the book , you will have to order a copy .Seriously, not one Scripture reference to support her opinion. Nothing.
"The categorical capacity to refrain or not to refrain from a given moral action" is determined by your "desires"."Pick my desires"? Where have I used this phrase in my posts in this thread? Instead, when I spoke of "creaturely freedom" I defined it as "the categorical capacity to refrain or not to refrain from a given moral action."
Your "desires' or what you call "the categorical capacity to refrain or not to refrain from a given moral action" ... what is the CAUSE of your desires?I don't know what you mean by "pick your desires."
No one has debunked the OP.
There have been attempts, but mostly claiming that humans are born sinless.
Let me rephrase the OP.
Does man have free will to choose salvation?
Agreed.To me Ephesians chapter one is perfectly clear...matching with many other passages. Such as in John 6. No man can come to the me unless the father draws him.
Thank you for this.Causality is a connection of phenomena through which one thing (the cause) under certain conditions gives rise to, causes something else (the effect). The first cause must be from a source that is eternal. God is the only eternal entity [and thus his being is causeless] and thus the ‘first cause’ of all things. Thus, the God is the cause of the human will, thus man’s will is not free; rather, it is designed by God.
- Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them. [Your life is written (not recorded) by God]
- Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
- Jeremiah 10:23 O Lord [pleads Jeremiah in the name of the people], I know that [the determination of] the way of a man is not in himself; it is not in man [even in a strong man or in a man at his best] to direct his [own] steps.
- Matthew 11:27 All things have been entrusted and delivered to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son deliberately wills to make Him known.
- John 1:12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name— 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh [the flesh is carnal and flesh always lusteth against the Spirit], nor of the will of man, but of GOD. Martin Luther: they become the sons of God, neither by the birth of the flesh, nor by a devoted observance of the law, nor by any devoted human effort whatever, but by a Divine birth only. Those three negative statements stress the fact that salvation is not obtainable through any racial or ethnic heritage ( blood ), personal desire ( flesh ), or man-made system ( man ). (See also Matthew 8:11–12; Luke 3:8; Galatians 3:28–29.) John MacArthur
- John 3:27 John replied, “A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing at all] unless it has been granted to him from heaven [for there is no other source than the sovereign will of God]. Does man have a “Free-will” over God, that God should do and obey in those things which man will? Surely not.
- John 6:29 Jesus answered, “This is the work of God: that you believe [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the One whom He has sent.”
- John 6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help!
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 For who regards you as superior or what sets you apart as special? What do you have that you did not receive
- 1 Corinthians 12:3b And no one can [really] say, Jesus is [my] Lord, except by and under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.
- hundreds more verses
- about 4 or 5 verses for the other side, said verses dependent upon the ambiguous meaning of "world" or "all"
I would love to see answers to these questions.
- If God knows, that by creating you, you will end up in hell, how is he not determined you to end up in hell by creating you?
- If freewill is true why has there never been a sinless human?
- Why do “freewill” proponents say “Lord willing"? James 4:15
- If freewill is true why "pray" for the salvation of another?
- If freewill is true why do people so strongly tend to have the religious or non-religious views of their parents?
- If you think that you have this freedom from God, this autonomous free will, then you would not need to play by God's laws in the first place. It's ironic, responsibility violates the idea of free will.
- Explain how you can metaphysically disconnect yourself from God how can God then for know what you're going to do?
- When we pray for something, we often are praying that another’s “free will” will be curtailed by outside circumstances and physical limitations.
- Billions of people have died without knowledge of Christ. How do they exercise Free Will to believe in Christ in order to be saved?
- Amazingly, free will, somehow works differently than the rest of the universe. You can magically chose to choose what you want to choose despite your greatest desire, despite “cause and effect”, despite your depraved disposition sustained by God. How can this be?
- yada, yada
Free will is a myth of man.Does man have free will to choose salvation?
I define "free will" as the ability to do what you desire most at the time.
... so regarding salvation .... we have "free will" ... this leads to the question: what is the cause of our desires?
The first cause of our desires is GOD. The Law of Causality states: a rule of the universe that says every event that happens is the result of a specific cause. Imagine you have a row of dominoes; if you knock the first one over (cause), the rest will fall down in sequence (effect). This rule helps us figure out why things happen and what could happen next.
Application of the Law of Causality: When one who supports the idea of self-determinism is asked “why you did something he has no answer”. He will resort to a non-answer like “because I wanted to”. When asked why he wanted to he responses “because I choice to want to”; when asked why he choice to want to, he responses “because I wanted to choice to want to” … and on and on the circular reason goes. It contradicts the Law of Causality.
You don't pick your sex, your parents or your desires. I.E. Psalm 51:5
If one define "free will" as self-determinism (not influenced by others) the logic dictates that to be impossible. Empirical evidence validates this statement. Google "parent's influence on a person's religious beliefs" (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2020/09/10/shared-beliefs-between-parents-and-teens/) and you will find that children tend to follow the beliefs of their parents which proves self-determinism is false). (I assume the reader as elementary knowledge of statistics and and probability.)
That all men from the moment of their conception are in a state of degeneracy and corruption
"The categorical capacity to refrain or not to refrain from a given moral action" is determined by your "desires".
In other words ... Your desires = "the categorical capacity to refrain or not to refrain from a given moral action."
So I repeat: ... God is the first cause of all things ... you can't create your self-determined desires out of nothing for from nothing nothing comes and you were nothing at one time.
Your "desires' or what you call "the categorical capacity to refrain or not to refrain from a given moral action" ... what is the CAUSE of your desires?
No one has debunked the OP.
There have been attempts, but mostly claiming that humans are born sinless.
Let me rephrase the OP.
Does man have free will to choose salvation?
"The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so" (Romans 8:7). This means that man is morally responsible even if he lacks moral ability – man must obey God even if he cannot obey God. We are responsible if a higher power (God in this case) to us to do something. God tells us to sin no more and we are responsible to obey even though none of us can do it.For a wide variety of reasons, theological determinism (even if you call it "compatibilism") is untenable. For one, determinism dissolves people of personal responsibility.
You are wrongly conflated God's will. It may be God's will that Joe goes to hell and it can also be God's will that Susan related the gospel to Joe. In fact God has told us to spread the gospel to the elect and reprobates. We don't know who he has chosen. We know it is God that does the choosing (John 1:12-13) and we know that only God has 'free will'. When you assert we have 'free will' you are saying God must respond to us; the superior serves the inferior.Under Reformed thinking, those of an alternative soteriological view are ordained by God to hold their view. So, then, who are you to persuade them to a different one, in contradiction of God's will?
God ordains his method of salvation. He says "faith cometh by hearing" and they Christians are to spread the word. This is what's happening here. Simple.God's word also becomes a very strange read when we take human free agency out of it. For example:
Acts 16:30-31
30 and after he (the Philippian jailer) brought them out, he said, "Sirs (Paul and Silas), what must I do to be saved?"
31 They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
??? On Calvinism, the response of Paul and Silas, here, to the jailer is an odd thing, it seems to me - even false, actually. The response of Paul and Silas - if Calvinism is correct - should have been something like:
"If God has ordained that you should be saved, you will be. You have no real choice in the matter, only the illusion of it, at most. Your belief - or not - is entirely God's choice, not yours."
At conception of both parents is whatI believe. Although I am not certain how important that is.I am here from the hills of Alabama and I am here to help you . I am here to help you ferret out and find exactly where this elusive corruption is at the moment of conception .
As we read this bold statement from the land of windmills there was been a lot of water under the bridge since it was written , no doubt .
The man that wrote this is no longer here to help us as we go on our search for the corruption , so onward we go .
It was said the corruption is there at conception so the question , is the corruption present in the sperm of the male parent or in the egg of the female parent or is it possibly present in both ? We will work from here if you are up to it that is . I will do my best to waste no one's time .
Do you mean the corruption is in both the sperm and the egg ? Please clarify for me .At conception of both parents is what I believe.
We are going forward with your help to seek out the importance of the discussion .Although I am not certain how important that is.
At conception of both parents.Here is my question again so you can quote it if need be .
It was said the corruption is there at conception so the question , is the corruption present in the sperm of the male parent or in the egg of the female parent or is it possibly present in both ?
Your answer below .
Do you mean the corruption is in both the sperm and the egg ? Please clarify for me .
We are going forward with your help to seek out the importance of the discussion .
Do you mean the corruption is in both the sperm and the egg ? Please clarify for me .