dancing queen said:
Can we run away from God's calling (Jonah example)?
Oh boy!! This might be a loaded question. Your going to get a complex answer here that not all will agree with.
It could involved questions of scriptural authority. Let me first give my opinion that only the scriptures are an infallible and inerrant authority. I do not accept the traditions of other groups such as the book of mormon, the koran, or RCC oral tradition as authorative. I believe "sola scriptura" or the bible alone is the word of God.
"God's calling" is a loaded term itself. It has a variety of possible meanings. Some take it as equal in authority with scripture, others take it as referring to a subjective experience. With Jonah, God's call was not subjective. It included things like special revelations that came directly from God. Such revelations most likely involved Gods decree. God decrees that certain things will happen, the end result is in Gods hands. Most prophets or apostles involved in direct revelation had a choice to do their ministry, but if they chose not to do their ministry there would have been constraint (Pauls term).
We are not prophets or apostles involved in receiving direct revelations from God. Therefore we can never say that Gods call for us is infallible or inerrant. The only thing left is a subjective call that is fallible. If we have a call, my own opinion is that God, in his sovereignty, will arrange for us to be in the right place at the right time.
I dont think we can see Gods call infallibly ahead of time, rather, sometimes we look back on what happened and see the hand of God in retrospect. God can always take a bad situation, and bring good out of it. We may not see it happening at the time of the bad situation, but after it is all over, we can often see the good.
The best bet, is just to simply strive to know God. The only way to know him infallibly is to know his word.
dancing queen said:
Is it the Spirit working within someone that finally makes you see God's will, your nature changes and you follow God's will, or does God just make you?
I would be careful not to confuse two separate subjects. When the HS changes our nature, that is called "Regeneration." I think the best passage to describe our regeneration (even thought the word regeneration is not used) is Romans 6. If you get a bible and read the second part of Romans 6, count all the times the term "servant" (KJV) or "slave" (NASB) is used. What happened in regeneration, is when we were sinners, our sin nature was our master, we could not disobey the sinful part of our nature. After salvation, the sin nature that was our master did not die, but we were freed legally from that master (see Romans 6:7). This does not mean we cannot serve the old master (sin nature), but it does mean that we should not serve the old master. Let me give an illustration..... when the antebellum southern slave was freed, where did most of the previous slaves get jobs with their new freedom? They went back to the former master and became share croppers and served again the old master. We are free, and so Paul challenges us to serve our new master.
This is regeneration. This is the new nature that we have. We still have sin nature, it is not dead, but it is no longer our master. Now this change in our nature does not mean that we will automatically follow Gods will. I wish it were that easy. We can still serve sin, our old master.
Romans 7 is going to talk about another problem. The more we try to serve God, the more we serve sin. The more we try not to sin, the more we serve sin. The solution, is in our new master. Just simply love the God you have. Know him, trust him, love him for what he did for you, and you will be in the will of God.
dancing queen said:
In Zechariah it describes that they harden their own hearts how does this fit with the theory of election?
I'm sure there are others but can I have thoughts on these two first please.
DQ, you do ask deep questions.
The hardening of the heart found in many places in the scriptures is most clearly explained in Romans 9. In Romans 9:18
18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Paul talks about God hardening Pharaohs heart. The previous verse says how he hardened Pharaohs heart.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
The process by which God hardened Pharaohs heart was when he raise Pharaoh up to power. No God knew the heart of Pharaoh was exceedingly sinful. It was not within the nature of the Pharaoh to obey God. Knowing Pharaohs sinful nature God nevertheless raise Pharaoh up to power and gave him opportunity to become even more proud and evil. Did God help Pharaoh to sin? Well, God did not sin with Pharaoh, but he did not restrain Pharaoh either. God could have left Pharaoh a pauper somewhere where Pharaoh would not have sinned with so much evil. So then, God did have a part in this whole thing by bringing Pharaoh to power, but since God is sovereign, he did nothing wrong. Later, the passage tells us that why God chose to raise Pharaoh to power.
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
For his own glory, God wanted to make his "
shew his wrath, and make his power known."
So then God hardened Pharaohs heart by raising him up knowing his evil nature, and then received glory by judging Pharaoh for his sin.
This is a hard doctrine to believe about God. It is so difficult that Paul expresses an objection in verse 19
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
It is a fair question. If God is so sovereign, why does he judge Pharaoh after he raised him up? You know Paul does not really answer his own question. His only answer is found in verse 20ff.
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Paul is saying that God can raise people up and give their evil natures free reign and then judge them because he is the potter, we are nothing more the clay in his hands.
Also, I think Romans 1 fits into this. God does restrain sin. At times, God chooses to no longer restrain sin, and allow the sinful nature of man to take its course. In Romans 1 Paul writes
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves
26 For this cause
God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Does God stop restraining sin, and allow mans sin nature to take over and harden mans heart? The answer is yes, but God has that right. God then actively hardens mans hearts in two ways. First, by raising certain sinners up to power so that they sin more. Second, by no longer restraining sin and mans sin nature. God has not assisted men in their sin, he does not supernaturally change mens nature so that they are more evil. He does not need to do that, we are already evil enough.
I find the potter analogy interesting in Romans 9. God takes one lump of clay and makes it a vessel of honor (the saved or elect). He takes another lump and makes it a vessel of dishonor (the reprobate).
Yet the truth is, we all come from the same lump. There is no difference between one lump and the next. We are all a cut of the same material. The only difference between any of us is the hands of the potter.
I simply thank God that by his grace, he did not leave me to my own nature. He chose me when I deserved only judgement. I deserved none of the favor he gave me.
