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FREE WILL

Jennie said:
Hi again Adullam!
I don't understand this verse...
Could you tell me what you think it means?
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Jesus came to call the sinners to repentance! He came to set free the captives and open the eyes of the blind.

In the kingdom of God everything is upside down...or appears that way because our world is upside down!

So this part is easy to understand...he helped the poor, he helped those in need. He came to give sight to the blind.


Now this is spiritual too!!!! He came to show the kingdom to the humble ones!

But those who thought they saw already he came to confound! The wise of this age should have become fools so that they might truly become wise!

So Jesus turned the tables on those who had the temporal religious approval. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. Those who love the world have no love for God!

Does this :help?

God bless you sister!!! :)
 
Jennie said:
Aha! Your second sentence goes to the heart of why I began this thread! I thought I could see that something approaching free will DID exist, but that it wasn't until AFTER we met Him that it came into play...

You would think after almost five years I would understand what these different views are, but I find them confusing so I ran from them in the past and just kept trusting God to show me what the verses mean - and for Holy Spirit to explain the parable to me that the whole bible is.

A few days ago. I realized most of my knots were coming from all of these phrases I had assumed must be true because I heard them so much but that I just didn't understand yet.

Do you know, I see the importance now of Jesus during His time in the desert. It is another parable for us about the danger of taking one verse without the whole counsel!

Could you explain your last sentence here? Not Maranatha - I understand that one,:D but the sentence before it?
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You are very tenacious Jennie! I like this about you!!! :lol

The righteous decide from the beginning whether they will say yes or no!

Here is that statement.

The righteous are righteous because they judge rightly what they are confronted with.

The good Samaritan was righteous in the eyes of God!

He was travelling along and saw this man in great need. So he made A DECISION to postpone his own affairs and give priority to this man that needed help!

Did God make him do this????

Then there is the parable of the repentant sinner. The tax collector was beating his chest saying woe is me a sinner. In contrast to this is the Pharisee who looks down on the sinner and thinks how much better he is.

Jesus says it is the sinner that is justified. HE IS SEEING AND DOING CORRECTLY!

God does not force this on anyone! ;)

Does that make sense?

Blessings!
 
Jennie,

For me personally i find the extremes of this battle upsetting.

Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Above are the words of Christ! His sheep follow Him... and no man ( to me that includes self) can pluck them from Him.



Often how we define FREE WILL helps us to understand the scriptures they way we were meant to.
 
Adullam said:
Jesus came to call the sinners to repentance! He came to set free the captives and open the eyes of the blind.

In the kingdom of God everything is upside down...or appears that way because our world is upside down!

So this part is easy to understand...he helped the poor, he helped those in need. He came to give sight to the blind.


Now this is spiritual too!!!! He came to show the kingdom to the humble ones!

But those who thought they saw already he came to confound! The wise of this age should have become fools so that they might truly become wise!

So Jesus turned the tables on those who had the temporal religious approval. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. Those who love the world have no love for God!

Does this :help?

God bless you sister!!! :)
Click to expand...

Ah yes! It helps!
It is like with the verse blessed are the poor.
You don't say: I must become poor so God will bless me and then set out to "become poor."
You are already poor.
It is the fact that you see it and agree that makes you ask for!

And also with this man praying - he agreed with God that he was a sinner.
Idk, I see the connection but can't explain it too well.;)
 
Hitch, this is strange! I went to see about purchasing that book on Kindle and it said it was not currently available! Why would a digital book be not currently available I don't know.

But then, I found I already had a sample of it downloaded! (I have hundreds of samples that I never seem to get to! Si I can at least read a small part of it....

Anyone know why they would say a digital book is not currently available? Copyright fight maybe?
 
Jennie said:
Thank you Hitch-going right now to see if I can find it on Kindle for a price I can afford!
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Its just an article,actually a sermon, you can read it by clicking the link.


quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by Hitch
You might find this useful;


Free Will a Slave by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
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This is the basic link;

http://www.the-highway.com/index.html


Scroll down to the third of fourth box and type in your subject in the Google search . 'Free Will' will bring up over 100 titles readable on site. Fair warning this is strictly 'Reformed' in outlook
 
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Jennie said:
Thank you!
What does reformed in outlook mean? Because it sounds like me!
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Realistically it refers to views and positions that adhere to the doctrines that came out of the Reformation, especially as those are contrasted with modern Dispensationalism and Catholicism.

There wont be anything about visions of the Virgin or charts about the rapture.
 
Hitch said:
Realistically it refers to views and positions that adhere to the doctrines that came out of the Reformation, especially as those are contrasted with modern Dispensationalism and Catholicism.

There wont be anything about visions of the Virgin or charts about the rapture.
Click to expand...

Hitch-
I read that sermon and it was WONDERFUL!
I can't thank you enough for pointing me to it!
I want to read everything this man has said!

You lost me on these words:
dispensationalism
and
charts about the rapture.

I know I am taking a lot of everyones time, but if you get the time, could you explain what these mean?

Thank you so much for your help!
 
Jennie,

Sounds to me like you are blessed with an open heart/mind where Scripture is concerned. How very wonderful!

Drinking in Gods Word is refreshing! Enjoy the Water!
 
Jennie said:
Hitch-
I read that sermon and it was WONDERFUL!
I can't thank you enough for pointing me to it!
I want to read everything this man has said!
Click to expand...
:yes
You lost me on these words:
dispensationalism
and
charts about the rapture.

I know I am taking a lot of everyones time, but if you get the time, could you explain what these mean?

Thank you so much for your help!
Click to expand...
Very few preachers sermons are studied more than a century after first given.

Dispensationalism is a systematic theology very popular in the US. If you are familiar with the names Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, John Hagee or the Trinity Broadcasting Network you know something of dispensationalism.

An outstanding feature is the belief that in the relatively near future Christ suddenly will remove the true believers from the earth (the rapture) and take them to Heaven and return with them 7 years later.

If you like I can go into more depth, let me know.

There is a wealth of articles critical of dispensationalism at the site linked.
 
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Hitch said:
:yesVery few preachers sermons are studied more than a century after first given.

Dispensationalism is a systematic theology very popular in the US. If you are familiar with the names Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, John Hagee or the Trinity Broadcasting Network you know something of dispensationalism.

An outstanding feature is the belief that in the relatively near future Christ suddenly will remove the true believers from the earth (the rapture) and take them to Heaven and return with them 7 years later.

If you like I can go into more depth, let me know.

There is a wealth of articles critical of dispensationalism at the site linked.
Click to expand...

Brain getting ready to blow!
I believe in our gathering together too so I will go read what the site has on it but I may not be able to understand - because I do believe in our gathering together....
 
Jennie said:
Brain getting ready to blow!
I believe in our gathering together too so I will go read what the site has on it but I may not be able to understand - because I do believe in our gathering together....
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As does every Christian:yes
 
Jennie said:
I have gotten myself tied up in some knots regarding "free will."
I wonder if anyone has any thoughts that might help me.

Here is what seems to be my problem:
We are all born blind to God. I was born this way, same as everyone else.

So when I hear someone say to another that they have willfully chosen to reject God, it bothers me.

It is like saying....free will is this good thing that we have within our SELVES and we use it to find God. But there is nothing good in us...

I don't THINK I used free will.....
One day, I just suddenly SAW that He WAS.

I guess I am thinking if there is any such thing as free will, it must only come into play AFTER He has cured our blindness...

Any thoughts or verses?
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God created man in his own image, Free will is a part of that reflection. Unfortinatly man chose to sin when Adam chose to break the only rule God had set and ate of the forbidden fruit, you see the sin was not in the fruit, it was in the choice to appose Gods will.
 
warhorse said:
God created man in his own image, Free will is a part of that reflection. Unfortinatly man chose to sin when Adam chose to break the only rule God had set and ate of the forbidden fruit, you see the sin was not in the fruit, it was in the choice to appose Gods will.
Click to expand...

Ahh....this brings me to another of the things I cannot reconcile together!
I know that God created Adam and Eve in His own image. But I know that I was BORN in Adam's image.....poor warhorse! You were trying to help me work out the knot but I have already worked it out in this thread and determined that it was a man-made knot but NOW you have brought up ANOTHER one of my other knots!
 
Jennie said:
Ahh....this brings me to another of the things I cannot reconcile together!
I know that God created Adam and Eve in His own image. But I know that I was BORN in Adam's image.....poor warhorse! You were trying to help me work out the knot but I have already worked it out in this thread and determined that it was a man-made knot but NOW you have brought up ANOTHER one of my other knots!
Click to expand...


Knot another knot! :lol

Lay it on us sister!
 
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