Sometimes its hard for me to put into words what It is that im trying to say so often I do better finding sources on the internet that seem to explain what it is that im trying to explain myself.
How do those who are to receive eternal life come to accepting God? They must turn to Him, but is it that simple? Deuteronomy 30:19 commands us to “choose life” but Romans 3:11 declares that “there is none who seeks for God”(NASB). The whole passage shows that it is impossible for us to carry out this commandment to choose God. There is no-one who will turn from their sinful ways and accept God. So the Athenian belief that God chose those who would accept His gift of grace (like the Jewish belief that God chose Israel because it accepted/would accept Him – See Appendix) must be false. For if that were so, God would foreordain no-one, because He would know that no-one would react appropriately to His gift of grace.
So how is it we have faith, a response to God’s mercy and grace. It is a gift from God, for it says:
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with
the measure of faith God has given you. …. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.”(Rom 12:3,6 NIV)
And also:
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit…”
(1Cor 12:7-9 NIV)
All reject God and actively disobey Him, and no-one will accept Him until He draws us to Him (Jn 6:44). These few are chosen by God by His grace (Rom 11:5), an undeserved gift (Isa 45:4). “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.” (Jas 1:18 NIV) God has chosen a few and hardened the rest (Rom 11:7,8,) He allows and ordains them to be deceived (1Ki 22:19-23, 2Sam 24:1 with 1Chr 21:1), and condemned (Jude 4). Yet God does not do the deceiving. (Jas 1:13-14) It is pointed out that Paul says to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Php 2:12 NIV), yet verse 13 says that “it is God working in (us) to will and to act according to his good purpose.”(NIV) So we are to choose God, turn to Him, yet this act is God acting in us as we are unable to do this by ourselves.
Predestination & Free Will and Calvinism & Arminianism
