Might I ask how one can lose something He did not obtain??? Many on here have said that God wants us to choose yet in the scripture we find our Savior of all people saying the exact opposite...
John 15:16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruitfruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
Also, does God not choose Israel? Is it because they are good or have done something to make Him choose them? No, He made a choice, not the nation of Israel...they didn't even acknowledge God, and yet He said HE not THEY would be righteous because HE not THEY would make their paths straight!
Isaiah 45
1 "This is what the LORD says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you
and will level the mountains [a] ;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD ,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
5 I am the LORD , and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me.
I am the LORD , and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD , do all these things.
Just the same case exists in Micah, and a reference in Romans about Jacob and Esau, Paul tells us that
before the kiddos had done
anything of merit, good or bad, before they were born he
HATED Esau and
LOVED Jacob so that His purpose in Election might stand... What does this say to man about salvation? It says that we were created by God, FOR God, and that means for HIS PURPOSE as an object of His wrath or an object of mercy. We were CHOSEN before the foundation of the earth was laid to either be HOLY in His sight or to be unknown by Him.
Those that say, "Oh we make a choice to be saved!" Who gives you your faith? Who instills that faith within you? Who created your brain and designed you to be the way you are???(Psalms 139) You say, "So you blame God if you go to Hell?" Well I wouldn't call it blame, I would call it Soveriegnty over
ALL things. Man plans in his heart the ways he will go, but GOD directs His steps. That means that we can plan alllll day long what we want, but GOD's WILL will be done, period. What more can an invention do than what it was DESIGNED to do? NOTHING! The Inventor designs all aspects of the creation and makes it for a SPECIFIC purpose. The thing can not say well I was created to cut open boxes, but now I will go and kill all that I see. Only the OWNER or CREATOR can say I will go and kill all that I see, and I will use this box knife to do it. God may change our purpose or have multiple purposes for us, but we can not stray outside the purpose, good or bad, that He has for us. As His chosen children, He promises us that He has a plan to prosper us and not to harm, and plan to give us hope and a future. That plan can not be faltered by me, for it is HE who sustains, and HE who purposes all of creation. God does not roll dice, and He does not lose, HE WILL WIN, and He gets what He wants.
Here are more scriptures that tell us about the soveriegnty of God:
Matthew 10:29
29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
1 Samuel 2:7
7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth;he humbles and he exalts.8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. "For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's;upon them he has set the world.
Psalms 75:
6 No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt a man.
7 But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.
Proverbs 16:
9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Proverbs 19:
21 Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 20:
24 A man's steps are directed by the LORD . How then can anyone understand his own way?
Acts 17:26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
Proverbs 16:
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD .
Isaiah 50:
2 When I came, why was there no one?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?
Was my arm too short to ransom you?
Do I lack the strength to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea,
I turn rivers into a desert;
their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
Acts 3: 17Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.
I can list about a thousand more if you like, but I figure you are probably tired of reading it at this point. My point is this, God has control over everything, He even makes people think certain ways to haev them fulfill a purpose of HIS. scripture backs this up consistently and it is pretty irrefutable.
God Be Blessed,
FOMWatts<><