Why One Person Chooses God and Another Does Not !

John tower · Apr 26, 2018

The question always comes up : Why does one person choose God and another rejects ? Is it because the one person is good , and the other person is bad ? : Romans 3(10): There is none righteous , no not one! and Mark 10(18): There is none good but one, that is God! So if they are both bad, as the bible clearly states : Why then does one person choose God, and the other person does not? When a man comes to God he believes that HE is doing it, but at the same time he cannot understand how that another person, understanding the same things that he does, could possibly say no to God ! The only answer of course is : that the other person does not have the same understanding ! The next obvious question is of course : Why does he not have the same understanding? : Matthew 13(11): To you IT IS GIVEN to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven : To them IT IS NOT GIVEN ! Either God gives his spirit unto you, and you then receive understanding, and you then can come to him, or : God witholds his spirit from you, and you are thus left in darkness, and CANNOT come to him : Psalms 65(4): Blessed is the man WHOM THOU CHOOSES AND CAUSES to approach unto thee ! Either way it is TOTALLY THE WORK OF GOD, and not some imagined free will choice or work of man which falsely gives credit unto man for something which he did not and CANNOT do ! Ephesians 2(1-5): You hath HE quickened who were DEAD ! and God when we were DEAD hath quickened us together with Christ ! A dead man cannot make a free will choice to choose God, because a dead man can do nothing BECAUSE HE IS DEAD !!! This should be a no brainer, yet there are endless people who insist against all logic, that man has the power to make his own free will choice to come to God, even though he is DEAD !! A DEAD man can do nothing : Only God can quicken us to life : Colossians 2(13): You being DEAD hath HE quickened ! So the sole determining factor to whether one comes to God or not is : God gives his spirit : You then receive understanding : And then you can come to God OR God witholds his spirit : You remain in darkness : And thus CANNOT come to God !!! And so again it is solely and totally the work of God and not some imagined free will choice of man, again falsely giving credit unto man for something he did not and indeed CANNOT do : John 6(44): No man can come to me except THE FATHER DRAW HIM !!! Some other scriptures proving that it is not by man's free will choice that we come to God , but only by God's will : John 1(13): Which were born NOT OF THE WILL OF MAN , but of God! and Romans 9(16): So then it is not of him that willeth, but of God! and James 1(18): Of HIS OWN WILL begat he us with the word !!!

1213 · Apr 26, 2018

John tower said:
The question always comes up : Why does one person choose God and another rejects ?

I believe the reason is that some people love evil and some people love truth and good.

Phil 1:21 · Apr 26, 2018

John 6:43-45

43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.

MDC · Apr 26, 2018

John tower said:
The question always comes up : Why does one person choose God and another rejects ? Is it because the one person is good , and the other person is bad ? : Romans 3(10): There is none righteous , no not one! and Mark 10(18): There is none good but one, that is God! So if they are both bad, as the bible clearly states : Why then does one person choose God, and the other person does not? When a man comes to God he believes that HE is doing it, but at the same time he cannot understand how that another person, understanding the same things that he does, could possibly say no to God ! The only answer of course is : that the other person does not have the same understanding ! The next obvious question is of course : Why does he not have the same understanding? : Matthew 13(11): To you IT IS GIVEN to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven : To them IT IS NOT GIVEN ! Either God gives his spirit unto you, and you then receive understanding, and you then can come to him, or : God witholds his spirit from you, and you are thus left in darkness, and CANNOT come to him : Psalms 65(4): Blessed is the man WHOM THOU CHOOSES AND CAUSES to approach unto thee ! Either way it is TOTALLY THE WORK OF GOD, and not some imagined free will choice or work of man which falsely gives credit unto man for something which he did not and CANNOT do ! Ephesians 2(1-5): You hath HE quickened who were DEAD ! and God when we were DEAD hath quickened us together with Christ ! A dead man cannot make a free will choice to choose God, because a dead man can do nothing BECAUSE HE IS DEAD !!! This should be a no brainer, yet there are endless people who insist against all logic, that man has the power to make his own free will choice to come to God, even though he is DEAD !! A DEAD man can do nothing : Only God can quicken us to life : Colossians 2(13): You being DEAD hath HE quickened ! So the sole determining factor to whether one comes to God or not is : God gives his spirit : You then receive understanding : And then you can come to God OR God witholds his spirit : You remain in darkness : And thus CANNOT come to God !!! And so again it is solely and totally the work of God and not some imagined free will choice of man, again falsely giving credit unto man for something he did not and indeed CANNOT do : John 6(44): No man can come to me except THE FATHER DRAW HIM !!! Some other scriptures proving that it is not by man's free will choice that we come to God , but only by God's will : John 1(13): Which were born NOT OF THE WILL OF MAN , but of God! and Romans 9(16): So then it is not of him that willeth, but of God! and James 1(18): Of HIS OWN WILL begat he us with the word !!!

Great post John exactly correct

PeaceJoyLove · Apr 26, 2018

John tower said:
The question always comes up : Why does one person choose God and another rejects ? Is it because the one person is good , and the other person is bad ? : Romans 3(10): There is none righteous , no not one! and Mark 10(18): There is none good but one, that is God! So if they are both bad, as the bible clearly states : Why then does one person choose God, and the other person does not? When a man comes to God he believes that HE is doing it, but at the same time he cannot understand how that another person, understanding the same things that he does, could possibly say no to God ! The only answer of course is : that the other person does not have the same understanding ! The next obvious question is of course : Why does he not have the same understanding? : Matthew 13(11): To you IT IS GIVEN to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven : To them IT IS NOT GIVEN ! Either God gives his spirit unto you, and you then receive understanding, and you then can come to him, or : God witholds his spirit from you, and you are thus left in darkness, and CANNOT come to him : Psalms 65(4): Blessed is the man WHOM THOU CHOOSES AND CAUSES to approach unto thee ! Either way it is TOTALLY THE WORK OF GOD, and not some imagined free will choice or work of man which falsely gives credit unto man for something which he did not and CANNOT do ! Ephesians 2(1-5): You hath HE quickened who were DEAD ! and God when we were DEAD hath quickened us together with Christ ! A dead man cannot make a free will choice to choose God, because a dead man can do nothing BECAUSE HE IS DEAD !!! This should be a no brainer, yet there are endless people who insist against all logic, that man has the power to make his own free will choice to come to God, even though he is DEAD !! A DEAD man can do nothing : Only God can quicken us to life : Colossians 2(13): You being DEAD hath HE quickened ! So the sole determining factor to whether one comes to God or not is : God gives his spirit : You then receive understanding : And then you can come to God OR God witholds his spirit : You remain in darkness : And thus CANNOT come to God !!! And so again it is solely and totally the work of God and not some imagined free will choice of man, again falsely giving credit unto man for something he did not and indeed CANNOT do : John 6(44): No man can come to me except THE FATHER DRAW HIM !!! Some other scriptures proving that it is not by man's free will choice that we come to God , but only by God's will : John 1(13): Which were born NOT OF THE WILL OF MAN , but of God! and Romans 9(16): So then it is not of him that willeth, but of God! and James 1(18): Of HIS OWN WILL begat he us with the word !!!

1 Corinthians 12:6 There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all men.

As Jesus was being crucified, He asked His Father to forgive them for not knowing what they were doing...yet they were fulfilling God's will just as much....

God fills all in all...His spirit dwells in all...just that some have yet to awaken that truth...

John tower · Apr 26, 2018

Phil 1:21 said:
John 6:43-45

43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.

Good verses .

John tower · Apr 26, 2018

MDC said:
Great post John exactly correct

Wisdom is justified of all her children : thank you brother .

MDC · Apr 26, 2018

1213 said:
I believe the reason is that some people love evil and some people love truth and good.

There is none righteous none who seeks after God none who understands there is NONE WHO DOETH GOOD. Romans 3

Halbhh · Apr 26, 2018

John tower said:
The question always comes up : Why does one person choose God and another rejects ? Is it because the one person is good , and the other person is bad ? : Romans 3(10): There is none righteous , no not one! and Mark 10(18): There is none good but one, that is God! So if they are both bad, as the bible clearly states : Why then does one person choose God, and the other person does not? When a man comes to God he believes that HE is doing it, but at the same time he cannot understand how that another person, understanding the same things that he does, could possibly say no to God ! The only answer of course is : that the other person does not have the same understanding ! The next obvious question is of course : Why does he not have the same understanding? : Matthew 13(11): To you IT IS GIVEN to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven : To them IT IS NOT GIVEN ! Either God gives his spirit unto you, and you then receive understanding, and you then can come to him, or : God witholds his spirit from you, and you are thus left in darkness, and CANNOT come to him : Psalms 65(4): Blessed is the man WHOM THOU CHOOSES AND CAUSES to approach unto thee ! Either way it is TOTALLY THE WORK OF GOD, and not some imagined free will choice or work of man which falsely gives credit unto man for something which he did not and CANNOT do ! Ephesians 2(1-5): You hath HE quickened who were DEAD ! and God when we were DEAD hath quickened us together with Christ ! A dead man cannot make a free will choice to choose God, because a dead man can do nothing BECAUSE HE IS DEAD !!! This should be a no brainer, yet there are endless people who insist against all logic, that man has the power to make his own free will choice to come to God, even though he is DEAD !! A DEAD man can do nothing : Only God can quicken us to life : Colossians 2(13): You being DEAD hath HE quickened ! So the sole determining factor to whether one comes to God or not is : God gives his spirit : You then receive understanding : And then you can come to God OR God witholds his spirit : You remain in darkness : And thus CANNOT come to God !!! And so again it is solely and totally the work of God and not some imagined free will choice of man, again falsely giving credit unto man for something he did not and indeed CANNOT do : John 6(44): No man can come to me except THE FATHER DRAW HIM !!! Some other scriptures proving that it is not by man's free will choice that we come to God , but only by God's will : John 1(13): Which were born NOT OF THE WILL OF MAN , but of God! and Romans 9(16): So then it is not of him that willeth, but of God! and James 1(18): Of HIS OWN WILL begat he us with the word !!!

Well, in the 4th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Christ Himself tells us very specifically why some grow from the seed, and some do not!

Mark 4 NIV

Also, there is one more thing that came to mind -- in John chapter 5, culminating in the key verse 44, about why they did not believe, which feels like it is very relevant for many. How can anyone believe in Christ if they are seeking glory from other people? Consider along with that powerful verse also what He said in the first several verses of Matthew 18 NIV -- that only the humble could ever enter.

John tower · Apr 26, 2018

Halbhh said:
Well, in the 4th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Christ Himself tells us very specifically why some grow from the seed, and some do not!

Mark 4 NIV

Also, there is one more thing that came to mind -- in John chapter 5, culminating in the key verse 44, about why they did not believe, which feels like it is very relevant for many. How can anyone believe in Christ if they are seeking glory from other people? Consider along with that powerful verse also what He said in the first several verses of Matthew 18 NIV -- that only the humble could ever enter.

Martin Luther said you are never truly humbled until you are made to know that you have no part in the salvation process : it is solely the work of God : When you finally truly understand this fact : You are then truly humbled !

GTW27 · Apr 26, 2018

PeaceJoyLove said:
1 Corinthians 12:6 There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all men.

As Jesus was being crucified, He asked His Father to forgive them for not knowing what they were doing...yet they were fulfilling God's will just as much....

God fills all in all...His spirit dwells in all...just that some have yet to awaken that truth...

"I therefore, a prisoner for The Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of The Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and one Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all."
"Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with Me."
"Truly, truly I say to you unless one is born of water and The Spirit he can not enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which born of The Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew'(from above). The Wind (or Spirit) blows where it wills. and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of The Spirit."

PeaceJoyLove · Apr 26, 2018

GTW27 said:
"I therefore, a prisoner for The Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of The Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and one Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all."
"Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with Me."
"Truly, truly I say to you unless one is born of water and The Spirit he can not enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which born of The Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew'(from above). The Wind (or Spirit) blows where it wills. and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of The Spirit."

(My post was to the Opening Post subject...)

And I do not disagree with what you have shared from a certain place of viewing.

Perception is everything...as in the question in the garden, "Where art thou?" Jesus said those who were blind have no sin. Knowing as fully as we have always been known...or still asleep does not make one less just because he/she cannot yet 'see'/perceive.

Just as the scripture you shared says "Behold I stand at the door and knock..." look in light of -

Luke 11:9-10 So I tell you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened...

Is there two who are knocking? Inside? Outside? Where is The Door to enter in...? (no need to answer...just ponder)

1213 · Apr 27, 2018

MDC said:
There is none righteous none who seeks after God none who understands there is NONE WHO DOETH GOOD. Romans 3

Maybe. I think Paul is not necessary meaning all people in every time. After all, Bible speaks of many people who were counted as righteous.

And also, if none are, no one will go to eternal life, which is promised for righteous.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

Halbhh · Apr 27, 2018

1213 said:
Maybe. I think Paul is not necessary meaning all people in every time. After all, Bible speaks of many people who were counted as righteous.

And also, if none are, no one will go to eternal life, which is promised for righteous.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

That's right. In Romans 3, Paul is quoting from a variety of Psalms, taking out pieces to build a picture in order to help us understand that we generally cannot (without faith!) become righteous enough on our own independently, with our own efforts without Christ.

The Jews had to learn an entirely new way. (The new wine could not be put in old wineskins. We could not just patch on new cloth onto an old garment. But instead there is an entirely new way of transformation through Christ.)

As Paul writes --

9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”b
13“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”c
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”d
14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”e
15“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know.”f
18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”g

19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Righteousness Through Faith

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

a 4 Psalm 51:4
b 12 Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20
c 13 Psalm 5:9
d 13 Psalm 140:3
e 14 Psalm 10:7 (see Septuagint)
f 17 Isaiah 59:7,8
g 18 Psalm 36:1
Romans 3 NIV
--------
In Hebrews 11 we see how faith in the Old Covenant(s) was counted as righteousness (and we can expect those having faith and being held up as examples of righteousness were of course generally doing right much of the time.)
We learn in other parts of the epistles and gospels that we need the rebirth of relying on Christ in faith in order to be truly changed (in an ongoing way too, a wonderful example is John ch 15, v1-17, and the cleansing of us as we confess sins 1 John chapter 1, under this New Covenant).

Wordkeeper · Apr 27, 2018

John tower said:
The question always comes up : Why does one person choose God and another rejects ? Is it because the one person is good , and the other person is bad ? : Romans 3(10): There is none righteous , no not one! and Mark 10(18): There is none good but one, that is God! So if they are both bad, as the bible clearly states : Why then does one person choose God, and the other person does not? When a man comes to God he believes that HE is doing it, but at the same time he cannot understand how that another person, understanding the same things that he does, could possibly say no to God ! The only answer of course is : that the other person does not have the same understanding ! The next obvious question is of course : Why does he not have the same understanding? : Matthew 13(11): To you IT IS GIVEN to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven : To them IT IS NOT GIVEN ! Either God gives his spirit unto you, and you then receive understanding, and you then can come to him, or : God witholds his spirit from you, and you are thus left in darkness, and CANNOT come to him : Psalms 65(4): Blessed is the man WHOM THOU CHOOSES AND CAUSES to approach unto thee ! Either way it is TOTALLY THE WORK OF GOD, and not some imagined free will choice or work of man which falsely gives credit unto man for something which he did not and CANNOT do ! Ephesians 2(1-5): You hath HE quickened who were DEAD ! and God when we were DEAD hath quickened us together with Christ ! A dead man cannot make a free will choice to choose God, because a dead man can do nothing BECAUSE HE IS DEAD !!! This should be a no brainer, yet there are endless people who insist against all logic, that man has the power to make his own free will choice to come to God, even though he is DEAD !! A DEAD man can do nothing : Only God can quicken us to life : Colossians 2(13): You being DEAD hath HE quickened ! So the sole determining factor to whether one comes to God or not is : God gives his spirit : You then receive understanding : And then you can come to God OR God witholds his spirit : You remain in darkness : And thus CANNOT come to God !!! And so again it is solely and totally the work of God and not some imagined free will choice of man, again falsely giving credit unto man for something he did not and indeed CANNOT do : John 6(44): No man can come to me except THE FATHER DRAW HIM !!! Some other scriptures proving that it is not by man's free will choice that we come to God , but only by God's will : John 1(13): Which were born NOT OF THE WILL OF MAN , but of God! and Romans 9(16): So then it is not of him that willeth, but of God! and James 1(18): Of HIS OWN WILL begat he us with the word !!!

A person habitually bought mediocre cars which would break down very quickly, sometimes at an inconvenient time, needing immediate replacement. One year, he bought an expensive car which served him well for five years before needing a planned replacement. Soon after, he bought another mediocre car. He had found the good car too expensive.

Israel experienced God's great care in Egypt. When the time came to renew the agreement with God, only Joshua and Caleb decided to continue with God.

Israel found serving God to be too expensive.

That's why some people decide to continue serving mammon, use the wide gate.

John tower · Apr 27, 2018

1213 said:
Maybe. I think Paul is not necessary meaning all people in every time. After all, Bible speaks of many people who were counted as righteous.

And also, if none are, no one will go to eternal life, which is promised for righteous.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

MDC : Standard MO : Take a scripture and tear it to pieces with their own reasonings , thereby replacing God's word with their own readonings : Thank God none of these things affect the Elect!

MDC · Apr 27, 2018

Wordkeeper said:
A person habitually bought mediocre cars which would break down very quickly, sometimes at an inconvenient time, needing immediate replacement. One year, he bought an expensive car which served him well for five years before needing a planned replacement. Soon after, he bought another mediocre car. He had found the good car too expensive.

Israel experienced God's great care in Egypt. When the time came to renew the agreement with God, only Joshua and Caleb decided to continue with God.

Israel found serving God to be too expensive.

That's why some people decide to continue serving mammon, use the wide gate.

Reread the OP. What’s the determining factor on why one comes to Christ and the other doesn’t

Wordkeeper · Apr 28, 2018

MDC said:
Reread the OP. What’s the determining factor on why one comes to Christ and the other doesn’t

Because the cost is too high.

Luke 14
25Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31“Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32“Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

Acts 5
12At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. 13But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.

Low cost, no eternal life. High cost, eternal life or opportunity to be a blessing to the world, possess God's kingdom. Nicodemus couldn't do kingdom stuff, manifest the finger of God, like Moses, to rescue people enslaved by the world, have their names written in the book of life, because God wasn't with him.

John 3
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Why One Person Chooses God and Another Does Not !

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