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Why? Well, maybe I should elaborate. There is a difference between being given a will to choose and being given a will to choose “freely”. There are hundreds of federal, state and municipal laws on the books that are rendered with an expectation of public adherence. Yet, there is no one who...

It is true that God demands a person to be "pure of heart" and "made perfect" before he may see God's face but it is also true that He knows that many persons will still not be perfected at the time of their death. Jesus commands us to "strive to enter by the narrow door because many will not be...

I have submitted a question and receive a return question but that's ok with me. Allow me to be as brief as possible. Outside of the myriad of biblical verses that I could present ( I don't because it seems that they will incur a spin on ALL of them) there is the dilemma of no human example...

I thought I would bow out of this discussion based on the magnitude of the subject matter and the ineptitude of the process of typing back and forth. But I will ask the same question that I have asked time and time again with no response whatsoever. What makes you think that man may exercise...

I now have a much fuller comprehension of the title of this thread. Doug

I cannot follow the intention of this statement. Can you restate in other words? I have no certainty about anyone's eventual election status including that of Adolf Hitler, Sister Theresa or Pontius Pilate. God knows. What I do know is that Paul intentionally inserted this phrase into his...

Not so much of a problem for the common vessel that gives thanks to the potter for being formed into anything that the potter pleases. This really gets down to the issue of faith. No one may accuse God of unfairness because God is good. If God chooses Jacob and does not choose Esau (so that...

But you must agree with the force of this passage that the lump of clay has no privilege to claim "foul" when the potter makes choices for this same lump of clay. It is the potter who brings usefulness to a lump. He does so how he pleases in the way that God is sovereign in His choices to...

Now, we are getting somewhere! Surely man is able to please God through the exercise of the Holy Spirit that is indwelling within those who have chosen Christ. But read this!!! Man must be able to make that decision first. If there is none good and none righteous and none who seeks after...

I am trying to discern how any of that is relevant to man’s inability to please God through the exercise of “free will”. Scratching my head here. Doug

I wish I knew if you are pretending not to understand or somehow simply missing my question. If I knew the answer to that question I would know how to proceed. Doug

Romans 8:29 "For whom God foreknew, He also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son," If we were to use "foreknow" and "foresaw" interchangeably we could only conclude that everyone of those whom God knew about (foreknowledge) would be ordained to be conformed into the likeness...

All of those submitted scriptural directives may speculate that an omniscient God would anticipate the ability of the hearer of such directives to respond in a positive manner. Yet, we know that wasn't and isn't the case. ...…………………………………………………………………………………………………. Genesis 6:5 - "And GOD saw...

It is truly amazing to me that folks will read the exact same passage and come to wildly and drastically different conclusions as to its specific meaning. We also see this phenomenon operating in the contemporary political sphere but this spiritual reckoning has been transpiring for centuries...

I apologize if I haven't read your previous posts that gave explanation. I will read the content of the submitted references as a backdrop. Thanks for your kind consideration pertaining to this issue. Doug

It seems to me that we may be over-intellectualizing this potter and clay issue. How is the reference to the potter making his own choice to form any vessel isolated from Paul's declaration that God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy? Paul, as a good teacher, anticipated the reaction...

The question being bantered around here within this thread is if there is a "free will" choice, made by those who are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2), that can legitimately be made to walk in the Spirit. There are just too many scripture passages to mention that explicitly declare...

Should we hold back? Is that your question? Should we hold back from loving our neighbor as ourselves? The answer is: it depends on who is the "we" that you are talking about? Those who have been gifted by the indwelling of the Spirit of Righteousness should not hold back this same Spirit...

So, it is your view that men can make their individual best attempt at performing acts of goodness and that alone is enough to please God? Even in reference to all that Romans 8 has to say about the subject (not to mention Romans 5,6,7)?

I think that although the general subject matter of this 9th chapter of Romans was concerning the Jewish rejection of the Messiah, it conveys much more than that to all of us today. If you read this with a narrow view as if God doesn't willfully change the hearts of men to conform with His...