It is not a matter of losing our free will, but rather the simple fact that within our free will we cannot and will not ever be saved. This is why the calling of God is impossible to say no to (irresistable grace).
actually, I don't agree
we are saved based on our acceptance of gods help
I often wonder how god could ever transform me into something incapable of sin
and also have felt on multiple occasions that I was impossible
but I kept fighting for what was right, for what I knew was true and would eventually release me from bondage
don't get me wrong...its not based on my own efforts but in my trust in god to help me and fix me
and he is...I'm getting control of myself slowly in a way I never would have imagined possible
I am VERY susceptible to temptation(its so cunning) but I'm slowly figuring it out more and more and I think I'm making some ground
but I promise you I am putting great effort on my own part to do this:
2 Esdras
[
88] "Now this is the order of those who have kept the ways of the Most High, when they shall be separated from their mortal body. [
89] During the time that they lived in it, they laboriously served the Most High, and withstood danger every hour, that they might keep the law of the Lawgiver perfectly.
[
90] Therefore this is the teaching concerning them:
[
91] First of all, they shall see with great joy the glory of him who receives them, for they shall have rest in seven orders.
[
92]
The first order, because they have striven with great effort to overcome the evil thought which was formed with them, that it might not lead them astray from life into death.
[
93] The second order, because they see the perplexity in which the souls of the ungodly wander, and the punishment that awaits them.
[
94] The third order, they see the witness which he who formed them bears concerning them, that while they were alive they kept the law which was given them in trust.
[
95] The fourth order, they understand the rest which they now enjoy, being gathered into their chambers and guarded by angels in profound quiet, and the glory which awaits them in the last days.
[
96] The fifth order, they rejoice that they have now escaped what is corruptible, and shall inherit what is to come; and besides they see the straits and toil from which they have been delivered, and the spacious liberty which they are to receive and enjoy in immortality.
[
97] The sixth order, when it is shown to them how their face is to shine like the sun, and how they are to be made like the light of the stars, being incorruptible from then on.
[
98] The seventh order, which is greater than all that have been mentioned, because they shall rejoice with boldness, and shall be confident without confusion, and shall be glad without fear, for they hasten to behold the face of him whom they served in life and from whom they are to receive their reward when glorified.
[
99] This is the order of the souls of the righteous, as henceforth is announced; and the aforesaid are the ways of torment which those who would not give heed shall suffer hereafter."
People do not need excuses. Predestination does not give men the excuse. Sin does. LOL Many a man blames God for the way they are when in truth it is sin that makes the man the way they are.
