'free will'

[foundinHim]

Adam was created perfect/innocent but without righteousness. The LORD God Almighty the Creator is righteousness itself. Adam was NOT created to be a robot, but a free will creature.

In Gen.2:19-20, God gave Adam free will to name "every living creature" on earth. Also, God gave Adam only 1 command, which was "thou shalt not eat of" the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave Adam and Eve free will to believe or believe not what He had said. This is the original sin---the "sin" of un-belief. Adam and Eve believed Satan's lie and therefore disobeyed God's command. Their expulsion from the garden of Eden was necessary because if they would have ate "of the tree of life", they would have lived forever. In their fallen condition, Adam and Eve were drove out of the garden and had 2 sons---Cain and Abel...

The doctrine of substitution was the very first doctrine taught to mankind. This first doctrine recorded in the Scriptures, man was required to believe what he had heard from God. God accepted Abel's offering but not Cain's because "without shedding of blood", there "is no remission" of sin(s). "It is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul."

God has spoken. He has told us that He cannot and will not accept the fallen sons of men in their sins. After their fall, I believe that Adam and Eve did not immediately return to the dust and their spirit did not return to God from whence it came after they sinned, because of what I hear/read and believe in God's written word of truth..."the body without the spirit is dead."

God chose to create man and He loves His creation so much that He has provided us a way to be reconciled unto Him. He desires that none should perish. God chose us first and loved us first! His purpose for salvation is that we would NOT be eternally seperated from Him.

Man has been given free will to believe or not to believe God.
Let us refer to Lev.22:18-19..."freewill offerings" ... v.19, "Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats."
(Lev.22:23)
"Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted."
[Lev.22:21, 23:38; Num.15:3, 29:39; Deut.12:6,17, 16:10, 23:23; 2Chr.31:14 ...]
(Ezra 7:13)
"I make a decree, that all they of the People of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee."
[Ezra 1:4, 3:5 "every one that willingly," 7:16, 8:28]
[Psa.119:108 ... "the freewill offerings of my mouth," ... ]

Even though these verses are interpreted of Israel, we (members of the church) can learn from them...
(Psa.119:97-112)
O how I love Thy law!
It is my meditation all the day.
Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:
For they are ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers:
For Thy testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients,
Because I keep Thy precepts.
I have refrained my feet from every evil way,
That I might keep Thy word.
I have not departed from Thy judgments:
For Thou hast taught me.
How sweet are Thy words unto my taste!
Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through Thy precepts I get understanding:
Therefore I hate every false way.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
And a light unto my path.
I have sworn, and I will perform it,
That I will keep Thy righteous judgments.
I am afflicted very much:
Quicken me, O LORD, according unto Thy word.
Accept, I beseech Thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,
And teach me Thy judgments.
My soul is continually in my hand:
Yet I do not forget Thy law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me:
Yet I erred not from Thy precepts.
Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever:
For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined mine heart to perform Thy statutes alway,
Even unto the end.

All Scripture is God-breathed...and His written word was given to us---for "they are spirit, and they are life." "The holy Scriptures" "are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

So, God has told us that He can accept us, as such, only in the merits/works and Person of that perfect Substitute---Christ---Whom He has provided. Do we believe Him as to this?

If we do, we shall by faith, lay our hand on Him, confess our belief in God as to our own lost and ruined nature, and as to Christ as God's provided Salvation; knowing that, by this faith, God pronounces us righteous, accepts us in the Person of our Substitute; and declares us as "accepted in the Beloved", because God accepted His ONE offering when He raised Him from the dead.

When we hear God's Good News and believe what He says, we receive His promise that we will be saved from eternal seperation from Him...OR we may hear His Good News and NOT believe, and be judged for the sin of un-belief, and suffer eternal seperation from Him.

So, we to-day, either go the way of Cain (man) or go the way of God.

We are saved by God's grace (a gift that is freely given, but not deserved) through faith in Christ's finished and perfect work. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came down from heaven, not to do His own will, but the will of His Father That sent Him.

"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but He that seeketh His glory That sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."

Whatever truth a man or woman knows, comes because he or she is willing to receive the truth.

Upon our believing what God has said, we become a member of the body of Christ Which He is the Head of. ("the church of God") We are then given liberty in Christ, free from the bondage of sin and death. We now have a free-d will and are His workmanship, enabled to do "good works" that He has prepared for us.

We hear, believe, and should obey.
We walk by faith, not by sight...
When we are led by the Holy Spirit, we "shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."
We are to display and exercise "the fruit of the Spirit"... to shine as lights in this dark world, ever pointing to Christ and His glory.

"Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen."

 

[JMWHALEN]

Your wrote a beautiful article, foundinHim.

(bold is my emphasis)

"Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart..." Exodus 35:5

"If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD." Lev. 1:3

In Christ,
John M. Whalen

 

[foundinHim]

Thanks for the kind words John and thanks for adding more Scripture! God's Word gives us a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ from Genesis to The Revelation.

In Christ, love abides...
"found in Him" (Anne)

 

[Easystreet]

Adam was created perfect/innocent but without righteousness. The LORD God Almighty the Creator is righteousness itself. Adam was NOT created to be a robot, but a free will creature.

In Gen.2:19-20, God gave Adam free will to name "every living creature" on earth. Also, God gave Adam only 1 command, which was "thou shalt not eat of" the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave Adam and Eve free will to believe or believe not what He had said. This is the original sin---the "sin" of un-belief. Adam and Eve believed Satan's lie and therefore disobeyed God's command. Their expulsion from the garden of Eden was necessary because if they would have ate "of the tree of life", they would have lived forever. In their fallen condition, Adam and Eve were drove out of the garden and had 2 sons---Cain and Abel...

The doctrine of substitution was the very first doctrine taught to mankind. This first doctrine recorded in the Scriptures, man was required to believe what he had heard from God. God accepted Abel's offering but not Cain's because "without shedding of blood", there "is no remission" of sin(s). "It is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul."

God has spoken. He has told us that He cannot and will not accept the fallen sons of men in their sins. After their fall, I believe that Adam and Eve did not immediately return to the dust and their spirit did not return to God from whence it came after they sinned, because of what I hear/read and believe in God's written word of truth..."the body without the spirit is dead."

God chose to create man and He loves His creation so much that He has provided us a way to be reconciled unto Him. He desires that none should perish. God chose us first and loved us first! His purpose for salvation is that we would NOT be eternally seperated from Him.

Man has been given free will to believe or not to believe God.
Let us refer to Lev.22:18-19..."freewill offerings" ... v.19, "Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats."
(Lev.22:23)
"Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted."
[Lev.22:21, 23:38; Num.15:3, 29:39; Deut.12:6,17, 16:10, 23:23; 2Chr.31:14 ...]
(Ezra 7:13)
"I make a decree, that all they of the People of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee."
[Ezra 1:4, 3:5 "every one that willingly," 7:16, 8:28]
[Psa.119:108 ... "the freewill offerings of my mouth," ... ]

Even though these verses are interpreted of Israel, we (members of the church) can learn from them...
(Psa.119:97-112)
O how I love Thy law!
It is my meditation all the day.
Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:
For they are ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers:
For Thy testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients,
Because I keep Thy precepts.
I have refrained my feet from every evil way,
That I might keep Thy word.
I have not departed from Thy judgments:
For Thou hast taught me.
How sweet are Thy words unto my taste!
Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through Thy precepts I get understanding:
Therefore I hate every false way.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
And a light unto my path.
I have sworn, and I will perform it,
That I will keep Thy righteous judgments.
I am afflicted very much:
Quicken me, O LORD, according unto Thy word.
Accept, I beseech Thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,
And teach me Thy judgments.
My soul is continually in my hand:
Yet I do not forget Thy law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me:
Yet I erred not from Thy precepts.
Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever:
For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined mine heart to perform Thy statutes alway,
Even unto the end.

All Scripture is God-breathed...and His written word was given to us---for "they are spirit, and they are life." "The holy Scriptures" "are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

So, God has told us that He can accept us, as such, only in the merits/works and Person of that perfect Substitute---Christ---Whom He has provided. Do we believe Him as to this?

If we do, we shall by faith, lay our hand on Him, confess our belief in God as to our own lost and ruined nature, and as to Christ as God's provided Salvation; knowing that, by this faith, God pronounces us righteous, accepts us in the Person of our Substitute; and declares us as "accepted in the Beloved", because God accepted His ONE offering when He raised Him from the dead.

When we hear God's Good News and believe what He says, we receive His promise that we will be saved from eternal seperation from Him...OR we may hear His Good News and NOT believe, and be judged for the sin of un-belief, and suffer eternal seperation from Him.

So, we to-day, either go the way of Cain (man) or go the way of God.

We are saved by God's grace (a gift that is freely given, but not deserved) through faith in Christ's finished and perfect work. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came down from heaven, not to do His own will, but the will of His Father That sent Him.

"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but He that seeketh His glory That sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."

Whatever truth a man or woman knows, comes because he or she is willing to receive the truth.

Upon our believing what God has said, we become a member of the body of Christ Which He is the Head of. ("the church of God") We are then given liberty in Christ, free from the bondage of sin and death. We now have a free-d will and are His workmanship, enabled to do "good works" that He has prepared for us.

We hear, believe, and should obey.
We walk by faith, not by sight...
When we are led by the Holy Spirit, we "shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."
We are to display and exercise "the fruit of the Spirit"... to shine as lights in this dark world, ever pointing to Christ and His glory.

"Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen."

I too am a totally secure free will Christian. I reject the tulip. I embrace eternal security and the truth that man has free will to accept or reject the Gift of Salvation.

God Bless

 

[foundinHim]

Dear GordonSlocum:

What is the "tulip"?

In place of the words, "accept" or "reject"...I use the words, "believe" or "not believe".

In Christ, love abides!

 

[Easystreet]

Dear GordonSlocum:

What is the "tulip"?

In place of the words, "accept" or "reject"...I use the words, "believe" or "not believe".

In Christ, love abides!

The tulip is the Calvinist belief system that sees man not having free will. God selects some from the masses of humanity and saves them of which if God had not done this they would have died and gone to hell like all the rest of mankind because they can not turn to God in faith and be saved. They are elected to Hell.

 

[foundinHim]

The tulip is the Calvinist belief system that sees man not having free will. God selects some from the masses of humanity and saves them of which if God had not done this they would have died and gone to hell like all the rest of mankind because they can not turn to God in faith and be saved. They are elected to Hell.

Oh...at a forum I sometimes visit from time to time---they say God made "vessels for honour" and "vessels for dishonour"...they make it sound like those chosen is like some exclusive club. What they are saying is that God loves me but He doesn't love you. It is amazing to me when I read some of the posts there...actually it deeply saddens me sometimes.

 

[Easystreet]

Oh...at a forum I sometimes visit from time to time---they say God made "vessels for honour" and "vessels for dishonour"...they make it sound like those chosen is like some exclusive club. What they are saying is that God loves me but He doesn't love you. It is amazing to me when I read some of the posts there...actually it deeply saddens me sometimes.

When reading Paul's writing concerning the Potter and the Pot one must read the passage in context. Calvinist fail to do that.

Take time to read chapters 9, 10 and 11 as a unit. Chapter 11 verse 32 is the conclusion of the argument. The argument is idiomatic and not meant to be taken in a "wooden literal" way. In a normal literal way yes which considers genre and idiomatic expressions like that of the potter and the pot.

It is true that God can do what He pleases with what He creates. It is also true that what is created has no say in the purpose and reason for its creation. The fact that the potter created a pot for honor and for destruction in no way teaches that God condemned people to hell whom he did not foresee would never believe.

Notice what 11:30-32 says, "30. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,
31. so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.

Here is the bottom line

32. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

The pot that the potter made that Paul idiomatically illustrates was created for dishonor is said here in verse 32 to now be shown mercy along with all others or everyone.

If we pull out the Pot and Potter passage and do let the conclusion and defining passage tell us what really is then there is a contradiction in teaching. A pot created to destruction is not show mercy. Yet in 11:32 all pots are shown mercy.

The Calvinist refuse to accept the truth and deal with scripture in context. They twist them to their liking. They teach false doctrine simply because they refuse to see things in context and according to the genre of the text, chapter, and book or letter.

God Bless
Gordon

 

[Tychicum]

Don't go where you have little first hand study. Freewill is a myth not actually supported by direct Scripture.

So called "Calvinism" doesn't address "how" to be "saved" ... but "who will".

No one has "freewill". God doesn't have "freewill". There are all sorts of things He can not do.

In order to satisfy Justice He couldn't actually forgive our sin until He sent His Son to be killed on our behalf.

Some freedom.

If you would like to study into it let m know. But in the mean time ... God's word should not be discounted just because people don't like John Calvin or so called "Calvinism".

Eph 1:3-12
(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
(4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
(5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
(6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
(7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
(8) Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
(9) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
(10) That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
(11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
(12) That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

If one actually reads the Scripture literally one can not ignore the plain speaking ...

Perhaps it would have been better had God not explained His Sovereignty ... but in the mean time He did ... and we just have to accept it.

.

 

[foundinHim]

I do NOT want to argue or have a heated debate on this subject!

Calvin is only a man...he does not have the authority to speak of what GOD can do and can't do! God has INFINITE WISDOM and Calvin has only finite wisdom. Who are we to 'accept' or 'reject' anything of God? In my humble opinion, we BELIEVE what God says and does or we DON'T BELIEVE what He says and does.

'God doesn't have freewill'...'there are all sorts of things He can not do'....HUH??? ... SAY WHAT???

 

[TheScottsMen]

Calvin is only a man...he does not have the authority to speak of what GOD can do and can't do!

Do you believe that Calvinism started with John Calvin? Martin Luther was a Calvinist before John Calvin preached his first sermon or wrote his first text! What do you think the Reformation was about it? Purgatory and indulgences? God forbid! Those that hold to this free will soteriology undo what the Reformation and the break with the Catholic church was really about; not that of secondary issues like indulgences, but in the Reformers strong belief in total depravity, total inability, and that there is nothing man can do in cooperation with God in his salvation, but that it is only God that saves us: that our will is so tainted by sin that given the choice, we will never choose God!

Martin Luther said it best:

"If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright."

 

[TheScottsMen]

Adam was given free will, that is he was able to believe God or not to believe: or as you say, he was not created a robot.

Man has been given free will to believe or not to believe God.

Those that believe that it is unjust for God not to "attempt" to save all by having his Son's blood shed for all, tend to focus on the matter of how God can let someone perish. This type of thinking is wrong. One should not focus on how God can choose to leave some dead in their sins, but how can a holy God choose to save a dead rebel sinner that is at enmity with Him! We must understand that none of us deserve salvation, it's just the opposite, each of us deserve to die in our sins; its God in His love who chooses dead rebel sinners to bring to Himself. It is a self righteous person that believes that God owes them an "opportunity."
Those that go to hell upon death are not going there because God didn't choose them; they are going there because of their sins.

Rom. 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

If God chose not to bring others to salvation and leave them in their sins: do you call God unjust?

Rom. 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Does not God have the power and the right to save some and leave others? Does not God have the power and the right to give faith to some and not to others: our fleshly-man cries no and demands that God become a democracy where man can cast a vote for himself. This is absurd! The sad thing is that most men believe this to be true, that God cannot do what he will with man. But what sayeth scripture?

Rom. 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

No matter how God forms us, either in honor or dishonor, that in which he does will perfectly conform to will and serve his purpose. Those that are formed unto dishonor will serve his purpose, like that of Pharaoh, and those that were formed unto honor, will respond to God's call and will like that of the Gentiles in Acts 13:

Acts. 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many were appointed to eternal life believed.

The Gentiles in Acts 13 believed because they were appointed to; they were not appointed because they believed.

Alas, some will again say "it's not right for God to do what he wishes with me! Who does God think he is! God is not fair!" Did you not read Romans 9:21?

Rom. 9:20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"

Paul said Rom. 9:21 rightly, who are you to say what God can and cannot do?

In regards to the liberty of our will, our will is defined by our nature. A dead man will never choose God, it's against his nature. For example:

How often have you seen a man flying around the sky under his own power? That is, without the help of an external device like an engine or a glider. Why not? Does not man have the power to do so? I'm not a robot, so why can't I fly?

Another example:

Why does a tiger choose to hunt other animals and go days without eating when there is an abundance of grass around him? Would it not be logical to just eat the grass?

There is an answer to both questions: it’s against their nature to do so! But not being able to do something, does not make one a robot!

TSM

 

[Tychicum]

I do NOT want to argue or have a heated debate on this subject!

I don't want winter.

So much for freewill.

Calvin is only a man...he does not have the authority to speak of what GOD can do and can't do! God has INFINITE WISDOM and Calvin has only finite wisdom. Who are we to 'accept' or 'reject' anything of God? In my humble opinion, we BELIEVE what God says and does or we DON'T BELIEVE what He says and does.

Calvin was a plagerist. It is the Apostle Paul's material not Calvins.

'God doesn't have freewill'...'there are all sorts of things He can not do'....HUH??? ... SAY WHAT???

There are all sorts of things God can not do.

God can not lie. He can not sin.

God couldn't even simply forgive (ignore) sin without paying the Just penalty on our behalf by sending His Son to die in our place ... as a penalty for sin.

If the price was not paid ... God would have been "Unjust". The price HAD to be paid.

That couldn't have been easy.

So in short "freewill" is a myth.

Romans 8:29-33 KJV For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (31) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? (32) He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (33) Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

.

 

[Tychicum]

MOST PEOPLE say that they believe in "free will." Do you have any idea what that means? I believe that you will find a great deal of superstition on this subject. The will is saluted as the grand power of the human soul which is completely free to direct our lives. But from what is it free? And what is its power?

THE MYTH OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL FREEDOM

No one denies that man has a will — that is, a faculty of choosing what he wishes to say, do, and think. But have you ever reflected on the pitiful weakness of your will? Though you have the ability to make a decision, you do not have the power to carry out your purpose. Will may devise a course of action, but will has no power to execute its intention.

Joseph’s brothers hated him. They sold him to be a slave. But God used their actions to make him a ruler over themselves. They chose their course of action to harm Joseph. But God in His power directed events for Joseph’s good. He said, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good" (Gen 50:20).
And how many of your decisions are miserably thwarted? You may choose to be a millionaire, but God’s providence is likely to prevent it. You may decide to be a scholar, but bad health, an unstable home, or lack of finances may frustrate your will. You choose to go on a vacation, but an automobile accident may send you to the hospital instead.

By saying that your will is free, we certainly do not mean that it determines the course of your life. You did not choose the sickness, sorrow, war, and poverty that have spoiled your happiness. You did not choose to have enemies. If man’s will is so potent, why not choose to live on and on? But you must die. The major factors which shape your life cannot thank your will. You did not select your social status, color, intelligence, etc.
Any sober reflection on your experience will produce the conclusion, "A man’s heart deviseth his way: but THE LORD DIRECTETH his steps" (Pro 16:9). Rather than extolling the human will, we ought to humbly praise the Lord whose purposes shape our lives. As Jeremiah confessed, "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer 10:23).

Yes, you may choose what you want, and you may plan what you will do; but your will is not free to accomplish anything contrary to the purposes of God. Neither have you any power to reach your goals but that which God allows you. The next time you are so enamored with your own will, remember Jesus’ parable about the rich man. The wealthy man said, "This I WILL do: I WILL pull down all my barns, and build greater: and there I WILL bestow all my fruits and my goods. . . But God said unto him. Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee" (Luke 12:18-21). He was free to plan but not free to accomplish; so it is with you.

THE MYTH OF ETHICAL FREEDOM

But freedom of the will is cited as an important factor in making MORAL decisions. Man’s will is said to be free to choose between good and evil. But again we must ask, from what is it free? And what is man’s will free to choose?

The will of man is his power to choose between alternatives. Your will does decide your actions from a number of options. You have the faculty to direct your own thoughts, words, and deeds. Your decisions are not formed by an outside force, but from within yourself. No man is compelled to act contrary to his will, nor forced to say what he does not wish. Your will guides your actions.

Yet this does not mean that the power to decide is free from all influence. You make choices based on your understanding, your feelings, your likes and dislikes, and your appetites. In other words, your will is not free from yourself! Your choices are determined by your own basic character. The will is not independent of your nature, but the slave of it. Your choices do not shape your character, but your character guides your choices. The will is quite partial to what you know, feel, love, and desire. You always choose on the basis of your disposition. according to the condition of your heart.
It is just for this reason that your will is NOT free to do good. Your will is the servant of your heart, and your heart is evil. "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that EVERY imagination of the thoughts of his heart was ONLY evil CONTINUALLY" (Gen 6:5). "There is NONE that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom 3:12). No power forces man to sin contrary to his will, but the descendants of Adam are so evil that they always choose the evil.

Your decisions are molded by your understanding, and the Bible says of all men, ‘And their foolish heart was darkened" (Rom 1:21). Man can only be righteous when he desires to have fellowship with God, but, "There is NONE that seeketh after God" (Rom 3:11). Your appetites crave sin, and thus you cannot choose God. To choose good is contrary to human nature. If you chose to obey God, it would be the result of external compulsion. But you are free to choose and hence your choice is enslaved to your own evil nature.

If fresh meat and tossed salad were placed before a hungry lion, he would choose the flesh This is because his nature dictates the selection It is just so with man. The will of man is free from outside force, but not from the bias of human nature. That bias is against God. Man’s power of decision are free to choose whatever the human heart dictates; therefore there is no possibility of a man choosing to please God without prior work of divine grace.

What most people mean by free will is the idea that man is by nature neutral and therefore able to choose either good or evil. This simply is not true. The human will and the whole of human nature is bent to ONLY evil CONTINUALLY Jeremiah asked, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots’? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil" (Jer 13:23). It is impossible. It is contrary to nature Thus do men desperately need the supernatural transformation of their natures, else their wills are enslaved to choosing evil.

In spite of the great praise that is given to "free will," we have seen that man’s will is not free to choose a course contrary to God’s purposes nor free to act contrary to his own moral nature. Your will does not determine the events of your life nor the circumstances of it. Ethical choices are not formed by a neutral mind but always dictated by your personality makeup.

THE MYTH OF SPIRITUAL FREEDOM

Nevertheless many assert that the human will makes the ultimate choice of spiritual life or spiritual death. They say that here the will is altogether free to choose eternal life offered in Jesus Christ or to reject it. It is said that God will give a new heart to all who choose by the power of their own free will to receive Jesus Christ.
There can be no question that receiving Jesus Christ is an act of the human will. It is often called "faith." But how do men come to willingly receive the Lord? It is usually answered, "Out of the power of their own free will." But how can that be? Jesus is a PROPHET . To receive Him means to believe all that He says. In John 8:41-45 Jesus made it clear that you were born of Satan. This evil father hates the truth and imparted the same bias into your heart by nature. Hence said Jesus, "Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." How does the human will jump out of man to choose to believe what the human mind hates and denies?

Further, to receive Jesus means to embrace him as a PRIEST — that is, to employ and depend on him to sue out peace with God by sacrifice and intercession. Paul tells us that the mind with which we were born is hostile to God (Rom 8:7). How can the will escape the influence of human nature which was born with a violent enmity to God? It would be insane for the will to choose peace when every bone and drop of blood cries out for rebellion.

Then too, receiving Jesus means to welcome Him as a KING. It means choosing to obey His every command, to confess His right of rule and to worship before His throne. But the human mind, emotions, and desires all cry out, "We will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14). If my whole being hates His truth, hates His rule and hates peace with God, how can my will be responsible for receiving Jesus? How can such a sinner have faith?

It is not man’s will but God’s GRACE that must be thanked for giving a sinner a new heart. Unless God changes the heart, creates a new spirit of peace, truthfulness, and submission. man will not choose to receive Jesus Christ and eternal life in Him. A new heart must he given before a man can believe, or else the human will is hopelessly enslaved to evil human nature even in the matter of conversion. Jesus said. "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye MUST be born again" (John 3:7). Unless you are, you will never see His kingdom.
Read John 1:12 & 13. It says that those who believe on Jesus have been "born, not of the will of man, but of God." As your will is not responsible for your coming into this world, it is not responsible for the new birth. It is your Creator who must be thanked for your life, and if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation (2Co 5:17). Who ever chose to be created? When Lazarus rose from the dead, he then could choose to answer the call of Christ, but he could not choose to come to life. So Paul said in Ephesians 2:5, "Even when we were dead in sins, [God] I hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)." Faith is the first act of a will made new by the Holy Spirit. Receiving Christ is an act of man just as breathing is, but God must first give life.
No wonder Martin Luther wrote a book entitled The Bondage of the Will which he considered one of his most important treatises. The will is in the chains of an evil human nature. You who extol the free will as a great force are clinging to a root of pride. Man, as fallen in sin, is utterly helpless and hopeless. The will of man offers no hope. It was the will choosing the forbidden fruit that brought us into misery. The powerful grace of God alone offers deliverance. Cast yourself upon God’s mercy for salvation. Ask for the Spirit of Grace that He may create a new spirit within you.

http://www.albatrus.org/english/theology/free_will/myth_free_will.htm

 

[foundinHim]

@ TSM:

I believe God created Adam innocent but the "first Adam" was NOT created righteous. The "Second Adam" i.e., CHRIST, is Righteousness Himself.

Just as Abraham, we the members of the body of Christ, are counted righteous by our hearing God and believing God.
(Rom.4:3)
For what saith the Scripture? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
(Rom.4:5)
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
(Phil.3:9)
And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Let's return to the Book of Genesis to address a few more things that we do not agree on...
(Gen.1:30)
And to EVERY BEAST of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for MEAT: and it was so.

Lions were eating what? "GREEN HERB"

And not until Adam and Eve sinned---the SIN of NOT believing God but believing Satan's lie, they disobeyed God's first command and therefore, because "the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;" (Gen.3:7)

God shed 'first BLOOD'--- "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." (Gen.3:21)

In Gen.3:9, we can also see that it is God Who seeks sinners---And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, "Where art thou?"

Also, before I get ahead of myself, for a future dispensation, let us read,
(Isa.11:6-7)
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them.
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the LION SHALL EAT STRAW LIKE THE OX.

As for these men you mentioned, I do NOT believe that what they say is the same as what God says...so sorry!

And how many times did God send Moses to pharaoh?
The "pharaoh" did not believe that the God of Moses was GOD.
It was in each case God's merciful clemency and forbearing goodness which produced the hardening. That "goodness" which "leadeth to repentance" (Rom.2:4) ... just as the same sun which softens the wax hardens the clay.
(Rom.2:4-5)
Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

In closing, do we have 'free choice' then?
Can we freely choose to believe what God says and does?
Or can we freely choose not to believe what God says and does?

'Nothing in my hand I bring,
To the cross of Christ, I cling.'

 

[foundinHim]

@ Tychicum:

Personally, I love all 4 seasons---
winter, spring, summer, and fall.

It should go without saying that God CANNOT lie or sin...BUT, you neglect to mention the LOVE God has for His creation!

God provides every thing for us.
He has provided us "the way, the truth, and the life" --- CHRIST (God Incarnate) our Lord and Saviour!!!

IF we would just "hear" what God says, and "believe" what God says, we are "saved" and are reconciled unto Him...NEVER to be seperated from Him or His love eternally. We are "complete in Christ".

Christ received what we ALL deserve!!!
This is LOVE.
"God is love"

I will not and do not seek to dishonor or be irreverent to my LORD by believing what man says...no matter what credentials he may hold.

It is by God's grace that I am saved through faith in Christ's perfect, finished work.

All is of God and all is of God's grace ( a gift freely given but not deserved)
All thanks, praises, and glory are His, for I have been "accepted in the Beloved" (Christ the Head of the body)

p.s.--- I am glad to see by your other post that we might agree we have 'free choice'

Christ was/is Prophet
Christ was/is High Priest
Christ was/is Prince/King

 

[Tychicum]

Want some light reading?

De Servo Arbitrio
"On the Enslaved Will"
Or
The Bondage of the Will​

(By Martin Luther)

Or better yet ... PM me an email address and I will send you a Word version of Johnathan Edwards great thesis ...

A Careful And Strict Inquiry
Into The Modern Prevailing Notions Of That
Freedom Of Will
WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE ESSENTIAL TO MORAL AGENCY, VIRTUE AND VICE, REWARD AND PUNISHMENT, PRAISE AND BLAME

Romans 9:16
It is not of him that willeth.​

(by Jonathan Edwards)

.

 

[foundinHim]

Want some light reading?

De Servo Arbitrio
"On the Enslaved Will"
Or
The Bondage of the Will​

(By Martin Luther)

Or better yet ... PM me an email address and I will send you a Word version of Johnathan Edwards great thesis ...

A Careful And Strict Inquiry
Into The Modern Prevailing Notions Of That
Freedom Of Will
WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE ESSENTIAL TO MORAL AGENCY, VIRTUE AND VICE, REWARD AND PUNISHMENT, PRAISE AND BLAME

Romans 9:16
It is not of him that willeth.​

(by Jonathan Edwards)

.

thanks, but no thanks brother Tychicum...I am still trying to read the other book you suggested by Sir Robert Anderson, "The Silence of God".

I hope and pray that we will not divide over this subject!

In Christ, Love abides!
"found in Him" (Eph.3:9)

 

[Tychicum]

I hope and pray that we will not divide over this subject!

Impossible ... a long as you see it my way ...

 

[A Brother In Christ]

proverbs 16:9 settles the whole arguement