I need help with this..

[Lik3]

I do believe in free will. But I wonder what part does free will really play when one is saved. I am troubled when others say that we don't choose God, but God chooses us. I wonder about that because it seems like we either have no real free will or I rather that God save us all, though I realize that He won't force salvation on us.

I'm trying to understand this myself. It seems as if God knows our eternal destiny before we do so why doesn't he just reveal himself to everyone? I just am confused. It is somewhat like if God is good, then why does He just create Hell for the Devil and his angels and those who are not true believers in Christ. Why couldn't we have been sinless and just let Adam and Eve take responsibility? Please help me to understand.

Lastly, I hope all of you understood what I am trying to convey. It seems like God reveals Himself to a few because that is how many will not take part in the Lake of Fire compared to those who will. How does God reveal himself to man? How about those who don't know who Jesus is? I realize that in the last generation, that won't be the case, but how about tribal people from 3000 years ago who have never heard of Jesus? Where did they end up?

 

[peaceandquiet]

I think these are great questions. I wish I had the answers, I can't wait to see the responses!

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

How does God reveal himself to man? (Hebrews 1:1ff)(Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 1 John 1-5)

How about those who don't know who Jesus is? I realize that in the last generation, that won't be the case, but how about tribal people from 3000 years ago who have never heard of Jesus? Where did they end up?

Yhwh decides. >>
1 Corinthians 5:13
New International Version (NIV)
13 God will judge those outside.

((i.e. whether they will live or die. see other Scripture about gentiles if you like.))

 

[SeventhValley]

One answer: Some would see and still not believe. Also you cannot force a relationship so to love you also must have the option to hate.

Other answer: God wants to destroy some people to show his power and free will dose not exist.

You can find verses to support both thoughts. The truth of this is not known by anyone.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Lik3. In Matthew 7:7-10: we are told: " ask and ye shall receive," if those questions bother you so much, keep asking Jesus and He will let you know. In the mean time show Jesus that you love God by following His Commandments to LOVE. In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus tells a Lawyer:
" The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." Then Jesus gives us this great truth: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." God wants our love, freely given and No conditions made. In Luke 10: 28: Jesus tells us the same, but Jesus gives us this good advice: in Luke: 28 Jesus tells DO THIS AND YE SHALL LIVE. God is Love, and God wants loving men and women.
The Bible also tells us to " Repent," and to " Be Born Again." we have to give up all our selfishness, and ask for Love and Joy, then thank God and share all Love and Joy with all around us. Do this, dear Lik3, let God see how much you love and care, and God will also answer every question, you need answers to. I say this with love. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Freakconformist]

I was actually just writing about this in my journal the other day, let me see if I can explain what I came up with.

Firstly, nobody really knows why God gave us free will, we just know that we are the only ones God has given it to. ( As far as we know, the Angels do have free will, but choosing not to follow God is immediate and permanent.) All other creatures in the heavens, earth and sea were given to Adam to command.

Which brings me to my second point. The world is full of sin and evil because Adam was given Kingship over all the Earth. When Adam chose the serpent over God, he handed his Kingship over to the serpent (the Enemy). That is why the world is considered unclean, and death rules over all creation.

Well, you know how Jesus came to the Earth, defeated death, and took the Kingship back. So why aren't we all saved?

Well, we are. Jesus did die for all of man's sins. I believe from the first Ethiopian to walk Africa's rocky shores to that drunk sitting in his own filth in the back of the neighborhood bar. Jesus died for their sins. Hitler, Napoleon, Osama Bin Laden, He died for their sins. They would have all gone up to heaven if they had just acknowledged Him as Lord and repented of their sins. God chooses and calls to us all. So why are there still people out there who don't believe in Him?

The "problem" is that pesky free will of ours, it's part of our nature and I don't think God would take it back even if he could. People are stubborn and they want to have their own way. Even after they're saved. The make up their own story to suit their lifestyle and they stick to it. A lot of times, unfortunately, to the bitter end. It's up to us to choose God everyday, which if you think about it, is the best kind of worship.

 

[KNOWLEDGE BOMB]

You should remember that all men were reconciled to god through Christ death but not all men and reconciled to God through Christ life (Romans 5:10)

God opened the way for all men to freely accept Christ by His death...


So all person can say yes to Christ....


Let me give you a few examples that might make sense..


I have 10 kids in a room and every week they have ice cream...

Every week it's the same - 5 want vanillia 4 want chocolate and 1 wants pecan
(vanillia is the world chocolate false religion and pecan is Jesus)

so I ahead of time scoop out 5-4-1

Now just because I knew ahead of time the end result - it made no difference as the 10 all had the same chance to pick pecan....


So since God knows ahead of time who will pick him and stay faithful but makes no difference in a person chance to choose him...


Now because God knows who will finnish the race and
just because he already has the metals made up before the race starts doesn't mean he picks a person and they have no choice... It simply means he has trophys for the winners ahead of time.... He picks the winners because he knows who they are

 

[KNOWLEDGE BOMB]

One more:


I have a son who's 8 and plays baseball
in 10 games he's hit 10 homeruns
the fence for those homeruns is 100 feet
his homeruns avg 110 ft with the longest being 120 ft

now one game day the field is being fix so we have to go to another one,
now the other field is 140 to the fence for a homerun...
My son says: I'm gonna hit a homerun today


Now I know he won't or can't - doesn't change his chance to do so...
Now I'm the guy who's incharge of having the homerun champion trophy made up

and since I'm Jesus I already know another kid will hit 4 homeruns and win
so in my trunk is the trophy with his name on it....

Now just because I put his name on it doesn't add to or take away from the fact he hit 4 homeruns on his own


God just knows what we can't

 

[Bluelion]

Mankind had free will from the very start and God had a plan from the very start. God new what Adam and Eve would do but He did not prejudge them but gave them the chance. After they sinned what was coming next was they would eaten from the tree of life and become immortal and been trapped in sin with no way back like the angels. So God kicked them out of the garden. It would have been the same for everyone. So God being all knowning created a way that would allow man to come back to Heaven and also show mankind his need for God and Gods love for us, and His glory.

God did not just say believe me I love you, He proved it. The way God came up with is perfect. It lets everyone do what they would naturally do sin, and lets them understand what sin is all about. We learn by experiencing. next we get to experience Gods Love when we are saved. We get to see and understand Gods greatness, but it does not stop there God works on us and lets us go through sinning and repenting until we hate sin. We get our fill and we want nothing to do with it, and then we fully understand How great and perfect Gods love is, and how great Heaven really is. Then we eat from the tree of life and immoral in body, we eat from the tree first in spirit when we accept Jesus, then again in heaven with our new bodies to match our new born spirits.

It is perfect. Let me ask you if you grow up rich do you ever know what its like to be poor while you are rich? So if your never poor you can not fully grasps how great being rich is.

Same was true with mankind.

Now was there another way to all this maybe, but mankind chose this when he ate the fruit of the tree of Knowledge of Good and evil. Do we not have what we chose? We know evil sin, and we Know good God, and are free will is to chose between Good or evil.