Is faith not up to me? Was I predestined to Hell?

[AudioArtist]

I keep hearing on these forums how it is impossible to have faith unless God chooses to give me faith, and that I won't know until I actually do have faith whether I'm part of the elect. I've been told it's impossible to have faith in God unless He bestows that ability onto me...

My faith's a bit shaky at the moment to say the least (mainly because I can't deal with the idea of all non Christians going to Hell, or the idea predestination)...should I just forget about Christ and stop trying to muster up stronger faith, since faith has nothing to do with me anyway according to the Bible, and only God the Father can "call" me to Him/His Son? I might as well leave it; if God wants me (or if I'm part of the elect), I'll have faith, if He doesn't, I won't (and I'll wind up in Hell, which shouldn't be too lonely at least), and if He doesn't exist, then I don't know what will happen (though I've had spiritual experiences which make me believe He is there; I just can't believe fully.)
Sorry for such a rambling post, I'm pretty depressed at the moment. I thought if we seeked we would find; clearly not. I'm just tired of feeling like I'm going mad; asking questions like whether I actually believe or not, or whether it is all real, or whether I would have been better off never being a Christian in the first place (but then I ask, was I actually every a Christian?!) I know I have had good times of faith, but they are soon destroyed when I remember Hell, the Old Testament, ex-Christian testimonies, etc.

 

[rogsr]

Hello,

Seek and you will find, ask and it will added unto you, knock and the door will be opened.

Be not afraid little flock, for it is the Father's good pleasure to give to you a kingdom.

Peace-

 

[Clayman]

God doesn't want anyone to go to hell, that is a decision that each person makes on thier own to turn away from Christ. As far as faith goes, the only thing you need to have faith in is that Christ is the son of God who came down to save you from your sins. If you can do that you're set. If for some reason you don't or can't you need to examine yourself and maybe counsel with a pastor or someone.

There will be times when you question your faith and whether God is really there, everyone has em. I find when those times come I turn to God and ask him to reveal himself to me. Now the heavens have never opened for me with a white dove fluttering down and landing on my head or anything but if you keep your eyes open and your heart attentive God will show you that he is there.

I will keep you in my prayers little bro. Remember it is all about the relationship not the religion and it really isn't as hard as you are making it.

Eph 2:8-9 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, - through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.

 

[AudioArtist]

Yes please pray for me.

 

[FreeGrace]

Yes please pray for me.

I shall pray for you this very night my freind,having doubts is quite normal.The fact you are interested at all in the Lord shows He is working in your life. Faith the size of mustard seed is all thats required,its not really about the size of our Faith though but the one in whom we place our faith.

May the Lord keep you by His Grace

 

[fishstix]

I keep hearing on these forums how it is impossible to have faith unless God chooses to give me faith, and that I won't know until I actually do have faith whether I'm part of the elect. I've been told it's impossible to have faith in God unless He bestows that ability onto me...

My faith's a bit shaky at the moment to say the least (mainly because I can't deal with the idea of all non Christians going to Hell, or the idea predestination)...should I just forget about Christ and stop trying to muster up stronger faith, since faith has nothing to do with me anyway according to the Bible, and only God the Father can "call" me to Him/His Son? I might as well leave it; if God wants me (or if I'm part of the elect), I'll have faith, if He doesn't, I won't (and I'll wind up in Hell, which shouldn't be too lonely at least), and if He doesn't exist, then I don't know what will happen (though I've had spiritual experiences which make me believe He is there; I just can't believe fully.)
Sorry for such a rambling post, I'm pretty depressed at the moment. I thought if we seeked we would find; clearly not. I'm just tired of feeling like I'm going mad; asking questions like whether I actually believe or not, or whether it is all real, or whether I would have been better off never being a Christian in the first place (but then I ask, was I actually every a Christian?!) I know I have had good times of faith, but they are soon destroyed when I remember Hell, the Old Testament, ex-Christian testimonies, etc.

The whole 'elect' business is a human way of trying to express things. And quite often it is misinterpretted by people who only partially understand things. A lot of church doctrines are like that actually - the person who said them originally didn't quite mean them the way that many people today think they are meant.

Faith is up to both you and God. God chose to make it possible for us to choose Him and have faith in Him in the first place. So in that respect, faith is up to God. He gives everyone the ability to make that choice. How you use that ability to choose - whether you decide to follow God or not - is up to you. In that respect, faith is up to you. Once you decide to follow God and have faith, He will help you out if you let Him - helping your faith to grow and strengthen and mature. But that doesn't mean that you are sitting back and doing nothing the whole time and expecting your faith to just grow on it's own. So in that respect both God and you work together on your faith.

Knowing that you have a choice in the matter should give you a feeling of dignity - but also of responsibility. Knowing that you're not in it alone but that God is ultimately the one in charge and He isn't going to let anyone take you from Him should give you a feeling of hope and security. At least that's how it works for me

Sure God knows beforehand which choice you are going to make - but that doesn't mean that He is forcing you to decide one way or the other. You truly do get a choice. And just because someone chooses not to follow God it doesn't mean that is what God wanted in the first place - by giving us choices God has made it possible for us to choose things that aren't what He would have liked us to choose. God wants you. There's no question about that. The question is, do you want God? He's not going to force Himself on you if you don't - the choice is up to you. As you said, only God can call you to Himself - and He has. The choice has been given to you - choose God or don't. He has called - how will you respond?

As far as people going to Hell goes - have you ever read the book "A Case for Faith" by Lee Strobel? It has a really good discussion on that subject and several others. I highly recommend reading it - it will very likely help you to strengthen your faith

 

[Friendship]

By the elect are you reffering to the 144,000 mentioned in Revelations, that has nothing to do with being a Christian and those are not the only people who are going to be saved, these are people who are going to be left behind during the tribulation and marked by God to go out and spread the word to people one last time as all the other christians will be raptured by this point, as far as faith goes the bible says that if you have the faith the size of a mustard seed that is all you need and the fact that you are even posting this message means you have that and if God was not calling you then you would not be here because people do not seek God if he is not pulling them to him so do not get caught up in doctrin Jesus is truth and the truth shall set you free so seek him and one more thing the first thing Satan will do when you start seeking a relationship with God is use fear to get you to stop and tries to make people think they cant be saved or they dont have enough faith ect ect and its all lies so rebuke the devil and just keep seeking God, if you fall get back up dust yourself off and keep going dont let the enemies lies and fear tactics stop you from seeking that relationship that it appears you are wanting and as I said if you are wanting it then the Lord has already called you

 

[silentpoet]

While I believe that predestination may be true(I am open to the posibility), I do not think there is any way for us humans to know if God has chosen us before hand. I think the words of Solomon apply to lots of things and this topic in particular. Basically he said that "Everything is meaningless, all that matters is to serve God." I tend to go this way and that in the intellectual state of belief, what does not waver is my determination to serve. Now sometimes I serve so poorly I wonder how I can be of any use. And usually it is not too long after that when God uses my failings or what I have learned from them to help another. That is the wonder of grace and the beauty of what God does with us. He uses discarded tools to build a palace.

 

[forgivenmuch]

the bible tells us to believe in God... and if we do and live for him.. then we will go to heaven.. if we dont .. then we will go to hell... i can remember yrs ago... as a baby in christ.. if my mom and dad dont go to heaven then what is heaven? or if my boyfriend was not going to be there i did not want to go.. lol but now i see different.. there will be people maybe close to us that wont be in heaven..because of thier sinful lifes.. the bible tells us.. that we Must be Born Again to enter into the kingdon of heaven.. we can not be sinners. we must believe that jesus died for us sins, we must ask with a broken heart for forgiveness. the predestantion i dont believe is for our time. after jesus died.. and rose again.. we have a choice.. to believe.. he wants everyone to live for him.. but people just dont want to.. i dont want to see my lovedones or friends go to a place not inteneded for them..but if they dont ask God to forgive them, they will be there..and thats powerful.. but its true.

 

[Rafael]

You need to forget all that stuff about predestination. Only God knows who are predestined, and that is because He stands outside of time and sees the begining and the end of all things. Sometimes men talk above their heads and get proud enough to think they are God themselves and can judge for Him. So also forget about all non-Christians going to hell. Only God sees the hearts of men and judges them according to what knowledge they have been given in life. Who knows and can say that God cannot reveal Himself to anybody anywhere - even outside of this life??? God can do as He pleases with all men, and has shown Himself to be longsuffering and loving. Why imagine Him as otherwise?
From our perspective, we have to work out our salvation, daily with respect for God's Word and instructions for life. He has said that He is patient and longsuffering, not wanting that any perish, so God does love us. If you want God and call on His name, then believe that you are saved and don't let anybody talk you out of it or doubt what God's Word has said. If you study, you will find that God is NEVER unfair with man, but if you fool around and lose your faith by listening to lies, you will start to judge God instead of letting Him judge. So don't imagine God is unfair. All life comes from Him and returns to the One who made it. So should not He have the right to care for and judge the work of His own hands? Don't start listening to lies about God. They are out there and are dangerous if you let yourself fall under their deception. You can trust God to do as He promises in His word. It is always us that break the promises God has given us - not Him.

Ro 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

2Pe 3:9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent.

Ro 10:10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.