Originally posted by SnuP
Man has the freedom to choose to do what ever he wants, both good and evil. But both of these choices are evil in God's eyes since they are not Godly. You can choose to do good or evil or you can choose to do what God tells you. Only the last choice is the right one since the first two are out of mans flesh.
I'm going to strive to give you the benefit of my doubt because, to me, this makes no sense. "Good" is defined as "what God says is good." How can man choose "good" but it not be what God says is "good?" If something is other than what God says is "good" then that would seem to negate it's goodness. If all man can choose is what God would say is "evil," then wouldn't that mean that all of man's choices are "evil?" "Good" is not determined by what man says is "good." So, saying that man can choose what God says is "evil" makes the decision evil, regardless of what man determined as "good" or "evil."
This second statement is in reference to Romans 8. The problem is that in studing the scripture so many have become so ingrossed in trying to figure it out that they forgot about the first part of verse 29. For those God foreknew.
Before I address the rest, let me
once again point out that "foreknew"
DOES NOT just mean to "know before, or know about." It implies an obvious relationship, a relationship of intimacy.
For those God foreknew. God foreknew everyone. And now for the rest of the verse. He predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.
It amazes me how people regularly seek to prove their intelligence in a way that shows they have no understanding of what they're talking about. If the verse says that "
those that God foreknew (had an intimate relationship with) He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son" then
those that He foreknew
WILL BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON. To imply that God predestines, that is, determine the destination of prior to [the foundations of the world], and then there are some that were so predestined and yet were not conformed to the image of Christ is to blatantly say that God made a sovereign effort to bring something about and it didn't happen. How do you even worship God if He cannot bring about His own Will. It's one thing to think that man can resist God's power, as odd as that is, but to think that God cannot bring about that which He purposes to bring about is ridiculous.
God has predestined everyone to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.
Huh???!!!
But since not everyone enters into that predestination, those people can not pertake of the calling, the justification, of the glory.
Double Huh???!!! God predestined everyone but not everyone
enters that predestination??? What is predestination? A building?
All of these things must be recieved and agreed with for them to take effect in a persons life.
Ooooohhhh, I get it now. God has to have His creations permission and agreement before the death of God incarnate was of any value in a person's life. Yeah. That makes sense.
God bless