WHY DO PEOPLE GIVE TO MINISTRIES?

[Si_monfaith]

I new what sin was long before I came to Christ. I believe that is something we inherited from Adam and Eve when they ate from the tree of knowledge, they knew both good and evil. Iranaeus speaks about this in his writing Adversus Haereses written in 170AD.

1. Man has received the knowledge of good and evil. It is good to obey God, and to believe in Him, and to keep His commandment, and this is the life of man; as not to obey God is evil, and this is his death. Since God, therefore, gave [to man] such mental power (magnanimitatem) man knew both the good of obedience and the evil of disobedience, that the eye of the mind, receiving experience of both, may with judgment make choice of the better things; and that he may never become indolent or neglectful of God's command; and learning by experience that it is an evil thing which deprives him of life, that is, disobedience to God, may never attempt it at all, but that, knowing that what preserves his life, namely, obedience to God, is good, he may diligently keep it with all earnestness. Wherefore he has also had a twofold experience, possessing knowledge of both kinds, that with discipline he may make choice of the better things. But how, if he had no knowledge of the contrary, could he have had instruction in that which is good? For there is thus a surer and an undoubted comprehension of matters submitted to us than the mere surmise arising from an opinion regarding them. For just as the tongue receives experience of sweet and bitter by means of tasting, and the eye discriminates between black and white by means of vision, and the ear recognises the distinctions of sounds by hearing; so also does the mind, receiving through the experience of both the knowledgeof what is good, become more tenacious of its preservation, by acting in obedience to God: in the first place, casting away, by means of repentance, disobedience, as being something disagreeable and nauseous; and afterwards coming to understand what it really is, that it is contrary to goodness and sweetness, so that the mind may never even attempt to taste disobedience to God. But if any one do shun the knowledge of both these kinds of things, and the twofold perception of knowledge, he unawares divests himself of the character of a human being.

Before you came to believe in Christ, did you pray for Him to begin faith in you?

 

[sunshineforJesus]

Would you like to answer the questions in the first post?

I dont understand the questions in the first post.sorry.

 

[Si_monfaith]

I dont understand the questions in the first post.sorry.

Would you like the questions to be rephrased?

 

[sunshineforJesus]

yes please

 

[Si_monfaith]

yes please

Why do people give tithes to ministries?

 

[BNR32FAN]

Before you came to believe in Christ, did you pray for Him to begin faith in you?

I wouldn’t pray to Him if I didn’t believe in Him.

 

[Si_monfaith]

I wouldn’t pray to Him if I didn’t believe in Him.

He will if we act in cooperation with Him.

If you cannot pray without the Lord beginning faith in you by the choice of His will & not yours, how could you trust in your act of co-operating with Him to keep you from being cut off?

 

[BNR32FAN]

If you cannot pray without the Lord beginning faith in you by the choice of His will & not yours, how could you trust in your act of co-operating with Him to keep you from being cut off?

Is it not His will that ALL MEN repent and come to the knowledge of truth? And yet not all men will. Why do you think this is?

“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭NASB‬‬

 

[Si_monfaith]

Is it not His will that ALL MEN repent and come to the knowledge of truth? And yet not all men will. Why do you think this is?

“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Romans 9:19: "For who hath resisted his will?"

If God's will can't be resisted, don't you think the word "all" must be defined in the appropriate context?

Mark 14:24: "And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many".

So does "all" refer to "all of the many" for whom He shed His blood?

 

[BNR32FAN]

Romans 9:19: "For who hath resisted his will?"

If God's will can't be resisted, don't you think the word "all" must be defined in the appropriate context?

Mark 14:24: "And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many".

So does "all" refer to "all of the many" for whom He shed His blood?

Obviously the vessels for destruction have resisted His will.

 

[Si_monfaith]

Obviously the vessels for destruction have resisted His will.

If it was God's will for them to be vessels of destruction, isn't God's will being fulfilled rather than being resisted?

 

[BNR32FAN]

If it was God's will for them to be vessels of destruction, isn't God's will being fulfilled rather than being resisted?

But it isn’t God who wills them to be vessels of destruction it is the individual himself that does that.

“What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9:22‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭2:4-5‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:9‬ ‭NASB‬‬

God’s kindness and patience is for everyone and those who are stubborn and choose not to repent are storing up wrath for themselves. The problem with Calvinism is that it ultimately makes God responsible for everyone who does not repent and makes God’s judgement and wrath upon the unelected unjust. The doctrine of total depravity teaches that man is incapable of repentance unless God has elected him to salvation. The doctrine of unconditional grace teaches that no one can do anything to influence God’s decision on whom He elects for salvation. So the problem here is that according to these two doctrines the unelect are utterly incapable of repentance and incapable of persuading God to grant them the ability to repent which makes God’s expectations IMPOSSIBLE for them to meet. Is it just to punish someone for failure to meet impossible expectations?

 

[Si_monfaith]

But it isn’t God who wills them to be vessels of destruction it is the individual himself that does that.

“What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9:22‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭2:4-5‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:9‬ ‭NASB‬‬

God’s kindness and patience is for everyone and those who are stubborn and choose not to repent are storing up wrath for themselves. The problem with Calvinism is that it ultimately makes God responsible for everyone who does not repent and makes God’s judgement and wrath upon the unelected unjust. The doctrine of total depravity teaches that man is incapable of repentance unless God has elected him to salvation. The doctrine of unconditional grace teaches that no one can do anything to influence God’s decision on whom He elects for salvation. So the problem here is that according to these two doctrines the unelect are utterly incapable of repentance and incapable of persuading God to grant them the ability to repent which makes God’s expectations IMPOSSIBLE for them to meet. Is it just to punish someone for failure to meet impossible expectations?

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

Does God's will precede His choices to either show mercy or deny it?