Jesus, the Son of God
Chapter 25
All who are in Hell choose to be there
"if anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." John 12:47-50(NIV)
Predestination or Free Will?
Jesus is very clear. He came to save the world, not to condemn it. (see also John 3:17).
When confronted with light, or truth, or something we don’t want to admit or do or submit to we have a choice. We can either “agree” or “disagree”. We can either submit or rebel.
When confronted with God each of us reacts. This reaction, this choice, is both caused by God (it is a reaction to something after all) and my free choice (God does not violate our free will, an aspect of His image within us).
In this way the predestination/election (Calvinism) vs. free will (Arminianism) debate is a false one. In the end we will all discover that there is no difference between them. They will be discovered to have been one in the same.
One more thought. You have already chosen heaven or hell. You are living your choice at this very moment. Not all choices are actively chosen.
Prayer
“Lord, thank you for pursuing me with a love which, although freely received, is nevertheless irresistible. Amen”
I need cLarification, pls
ReplyDelete'NOT ALL CHOICES ARE ACTIVIVELY CHOSEN'
wHAT DOES THIS MEAN ?
Hi Ron, thanks for you question. What I meant by that is that most people simply drift into to behaviors and actions without consciously thinking them through and therefore end up having "made consequential 'decisions'" for their lives without having consciously done so. This is dangerous because drift means drift toward me and away from God. I think all humans are born with a natural antipathy toward God not a natural drift toward Him.
DeleteThe predestination/free will tension can be resolved in that Jesus said "Many are called but few are chosen." (Matt 22:14) In other words, we the many are called and can respond to God's call if we so chose. Free Will. At the same time, only a few are chosen, obvious examples being Abraham, Moses, Paul, Billy Graham, etc. Predestination. Recall also that Gideon's first trumpet drew 32,000 called men . . . in the end, only 300 were chosen.
ReplyDeleteThis used to be a huge issue for me, I don't have a problem with it anymore, mainly because I don't see it really matters, except for one thing.
ReplyDeleteI have heard the whole 'predestination' thing as a way to say that God has ordained some to be believers and some not to be believers.
This, to me undermines the character of God. This reasoning can cause one to think that God's faithfulness is not for all but only for some. It can also cause some to believe that God purposed some of his creation to hell (assuming all who He creates has a soul). And, if they did not have a soul, there then enters existentialism (mere existing) which is a philosophy not only unsupported but in direct opposition to Christianity. For if God purposed before creation to form in the womb some not to able to know Him, what happens to these people when they die?
We need to remember that there was a time for man when living in the Presence of God was not a choice, it was a reality. The choice came with whether to CONTINUE in that reality.
Graciously, God provides the offer of that reality again to each one of us. His grace and His mercy make the ability to 'choose' our predestination (the reality He had for us in the beginning).
We have a God who loves all the children He has made. He allows us to be hardened, but only after He extends every effort to persuade us to remain soft. He honors love given freely, for "Freely, freely we have received, freely we should give"
Calvin-ISM is just that an 'ism' that needs to be filed away somewhere. Read Romans in the vein it was written, Jew to Gentile, going from the chosen few to ALL others. I think the predestination thing is something to be gloriously thankful for, not depressingly manipulated.
Amen
Delete