Featured Where Is Free Will?

Joshua 24:1-25.

Context established:

" Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." ( Joshua 24:14-15 )

The choice is laid at the feet of all Israel prior to Joshua's death ( Joshua 24:29-31 ), whether to obey God and continue in the promises that they had made to God in the days of Moses ( Deuteronomy 28:1-68 ), or to disobey and inherit the earthly curses that God, through Moses, had promised those who would not obey.

This covenant and its promises was never given to anyone outside the land of Israel or its people ( except those Gentiles which joined themselves to the nation and lived among them ).
The words do not even apply to men in the eternal sense, and never did.

"Choose you this day whom ye will serve" has a qualifier.
Israel and those under the covenant of Law.



Revelation 22:17.

Context established:

" And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without [are] dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book." ( Revelation 22:12-19 )


14) Blessed are they who DO His commandments ( Matthew 7:21 ).
Those that do not DO His commandments, no matter what comes out of their mouths or their best intentions, are not blessed and do not have right to the tree of life.
Only those who do the Lord's will are going to enter into eternal life.

15) Those that are outside the city are those who love sin and refuse to forsake it.
According to Scripture, this is all men whose nature has not been changed...who have not been made new creatures in Christ.

16) The Book of Revelation was written to His servants ( Revelation 1:1 ) and to the seven churches ( local assemblies of believers ) that were in Asia ( Revelation 1:4 ). It is in no way written to unbelievers or contains promises that involve unbelievers.

17) These promises are made to those who have believed on Christ...those that "hear" and "see" Him ( Matthew 11:15, Matthew 13:9, Mark 4:9, Mark 4:23, Luke 8:8, Luke 14:35, Revelation 2:7, Revelation 3:6, Revelation 3:13, Revelation 13:9 ), not to those whose "ears" and "eyes" have not been supernaturally opened and are blinded ( Luke 24:45, Acts of the Apostles 16:14, 1 Corinthians 2:14, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ) to the truth of God, His Son, and His words.

Who are they that hunger and thirst?

They are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness ( Psalms 63:1, Psalms 107:9, Proverbs 10:24, Proverbs 21:21, Matthew 5:6 ) and look for a new city, in which righteousness dwells ( Hebrews 11:10-16, Hebrews 13:14 ).

18) The promises of Revelation 22:17 are made to every man that "hears" the words of the prophecy of this Book, not to those who are deaf to them.
In other words, they are made to a restricted group, not to all men indiscriminately.

"Whosoever will" has a qualifier.
"Every man that hears".

 

Jdg 4:7 KJV - And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

Jdg 4:13 KJV - And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, [even] nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that [were] with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.
Jdg 4:14 KJV - And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this [is] the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

I suspect Sisera believed in freewill. I doubt he would ever say God had drawn him to the river Kishon.

While many take the position that their will is free, unbiased and overrides God's will, I implore them to prayerfully reconsider.

Mat 7:21 KJV - Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 KJV - Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 KJV - And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

While these lost souls did many works in the Lord's name and expressed their freewill to enter heaven, their freewill did not gain them entry.

What say you?

 

No man, you've got to think of it as like the special Pentecostal powers of speaking in tongues. You got to receive the gift and be born of the water and the blood and give a sign to get to level of his understanding. Sorry.

Join the club!

 

He did not inherit a sin from Adam Luke 3 8 has nothing to do with sin You made that up


you do too then, Jesus was just like us

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 

Not "stupid".
Just not seeing it yet.

In addition, it's not "Calvinism", it's Scripture.
Here is one of them:

" But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
14 whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. " ( 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 ).

I didn't do anything to get this, and I'm certainly not "great"...I'm a wretched man that begs God to deliver me from this body of sin ( Romans 7:15-25 ).

God, in His grace and mercy picked me up out of the my sin and hatred of him, and gave me the keys to something I could never aspire to, nor purchase with any amount of money... the gift of eternal life.
To me, you're acting as if the knowledge and understanding of God's word is something that is the result of human effort...which couldn't be further from the truth.

You are a believer, which means that you have the benefits of everything a child of God is Scripturally supposed to have...the indwelling of the Holy Ghost ( Romans 8:9 ), the ability to discern things spiritually ( 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 ), and the gift of the knowledge of the kingdom of Heaven ( Matthew 13:11, Mark 4:11, Luke 8:10 ).
It also means that you "hear" God's words ( John 8:47 ) and are able to comprehend Scripture.

Why do you continue to act as if I'm somehow special?
Why do you continue to treat me as if I'm some sort of enlightened person ( in my own eyes ), and you're not?

If you've believed on Christ, as I have, then you have the very same ability to comprehend God's words.
It isn't any further out of your reach, than it is mine.



I encourage you to keep reading, sir.

 

No one denies that In fact I have quoted on numerous times that the Holy Ghost inspired gospel is in fact the power unto salvation. The gospel is the God cause. So you have not been reading the correct threads.

 

Yet, there are some here that deny that God is selective in whom He chooses to reveal Himself to, and whom He chooses to save.

 

That is not what you first posted and what I responded to. Those are two completely different things. Nice moving the goal posts.

 

Do you think that this is a game?

 

Nice deflection.. No I do not think it is a game I think you post dishonestly

 

Which makes me a liar and a misrepresenter in your eyes?
I get the message.

The floor is yours, and I now realize my position.
You don't like the idea that Scripture teaches a God who chooses, instead of men being allowed to choose.
The Lord has shown me how pointless this back and forth is, and that everywhere I go, the "doctrines of grace" are hated.

I wish you well, Mark.

 

I did not characterize you, unlike your posts to some others questioning their salvation because they are not calvies, I characterized your posts.

 

Don't Calvinists believe that when someone is effectually called they come "most freely"

"as they come most freely, being made willing by his grace.[8]"

Westminster Confession of Faith



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Not only have you misrepresented yourself but you now have misrepresented anything I have said in this thread. More dishonest posting from you.

Me thinks someone may not last long around here.

 

I agree.
But it's OK...I know that it's time to go.

Everywhere I go, "free will" teaching permeates...and it's very discouraging to watch so many follow after it.

 

Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.

 

*Rev Mitchell said, "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya."*

I expected as much from you, Mark.
The only thing that make me sad, is that I was hoping for something different.

 

Yea well when I first engaged you I expected honesty. I did not receive it. That is what you should be sad about.

 

I was honest...honestly against what you preach and teach.
I will always be against it, as you will always be against what I believe and teach.

 

Calvies should not be allowed to interact with people while they are still in the cage stage.