For me to say how they ultimately end up in the lake of fire would be pure conjecture on my part. I tend to take Revelation 20:15 literally and feel that the lost will indeed be thrown into the lake of fire.
I'll just about guarantee they won't run and jump.
Hallelujah.
Perhaps not literally, but they themselves, and not God, are most certainly the reason why they are being cast into the lake of fire.
Men freely choose to sin,
mon frere. That was the natural consequence of the fall.
God allows the natural consequences of man's choices to come to fruition in his life.
And naturally(better yet, by nature), the consequences of man's choices ends up causing them to die lost. HOWEVER, by supernatural consequences, He saves those that are His.
If a man chooses to abuse alcohol and ends up with liver problems, is that God's fault?
Nope. Natural consequence.
If a man smokes his whole life and ends up with lung cancer, did God give him lung cancer.
Nope. Natural consequence.
It is my opinion that God simply allows the natural consequences of man's decisions to play out in their life. I believe that is clearly supported by Galatians 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
I agree with you here. Shocked? Lullz. Even christians who smoke and chew die from cancer. I chew snuff myself. I choose to chew. No one forced me to.
As an educator, I give my students every possible opportunity to pass each and every test.
As well you should. But God is not man and does not act as a man, even think as a man. God, as the Man Christ Jesus, knew what it was like to live, act, eat, think like a man, yet was untainted by sin. God chose Israel and left the other people out. Not because they were more special(they were vile sinners, too), but because He loved them. The others were left to their own self destruction.
If they choose not to properly prepare for the test and subsequently fail the test, it is not I who failed them; they made that decision on their own. Did they choose to fail? Not specifically, but they chose not to properly prepare for the test and as a result, failed the test.
And this proves my point(and Piper's too). They didn't want to fail, but they were either too lazy to study, spent too much time out with friends, &c. They didn't want to fail, but by not properly using their time in studying, they failed your test, the logical outcome. They failed the test, you graded it and gave them a failing grade. Sinners who failed to repent will be cast into hell by God.
God has provided for each man the way of salvation. If man chooses to reject that way of salvation, it is not God who sends that man to hell; he made that decision on his own. Did he choose to go to hell? Not specifically, but he chose not to properly prepare for eternity and as a result, died without Christ.
This sounds good and all,
mon frere, but this notion is not supported by scripture. God left Pharaoh and Egpyt out of His redemptive plan. Not once did He tell Moses to tell Egypt(especially Pharaoh) to serve Him, but to 'let My people go so that they may worship Me'. Not once was Pharaoh and Egypt told to worship God, to offer a sacrifice for their sins, &c. The Philistines were never in God's redemptive plan, either. Same for the Hivites, Hitites, Jebusites, Edomites, Perezites, Ammonites, Moabites(though Ruth came from them), Amalekites, &c.
"For all who believe." I agree 100%.
Hallelujah. Another accord.
He does, however, present man with possibilities.
I Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Spoken/written to believers and not believers.
For every temptation, there is a possibility of escape. Who provides it? God Himself.
Again, directed to believers and not unbelievers.
God also made salvation "possible" for every man but not "certain" for every man. That would be universalism.
Please do not take this as me being snarky, but more in the manner of a good, heated, debate, okay? This is why I loathe synergism. There's nothing concrete, settled, in regards to salvation. It's reduced down to
'possibilities'? God will save sinners, but only if they do 'x,y, & z.' Unless they do 'x, y, &z', they'll die eternally lost. It's like God has done everything He could possibly do on His end, but those sinners could not hold up their end of the deal. How weak does that make God?
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
You need to go down one more verse. Who are those who:
1) received Him?
2) to whom did He give power to become the sons of God?
3) who are those who believe on His name?
"children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.[John 1:13] Those who are born of God have been given the power(ability) to believe upon His name, to receive Him, to become the sons of God.
