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Does God have a free will?
- Thread starter 1689Dave
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God is holy and He cannot act contrary to His nature.
1 Peter 1:16 because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
So, God is not free to sin. Ergo, God does not have free will in the way we, His creation, define free will.
1 Peter 1:16 because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
So, God is not free to sin. Ergo, God does not have free will in the way we, His creation, define free will.
Scott Downey
Well-Known Member
God does what He pleases, He is free in Himself to do whatever He wants, this is according to His nature. But His nature is also that His promise is He will torment the wicked in Hell and reward the righteous with good things. God defines what is sin, God also decides whether to impute or not impute to a man their sin. God can not lie. God can not sin. God's WORD can not be broken.
God is the eternally blessed God
Isaiah 46
8 “Remember this, and show yourselves men;
Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
9 Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
Psalm 115:3
But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.
Psalm 135:6
Whatever the Lord pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.
Ecclesiastes 3:14
I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
God is the eternally blessed God
Isaiah 46
8 “Remember this, and show yourselves men;
Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
9 Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
Psalm 115:3
But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.
Psalm 135:6
Whatever the Lord pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.
Ecclesiastes 3:14
I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
Obviously not because Calvinist restrict Him on who He can save. You know He can't save all the lost, Just the imaginary elect. Of course the Bible never says such but because they insist on it He must not have freewill. Who would of thought that a puny Calvinist had such athority.
MB
Scott Downey
Well-Known Member
Jesus said with God all things are possible. But God will not choose to do such a thing as He is a God of promises and God swears by an oath to do certain things, so we see the immutability of His council at work. But He could do anything as He is God Almighty, but He chooses to not do somethings according to His promises, one of which as an example is to not destroy the earth again by water. Even though He could, He says He won't, not that He can't.
Hebrews 6:17-19 New King James Version (NKJV)
17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
He sure can if He so desires to. Salvation is not for the elect alone and scripture never says it is. You are not a Jew therefore you are not elect. Can you prove you are elect with scripture. Nope!
MB
Scott Downey
Well-Known Member
One thing to remember, God completed all His works and rested on the 7th day in the first week of creation.
Ecclesiastes 3:14
I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.
God had this all planned out from before the foundation of the world, before anything was, to do everything that He would do.
God was fully free in His plan to do whatever He wanted to do when He did all His works.
Everything is for God, to God, of God and though God.
God is following His own freely conceived plan and will stick with it as long as He has planned for it to continue.
God is upholding all things by the word of His power, all things that He purposed to do from before the beginning of everything.
Paul explores this concept of God resting from all His works on the 7th day a little in Hebrews 4
Hebrews 4 New King James Version (NKJV)
1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
Acts 15 at the Jerusalem council is said this
18 “Known to God from eternity are all His works.
And can anyone put 2 plus 2 together and understand then when Jesus says this, that yes your individual salvation was planned by the Father from before the foundation of the world as one of His works? And that is why you believe at all and are saved.
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
Ecclesiastes 3:14
I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.
God had this all planned out from before the foundation of the world, before anything was, to do everything that He would do.
God was fully free in His plan to do whatever He wanted to do when He did all His works.
Everything is for God, to God, of God and though God.
God is following His own freely conceived plan and will stick with it as long as He has planned for it to continue.
God is upholding all things by the word of His power, all things that He purposed to do from before the beginning of everything.
Paul explores this concept of God resting from all His works on the 7th day a little in Hebrews 4
Hebrews 4 New King James Version (NKJV)
1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
Acts 15 at the Jerusalem council is said this
18 “Known to God from eternity are all His works.
And can anyone put 2 plus 2 together and understand then when Jesus says this, that yes your individual salvation was planned by the Father from before the foundation of the world as one of His works? And that is why you believe at all and are saved.
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
1689Dave
Well-Known Member
Can God hate the Son and send his redeemed to hell?
Scott Downey
Well-Known Member
Ok, scripture says it is impossible for God to lie. And God said Christ was a priest forever, so here is some proof God can not hate what He loves or send them to Hell. Of course He cant hate Himself can He?
And as our high priest Christ makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
God won't oppose His own will according to all the things He has planned from the beginning to do, otherwise why would He have planned it just to change His mind, that is also something God does not do.
Hebrews 5:6
As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”;
Hebrews 5:10
called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”
Hebrews 6:20
where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
I agree and there has never been any decree that states Gentiles are elect. In order for Gentiles to be elect God would have had to change His mind and He does not ever change his mind.
MB
Do you really believe God isn't perfect?. You're so wraped up in Calvinism you can't see the truth
MB
Scott Downey
Well-Known Member
You have to spell out the book name completely, then it is a link
"And any change in his will determined by love and righteousness would be to imperfection."
You are correct. Which is why some Christians believe GOD IS LOVE. And he does not change.
“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” 1 John 4
To abide in LOVE = Abide in God.
“If you see charity, you see the Trinity”- St Augustine.
We don't drop Love to just an attribute. The very essence of God is Love.
If you keep it as attribute i can see how your stuck with "I believe God does not have a free will."
Consider the Trinity as well. When Jesus says "Not my will, but your will be done"
God is Love. All agree. But say Love is God, and then folks think God is "TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE".
Love just has to boss you around once to be your master. God has no master.
In Heaven there is a Dictionary, If you look up Love, I guarantee you will see Jesus Christ.
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"God was fully free in His plan to do whatever He wanted to do when He did all His works."
God can do anything he wants as long as its my way.
Both sides got to face, if GOD WANTED TO, could he run a system one way not the other?
For example saying God can do ANYTHING but believing he can't make free willed folks.
I dunno if he keeps talking "nonsense" Like "God is Love". Calvinist just don't say that, its kryptonite. If they keep repeating "God is love" they could end up believing it.
He is also talking about God doesn't change, thats immutability. That could lead to IMPASSIBILITY which he mention God changing his mind over love.
Its the holidays maybe Dave is getting mushy on us.
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