Can you provide a scripture to support the notion that someone chooses to believe a promise?
And please don't try to quote "As for me and my house...." because the unbelieving generation had already passed. Joshua was already a believer when he said that, and was speaking to believers.
I believe I can show you, but you might not see it.
Luk 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
The word "commend" here means to entrust. Jesus is trusting his Father, willingly allowing himself to die on the cross, believing his Father to raise him from the dead. This was a conscious decision and a choice, Jesus did not have to die on the cross if he chose not to do so, he told Peter in the garden that he could have called on his Father, and his Father would have sent more than 12 legions of angels to deliver him. So Jesus had option, he did not have to die.
Mat 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
Again, Jesus did not have to die on the cross, and it was not Jesus's will that he die on the cross, he prayed in the garden if this cup might pass from him. But Jesus made the conscious choice to trust his Father and die on the cross, as this was his Father's desire, that he might die for all men to deliver them from their sins.
So believing in the scriptures does not mean to simply agree with a fact or that that something is true, it means to trust or rely upon another.
An example of someone choosing not to believe is Thomas:
Jhn 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them,
Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side:
and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Here we see Thomas say that he will not believe unless he sees Jesus with his own eyes and touches him with his hands. But he could have believed, he had the witness of all his close friends, and the words that Jesus had spoken to him many times before he died. Thomas had no excuse for unbelief.
And note that Jesus commands Thomas to believe. If we do not have the ability to believe at will, then such a command is nonsensical, and Jesus NEVER said anything that is nonsensical.
Wrong analogy. Having eternal life has nothing to do with working. Having eternal life has one condition - believe the gospel, which is a promise from God.
It was just an analogy to show that because you chose Jesus does not usurp God's sovereignty, just as when you chose to work for your employer, that does not mean you are the boss. Try telling your boss you are in charge because you chose to accept your job and see if he agrees with you.
And it is not humanly possible to choose to believe something.
Sure it is, this very debate board shows that people can weigh evidence and decide what they believe. During a trial you listen to evidence from both sides and in the end you must decide which evidence you believe is true.
The better analogy would be if someone promises to come visit. You don't "make a decision" to believe them. You either believe or you don't. And whether or not you believe that there person will more than likely be based on your perception as to how trustworthy they are, NOT a decision.
Well, whether they are trustworthy or not is based on past experience. If this person has always shown up when they promised to come, it is very easy to believe they will keep their promise. But if they have lied and failed to come several times, then it is more difficult to believe them. Nevertheless, you decide to give the person another chance and wait for them to come. That is a conscious decision to trust them once more.
And whether or not you"decide" to be home for that visit, is 100% unrelated to whether or not you believe the promise.
I disagree, if you decide to give the person one more chance to keep their promise, you will willingly and knowingly decide to stay home. That is a conscious choice to believe or trust that person.
Trusting is not a feeling, it is a choice to rely or depend upon another person or thing.
