Thats a phrase used in a book I really liked. it was either "7 biblical truths you wont hear in church" or "you mean that isnt in the bible: 10 beliefs that sumply arent true" I dont know which one it was, maybe both. It's written by the same author.
Gods relationship to us is like a parents relationship to his child. the debate is who has the stronger grip? when a parent and his child is crossing the street, the parent will hold on to his childs hand because he knows the dangers. God is that parent, and we are the child.
Ok the 2 popular beliefs are calvinism which is predestination (Gods grip or parents grip) and Arminianism which is mans free will (Mans grip or childs grip).
first I am going to talk about Arminianis which is mans free will. (Mans grips)
This has been a frusterating struggle for me. but i do believe in predestination. Mans free will actually scares me. it gets me to thinking i am not saved. it scares me to think that my soul is in my own hands and not in Gods hands. and because the bible says i can do nothing of my own, then i am unable to hold on to Gods hand, and so I will fail. i need God to hold on to my hand.
I have heard "to repent you must stop sinning. but that doesnt mean you wont sin."- Sounds like a contradiction to me. or "to repent you must stop living in sin, though it doesnt mean your not going to sin anymore" well how does one stop living in sin if it doesnt mean you wont sin anymore? or is it a a weighing factor? like once i accept God into my
heart of my own free will, i will sin less. how much less? God is very clear in the bible that he is in control so that no one can boast. but this belief allows me to boast in all sorts of things. i can say "i am saved and your not cause i was smart enough to accept Gods gift." But if it is not in our power to choose God, then we cant boast.
this belief says that a child can out muscle his parent and and actually lose the grip of his parent. or it says the parent is going to let his child have his free will and just let his child run into the street. i dont believe that is God.
The other belief is calvinism which is predestination. (Gods Grip)
i believe God has two wills... and i think this is calvinism too. i think he has a forced will and a passive will. but it is still his will. NOTHING goes against his will!! murder, child abuse, rape. i believe it is all Gods passive will. does God enjoy it? no... could God have stopped it? yes. but if he didnt, thats cause it was his will. it was not his forced will but his passive will.
I am a slave to God. we all are a slave to something. dont kid yourself if you believe your not. either your a slave to God or your a slave to sin. and i want to be a slave to God! I love it!!! i feel free from sin! cause i am no longer a slave to sin!!! being a slave isnt bad. its the master that can make it bad. sin is the abusive master that will destroy you. God is the loving master! If you love God why would you want anything different then to be his slave? thats what trust in God is. my free will is only limited to Gods will. if i try to do something that is not in Gods forced or passive will, it will not happen. but its better that it didnt. even God says "nothing can take you out of my hand" dont know the verse (i never do). that includes satan and yourself. once you are saved you are in Gods hand and you are no longer able to take yourself out. I rest in Jesus. i dont work for him. he works through me.
point is... why would anyone want freewill? i want God to force his love upon me! give me no escape! dont give me a choice! make me accept your love! Give me no will of my own! i belong toyou God! that is my 100% obedience. free will is over rated and like i stated earlier. your not as free as you think you are.
think about this... a sinner is a slave to his sin because he of his own will can not resist the sin. the sin forces itself upon him and thus us subject to the judgement of that sin. But when Jesus died, he died only once and he died for every single sin you commited and will commit. past and future. so though we may sin, we are forgiven and sin no longer has holds us down. it is the gift forced upon us. when we die, we will not go down into the depths of hell with our old master sin... we will be taken up with our new master which is God.
now sin actually brings us closer to God? because when we sin, we are reminded of our weaknesses and we seek God. no longer do we make our sins go away ourselves or try to justify our sins so we can boast. but as christians we now know we can not boast, because we know we are weak. we can do nothin in our selves apart from God.
sorry about the lack of order to things... i was just typing as fast as i could what came to mind.
i believe God does micromanage... he knows all the stars by name, and he knows how many hairs are on your head.... even if thats 0 :)
also in predestination i can not boast. because god says in Ephesians 2:8-9 , "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." in otherwords you cant do nothing to save yourself that includes using your freewill to accept God. because again that would contradict the scripture and it would allow you to boast. so i cant boast and say " haha God chose me and not you" because God didnt choose you because of anything you did, but because of who God is. NOTHING to do with you.
sorry bout postishould really have posting 3 in a row... they should really have an edit topic thing... anyways one more point.
"Ephesians 2:8-9 says, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
also notice this.... it says not a result of works... that includes using your free will to accept Gods grace. to accept is an act of works... but it is not of your works but of God. its all God baby! your acceptance of God is because God chose you , so you have no choice.
maybe its just that you do have a choice but God is so irresistible... hes like Candy... once hes waved in your face you cant resist. does a anyone know of a child who has resisted candy? i am sure it has happened. but to use that as an example. God is like that candy... but better!!
once God waves himself in your face, he is so irriesistible that while you may think you have free will, and you choose to accept him of your own free will, that fact is no one he has chosen has never resisted him. if he makes himself known to you, you cant resist. those who seemingly have turned from God or turned down his offer, never truly knew God. he made his presence known to that person, but that doesnt mean God chose him. its more like a parent talking about the candy instead of waving it in your face. talking about it and looking at it is 2 different things.
