Mike, of course I believe all the Scripture that you have posted, they are just part of the equation though, all the other Scriptures must be considered as well. I cannot say I can fully relate to what you have been through, because I have not been through anything like that, but the Apostle Paul did mention having just such feelings as you have talked about of helplessness to the pulls of the flesh.
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
v. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
v. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
v. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
v. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
v. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
v. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Yes Paul certainly understood about the sovereignty of God, probably better than anybody else, and we have his words that we shall give account.
Rom 14:12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
I will give you another email from Ray because his articles are the reason we have joined here for these discussions, so we can strive to help one another in understanding these things. Now after all of this I do not feel you have come here to seek like minded fellowship, but to try and booster your own ideas of what the Scripture says about these things.
http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,2354.0.html --------------------
Dear Whirlwind:
You are not understanding this subject and the principle behind it. You ask: "Is it man making the choices or is it God's predestination of things?" It is BOTH. Listen: God is SOVEREIGN! Man therefore has NO FREE WILL OR NO FREE CHOICE. That's it. That's all there is to it. That IS the principle. That IS the Truth. That IS what the Bible teaches. It is not a contradiction to say that "Man makes his own choices." You and millions of other just think it is a contradiction to say man makes his own choices if indeed God is sovereign and God is behind all in His creation. It is not a contradiction. It only sounds like a contradiction for those who do not believe that "God is Sovereign, and Man has no free will."
I hardly know what else to tell you. God made man's heart. Man did not make his own heart, or his body, or his mind, or his brain, or his will, or his hopes and dreams. They are all PREDESTINATED by the foreknowledge of God. So then we don't make choices, right? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO....WE DO MAKE CHOICES. It's just that they are CAUSED by things we can't always see. Sometimes we can see what makes our choices and some times we can't, but either way THEY ARE CAUSED. And God, not us, already knows in advance the outcome of all of those caused choices. How does He do that? He is very smart (has over a 150 IQ), plus HE IS SOVEREIGN, ALL WISE, AND ALL POWERFUL.....and don't forget LOVE.
So, does God FORCE EVIL MEN TO RAPE LITTLE GIRLS? Well, does He? Does God being Sovereign prove that God forces evil men to rape little girls? That's what evil theologians deduce from the truth of no free will. They turn the Sovereignty of God into one of the biggest evils in the universe. If God is Sovereign, then God must be EVIL, because there is so much evil in the world, and God is in control of all things, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong! Man makes all his own choices. Just because they are CAUSED does not mean that he does not make them. He is, in fact, CAUSED TO MAKE HIS CHOICES. But God does not directly do this. He is responsible, but He does not directly cause those choices. Things like the Devil do such things. And who created the Devil? That's right, that One Who is Sovereign and in charge of all things. Evil men like raping just like evil theologians like stealing widow's social security money. God doesn't make them do it--THEY LIKE TO DO IT. They volunteer with little outside influence. God made humanity this way. He created them spiritually weak. Eve couldn't help but sin. God has a good purpose and God will straighten it all out in the end.
I guess I could just keep writing and writing and writing and one day someone will say................OHHHHHH, now I get it. Maybe today is your day. I'm pulling for ya!!!
God be with you,
Ray