willieH: Hi sonofone... Peace
Though (after reading thru the thread) I realize you have come to know that man does NOT have "free will" (since your first post on this thread)...
In study, I have found that one of the BLATANT identifying notes of MOST FALSEHOOD's, is the ABSENCE of mention in the Word... Teachings such as "The TRINTY", "the RAPTURE", "FREE WILL", "ETERNAL SEPARATION from God", "going to Heaven", etc...
Even though most of this is covered by others here, ...I thought I'd go ahead and post this answer anyway...
Music man here is a question for your consideration or to any who will read this post for that matter. Is it possible for man to prevent Gods will? I'll give my response so that you know where I am coming from. My answer is yes.
I think this is wrong bro... How can CLAY ascend to "think" that it might transcend or dictate the shaping of itself, by the POTTER??? And note that shaping, whether negative or positive, as emerging from, and dictated BY the CLAY?
If this is so, then I would ask, HOW is GOD then, working
ALL THINGS after the counsel of HIS OWN WILL?
(Eph 1:11) If man's "will" is able to thwart GOD's "WILL" even
ONCE, ...then
that particular working would be noted as
after the counsel of MAN's "will", And would negate the statement made in
Eph 1:11...
What it amounts to, is that what
appeared to be "thwarting", was simply a part of the COUNSEL of GOD's WILL, which (as the carnal would see it as) appeared to be the will of the man, THWARTING the WILL of GOD...
The Apostles were even shadowed to the PURPOSE which
CHRIST both lived and placed before them... They later found out that EVERYTHING came down, as it was APPOINTED to be... And even though they didnt (at first) understand, later... the light was revealed to them... this same process happens to us as well...
As the JEWS viewed the Death of
CHRIST...
They saw this as THEIR decision or
"choice" (that
CHRIST be killed and thereby
SILENCE Him)... but in the end, THEIR "supposed will" or "decision" only FUFILLED the WILL of GOD, which was... that the Lamb be slain to SAVE the WORLD... and their MURDER of the SAVIOR, only "turned up the
VOLUME!"
Men are only "choosing" according to the DECLARATION of GOD... GOD's WORD has already (in ETERNITY), noted the course of man, its beginning, middle, and end... and that COURSE cannot be altered one iota, otherwise, the SCRIPTURES are broken...
The WORD, is the
WAY (course/route), the TRUTH, and the LIFE...
AND, ...
CREATOR... and cannot be altered by those "created" who "walk" the course/route of this life, which is already (Eternally) noted...
(Is 46-10-11 / Eph 1:11 / Rom 9:16-21)As the bible says all we like sheep have gone astray and turned to our own way.What way is this ?
The reason the sheep are gone astray, is that GOD concluded it to be so:
(Rom 11:32) GOD is taking "our
choices" and working them together for GOOD... even the "bad ones"
I have said before that JUDAS is possibly the 2nd most important man ever... for if he had not done what he DID, ...we would STILL be without a SAVIOR... Was it really JUDAS' "choice"? Did it really "EMERGE" from him?
NO... He was chosen to DO what he DID, from the foundation of the WORLD...
One word about the "ROBOT" thing... if it turns out that this is all we are (living "robots")... how many are going to wish GOD to give them death or non-existence,
because of it ("robothood")?
...willieH