To All,
Wow. I am finishing up the second paper on Ray's site. And wow I gotta share this with you.
"Here is the briefest outline of how God "saves us:"
Jesus Christ must first "CHOOSE us" (John 15:16). You don’t choose Him until He first chooses you. You have no "free will" by which you choose Christ. Christ CHOOSES YOU, or you aren’t chosen. (Be sure to read my four-part series on "Exposing the Myth of Free Will" on this site).
The Father then "DRAWS us [Gk: ‘drags us’]" to Christ (John 6:44). You don’t come without an invite. What may seem like a "free choice" on your part to come to Christ, in reality is the Father dragging you by many unseen circumstances beyond your view or control.
By GRACE, God gifts us with FAITH (Eph. 2:8). Both are from God; man contributes NOTHING. If you don’t give God credit for all of your faith then you don’t have any faith, because faith comes ONLY from God.
Then "the goodness of GOD leads you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4). Our repentance originates in GOD, not in ourselves. If God doesn’t lead someone to repentance then they CAN’T REPENT.
We are spiritually "BAPTIZED into Christ’s death" (Rom. 6:3)."
When I became saved at FBC here in Lubbock Texas, something deep down did not feel right. For a long time I struggled and even doubted that I had been saved. I had prayed the sinner's prayer but did not know why these feelings of doubt persisted. Now my eyes have been opened up to the truth.
I actually find in not having free will a free thing indeed. It means so much that God has predistined and called me out of Babylon. That when he was creating the world, he looked ahead to this time and smiled, knowing that I, Anne C. McGuire, would come to know the truth and know Him better. I am honored that he would choose me. I do not understand it.
I got a question? It says that many are called few are chosen. What exactly does this mean?
Wow, gotta go and do some more reading. I probably will be posting some more topics. This stuff is amazing.
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Anne C. McGuire
P.S. - I have just finished reading the second paper. Wow. Such freedom.