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To: steve8714
Some scripture teaching on predestination as it applies to salvation:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us[...]" (Eph. 1:3-6, NASB)

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." (Rom. 8:28-30, NASB)

8 posted on 11/30/2007 8:47:41 AM PST by P8riot (I carry a gun because I can't carry a cop.)
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To: P8riot

I believe He gave us free will, to control our own destinies. That’s why there are Fords and Buicks.


9 posted on 11/30/2007 9:02:06 AM PST by steve8714 (The last actor elected POTUS turned out OK.)
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To: P8riot
If I might clarify a point, Calvinism teaches what I, as an LCMS Lutheran, have heard named, “double predestination”. This goes beyond the Scriptures you quote. The Ephesians and Romans passages point to God’s love for us and His desire to adopt us through Christ. We were predestined, in short, to become His children, through the sacrifice of a loving Christ. Calvin takes it another step and says that if some were predestined to heaven (salvation), then it follows that some MUST be predestined to hell.

This, in my doctrinal view, sets up God as the author of evil, which a totally good God cannot be. This Calvinistic doctrine also calls into question Jesus’ own words: “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved...” According to Calvin, I can do just that and still go to hell. That provides no comfort to the sinner and IMHO, provides no certainty of salvation, unlike Jesus’ words.

I wanted to clarify this, because a lot of folks fail to understand that double predestination is a peculiarly Calvinistic view.

10 posted on 11/30/2007 9:05:25 AM PST by the lone haranguer
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