[Ottofire]

Paul, led by his free will, freely chose God, who is a respecter of persons and the concept of choice. NOT!

[Ottofire]

GRPL “Freely choose to read this” PING!

>ducks<

[Gamecock]

Amen!

[Wage Slave]

Thanks for posting this. I’m going to send it to a friend who thinks God is finished with him.

[jkl1122]

God is not a respecter of persons, which is exactly why he allows us to freely choose to obey or disobey Him. Paul still needed his sins to be washed away when he encountered Ananias in Damascus (Acts 22:16).

[MEGoody]

This is such a tough subject.

I was listening to RC Sproul the other night. He gave a great 'lesson' on hell. At the end of it, he said that if you aren't already a Christian, you should really take hell seriously, since God does.

I couldn't help but think to myself, "but Dr. Sproul, if they aren't regenerated already, they can't take it seriously. . .right?"

[oworm]

What a great thought to start the week with!

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Paul said that God “set me apart before I was born,” and then on the Damascus road “called me by his grace” (Galatians 1:15). This means that between Paul’s birth and his call on the Damascus road he was an already-chosen but not-yet-called instrument of God (Acts 9:15; 22:14). ****

And there are still some who believe Paul was not saved until he got wet. In fact, one has already showed up.

[marinamuffy]

I have almost made peace with the free will/determination debate. I can generally agree with a biblically sound article from the reformed corner as well as with a biblically sound article from the free will side. Scripture gives evidence for both.

I think it's all a matter of perspective. Looking at it in human terms (and how can we not) it sure seems like we have free will to make our own decisions. But if you are attempting to see things from God's position outside of time - He already knows the beginning and the end. And also, how can He be anything other than sovereign?

Yet we are still called to pray to Him and to spread the Good News to all the world. I think that means we can be an instrument that God uses for His sovereign decisions. And I am comfortable with saying yes, I was chosen in Him from the foundation of the world but I'm also comfortable with saying yes, I made a decision for Christ.

marinamuffy