Free will
If certain Christian sects are correct and God has elected some people and there is no way for them to not be elected, then wouldn't it mean that both the elect and non-elect are doing God's will?
In other words, if God says that one person will do good and another will do bad, then isn't the bad person doing the will of God?
In other words, if God says that one person will do good and another will do bad, then isn't the bad person doing the will of God?
posted by RC @ 6:38 AM
5 Comments:
At 7:09 AM ,
Splinters of Silver said...
It is true, Romans 9 speaks of vessels of honor and vessels of wrath, and who are we to argue against God. Of course people usually cling to the “What if” of verse 22.
There are those which speak of the revealed will of God, which is the will of God given to us in scripture that we are commanded to follow, and then there is the hidden will of God which is His sovereign will that shall accomplish all that He wills.
An example would be the crucifixion of Christ. Scripture declares that Christ was delivered first by the will of God [Acts 2:23], yet also the will of the people.
When you speak of “doing the will of God”, you are talking about works, our actions, which is law. So then, are we saved by “doing the will of God”? Not according to Ephesians 2:8 & Titus 3:5. We are saved unto good works, Ephesians 2:10 & Titus 2:14.
We are condemned already from birth, because we do not believe, John 3:18.
So, do you find fault with God?
At 7:57 AM ,
Anonymous said...
I wasn't really thinking about saved vs. unsaved.
I was really focusing on obedience. If there is no free will, then the disobedient man is actually still being obedient to God by being disobedient.
At 8:20 AM ,
Splinters of Silver said...
We can't quite cast off totally free will either though. God does not force us against our will.
We do not have those which are scream "No God don't save me" all the while the Spirit is saving them, nor do we have God saying "I don't think so" to those which honestly desire salvation from the Lord.
Because of our sin nature, our free will does not desire to come to Christ but serve the law of sin therefore that which is disobedient to God yet ultimately also serves His purpose - it is when we are saved that the new nature desires the things of God and that we are then able to perform that which is obedient to the will of God, yet the flesh battles it at every chance.
It is not that man does not have free will, his will is just bound by sin.
I agree, this far surpasses our knowledge.
At 8:41 AM ,
Anonymous said...
Do you realize what I've given you?
It's a perfect argument against hyper-Calvinism. If everything is mapped out by God, then bad are obeying when they choose to do bad.
At 11:16 AM ,
Splinters of Silver said...
How so? I don't quite follow.
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