(farouk;68275)
Christina:Yes, the more we delve into God's Word, the more we see just how deep it is and how many nuances and different emphases there are. Even in the way passages are themselves put together, the Scriptures themselves can often be a salutary and helpful guide in showing us just how in the revelation of Divine truth two distinct emphases or aspects can exisit side by side, not in opposition but in a complementary way.Examples that come to mind include statements in Philippians chapter 2:"Work our your own salvation [or: deliverance] with fear and trembling. For it is God that worketh in you both to do and to will of his good pleasure." Now it would seem that in the first statement, in this passage of Divine revelation, the emphasis would be on human responsibility. Whereas the apparent emphasis in the second statement is Divine sovereignty.Again, for example, adjacently occurring statements of the Lord Jesus in chapter 6 of John's Gospel come to mind. He says:"All that the Father hath given me shall come to me". He goes on to say immediately afterwards, "and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out."it would seem that in the first statement, the emphasis would be on Divine sovereignty. Whereas the apparent emphasis in the second statement is human responsibility.For statements of Scripture such as the ones in these passages, if a reader were to approach them in a strongly rationalizing way, the reaction might possibly be,'Well, which of these statements are more true than the others?' whereas we know by faith that if we acknowledge that both sets of statements with apparently divergent emphases are part of the overall mind of the Lord for us in revelation, then without necessarily being able fully to rationalize them completely now, we can await a coming day when faith will give way to sight as we gaze in eternity on the Lord Jesus who said to His followers, who didn't always grasp fully what his meaning was: "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." Things I don't really grasp now will become clear in a coming day, and meanwhile, in order to affirm God's sovereignty from Scripture, I am not challenging human responsibility, and in order to affirm Scripture's statements about human responsibility I am not challenging God's sovereignty. It is in fact exactly these issues which have taken up the efforts and studies of Godly teachers of past generations and centuries. For example, the preacher C H Spurgeon in the 19th century was asked how he reconciled the sovereignty of God with human responsibility. And, humorist that he often proved to be, he responded, "I wouldn't try to reconcile two friends".I don't properly understand it - in fact, the very eternity of God means I can't properly grasp His greatness - but the loving and gracious key with which the Lord challenges me is the idea of trust (Proverbs 3, 5), when Scripture shows two distinct emphases, sometimes even expressed side by side.I like Anne Griffiths' words, which I apply to my heart, in her lovely hymn about the Scriptures:'O may these hallowed pages be My ever dear delight!And still new beauties may I see, And still increasing light!"(My two cents'.)
Well OSAS is clearly nearly all the time goes the wrong way. May I add an old post of mine?(thesuperjag;10034)
Writer the OSAS doctrine is so deceiving and it is made by man. And I don't need a scripture to support this common sense. For ensample, When I accepted Jesus into my heart, I became saved... Now if I turn my back on my Saviour and I became a wiccan (an example) and never want Him again...then I am going to say that I was never truly saved at all...therefore the OSAS doctrine needs to be discarded.
And yes this does apply to James 2, and John 14:15.
Christina:Yes, the more we delve into God's Word, the more we see just how deep it is and how many nuances and different emphases there are. Even in the way passages are themselves put together, the Scriptures themselves can often be a salutary and helpful guide in showing us just how in the revelation of Divine truth two distinct emphases or aspects can exisit side by side, not in opposition but in a complementary way.Examples that come to mind include statements in Philippians chapter 2:"Work our your own salvation [or: deliverance] with fear and trembling. For it is God that worketh in you both to do and to will of his good pleasure." Now it would seem that in the first statement, in this passage of Divine revelation, the emphasis would be on human responsibility. Whereas the apparent emphasis in the second statement is Divine sovereignty.Again, for example, adjacently occurring statements of the Lord Jesus in chapter 6 of John's Gospel come to mind. He says:"All that the Father hath given me shall come to me". He goes on to say immediately afterwards, "and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out."it would seem that in the first statement, the emphasis would be on Divine sovereignty. Whereas the apparent emphasis in the second statement is human responsibility.For statements of Scripture such as the ones in these passages, if a reader were to approach them in a strongly rationalizing way, the reaction might possibly be,'Well, which of these statements are more true than the others?' whereas we know by faith that if we acknowledge that both sets of statements with apparently divergent emphases are part of the overall mind of the Lord for us in revelation, then without necessarily being able fully to rationalize them completely now, we can await a coming day when faith will give way to sight as we gaze in eternity on the Lord Jesus who said to His followers, who didn't always grasp fully what his meaning was: "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." Things I don't really grasp now will become clear in a coming day, and meanwhile, in order to affirm God's sovereignty from Scripture, I am not challenging human responsibility, and in order to affirm Scripture's statements about human responsibility I am not challenging God's sovereignty. It is in fact exactly these issues which have taken up the efforts and studies of Godly teachers of past generations and centuries. For example, the preacher C H Spurgeon in the 19th century was asked how he reconciled the sovereignty of God with human responsibility. And, humorist that he often proved to be, he responded, "I wouldn't try to reconcile two friends".I don't properly understand it - in fact, the very eternity of God means I can't properly grasp His greatness - but the loving and gracious key with which the Lord challenges me is the idea of trust (Proverbs 3, 5), when Scripture shows two distinct emphases, sometimes even expressed side by side.I like Anne Griffiths' words, which I apply to my heart, in her lovely hymn about the Scriptures:'O may these hallowed pages be My ever dear delight!And still new beauties may I see, And still increasing light!"(My two cents'.)
Well OSAS is clearly nearly all the time goes the wrong way. May I add an old post of mine?(thesuperjag;10034)
Writer the OSAS doctrine is so deceiving and it is made by man. And I don't need a scripture to support this common sense. For ensample, When I accepted Jesus into my heart, I became saved... Now if I turn my back on my Saviour and I became a wiccan (an example) and never want Him again...then I am going to say that I was never truly saved at all...therefore the OSAS doctrine needs to be discarded.
And yes this does apply to James 2, and John 14:15.
