What distinguishes a "Protestant?"

[CoreIssue]

With your belief in Free Will, you are much closer to Catholicism. Do you know Luther's main work disproved Free Will? He called the book "The Bondage of the Will".

You're wasting your time quoting those ancient theologians. Stop treating them like prophets.

The Bible says we have free will so we have free will.

Your distorting free will in election with free will in everything.

By your claims people standing before the white throne will have an excuse. That being you made me do it.

 

[Josiah]

The Bible says we have free will so we have free will.

Where?



.

 

[Willie T]

Where?
.

Joshua 24:14-15 kind of glaringly stands out.

 

[CoreIssue]

Where?



.

Where does it say we do not?

And the simple question, if we do not have a well and how can the Bible say those standing before the white throne judgment are without excuse?

No choice is an excuse.

 

[Josiah]

Joshua 24:14-15 kind of glaringly stands out.

Is this referring to justification?

Is this referring to unbelievers?

Joshua is speaking to those who know the Lord.... and it's about serving Him.

This is not saying that the dead, atheistic, enemy of God - entirely void of the Holy Spirit - has the "free will" to choose Jesus or not as his/her Savior.

 

[Willie T]

Is this referring to justification?
Is this referring to unbelievers?
Joshua is speaking to those who know the Lord.... and it's about serving Him.
This is not saying that the dead, atheistic, enemy of God - entirely void of the Holy Spirit - has the "free will" to choose Jesus or not as his/her Savior.

Did you actually READ those two verses?

 

[Josiah]

Did you actually READ those two verses?

Of course.

Did you read my questions?

Is the context here JUSTIFICATION?

Is Joshua talking to unregenerate, dead, atheistic enemies of God? Is Joshua saying these unregnerate unbelievers can choose or not choose to beleive in Jesus as their Savior? Or is he speaking to children of God about SERVING Him?

"Free will" refers to the ability of the dead, atheistic, enemy of God VOID of the Holy Spirit and spiritual life who nonetheless has an equal ability to choose or not choose Jesus as their Savior. It doesn't refer to one's ability to choose if we want cheese on our burger or not. Choosing whom we will SERVE as to do with sanctification, not justification.

 

[Dave L]

You're wasting your time quoting those ancient theologians. Stop treating them like prophets.

The Bible says we have free will so we have free will.

Your distorting free will in election with free will in everything.

By your claims people standing before the white throne will have an excuse. That being you made me do it.

If you had free will, you didn't need Jesus to save you. You could choose to be perfect.

 

[Dave L]

Luther and the Calvinists went overboard by denying the existence of free will as well as the existence of the conscience, and postulating that the unsaved are unremittingly evil. They were simply following the Catholic St Augustine.

Something else which is totally ignored so as to persist in this false doctrine is what John said about Christ: In him was life; and the life was the light of men... That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:4,9).

This is God, telling us through John, that every human being receives a measure of the light of Christ when he or she is born. So in what sense do humans have light? Paul explains this is Romans 2.

7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13 For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another,
16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

What is "the law written in their hearts"? Is it not the Ten Commandments, which work through the conscience, so that even unsaved Gentiles can discern right from wrong, and do what is right?

Furthermore God has revealed Himself in His creation, which leaves all men without excuse: Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Rom 1:19,20)

You and the Catholics believe in free will. Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and the rest of the Reformers did not.

 

[Helen]

I believe that we should less interested in “what makes a Protestant different” and more interested in what makes CHRISTIAN different....
The question being...”How different are we from the world?....if at all?”
Do we stand up and stand out, or blend in?”

 

[CoreIssue]

If you had free will, you didn't need Jesus to save you. You could choose to be perfect.

That is a stupid statement.

Everyone has the free will to accept or reject Christ. Your Calvinism gives people the excuse they didn't have a choice before the white throne.

 

[Dave L]

That is a stupid statement.

Everyone has the free will to accept or reject Christ. Your Calvinism gives people the excuse they didn't have a choice before the white throne.

Sinners have no free will. They are spiritually blind and could not discern the true Christ if they wanted to. And they can choose nothing but sin in all they do. Even their good works are sin because they lack a true motive. Jesus says they are slaves to sin.

 

[CoreIssue]

Sinners have no free will. They are spiritually blind and could not discern the true Christ if they wanted to. And they can choose nothing but sin in all they do. Even their good works are sin because they lack a true motive. Jesus says they are slaves to sin.

So at the white throne judgment they will have a valid excuse.

 

[Dave L]

So at the white throne judgment they will have a valid excuse.

No, they were judged a corrupt species in Adam who failed the test under the best conditions.

 

[CoreIssue]

No, they were judged a corrupt species in Adam who failed the test under the best conditions.

People stand before the white throne as individuals, not as a species.

We have free will to seek God's salvation. If wer'e seeking it he will guide us to him.

You are espousing Calvinism where God created some for heaven and some for hell. No free will at all.

 

[Dave L]

People stand before the white throne as individuals, not as a species.

We have free will to seek God's salvation. If wer'e seeking it he will guide us to him.

You are espousing Calvinism where God created some for heaven and some for hell. No free will at all.

Why do babies die, never having sinned, if the wages of sin is death? And if God is Just?

 

[CoreIssue]

Why do babies die, never having sinned, if the wages of sin is death? And if God is Just?

Because innocence sin but are not accountable for the sin.

Adam and Eve sinned but were not accountable until they have the knowledge of good and evil.

Study accountability in the Bible.

 

[Dave L]

Because innocence sin but are not accountable for the sin.

Adam and Eve sinned but were not accountable until they have the knowledge of good and evil.

Study accountability in the Bible.

The wages of sin is death, and babies who never sinned die. And God is perfectly Just.

 

[BreadOfLife]

You and the Catholics believe in free will. Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and the rest of the Reformers did not.

Granted, some of your Protestant Fathers took the heretical as YOU do against free will – this was NOT the view of Augustine.
He openly taught about free will in his dialogues against the Manichaean Heretics.

NOT sure where you’re getting your information . . .

 

[Dave L]

Granted, some of your Protestant Fathers took the heretical as YOU do against free will – this was NOT the view of Augustine.

NOT sure where you’re getting your information . . .

Augustine's total depravity renders free will in spiritual matters impossible.