Why everyone is not invited to salvation
In case you missed it, Paul spent 14 years in the desert places (see Acts) ...
being trained by the Lord in spiritual Truth before really hooking up with the church at Jerusalem.
He says that man has no excuse for not recognizing God: in nature, in the heavens, and in his conscience.
I.E. Man has no excuse for not seeing there is a Creator God, and for not wanting to follow and please Him.
He also says that natural man is at enmity with (an enemy of) God.
He also says that natural man who is perishing spiritually sees the message of the gospel as “foolishness”.
Now, just what does this have to do with any kind of free will? Does natural man choose to see it as foolishness?
Others have said that it takes a miracle for man to want to follow God vs. following his own fallen nature.
I know there are plenty of verses which say that man has a choice.
But, the Lord sees man's heart ... and He knows who He desires to save.
All of those “anyone”s who can believe the foolish gospel simply have been elected by God to believe.
All men are not created the same ... witness how Paul quotes Isaiah re: the potter and the clay.
Many verses tell us exactly the attributes of those whom the Lord desires to have with Him in heaven.
God saw Pharaoh's hardened heart and He knew what choices Pharaoh would make because of it,
so He merely hardened it further.
But, those who actually choose God ... have been given the ability, desire, etc. by the Lord.
Also, man appearing to have the freedom to choose warrants evangelists going to the 4 corners of the earth.
And the Lord Himself personally revealed to me the 2 reasons why He insists on the lost being evangelized:
(1) The elect must hear the gospel in order for them to respond to it. (Note: this is God's plan of salvation.)
(2) The non-elect must hear the gospel so they cannot complain at the Judgment that they never heard it.
Re (1): The illusion that man appears to be free to choose the gospel hides the ugly Truth (to us)
that it is God who chooses. Remember, Jesus said that He chose us and not the other way around.
But THE KEY to this whole deal is:
--- Man has a terribly-flawed human sin nature, which destines him to be separated from God.
--- God, therefore, owes no man anything, which is another ugly Truth (to us).
--- God has the authority to do whatever He damn well pleases. Sorry for putting it so bluntly.
All in all, to me, the evidence weighs quite heavily on the side of foreknowledge, predestination, election, etc.
In case you missed it, Paul spent 14 years in the desert places (see Acts) ...
being trained by the Lord in spiritual Truth before really hooking up with the church at Jerusalem.
He says that man has no excuse for not recognizing God: in nature, in the heavens, and in his conscience.
I.E. Man has no excuse for not seeing there is a Creator God, and for not wanting to follow and please Him.
He also says that natural man is at enmity with (an enemy of) God.
He also says that natural man who is perishing spiritually sees the message of the gospel as “foolishness”.
Now, just what does this have to do with any kind of free will? Does natural man choose to see it as foolishness?
Others have said that it takes a miracle for man to want to follow God vs. following his own fallen nature.
I know there are plenty of verses which say that man has a choice.
But, the Lord sees man's heart ... and He knows who He desires to save.
All of those “anyone”s who can believe the foolish gospel simply have been elected by God to believe.
All men are not created the same ... witness how Paul quotes Isaiah re: the potter and the clay.
Many verses tell us exactly the attributes of those whom the Lord desires to have with Him in heaven.
God saw Pharaoh's hardened heart and He knew what choices Pharaoh would make because of it,
so He merely hardened it further.
But, those who actually choose God ... have been given the ability, desire, etc. by the Lord.
Also, man appearing to have the freedom to choose warrants evangelists going to the 4 corners of the earth.
And the Lord Himself personally revealed to me the 2 reasons why He insists on the lost being evangelized:
(1) The elect must hear the gospel in order for them to respond to it. (Note: this is God's plan of salvation.)
(2) The non-elect must hear the gospel so they cannot complain at the Judgment that they never heard it.
Re (1): The illusion that man appears to be free to choose the gospel hides the ugly Truth (to us)
that it is God who chooses. Remember, Jesus said that He chose us and not the other way around.
But THE KEY to this whole deal is:
--- Man has a terribly-flawed human sin nature, which destines him to be separated from God.
--- God, therefore, owes no man anything, which is another ugly Truth (to us).
--- God has the authority to do whatever He damn well pleases. Sorry for putting it so bluntly.
All in all, to me, the evidence weighs quite heavily on the side of foreknowledge, predestination, election, etc.