Not if those rulers in the verse cannot freely choose anything other than what God has planned and will put into their minds to do. It would not be sovereign of God to merely foreknow things and make predictions throughout history as a mere omnipresent overseer rather than orchestrating ruler because that foreknowledge and those predictions would be ever-changing based on the whims of us under God making decisions, in which case God could be faulty and uncertain up until the very moments things take place or afterwards. God is not merely foreknowing but all-knowing, and to have all knowledge in advance from before the beginning with no one existing alongside him before creation to give him that knowledge necessitates that God is the one who predetermined all the knowledge he possesses about what will surely take place, and therefore what has happened could not possibly have been different and what we will choose cannot be changed. Where then is free will possible? Unless God's knowledge can be incomplete or wrong and have need to be updated based on our minds changing, our wills cannot be truly free. It's not possible for God to tell me 30 or more years in advance what I'm going to do and me do something other than that later, so my actions are pre-set with no freedom of my will to choose to do anything different. Also, how could God foreknow what I'm gonna do from before creation while I don't know up until moments before I do it, and I also probably couldn't even conceive of myself wanting to do what I definitely will long into the future, all the while my will is free? Biblically, God's sovereignty is his right to plan and orchestrate what he wills and then declare it over us, even several millennia in advance, and if we can't do anything other than what he has planned, foreknown, and declared, our wills are not free but only consciously active on a predestined path like an actor playing their role in a movie production based on an already decided story's conclusion. This is actually our only hope of salvation because if not predestined to it, we would never meet the requirements and keep ourselves from forfeiting salvation later based on ever-shifting 'free-will' emotions and decisions.
Hi @phieble, I love your comments because in every one of them I see you are so passionate about God However, I disagree with your logic. Knowing does not mean causing. Let's take it on a much smaller scale than omniscience: if I offer you an apple or a pear, and you choose the pear, I did nothing to make you choose the pear. Now suppose I go back in time a couple of seconds and offer you the same choice, I know you are about to pick the pear, and yet I am no more causing you to pick the pear than I was the first time. On the scale of God, yes He is outside of time. Yes He is sovereign. And in His sovereignty He created beings that were able to reject Him (us), so that we could also choose Him freely. He gives us every second the freedom to obey Him or disobey Him. He knows every single choice we will ever make, but He causes none of the. He may guide us, or push us, or give us the right circumstances for us to make certain choices. Or even give us the strength to go through with our bad choices. But he does not make you pick the pear.
@johnjamesthomson1 Thanks for your response after reading what I posted considering how LONG it was. However, I wasn't appealing to mere logic in my comment, but even if I was, your example falls short in that it lacks firstly an attribute of all knowledge on the part of God from before creation according to specific purposes which he has determined will not fail, (God could not have knowledge in the past about all that will surely happen without him being the one to determine all that will happen because his knowledge would be incomplete and shifting if we can willfully change our minds and alter his knowledge over time) and secondly, you left out that we all have a built-in inclination that cannot be overcome by us which determines what our choices will be based on whoever is our spiritual master at the time. The Bible describes God as knowing absolutely all from even before he said "Let there be..." in Genesis, therefore within time our choices cannot be anything other than all that he has already foreknown which means we are not free within time to choose whatever when we have various choices. The Bible also describes human nature as being bent away from God with our wills controlled by Satan to do what he wants and never able to do what God wants until he changes our hearts and makes us his. Therefore, beginning with repentance and faith and every decision we make after that, we are totally dependent on God to remove Satan as our spiritual master and replace him with the Holy Spirit so that we can and will please him otherwise we cannot and will not. Psalms 33 10) The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes. 11) But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. Jeremiah 10:23 23) I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. Ecclesiastes 6:10 10) Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny. 2 Timothy 2 25) Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26) Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. Ephesians 1 4) Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5) God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6) So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 11) Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. Romans 8 5) Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6) So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7) For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8) That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. 9) But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) Ephesians 2 1) Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2) You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil-the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3) All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4) But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5) that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) It's important that you make sure to always appeal to Scripture when arguing these matters, because only God's word can inerrantly describes the relationship between God's will and mankind's will and how the world really works.
John Piper makes a very good point about the importance of letting the Bible change our views on things. There are many Christians who are holding their preconceived ideas with such a tight grip, that they are simply not willing to listen to what the text of Scripture is actually saying. But that is precisely how not to use the Bible. That is exactly what the Bible is not for.
The question was about the individual predestination of the actions of kings, as referenced in Revelation 17:17. It's exactly the question that was asked.
It would not be sovereign of God to merely foreknow things and make predictions throughout history as a mere omnipresent overseer rather than orchestrating ruler because that foreknowledge and those predictions would be ever-changing based on the whims of us under God making decisions, in which case God could be faulty and uncertain up until the very moments things take place or afterwards. God is not merely foreknowing but all-knowing, and to have all knowledge in advance from before the beginning with no one existing alongside him before creation to give him that knowledge necessitates that God is the one who predetermined all the knowledge he possesses about what will surely take place, and therefore what has happened could not possibly have been different and what we will choose cannot be changed. Where then is free will possible? Unless God's knowledge can be incomplete or wrong and have need to be updated based on our minds changing, our wills cannot be truly free. It's not possible for God to tell me 30 or more years in advance what I'm going to do and me do something other than that later, so my actions are pre-set with no freedom of my will to choose to do anything different. Also, how could God foreknow what I'm gonna do from before creation while I don't, and I also probably couldn't even conceive of myself wanting to do what I definitely will in the future, all the while my will is free? Biblically, God's sovereignty is his right to plan and orchestrate what he wills and then declare it over us, even several millennia in advance, and if we can't do anything other than what he has planned, foreknown, and declared, our wills are not free but only consciously active on a predestined path like an actor playing their role in a movie production based on an already decided story's conclusion. Why should human authors have more rights over the paths of the characters in their story who willingly play their part yet could not possibly "freely" choose anything else, meanwhile the Author of all history somehow doesn't have those same rights over us, the clay of his hands, and to a greater degree?
Luke 14:12-24( The Parable of the great Banquet) " 12 He(Jesus😊1st❤) said also to the man who had invited him(Jesus😊1st❤), " When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friend or your brothers or your relatives or the rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But(😊❤) when you give a feast, invite the poor(❤), the crippled(❤), the lame(❤), the blind(❤), 14 and you will be blessed(😊❤), because they cannot (😊❤) repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection(😊❤) of the just(😊❤)." 15 When one of those who reclined at table with him(Jesus😊1st❤) heard these things, he said to him(Jesus😊1st❤), " Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God! " 16 But(😊❤) he(Jesus😊1st❤) said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant(😊❤) to say to those who had been invited, ' Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him( Jesus😊1st❤), ' I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 19 And another said, ' I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' 20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So the servant (😊❤) came and reported these things to his master(😊1st❤). Then the master of the house became angry and sais to his servant(😊❤), ' Go😊❤ out (😊❤) quickly to the streets(😊❤'s) and lanes(😊❤'s) of the city(😊❤), and bring(😊❤) in (😊❤) the poor(❤) and crippled(❤) and blind(❤) and lame(❤).' 22 And the servant(😊❤) said, ' Sir, what you commanded has(😊❤) been(😊❤) done(😊❤), and still(😊❤) there is (😊❤) room(😊❤).' 23And the master(😊1st❤) said to the servant(😊❤), 'Go(😊❤) out(😊❤) to the highways(😊❤'s) and hedges(😊❤'s) and compel(😊❤) people(😊❤'s) to come(😊❤) in (😊❤), that my house(😊❤) may(😊❤) be(😊❤) filled(😊❤). 24 For I tell you(😊❤), none of these men who were invited shall taste my banquet.' " "( Luke 14:12-24 ESV Study Bible)
Exodus 39:1 of Exodus 39:1-43( Making the priestly garments) "39 From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, for ministering(😊❤) in the Holy(😊❤) Place(😊❤). They made the holy garment for Aaron(😊❤), as the LORD(😊❤) had commanded Moses(😊❤)."( Exodus 39:1 ESV Study Bible of Exodus 39:1-43( Making the priestly garments) 1Corinthians 16:13-14 "13 Be(😊❤) watchful(😊❤), stand(😊❤) firm(😊❤) in the faith(trust in Jesus😊1st❤), act like men(😊❤'s), be(😊❤) strong(😊❤). 14 Let all(😊❤'s) that you(😊❤'s) do(😊❤) be (😊❤) done(😊❤) in (😊❤) love(😊❤)."( 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV Study Bible) Mark 1:1-8( John😊❤ the Baptist😊❤ prepares the Way( Jesus😊1st❤)) and John 14:6😊❤in Christ😊❤. Luke 14:25-33( The Cost of Discipleship) "25 Now great crowds accompanied him(Jesus😊1st❤) and he turned and said to them, 26 " If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which you, desirinf to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he had laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ' This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." ( Luke 14:25-33 ESV Study Bible) i had sat on my glasses on the sofa , thank God still have two pair to go in Christ.
The Bible teaches that God ordains everything that happens. But this doesn't have to mean that people have no free will at all. God could know how people would freely choose in any given situation, and then arrange situations so that people freely choose what fits with His purposes.
If God planned all and foreknows all according to what he has planned from before the beginning of creation, then we do not have freedom to choose within time anything other than what God planned and foreknows. We only choose according to God's plan like actors in a movie only choose and speak according to their pre-written script toward a particular ending. Secondly, we are born with a sin nature under Satan's captivity, therefore those who are not born again do not have freedom of desire to do good but only desire to do evil, which is why we must be born again to have repentance and faith. Then with the Holy Spirit, we will desire to do good, and yet according to Romans 7, we still are not free to only do the good that we desire because sin remaining in us oftentimes overtakes us. Thirdly, if Jesus died for all the sins we will ever commit then our future sins are inevitable because otherwise we have future sins that were not planned and placed on Jesus in the past to be covered, in which case we are doomed because Jesus' blood must cover 100% of our sins for our forgiveness. This means that forgiveness and mercy for our all future sins is also already taken care of, which is our only hope because we could not travel to the past to put our future sins onto Jesus for atonement.
![[12/29/2024] Don't Forsake The Fountain!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tnwLLHjF7gM/mqdefault.jpg)
may our Lord reign supreme!
This verse still works in the Molinist perspective. God is sovereign while still allowing full freedom.
Not if those rulers in the verse cannot freely choose anything other than what God has planned and will put into their minds to do.
It would not be sovereign of God to merely foreknow things and make predictions throughout history as a mere omnipresent overseer rather than orchestrating ruler because that foreknowledge and those predictions would be ever-changing based on the whims of us under God making decisions, in which case God could be faulty and uncertain up until the very moments things take place or afterwards.
God is not merely foreknowing but all-knowing, and to have all knowledge in advance from before the beginning with no one existing alongside him before creation to give him that knowledge necessitates that God is the one who predetermined all the knowledge he possesses about what will surely take place, and therefore what has happened could not possibly have been different and what we will choose cannot be changed.
Where then is free will possible? Unless God's knowledge can be incomplete or wrong and have need to be updated based on our minds changing, our wills cannot be truly free. It's not possible for God to tell me 30 or more years in advance what I'm going to do and me do something other than that later, so my actions are pre-set with no freedom of my will to choose to do anything different. Also, how could God foreknow what I'm gonna do from before creation while I don't know up until moments before I do it, and I also probably couldn't even conceive of myself wanting to do what I definitely will long into the future, all the while my will is free?
Biblically, God's sovereignty is his right to plan and orchestrate what he wills and then declare it over us, even several millennia in advance, and if we can't do anything other than what he has planned, foreknown, and declared, our wills are not free but only consciously active on a predestined path like an actor playing their role in a movie production based on an already decided story's conclusion.
This is actually our only hope of salvation because if not predestined to it, we would never meet the requirements and keep ourselves from forfeiting salvation later based on ever-shifting 'free-will' emotions and decisions.
Hi @phieble, I love your comments because in every one of them I see you are so passionate about God
However, I disagree with your logic. Knowing does not mean causing. Let's take it on a much smaller scale than omniscience: if I offer you an apple or a pear, and you choose the pear, I did nothing to make you choose the pear. Now suppose I go back in time a couple of seconds and offer you the same choice, I know you are about to pick the pear, and yet I am no more causing you to pick the pear than I was the first time.
On the scale of God, yes He is outside of time. Yes He is sovereign. And in His sovereignty He created beings that were able to reject Him (us), so that we could also choose Him freely. He gives us every second the freedom to obey Him or disobey Him. He knows every single choice we will ever make, but He causes none of the. He may guide us, or push us, or give us the right circumstances for us to make certain choices. Or even give us the strength to go through with our bad choices. But he does not make you pick the pear.
@johnjamesthomson1 Thanks for your response after reading what I posted considering how LONG it was. However, I wasn't appealing to mere logic in my comment, but even if I was, your example falls short in that it lacks firstly an attribute of all knowledge on the part of God from before creation according to specific purposes which he has determined will not fail, (God could not have knowledge in the past about all that will surely happen without him being the one to determine all that will happen because his knowledge would be incomplete and shifting if we can willfully change our minds and alter his knowledge over time) and secondly, you left out that we all have a built-in inclination that cannot be overcome by us which determines what our choices will be based on whoever is our spiritual master at the time.
The Bible describes God as knowing absolutely all from even before he said "Let there be..." in Genesis, therefore within time our choices cannot be anything other than all that he has already foreknown which means we are not free within time to choose whatever when we have various choices.
The Bible also describes human nature as being bent away from God with our wills controlled by Satan to do what he wants and never able to do what God wants until he changes our hearts and makes us his. Therefore, beginning with repentance and faith and every decision we make after that, we are totally dependent on God to remove Satan as our spiritual master and replace him with the Holy Spirit so that we can and will please him otherwise we cannot and will not.
Psalms 33
10) The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations
and thwarts all their schemes. 11) But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.
Jeremiah 10:23
23) I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own.
We are not able to plan our own course.
Ecclesiastes 6:10
10) Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.
2 Timothy 2
25) Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26) Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
Ephesians 1
4) Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5) God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6) So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
11) Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
Romans 8
5) Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6) So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7) For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8) That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. 9) But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
Ephesians 2
1) Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2) You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil-the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3) All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4) But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5) that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
It's important that you make sure to always appeal to Scripture when arguing these matters, because only God's word can inerrantly describes the relationship between God's will and mankind's will and how the world really works.
Amen and amen
God is the prime mover of the universe. He doesn’t “allow” things to happen. He commands them to happen. Yes even wars and who is or isn’t elected.
John Piper makes a very good point about the importance of letting the Bible change our views on things.
There are many Christians who are holding their preconceived ideas with such a tight grip, that they are simply not willing to listen to what the text of Scripture is actually saying. But that is precisely how not to use the Bible. That is exactly what the Bible is not for.
It’s amazing John’s obsession with individual pre-destination. Basically takes the first half of the podcast to answer a question no one asked. 😆
The question was about the individual predestination of the actions of kings, as referenced in Revelation 17:17. It's exactly the question that was asked.
It's amazing that John answered the question that was asked!
It would not be sovereign of God to merely foreknow things and make predictions throughout history as a mere omnipresent overseer rather than orchestrating ruler because that foreknowledge and those predictions would be ever-changing based on the whims of us under God making decisions, in which case God could be faulty and uncertain up until the very moments things take place or afterwards. God is not merely foreknowing but all-knowing, and to have all knowledge in advance from before the beginning with no one existing alongside him before creation to give him that knowledge necessitates that God is the one who predetermined all the knowledge he possesses about what will surely take place, and therefore what has happened could not possibly have been different and what we will choose cannot be changed.
Where then is free will possible? Unless God's knowledge can be incomplete or wrong and have need to be updated based on our minds changing, our wills cannot be truly free. It's not possible for God to tell me 30 or more years in advance what I'm going to do and me do something other than that later, so my actions are pre-set with no freedom of my will to choose to do anything different. Also, how could God foreknow what I'm gonna do from before creation while I don't, and I also probably couldn't even conceive of myself wanting to do what I definitely will in the future, all the while my will is free?
Biblically, God's sovereignty is his right to plan and orchestrate what he wills and then declare it over us, even several millennia in advance, and if we can't do anything other than what he has planned, foreknown, and declared, our wills are not free but only consciously active on a predestined path like an actor playing their role in a movie production based on an already decided story's conclusion.
Why should human authors have more rights over the paths of the characters in their story who willingly play their part yet could not possibly "freely" choose anything else, meanwhile the Author of all history somehow doesn't have those same rights over us, the clay of his hands, and to a greater degree?
Luke 14:12-24( The Parable of the great Banquet)
" 12 He(Jesus😊1st❤) said also to the man who had invited him(Jesus😊1st❤),
" When you give a dinner or a banquet,
do not
invite your friend
or
your brothers
or
your relatives
or
the rich neighbors,
lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.
13 But(😊❤) when you give a feast, invite the poor(❤), the crippled(❤), the lame(❤), the blind(❤),
14 and you will be blessed(😊❤), because they cannot (😊❤) repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection(😊❤) of the just(😊❤)."
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him(Jesus😊1st❤) heard these things, he said to him(Jesus😊1st❤),
" Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God! "
16 But(😊❤) he(Jesus😊1st❤) said to him,
"A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.
17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant(😊❤) to say to those who had been invited, ' Come, for everything is now ready.'
18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him( Jesus😊1st❤),
' I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.'
19 And another said, ' I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.'
20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'
21 So the servant (😊❤) came and reported these things to his master(😊1st❤). Then the master of the house became angry and sais to his servant(😊❤), ' Go😊❤ out (😊❤) quickly to the streets(😊❤'s) and lanes(😊❤'s) of the city(😊❤), and bring(😊❤) in (😊❤) the poor(❤) and crippled(❤) and blind(❤) and lame(❤).'
22 And the servant(😊❤) said, ' Sir, what you commanded has(😊❤)
been(😊❤) done(😊❤), and still(😊❤) there is (😊❤) room(😊❤).'
23And the master(😊1st❤) said to the servant(😊❤),
'Go(😊❤)
out(😊❤) to the highways(😊❤'s) and hedges(😊❤'s) and compel(😊❤) people(😊❤'s) to come(😊❤) in (😊❤), that my house(😊❤) may(😊❤)
be(😊❤)
filled(😊❤).
24 For I tell you(😊❤), none of these men who were invited shall taste my banquet.' " "( Luke 14:12-24 ESV Study Bible)
Exodus 39:1 of Exodus 39:1-43(
Making the priestly garments)
"39 From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, for ministering(😊❤) in the Holy(😊❤) Place(😊❤). They made the holy garment for Aaron(😊❤), as the LORD(😊❤) had commanded Moses(😊❤)."( Exodus 39:1 ESV Study Bible of Exodus 39:1-43( Making the priestly garments)
1Corinthians 16:13-14
"13 Be(😊❤) watchful(😊❤),
stand(😊❤) firm(😊❤) in the faith(trust in Jesus😊1st❤), act like men(😊❤'s), be(😊❤) strong(😊❤).
14 Let all(😊❤'s) that you(😊❤'s)
do(😊❤)
be (😊❤)
done(😊❤) in (😊❤) love(😊❤)."( 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV Study Bible)
Mark 1:1-8( John😊❤ the Baptist😊❤ prepares the Way( Jesus😊1st❤)) and John 14:6😊❤in Christ😊❤.
Luke 14:25-33(
The Cost of Discipleship)
"25 Now great crowds accompanied him(Jesus😊1st❤) and he turned and said to them,
26 " If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
28 For which you, desirinf to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
29 Otherwise, when he had laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
30 saying, ' This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." ( Luke 14:25-33 ESV Study Bible) i had sat on my glasses on the sofa , thank God still have two pair to go in Christ.
Ezra
So should we vote in a king?
King's don't get voted in
Gio
9:32
Couldnt an atheist take that to teach that God is the author of Evil?
And Trump’s heart too
The Bible teaches that God ordains everything that happens.
But this doesn't have to mean that people have no free will at all. God could know how people would freely choose in any given situation, and then arrange situations so that people freely choose what fits with His purposes.
If God planned all and foreknows all according to what he has planned from before the beginning of creation, then we do not have freedom to choose within time anything other than what God planned and foreknows. We only choose according to God's plan like actors in a movie only choose and speak according to their pre-written script toward a particular ending.
Secondly, we are born with a sin nature under Satan's captivity, therefore those who are not born again do not have freedom of desire to do good but only desire to do evil, which is why we must be born again to have repentance and faith. Then with the Holy Spirit, we will desire to do good, and yet according to Romans 7, we still are not free to only do the good that we desire because sin remaining in us oftentimes overtakes us.
Thirdly, if Jesus died for all the sins we will ever commit then our future sins are inevitable because otherwise we have future sins that were not planned and placed on Jesus in the past to be covered, in which case we are doomed because Jesus' blood must cover 100% of our sins for our forgiveness. This means that forgiveness and mercy for our all future sins is also already taken care of, which is our only hope because we could not travel to the past to put our future sins onto Jesus for atonement.