Robert,
Thank you for the patience in waiting for my response. I was away for most of the weekend. I will try to answer both of your posts in one.
First of all, I would ask that you try to open your mind on this one, for it takes a bit of an open mind to understand. Prayerfully read this.........
You said, "I must strongly protest against that reasoning, in light of Holy Scriptures, due to the fact, that if that is the case as you believe, then God chooses us on our " human effort "and not DIVINE GRACE."
I will try to do this in a step by step approach:
Step 1: To understand nothing we have done saved us....
Eph 1:4
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight...
Before the creation of the world, we were not alive. We did not make any choices, decisions or anything. So anything happening before creation can not be an act of ours.....correct? So we could have done nothing to save ourselves and I think you would agree that is reinforced in scripture.
Step 2: To understand we must believe in Christ to be saved
We know in scripture, in many places it talks about us having to choose to BELIEVE in God, and we would be saved. Here's are some...
Eph 1:13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 7:38
Whoever believes in me, as [3] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
John 11:25
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
John 11:26
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
Need I go on..but it definitely proves one must believe in Christ to be saved, right?
Step 3: (Step 1) To understand nothing we have done saved us.... and at the same time (Step 2) To understand we must believe in Christ to be saved.
This is the part you must open you heart and mind to....
If God looked ahead on our lives and saw what decision we will make in the future, to believe or not believe, would "we" have done anything or acted yet? Did we do anything that could have saved ourselves? Absolutely not! We were not alive to have made the decision. It was just God's ability to forsee the future that is in play here.... We were not alive... God's foreknowledge of us has nothing to do with our actions. It only has to do with Gods ability. It is his ability to be all knowing and seeing into the future which will allow him to see our upcoming decision, even one that has not been made yet, that will be made in the future.
Now when he saw it, could he have changed our mind? Of course! If he did though, then we would have not had free will to choose. And God gave us free will. But he could have changed anything he had forseen, if he pleased!
So I have now shown how he could base his decision to save us on something he forknew (our upcoming choice, which he allowed to play out, foreseeing the future), but really did not happen yet. God could do this, he can do anything!
Now I think this is the point that throws you, and many others for a loop. Have we been saved based upon predestination, as well as free will to choose to have faith? I think both are true. You must allow yourself, however, to think like God, who lives outside space and time. This is very problematic for many people to do, but to properly understand how Step 1 and Step 2 are true, you must! He allowed you to make a decision before you made it, and did it before the creation of the world. But you did make it! You just made it before you were alive and had the ability to make decisions.
Look through God's eyes, not man's, and maybe you could understand it. Robert, if you could see my point it would make scripture for you a whole lot easier to understand when it come to salvation.
Please let me know if I could clarify anything for you. And please, take your time as well to try to understand.
God Bless,
Steve |
