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You only have the free will God gave you.
Your, my or anyone else's will is not the issue; it's what God wills that no one can defeat.You never lose freewill
Perhaps, but I was once where you are going until it became clear, through the systematic study and expository teaching of the Bible, that it was incorrect. Who God is makes it impossible for anyone to defeat His sovereign exercise of His will. No mortal sinner can overcome His super-abundant grace through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ. CheersI was where you are.
That’s great reasoning. I’m not being facetious or sarcastic. And if that’s all the scriptures that were available it would be very conclusive.Are you someone, anyone, a person? Then start with who Jesus Christ is and not who you are. He said, And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
So, if He says what He will do; give eternal life, then believe Him to be able to keep His word and no one can defeat Him - He is God. Start with Him and who He is. Neither you nor "anyone" else knows more or can do more than Him! If you think you know more or can do more than Him and defeat His salvific work, you are mistaken.
My friend, Jesus say He gives eternal life to His sheep! He says they will never perish! Since your examples are of those who perished, there are only two possibilities. First possibility; Jesus was wrong. Second possibility; they never were His sheep in the first place. Again, I encourage you to start with a clear understanding of who God is and to draw your conclusions from that foundation. If you ascribe more power/ability to man than to God, you will fall into error. I would remind you, God does the impossible.That’s great reasoning. I’m not being facetious or sarcastic. And if that’s all the scriptures that were available it would be very conclusive.
But it’s not.
For example re Judas. John 17:12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Judas was one of those given to Christ by the Father and yet Christ acknowledged that Judas was lost/no longer of the group.
This is not an accidental “lost” but the result of a conscious decision on Judas’ part to walk away while still pretending to be part of the group.
There are many deflections used to undermine the plain language and message of this particular text. All of them I’ve been acquainted with are a product of either logical fallacies, or confirmation bias or a self serving preferential projection affirmed by cherry picked passages that ignore plain language in many passages.
And that is the simple resolution of the whole thing.Second possibility; they never were His sheep in the first place.
Or you could selectively quote the verse just before that one: For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Universal salvation appears to be supported by certain proof-texts, but disagrees with the overall thrust of the message.Romans 5:18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
How does this reconcile with John 17:12? Judas was one that God had given Christ. It doesn’t get much plainer than that.My friend, Jesus say He gives eternal life to His sheep! He says they will never perish! Since your examples are of those who perished, there are only two possibilities. First possibility; Jesus was wrong. Second possibility; they never were His sheep in the first place.
Or Judas was never the recipient of the gift of eternal life which Jesus gives to His sheep(?) I'll trust that Jesus Christ keeps His word otherwise there is NO assurance for anything God says.How does this reconcile with John 17:12? Judas was one that God had given Christ. It doesn’t get much plainer than that.
This is Christ himself acknowledging that Judas was a sheep (to use your analogy) that God had given to his care and he was the only one of a group that was lost.
Under the current paradigm, unexplainable. Which means that the two choices listed as the only possible choices = a false dichotomy.
Was Jesus wrong that God had given Judas to Christ? Or wrong that he was lost? Or wrong that Judas was the only one lost?
None of the above.
Or you could selectively quote the verse just before that one: For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Universal salvation appears to be supported by certain proof-texts, but disagrees with the overall thrust of the message.
What does upholding the Law mean? Can you define that and be right?
I define it as having faith in God. Upholding the Law is upholding God first and He upholds the Law for us because we can't do it.
Nice point, this is something I realized in the past couple of years only as well; not to mention the level of absolute Legalism in many denominational traditionsI'm free. My life is a lot more simpler than most. I just obey what God said to obey. I live my life according to what He says is Good. I free to live without the constraints of all the rules and traditions of the Lawless Church that says if you even look at a woman you've committed adultery. Christianity has more Laws and traditions that must be followed than even Rabbinical Judaism.