Most American self-proclaimed Christians reject predestination, consciously or unconsciously. They believe in some degree of *Free Will,* that they have the ability, of themselves, to accept or reject God's plan of salvation (which is accomplished through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ).
My Two Cents:
Disclaimer: I wouldn't believe anybody who claims they can give you a blueprint for the salvation of the human soul.
To grossly simplify Christian salvation, if we believe in *Free Will,* a person must first be presented the gospel of Jesus, and then decide to *accept* it or *believe* it or have *faith* in it.
Well, if we believe in *Free Will,* this means Almighty God can easily be defeated by the little man. The Almighty Creator, in His Inestimable Wisdom, has created a plan for the eternal salvation of His crowning creation in which the little man can simply consider for a brief moment then say nah, that's not for me. The Almighty Creator is reduced to a humble beggar going door-to-door asking whoever answers His knock will you accept Me?
That's the *Free Will* position. You, me, any stumblebum on the street can tell God to go kick rocks, and God has to accept it.
What about Hell? Isn't the threat of Hell the club in door-knocker God's hand which coerces our *Free Will?* No. Nobody who tells God to take a hike believes their decision will result in them being sent to an eternal torment in Hell. So Hell has no place in the *Free Will* discussion.
Those who believe of their own *Free Will* that they have rejected the Christian plan of salvation may find out later there is an eternal consequence for the exercising of their *Free Will,* but by then it will be too late. There would be no chance to reconsider the decision to reject God based on the newfound evidence of Hell.
Why would somebody of their *Free Will* accept God's plan of salvation? Because upon hearing God's plan, of hearing of Jesus' atoning work, they, out of their own wisdom, decide God's plan is worthy of them. Then the Almighty Creator rejoices He has won the little man's approval.
Both these options seem insulting to the notion of an Almighty Creator God.
But even if we were to accept this insult to God, we are still left with one argument against *Free Will.* Whether the little man accepts or rejects the Christian plan of salvation is entirely dependent upon the working of his brain, a machine which he did not create. It was either given to the little man by God, or arose by accident. Either way, the instrument of his *Free Will* is an entirely external construction. That cannot be argued against.
I can no more tell you why or why not I accept the Christian plan of salvation any more than I can tell you why or why not I like strawberry ice cream.
It's probably obvious I am in the Calvinist camp. How it all works, the mechanics of it, I don't know. I'd have to be God to lay out the exact blue print. But I am smart enough to know I am dumber than God, and that IF I am saved, it is thoroughly through His design, and not my *Free Will* decision to validate His design.
What is more interesting to me is the position of the self-proclaimed Christian *Free Will* crowd. They will reject predestination, not primarily on scriptural grounds (because there are more scriptures that support predestination than promote *Free Will*) but on philosophic ideas which are based on some notion of a *loving and just* God. Their argument is that a *loving and just* God would not create people who have no opportunity for salvation, who are predestined to spend eternity in Hell.
On the face of it, these *Free Willers* seem to be quite generous to God. They bestow upon Him their laurels of Love and Justice. He's too nice to create anything for the sole purpose of eternal torment.
But I find in their slaps on the back of God a hidden vanity. They desire to claim some part in their own salvation. However much they will claim salvation is of grace, a gift of God, a token of God's mercy, they will ultimately reject scripture:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
They just cannot choke down their own supposed *Free Will,* which is their fancy term for their own vanity. For the *Free Will* crowd deny the scripture which says the gift of salvation is a true gift, a gift given by God, a gift which they had no part of, they did nothing to earn. By insisting on their *Free Will* acceptance, they override God's ability to give a gift. God cannot give them a gift they do not accept, a gift they do not intellectually approve of. The determining factor in salvation is their judgment of God's gift. This is the height of vanity. In this, they resemble Lucifer:
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
We have no *Free Will.* We have no power to say no to God. Whether our destiny is the New Jerusalem or the Lake of Fire, it's not in our power to determine.
The *Free Will* crowd try to flatter God as 'loving and just' to claim credit for their own salvation! They dare to define God???
It's not for little man to determine God's love or justice.
As for my own personal thinking, which is what I was given, I see God as an Author who has written a beautiful, harrowing story in which we all have an assigned role. Am I saved or damned? You decide. I don't need to.
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