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| Topic: Women In The Bible | |
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Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Cowboy.....this simply means that not everyone who says Lord Lord Is TRULY SAVED .....in other words... they have never actually been BORN AGAIN. They did the saving of themselves....and NOT God. NO ONE can save themselves..it is of God's doing....not man.... God Draws..we respond...but of course, we can choose to also reject when God draws... But when God draws and the Holy Spirit convicts, Who shall reject God? Except the COLDEST heart? When God draws man ,HE also knows when man is truly ready to respond to Him...and hear...and believe....and receive Him.  NO ONE can save themselves..it is of God's doing....not man.... God Draws..we respond...but of course, we can choose to also reject when God draws... Amen!! One can not save himself and is why Jesus died on the cross for us all. He died so you would not have to, he had to do it because he knew we couldn't save ourselves. Which is another problem with the religion, firstly any God that REQUIRES death of an innocent being in order to love others because of something they never even did, is evil on so many levels. I don't care how you wanna justify it, a being of love would not do it. Period. Secondly, this idea that we can't save ourselves, that we can't do anything good without God, etc etc, is a total shaming tactic and guilt trip to get people to believe the lies of religion. This again is something love would not do, love would build up the person, encourage them, tell them they can do anything they put their mind to doing, NOT tear them down and tell them they can't do anything on their own. If you would just take your religion colored glasses off for even a second you might see these things. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. These are basic concepts that just about anyone can understand. It's so very simple. But it requires you to suspend your beliefs before you can see it. If you can't do it, you won't. Which is another problem with the religion, firstly any God that REQUIRES death of an innocent being in order to love others because of something they never even did, is evil on so many levels. I don't care how you wanna justify it, a being of love would not do it. Period What exactly are you talking about? 1. The crucifixion is not how one receives God's love. The crucifixion and resurrection was the completion of the old covenant. Jesus died for YOUR sins, so you would not have to. But again, this is not how one receives God's love or not. God loves everyone, from saints to total heathens. 2. You aren't receiving forgiveness for something you've never done. When one receives forgiveness, they are receiving forgiveness for sins THEY committed. First of all, Jesus's death on the cross according to your religion, is what gave any of us a chance to connect back to God at all. So thus in order to receive any love from God, this innocent being had to die. That alone is ridiculous by itself, but when you add to that, the entire reason we would ALL be doomed to death and separation from God if not for this, is because of what two people did BEFORE any of us existed at all, it becomes even moreso. Now you not only have a totally innocent person needing to die in order to spare everyone else, but you also have an entire world carrying the burden of something they never even did. Which leads me into my other point.... The entire problem with what you say about forgiveness is simply the fact that there would be NO NEED for any of it to start with if there was no original sin. The only reason we sin at all is because they did, which means that before we are ever even born we are already sinners! How exactly is that even the least bit fair? The basic fact is, you can try all you want to justify this absurd image of God and the acts it commits to make it good, but it will never work. Some things just cannot be justified, and the idea that we could be responsible for things people did long before we were alive, and that the ONLY way we could receive any forgiveness for it was for a totally innocent man to die on a cross, is one of them. First of all, Jesus's death on the cross according to your religion, is what gave any of us a chance to connect back to God at all. So thus in order to receive any love from God, this innocent being had to die. That alone is ridiculous by itself, but when you add to that, the entire reason we would ALL be doomed to death and separation from God if not for this, is because of what two people did BEFORE any of us existed at all, it becomes even moreso. What are you talking about? Jesus' death didn't "connect" us back to God. We never were "disconnected". Jesus' death was needed in the fulfilment of the covenant. Jesus offers forgiveness of sins YOU'VE committed, thus giving you a path to God. Jesus has always been the only path to Heaven. In the old covenant/old testament he was The Word. We have always been judged by The Word. We were to obey The Word. The Word then became flesh and dwelt among us eg., Jesus. And this has almost nothing to do with what "two people" Adam and Eve did before any of us existed. |
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Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Cowboy.....this simply means that not everyone who says Lord Lord Is TRULY SAVED .....in other words... they have never actually been BORN AGAIN. They did the saving of themselves....and NOT God. NO ONE can save themselves..it is of God's doing....not man.... God Draws..we respond...but of course, we can choose to also reject when God draws... But when God draws and the Holy Spirit convicts, Who shall reject God? Except the COLDEST heart? When God draws man ,HE also knows when man is truly ready to respond to Him...and hear...and believe....and receive Him. NO ONE can save themselves..it is of God's doing....not man.... God Draws..we respond...but of course, we can choose to also reject when God draws... Amen!! One can not save himself and is why Jesus died on the cross for us all. He died so you would not have to, he had to do it because he knew we couldn't save ourselves. Which is another problem with the religion, firstly any God that REQUIRES death of an innocent being in order to love others because of something they never even did, is evil on so many levels. I don't care how you wanna justify it, a being of love would not do it. Period. Secondly, this idea that we can't save ourselves, that we can't do anything good without God, etc etc, is a total shaming tactic and guilt trip to get people to believe the lies of religion. This again is something love would not do, love would build up the person, encourage them, tell them they can do anything they put their mind to doing, NOT tear them down and tell them they can't do anything on their own. If you would just take your religion colored glasses off for even a second you might see these things. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. These are basic concepts that just about anyone can understand. It's so very simple. But it requires you to suspend your beliefs before you can see it. If you can't do it, you won't. Which is another problem with the religion, firstly any God that REQUIRES death of an innocent being in order to love others because of something they never even did, is evil on so many levels. I don't care how you wanna justify it, a being of love would not do it. Period What exactly are you talking about? 1. The crucifixion is not how one receives God's love. The crucifixion and resurrection was the completion of the old covenant. Jesus died for YOUR sins, so you would not have to. But again, this is not how one receives God's love or not. God loves everyone, from saints to total heathens. 2. You aren't receiving forgiveness for something you've never done. When one receives forgiveness, they are receiving forgiveness for sins THEY committed. First of all, Jesus's death on the cross according to your religion, is what gave any of us a chance to connect back to God at all. So thus in order to receive any love from God, this innocent being had to die. That alone is ridiculous by itself, but when you add to that, the entire reason we would ALL be doomed to death and separation from God if not for this, is because of what two people did BEFORE any of us existed at all, it becomes even moreso. Now you not only have a totally innocent person needing to die in order to spare everyone else, but you also have an entire world carrying the burden of something they never even did. Which leads me into my other point.... The entire problem with what you say about forgiveness is simply the fact that there would be NO NEED for any of it to start with if there was no original sin. The only reason we sin at all is because they did, which means that before we are ever even born we are already sinners! How exactly is that even the least bit fair? The basic fact is, you can try all you want to justify this absurd image of God and the acts it commits to make it good, but it will never work. Some things just cannot be justified, and the idea that we could be responsible for things people did long before we were alive, and that the ONLY way we could receive any forgiveness for it was for a totally innocent man to die on a cross, is one of them. The entire problem with what you say about forgiveness is simply the fact that there would be NO NEED for any of it to start with if there was no original sin. The only reason we sin at all is because they did, which means that before we are ever even born we are already sinners! How exactly is that even the least bit fair? No, the only reason any of us sin is because we choose to. There's no "passing the buck" there. You, him, her, I, sin because we choose to sin, not because of what someone(s) did in the past. The basic fact is, you can try all you want to justify this absurd image of God and the acts it commits to make it good, but it will never work. Some things just cannot be justified, and the idea that we could be responsible for things people did long before we were alive, and that the ONLY way we could receive any forgiveness for it was for a totally innocent man to die on a cross, is one of them. We're not responsible for anything anyone else did or does. We are only responsible for the actions we ourselves do. |
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Cowboy..Jesus did a lot more on the cross, than just
fulfill the old covenant,.... Also..a "sin nature" has passed on from adam and eve, unto all human beings. Cowboy,when we repent of our sins and receive Jesus, He not only forgives us of our sins, but washes us whiter than snow.... our sins( past ,present, and future) are forgiven and are now under the blood.... and remembered no more.... We are joined back into Relationship with God,thru accepting Jesus into our hearts ( salvation). Sin separated us off from God.....accepting Jesus joins us back into Relationship with God once more.
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Cowboy..Jesus did a lot more on the cross, than just fulfill the old covenant,.... Also..a "sin nature" has passed on from adam and eve, unto all human beings. Cowboy,when we repent of our sins and receive Jesus, He not only forgives us of our sins, but washes us whiter than snow.... our sins( past ,present, and future) are forgiven and are now under the blood.... and remembered no more.... We are joined back into Relationship with God,thru accepting Jesus into our hearts ( salvation). Sin separated us off from God.....accepting Jesus joins us back into Relationship with God once more. where is it stated that FUTURE sins are forgiven? |
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Edited by
MorningSong
on
Sun 12/11/11 04:04 PM
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Msharmony,Jesus BORE ALL our sins on the cross....He
Paid the penalty for ALL our sins ...in Full... past,present,and future..... but we still have to RECEIVE Jesus..... and we still CONFESS our sins when we slip up... but Jesus already BORE THEM ALL on the cross(future sins included ). Now..a child of God will NOT WILLINGLY sin ,but if and when he/she does(as we all will still slip up and sin from time to time) ,a child of God will run to God crying out for forgiveness.... And The bible says that if we confess our sins, we have an Advocate with The Father thru Christ Jesus, Who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us of all our unrighteousness.." Again....Jesus BORE all our sins already on the cross....and paid the penalty IN FULL on the cross for all our sins... but we still CONFESS our sins when we slip and fall...but again, a born again child of God will NOT WILLINLY sin..... a child of God WILL cry out to God ,confessing his/her sins when he/she does mess up.....and God already knew a child of God with a new nature in him/her will want to please God,and NOT willingly sin and walk in his old ways anymore... But regardless of the fact that God already BORE ALL our sins on the cross , We still have to RECEIVE Jesus ...and we still will CONFESS our sins when we do slip up...and will cry out to God for Forgiveness... because of the NEW nature in us, that doesn't want to displease God, or sin against God..... because we have the Love of God in us now. 
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Msharmony,Jesus BORE ALL our sins on the cross....He Paid the penalty for ALL our sins ...in Full... past,present,and future..... but we still have to RECEIVE Jesus..... and we still CONFESS our sins when we slip up... but Jesus already BORE THEM ALL on the cross(future sins included ). Now..a child of God will NOT WILLINGLY sin ,but if and when he/she does(as we all will still slip up and sin from time to time) ,a child of God will run to God crying out for forgiveness.... And The bible says that if we confess our sins, we have an Advocate with The Father thru Christ Jesus, Who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us of all our unrighteousness.." Again....Jesus BORE all our sins already on the cross....and paid the penalty IN FULL on the cross for all our sins... but we still CONFESS our sins when we slip and fall...but again, a born again child of God will NOT WILLINLY sin..... a child of God WILL cry out to God ,confessing his/her sins when he/she does mess up.....and God already knew a child of God with a new nature in him/her will want to please God,and NOT willingly sin and walk in his old ways anymore... But regardless of the fact that God already BORE ALL our sins on the cross , We still have to RECEIVE Jesus ...and we still will CONFESS our sins when we do slip up...and will cry out to God for Forgiveness... because of the NEW nature in us, that doesn't want to displease God, or sin against God..... because we have the Love of God in us now. to clarify, you are stating Jesus absorbed our sin, but not that we have no obligation to sin no more with a belief that we are automatically receiving 'pre' forgiveness? we would not need to confess what God already knows if he had merely forgiven it all,,,,,I think there is a certain amount of EFFORT that still has to be made just in 'accepting' Jesus, an effort that shows that acceptance (along with the heart that God already knows) |
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Edited by
MorningSong
on
Sun 12/11/11 05:16 PM
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. We should confess our sins ( and we WILL if we are
born again ), to God as soon as we have sinned. But again, When we placed our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, ALL of our sins are forgiven. That includes past, present, and future, big or small. Jesus died to pay the penalty for ALL of our sins, and when they are forgiven, they are ALL forgiven (Colossians 1:14; Acts 10:43). BUT we still confess our sins when we goof up. Again, the bible says , “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). What this verse tells us to do is "confess" our sins to God. The word "confess" means “to agree with." When we confess our sins to God, we are agreeing with God that we were wrong, that we have sinned. God forgives us, through confession, on an ongoing basis because of the fact that He is "faithful and just." How is God "faithful and just" ? He is faithful by forgiving sins, which He has promised to do for all those who receive Christ as Savior. He is just by applying Christ’s payment for our sins, recognizing that the sins have indeed been atoned for. At the same time, 1 John 1:9 does indicate that somehow forgiveness is dependent on our confessing our sins to God. How does this work if all of our sins are forgiven the moment we receive Christ as Savior? It seems that what the apostle John is describing here is "relational" forgiveness. All of our sins are forgiven "positionally" the moment we receive Christ as Savior. This positional forgiveness guarantees our salvation and promise of an eternal home in heaven. When we stand before God after death, God will not deny us entrance into heaven because of our sins. That is positional forgiveness. The concept of relational forgiveness is based on the fact that when we sin, we offend God and grieve His Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). While God has ultimately forgiven us of the sins we commit, they still result in a blocking or hindrance in our relationship with God. A young boy who sins against his father is not cast out of the family. A godly father will forgive his children unconditionally. At the same time, a good relationship between father and son cannot be achieved until the relationship is restored. This can only occur when a child confesses his mistakes to his father and apologizes. That is why we confess our sins to God...not to maintain our salvation, but to bring ourselves back into close fellowship with the God who loves us and has already forgiven us. some exerts from gotquestions.org |
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to clarify, you are stating Jesus absorbed our sin, but not that we have no obligation to sin no more with a belief that we are automatically receiving 'pre' forgiveness? we would not need to confess what God already knows if he had merely forgiven it all,,,,,I think there is a certain amount of EFFORT that still has to be made just in 'accepting' Jesus, an effort that shows that acceptance (along with the heart that God already knows) Jesus bore our sins, but God knows that even those who have received Jesus (Salvation ) , will still slip up and sin...again, even though God has already forgiven all our sins ( future sins too), we still are to confess our sins when we slip up. And the thing is..a born again child of God will NOT WILLINGLY SIN anyway..but when he does? He can't help but run to God crying out for forgiveness.....this is because of the new nature in Him..the Holy Spirit Indwells him now......and the Love of God is in Him now....if he sins, he also GRIEVES the Holy Spirit in him and because of his Love for God now,he doesn't want to displease God ......so when he slips up, he is gonna cry out to God for forgiveness and God will forgive him(even though God HAS already forgiven him ). NOW...if someone says they ARE born again, BUT CONTINUES TO WILLINGLY SIN..and feel NO remorse at all about sinning??? That right there alone, proves that the person is NOT saved at all!!!
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Msharmony,Jesus BORE ALL our sins on the cross....He Paid the penalty for ALL our sins ...in Full... past,present,and future..... but we still have to RECEIVE Jesus..... and we still CONFESS our sins when we slip up... but Jesus already BORE THEM ALL on the cross(future sins included ). Now..a child of God will NOT WILLINGLY sin ,but if and when he/she does(as we all will still slip up and sin from time to time) ,a child of God will run to God crying out for forgiveness.... And The bible says that if we confess our sins, we have an Advocate with The Father thru Christ Jesus, Who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us of all our unrighteousness.." Again....Jesus BORE all our sins already on the cross....and paid the penalty IN FULL on the cross for all our sins... but we still CONFESS our sins when we slip and fall...but again, a born again child of God will NOT WILLINLY sin..... a child of God WILL cry out to God ,confessing his/her sins when he/she does mess up.....and God already knew a child of God with a new nature in him/her will want to please God,and NOT willingly sin and walk in his old ways anymore... But regardless of the fact that God already BORE ALL our sins on the cross , We still have to RECEIVE Jesus ...and we still will CONFESS our sins when we do slip up...and will cry out to God for Forgiveness... because of the NEW nature in us, that doesn't want to displease God, or sin against God..... because we have the Love of God in us now. to clarify, you are stating Jesus absorbed our sin, but not that we have no obligation to sin no more with a belief that we are automatically receiving 'pre' forgiveness? we would not need to confess what God already knows if he had merely forgiven it all,,,,,I think there is a certain amount of EFFORT that still has to be made just in 'accepting' Jesus, an effort that shows that acceptance (along with the heart that God already knows) Yes we have to put the first step forward in repenting. You can not go kill someone, ask for forgiveness, then next week do it again and truly expect to be forgiven. With accepting Jesus as "lord", just think about the word and it's meaning. Lord - One having power and authority over others So with accepting Jesus as Lord, one gives him authority over them. With Jesus having authority over them, they will obey or possibly face the consequence of disobedience. Or better said in the scriptures themselves, faith without works is dead. |
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. We should confess our sins ( and we WILL if we are born again ), to God as soon as we have sinned. But again, When we placed our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, ALL of our sins are forgiven. That includes past, present, and future, big or small. Jesus died to pay the penalty for ALL of our sins, and when they are forgiven, they are ALL forgiven (Colossians 1:14; Acts 10:43). BUT we still confess our sins when we goof up. Again, the bible says , “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). What this verse tells us to do is "confess" our sins to God. The word "confess" means “to agree with." When we confess our sins to God, we are agreeing with God that we were wrong, that we have sinned. God forgives us, through confession, on an ongoing basis because of the fact that He is "faithful and just." How is God "faithful and just" ? He is faithful by forgiving sins, which He has promised to do for all those who receive Christ as Savior. He is just by applying Christ’s payment for our sins, recognizing that the sins have indeed been atoned for. At the same time, 1 John 1:9 does indicate that somehow forgiveness is dependent on our confessing our sins to God. How does this work if all of our sins are forgiven the moment we receive Christ as Savior? It seems that what the apostle John is describing here is "relational" forgiveness. All of our sins are forgiven "positionally" the moment we receive Christ as Savior. This positional forgiveness guarantees our salvation and promise of an eternal home in heaven. When we stand before God after death, God will not deny us entrance into heaven because of our sins. That is positional forgiveness. The concept of relational forgiveness is based on the fact that when we sin, we offend God and grieve His Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). While God has ultimately forgiven us of the sins we commit, they still result in a blocking or hindrance in our relationship with God. A young boy who sins against his father is not cast out of the family. A godly father will forgive his children unconditionally. At the same time, a good relationship between father and son cannot be achieved until the relationship is restored. This can only occur when a child confesses his mistakes to his father and apologizes. That is why we confess our sins to God...not to maintain our salvation, but to bring ourselves back into close fellowship with the God who loves us and has already forgiven us. some exerts from gotquestions.org We should confess our sins ( and we WILL if we are born again ), to God as soon as we have sinned. But again, When we placed our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, ALL of our sins are forgiven. That includes past, present, and future, big or small That is not the only thing needed to receive forgiveness. Cause again, if today someone murders someone, then asks forgiveness for it. Then next week repeats the same thing, they can not expect to be forgiven. With asking and receiving of forgiveness comes through repentance and obedience to our Lord. Luke 13:3 3I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 2 Peter 3:9 9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. |
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Cowboy, my previous posts on confessing our sins ,was
addressing those who are ALREADY SAVED . The scriptures you shared on repentance, is addressing those who are NOT saved yet ( repentance mentioned in those scriptures you shared, is referring to repentance towards SALVATION ). Plus ...Jesus said to forgive 70 times 7......meaning we are to always forgive regardless , just as Jesus will always forgive......NOT that we are to keep on sinning however , God Forbid !!! A person truly saved will NOT willingly want to go on sinning in the first place.......not if he is truly saved, that is. Also, Jesus being Lord is NOT about Him having authority over us and or lording it over us..... When we are born again (saved) ,we obey now out of LOVE for God, not because Jesus is "lording" it over us to obey, or else we pay the consequences !! No...... Actually, when we become saved, it is God working IN us and THRU us, and helping us to walk the christian walk( NOT lording it over us to obey or else ). While God is working IN us and THRU us , we are to simply YIELD TO HIS WILL......and when we do , we find Gentle REST and Sweet PEACE in our christian walk.... when we live a Yielded life to God's Will. Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden light". |
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Cowboy, my previous posts on confessing our sins ,was addressing those who are ALREADY SAVED . The scriptures you shared on repentance, is addressing those who are NOT saved yet ( repentance mentioned in those scriptures you shared, is referring to repentance towards SALVATION ). Plus ...Jesus said to forgive 70 times 7......meaning we are to always forgive regardless , just as Jesus will always forgive......NOT that we are to keep on sinning however , God Forbid !!! A person truly saved will NOT willingly want to go on sinning in the first place.......not if he is truly saved, that is. Also, Jesus being Lord is NOT about Him having authority over us and or lording it over us..... When we are born again (saved) ,we obey now out of LOVE for God, not because Jesus is "lording" it over us to obey, or else we pay the consequences !! No...... Actually, when we become saved, it is God working IN us and THRU us, and helping us to walk the christian walk( NOT lording it over us to obey or else ). While God is working IN us and THRU us , we are to simply YIELD TO HIS WILL......and when we do , we find Gentle REST and Sweet PEACE in our christian walk.... when we live a Yielded life to God's Will. Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden light". Cowboy, my previous posts on confessing our sins ,was addressing those who are ALREADY SAVED . In receiving forgiveness there's no different process for one's who are saved or for the ones that are currently "lost". And even after one is "saved" they will sin one way or other. Being saved means the Holy Spirit indwells inside of them. That Holy Spirit doesn't take total control of the person. At times they may listen to the flesh at others listen to the Spirit. |
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Edited by
MorningSong
on
Mon 12/12/11 08:34 PM
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In receiving forgiveness there's no different process for one's who are saved or for the ones that are currently "lost". And even after one is "saved" they will sin one way or other. Being saved means the Holy Spirit indwells inside of them. That Holy Spirit doesn't take total control of the person. At times they may listen to the flesh at others listen to the Spirit. When we repent, God forgives...period....no one said there was a different process.. And no one said the Holy Spirt takes contol either.... The Holy Spirit teaches, leads amd guides...but NEVER takes control of us...AS we YIELD to God's Will, God is Able to work IN us and THRU us .....but God will NEVER try to TAKE CONTROL of us ,or FORCE us to do anything......
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Edited by
MorningSong
on
Tue 12/13/11 12:36 AM
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God is Always IN CONTOL of All Things...
but God Will NEVER TAKE CONTOL of anyone's life ,against one's will... But We can Ask and Trust God to BE IN CONTROL of Our Lives... This will further explain : ............ Question: "How can I learn to trust that God is in control?" Answer: Before we can learn to trust that God is in control of all of life’s circumstances, we have to answer four questions: Is God really in control? How much control does He have? If He is not in complete control, then who/what is? How can I learn to trust that He is in control and rest in that? Is God really in control? The concept of the control of God over everything is called the “sovereignty” of God. Nothing gives us strength and confidence like an understanding of the sovereignty of God in our lives. God’s sovereignty is defined as His complete and total independent control over every creature, event, and circumstance at every moment in history. Subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent, God does what He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. God is in complete control of every molecule in the universe at every moment, and everything that happens is either caused or allowed by Him for His own perfect purposes. “The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand’” (Isaiah 14:24). Nothing is random or comes by chance, especially not in the lives of believers. He “purposed” it. That means to deliberately resolve to do something. God has resolved to do what He will do and nothing and no one stands in His way. “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” Isaiah 46:10). This is our powerful, purposeful God who is in control of everything. That should bring us great comfort and help to alleviate our fears. But just exactly how much control does God have? God’s total sovereignty over all creation directly contradicts the philosophy of open theism, which states that God doesn’t know what’s going to happen in the future any more than we do, so He has to constantly be changing His plans and reacting to what the sinful creatures do as they exercise their free will. God isn’t finding out what’s going to happen as events unfold. He is continuously, actively running things—ALL things—here and now. But to think He needs our cooperation, our help, or the exercise of our free will to bring His plans to pass puts us in control over Him, which makes us God. Where have we heard that lie before? It’s a rehash of Satan’s same old lie from the Garden—you shall be like God (Genesis 3:5). Our wills are only free to the extent that God allows us that freedom and no farther. “All the peoples of the earth are accounted as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35). No one’s free will trumps the sovereignty of God. Some people find it appealing to think that Satan has control over a certain amount of life, that God is constantly revising His plans to accommodate Satan’s tricks. The book of Job is a clear illustration of just who has the sovereign power and who doesn’t. Satan came to God and in effect said “Job only serves you because you protect him.” So God gave Satan permission to do certain things to Job but no more (Job 1:6-22). Could Satan do more than that? No. God is in control over Satan and his demons who try to thwart God’s plans at every step. Satan knew from the Old Testament that God’s plan was for Jesus to come to the earth, be betrayed, crucified and resurrected, and provide salvation for millions, and if there was any way to keep that from happening, Satan would have done it. If just one of the hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah could have been caused by Satan to fail to come to pass, the whole thing would have collapsed. But the numbers of independent, “free will” decisions made by thousands of people were designed by God to bring His plan to pass in exactly the way He had planned it from the beginning and Satan couldn’t do a thing about it. Jesus was “delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). No action by the Romans, the Pharisees, Judas, or anyone else kept God’s plan from unfolding exactly the way He purposed it from before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1 says we were chosen in Him before the world was even created. We were in the mind of God to be saved by faith in Christ. That means God knit together Satan’s rebellion, Adam and Eve’s sin, the fall of the human race, and the death and crucifixion of Christ—all seemingly terrible events—to save us before He created us. Here is a perfect example of God working all things together for good (Romans 8:28). Unlimited in power, unrivalled in majesty, and not thwarted by anything outside Himself, our God is in complete control of all circumstances, causing or allowing them for His own good purposes and plans to be fulfilled exactly as He has foreordained. Finally, the only way to trust in God’s sovereign control and rest in it is to know God. Know His attributes, know what He has done in the past, and this builds confidence in Him. Daniel 11:32b says “the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” Imagine that kind of power in the hands of an evil, unjust God. Or a god that really doesn’t care about us. But we can rejoice in our God’s sovereignty, because it is overshadowed by His goodness, His love, His mercy, His compassion, His faithfulness, and His holiness. But we can’t trust someone we don’t know and there is only one way to know God—through His Word. There is no magic formula to make us spiritual giants overnight, no mystical prayer to pray three times a day to mature us, build our faith and make us towers of strength and confidence. There is only the Bible, the single source of power that will change our lives from the inside out. But it takes effort, diligent, everyday effort to know the God who controls everything. If we drink deeply of His Word and let it fill our minds and hearts, the sovereignty of God will become clear to us, and we will rejoice in it because we will know intimately and trust completely the God who controls all things for His perfect purpose. |
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