Book Review: Predestined For Hell? No!

[Don]

Wow, just wow.

Quote:is there nobody else on this site that understands the grace of God

You can take the man out of Fundie.. but you can't take the fundie out of the man. That is a DNA encoded fundie statement if there ever was one.

Greg, think about what you said there. If you can't see it for what it is at face value then how can there be genuine debate? You see yourself as the final authority. No one knows truth unless they see it as you do?

Then there's your appeal to Scriptural proofing. Your requirement for proof texting is a monumental fail. (and before you go off half cocked claiming I am rejecting Biblical authority hear me out) You are notorious for taking text out of context to prove your point. You rarely take the whole text in context: who is the writer, who is he writing to, what was the writer saying to his audience, was his audience universal or was it to believers?
Your literalist take on some scripture is dangerous and misleading. Was the passage meant to be taken literally or figuratively? Was it fact or metaphor? What was being said on the whole?

Finally you and I (especially) differ on our views of the Sovereignty of God and the condition of man in regards to salvation. You have taken a universalist view regarding salvation and lean heavily on man's ability to comprehend spiritual things even while still in his sinful condition.

I believe that, while each person is not as morally depraved as they can be, they are as spiritually deprave as they ever could be. I do not believe that anyone is capable of comprehending the spiritual riches of God's grace until God does a supernatural work of Grace in their heart. I contend that all are condemned and are dead before God, ( but I do not believe that God condemns the innocent or those who are unable to understand right and wrong. I believe that scripture is plain that God does not impute sin to such as these) but we who are capable of unsterstanding come to a knowledge of accountability and sin is imputed to us. We are dead to God and condemned to separation from God and there is nothing we can do about it. Yet God, who is merciful and just, gives life to those whom he will. If all are condemned and dead do you claim God is unrighteous and unfair to give life to those he chooses to?

He chose Noah and his family to be the representatives of mankind. He chose Abram to make a great nation from. He chose Joseph. He chose Moses. He chose Gideon. He chose Elijah. He chose Samuel. He chose David. He chose Mary. He chose John the Baptist. He chose 12 disciples and he knew that one of them would betray him to bring about his death. He chose Paul. (not only did he choose these but he activlely worked in their lives to bring them to the point of salvation.) Now all of a sudden he quits and says, "Ok, you chose"?

Your examples of the serpant in the wilderness and Joshua's admonition to "Choose you this day" were not universal in scope or practice but were given to the people he had already chosen.

It boils down to: is God completely sovereign over his creation, and is he all knowing and all powerful, able to bring about his will and his plan for his creation in all areas or is he hindered by his creation? Specifically is he hindered by the sin nature of his creation? If so, then has God not then put himself in subjection to and under the authority of sin? That cannot be and God still be God.

Did I use specific scripture references? Nope. Does what I have said conflict with Scripture? I don't believe so. I believe that what I have said is biblically accurate. Can you see God's Grace in what I have said? I do but I leave it to you the reader. I tend not to elevate man and our importance above what I can see in scripture. I believe that because of our sin nature, we can do nothing outside of Christ. We cannot even make a choice to accept his free gift of Life unless Christ does a work of Grace in our hearts and provides us with the very faith necessary to believe the Gospel.

Here I stand and before God and with good conscience I can do nothing more.