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We all have the freedom to make decisions that are consistent within our nature. So the unbeliever willfully chooses sin. The believer willfully chooses God. It's contingent on whether or not they can see the goodness of God. Pelagius said that one could freely see the good or the bad and he could choose. The Bible says sin blinds us.
If you believe that Christians don't sin you are naive.
And to believe that a person, an unbeliever, can't choose between good and bad is ridiculous.
And if you'll read Isaiah 7:15-16 you will see that a person refuse evil and choose good.
I never suggested such a thing. Of course we do. But when we do, we have a mediator between us and God.
It's what John 6:44 says. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."
As for Isaiah 7:15-16? You mean Jesus? Are you really suggesting that we are able to choose God over sin like Jesus did? That's a bizarre idea.
Isaiah 7:15-16 is not talking about Jesus. It's talking about Isaiah's son Shear-jashub who is mentioned in Isaiah 7:3. Before Isaiah's son was old enough to choose between evil and good the land whose two kings that King Ahaz dreaded, that is, the land of Aram and the land of the Northern kingdom of Israel would be forsaken.
While the passage in Isaiah 7 is either a single prophesy with both a near term and a long term aspect to it, with the long term aspect being about the virgin birth of Jesus and the near term aspect being about King Ahaz's problem with the kings of Aram and Israel who intended to wage war with Jerusalem, or whether the passage is two separate prophecies, one about the virgin birth of Jesus and the other about the threat posed by the king of Aram and the king of Israel . . .either way it's regarded, verses 7 and 8 is a reference to the Norhern Kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Aram being destroyed before Isaiah's son Shear-jashub is old enough to choose good over evil.
To make that clear to you, Jesus had not incarnated, had not been born yet. Jesus had not been born before the Northern kingdom of Israel and the land of Aram were destroyed.
Isaiah 7:15-16 refers to Isaiah's son Shear-jashub not yet being old enough to choose good over evil (with the implication being that he once he was old enough he could choose good over evil) before the threat to Jerusalem from the kings of Israel and Aram was eliminated.
A person can certainly come to God through Jesus in response to the gospel message. That's the purpose of the Gospel. In John 5:40, Jesus told the Pharisees that they were not willing to come to him for life. He didn't say that they couldn't come to him.
Yep, the Gospel to the natural man is foolishness, isnt that sinful response ? 1 Cor 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
So again the will of man is a slave to sin, his response to the Gospel proves it. He ridicules the Gospel, not believe it.
To the primitive men at that time, the idea that the very Son of God (their War God) would MEEKLY submit to an unjust scourging and crucifixion without smiting the Romans was indeed foolishness.
Isaiah 7:15-16 is not talking about Jesus. It's talking about Isaiah's son Shear-jashub who is mentioned in Isaiah 7:3. Before Isaiah's son was old enough to choose between evil and good the land whose two kings that King Ahaz dreaded, that is, the land of Aram and the land of the Northern kingdom of Israel would be forsaken.
While the passage in Isaiah 7 is either a single prophesy with both a near term and a long term aspect to it, with the long term aspect being about the virgin birth of Jesus and the near term aspect being about King Ahaz's problem with the kings of Aram and Israel who intended to wage war with Jerusalem, or whether the passage is two separate prophecies, one about the virgin birth of Jesus and the other about the threat posed by the king of Aram and the king of Israel . . .either way it's regarded, verses 7 and 8 is a reference to the Norhern Kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Aram being destroyed before Isaiah's son Shear-jashub is old enough to choose good over evil.
To make that clear to you, Jesus had not incarnated, had not been born yet. Jesus had not been born before the Northern kingdom of Israel and the land of Aram were destroyed.
Isaiah 7:15-16 refers to Isaiah's son Shear-jashub not yet being old enough to choose good over evil (with the implication being that he once he was old enough he could choose good over evil) before the threat to Jerusalem from the kings of Israel and Aram was eliminated.
A person can certainly come to God through Jesus in response to the gospel message. That's the purpose of the Gospel. In John 5:40, Jesus told the Pharisees that they were not willing to come to him for life. He didn't say that they couldn't come to him.
It's a Messianic prophecy.
But regardless...you want to claim it's about someone else? Ok. So what? If someone has faith, it's because God worked in them. Honestly...not sure what your hangup on this is.
Why is it so important for you to defiantly shake your fist and tell God it's all your idea?
Free will is simply the ability to make a choice between available options. It's volition.
And you're avoiding addressing the issue of your claim that it's a sin to believe in Jesus in response to the gospel.
Mans will is a slave to sin, we are naturally servants to sin. Eph 2:2-3
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
To the primitive men at that time, the idea that the very Son of God (their War God) would MEEKLY submit to an unjust scourging and crucifixion without smiting the Romans was indeed foolishness.
Its about the natural lost man. Them that are perishing, meaning a lost state. Its not bound by time, its about being in a spiritual lost state.
Are you unable to understand that the passage has both a near term and a long term aspect to the prophecy and that verses 15 and 16 are not referring to Jesus? Read the damn passage in its entirety.
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But regardless...you want to claim it's about someone else? Ok. So what? If someone has faith, it's because God worked in them. Honestly...not sure what your hangup on this is.
Why is it so important for you to defiantly shake your fist and tell God it's all your idea?
The hang up is yours as is your refusal to think.
And how is it that you can't understand that a person comes to Jesus as a result of hearing and believing what the gospel message says about Jesus? That is not ''it's all your idea.''
Regardless, I'm tired of explaining it over and over to a wall. Just go on believing whatever the hell you believe.
Mans will is a slave to sin, we are naturally servants to sin. Eph 2:2-3
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Whats said about the flesh and the mind ?
You're still avoiding addressing how nonsensical your claim is that it's a sin to believe in Jesus in response to the gospel.
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