Predestination vs Free will

[ParanoidAndroid]

Hi all,

I did a search for this topic, and I found a dozen or so threads titled "free will" but they all seemed to be specific to one context or another, and none of them seemed to fit my topic. If i'm wrong, and there's a thread that I've missed, by all means, moderators, go crazy and merge this thread.

What do people think of the concepts of predestination and free will? Do we humans posess free will? Are we predestined by God? Is there a compromise somewhere between the two that can be reached? What do you guys think? Whenever I've been in discussions about life before, a Christian somewhere along the lines brings up the free will card - "oh, God allows us to do this, so taht we can have free will".

So, does free will exist? Is it an illusion? What are your thoughts. I have my opinion, but as with the other thread I started, I wanted to hear your opinions before I brought my own ideas into the mix, just to keep the discussion to your opinions.

Thanks in advance for replies

Regards, PA

[Openly Curious]

Hi all,

I did a search for this topic, and I found a dozen or so threads titled "free will" but they all seemed to be specific to one context or another, and none of them seemed to fit my topic. If i'm wrong, and there's a thread that I've missed, by all means, moderators, go crazy and merge this thread.

What do people think of the concepts of predestination and free will? Do we humans posess free will? Are we predestined by God? Is there a compromise somewhere between the two that can be reached? What do you guys think? Whenever I've been in discussions about life before, a Christian somewhere along the lines brings up the free will card - "oh, God allows us to do this, so taht we can have free will".

So, does free will exist? Is it an illusion? What are your thoughts. I have my opinion, but as with the other thread I started, I wanted to hear your opinions before I brought my own ideas into the mix, just to keep the discussion to your opinions.

Thanks in advance for replies

Regards, PA

We were all predestined to be conformed to God's image but not all chose to accept the Lord Jesus Christ in this life but it is the Lord's predestined will that all be saved.

Man's freewill was stolen in the fall that happened in the garden and as a result became a slave to the fallen nature and at that moment in time mankind lost their freewill to choose and became a slave to Satan and his nature. Only the redeemed of Christ know true freedom from the bondage of that nature we were born a slave to and the freewill that is restored to us through Christ as he imparts to us His divine nature and for the first time we have our freewill restored unto us and we can freely choose which nature we want to serve the fallen nature we inherited through Adams original sin or the divine nature of God that was imparted to us when we became a new creature in Christ Jesus for the first time.

It was at that moment of our new birth that our freedom our freewill was restored unto us the redeemed to freely serve our Lord as Christ did not make a slave out of us like Satan did in the garden but we have to freely exercise our freewills to either walk in the Spirit and bear the fruits of the Lord's nature in our lives or we will exercise our freewills to walk in the flesh being the nature of fallen man we inherited from Adam which is also the nature of Satan and if we yield our lives to our fleshly fallen nature then we will bear the unfruitful works of darkness being the devil's will for our lives which will lead to death and destruction in the end.

So we are predestined to be saved but mankind's freewill was stolen from us in the garden and our freewills are only restored unto us at the moment we are made a new creature in Christ as only the redeemed know of this freedom in which I speak of as the blood has set us free to walk in the Spirit and those who are not born again think they have all the freedom and freewill in the world when in reality they are only a slave and in bondage to the old nature of sin operating without free choice. And one who has never experienced the freedom and freewill in which I speak of doesn't have a clue of what real freedom and freewill is all about. But our freewill is restored to us when we get born again and washed clean in the blood and not until.

OC

[Guest man]

What do people think of the concepts of predestination and free will?

I believe some people are predestined to burn in hell while others are not.

As for free will....I am free to act as I wish.

Are my actions predestined or are they free will?

Who knows.

I try not to wrap my head around issues such as this.

[rtwo]

The Bible says it is God's will that all be saved. Since all aren't saved, I can only conclude that He lets us act within our own will. I would also suggest that it must be this way in order for love to exist -- if we are called upon to love the Lord with all our "heart, soul, mind and strength", this requires an act of will; if it was merely programming, by definition, it wouldn't be love.