Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

I supposed this was God talking to Jeremiah.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"

Does that mean that Jeremiah existed before fertilization occurred?
If Yes,then in what form did Jeremiah exist before he was formed in the womb?

"before you were born I set you apart,I appointed you as a prophet to the nations"

So that clearly means even before Jeremiah was born,he was set apart as a prophet and he couldn't have been anything else But a prophet right? Obviously Yes,from a normal direct interpretation.

So how then does Jeremiah has a choice to be anything else But a prophet? How does Jeremiah get to decide for himself what he wants to be If he has been predestined to be a prophet as clearly shown in the passage.

Can I still say Jeremiah has freewill in deciding what he wants to be?
 
We are all known before we come to be, by God. We all are appointed by God for something He desires for us, yet we all have the sovereign will He creates us with to appropriate what He has set for us---or not. Jeremiah had the same choices as anyone else to take on that mantle he was given.
 
So how then does Jeremiah has a choice to be anything else But a prophet? How does Jeremiah get to decide for himself what he wants to be If he has been predestined to be a prophet as clearly shown in the passage.

Can I still say Jeremiah has freewill in deciding what he wants to be?

Being a prophet is not an occupation like being a carpenter or secretary. Jeremiah could have freely chosen from a number of occupations at the time, just like anyone else. (Amos was a herdsman, and Paul a tentmaker.) But God was indicating Jeremiah would, in addition to his everyday life, act as God's mouthpiece to Judah and Israel.

Freewill came in choosing to go along with God's revealed will for him. If he had rejected that call, then there would have been consequences (just as there was with Jonah).
 
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

I supposed this was God talking to Jeremiah.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"

Does that mean that Jeremiah existed before fertilization occurred?
If Yes,then in what form did Jeremiah exist before he was formed in the womb?

"before you were born I set you apart,I appointed you as a prophet to the nations"

So that clearly means even before Jeremiah was born,he was set apart as a prophet and he couldn't have been anything else But a prophet right? Obviously Yes,from a normal direct interpretation.

So how then does Jeremiah has a choice to be anything else But a prophet? How does Jeremiah get to decide for himself what he wants to be If he has been predestined to be a prophet as clearly shown in the passage.

Can I still say Jeremiah has freewill in deciding what he wants to be?

Ok let me explain freewill and destiny in co-existence.

Destiny is a rail system that the Freewill locomotive runs on.

The railway designer (God) made lots and lots of tracks. They go all over.
The engineer (us) has the ability to switch tracks, use roundabouts to turn in all directions and even can back up
the line that we came from.

And, sadly, we can get derailed.

So God can know what you will do because he sees just how many tracks are available at any given time.
He made them, he has the system map.

We can get the system map, but only by the designer of the system.

System maps are available online, in print and in audio formats.
 
Ok let me explain freewill and destiny in co-existence.

Destiny is a rail system that the Freewill locomotive runs on.

The railway designer (God) made lots and lots of tracks. They go all over.
The engineer (us) has the ability to switch tracks, use roundabouts to turn in all directions and even can back up
the line that we came from.

And, sadly, we can get derailed.

So God can know what you will do because he sees just how many tracks are available at any given time.
He made them, he has the system map.

We can get the system map, but only by the designer of the system.

System maps are available online, in print and in audio formats.
Please can you send me a link to that system map,So I can download it.
 
Ok let me explain freewill and destiny in co-existence.

Destiny is a rail system that the Freewill locomotive runs on.

The railway designer (God) made lots and lots of tracks. They go all over.
The engineer (us) has the ability to switch tracks, use roundabouts to turn in all directions and even can back up
the line that we came from.

And, sadly, we can get derailed.

So God can know what you will do because he sees just how many tracks are available at any given time.
He made them, he has the system map.

We can get the system map, but only by the designer of the system.

System maps are available online, in print and in audio formats.

You post that God can know what I will do because He sees all available tracks at that given point.
I don't agree with that statement.

What you are saying is similar to this analogy:
A chess grandmaster can know your next move because he sees all your possible next moves at that given point. Is that possible? Ofcouse not.

So please I need a better example of how freewill is compatible with predestination.

Thanks
 
You post that God can know what I will do because He sees all available tracks at that given point.
I don't agree with that statement.

What you are saying is similar to this analogy:
A chess grandmaster can know your next move because he sees all your possible next moves at that given point. Is that possible? Ofcouse not.

So please I need a better example of how freewill is compatible with predestination.

Thanks

A chessmaster can see your moves as there is a finite amount available. The further you are in the game given available pieces and positions he can know how it will end.

I would say God is the master of knowing where everyone is going and what available pieces they have at their disposal.

Both can stand. Freewill and destiny, hand in hand.
 
We are all known before we come to be, by God. We all are appointed by God for something He desires for us, yet we all have the sovereign will He creates us with to appropriate what He has set for us---or not. Jeremiah had the same choices as anyone else to take on that mantle he was given.

Could he(Jeremiah) had chosen to be something else apart from being a prophet?
 
A chessmaster can see your moves as there is a finite amount available. The further you are in the game given available pieces and positions he can know how it will end.

I would say God is the master of knowing where everyone is going and what available pieces they have at their disposal.

Both can stand. Freewill and destiny, hand in hand.
A grandmaster can see all your possible moves,But does that mean that he will know all your exact moves to the end? Even If he knows he would win the game,does that mean he would know all your exact moves to the end of the game?
 
Being a prophet is not an occupation like being a carpenter or secretary. Jeremiah could have freely chosen from a number of occupations at the time, just like anyone else. (Amos was a herdsman, and Paul a tentmaker.) But God was indicating Jeremiah would, in addition to his everyday life, act as God's mouthpiece to Judah and Israel.

Freewill came in choosing to go along with God's revealed will for him. If he had rejected that call, then there would have been consequences (just as there was with Jonah).

So what If we chose not to go along with God's revealed will for us? Does that mean we no longer have freewill? If I give you a list of things that I want you to do and give you all the possible consequences of doing things outside the list,would you still say you have complete freewill?
 
We are all known before we come to be, by God. We all are appointed by God for something He desires for us, yet we all have the sovereign will He creates us with to appropriate what He has set for us---or not. Jeremiah had the same choices as anyone else to take on that mantle he was given.

Are you saying that Jeremiah could have chosen not to be a prophet as appointed by God without any consequences?
 
Are you saying that Jeremiah could have chosen not to be a prophet as appointed by God without any consequences?

There are always consequences for disobedience to God or for veering off away from His known plan for us.

What I am saying is that Jeremiah could have chosen to be a farmer and still been a prophet. One thing doesn't preclude the other.
 
So I am the first person to post from Calvinist perspective.. Or predestination perspective.. Whatever way we choose to call..

This is my take on this.. God choose Jeremiah to be a prophet.. It was not Jeremiah wanting to become a prophet.. I think everyone agrees to that.. So the question is, could Jeremiah have chosen not to become a prophet? The answer is no.. Because I firmly believe we have freewill.. We have to say what freewill is.. It is pretty much the liberty to choose.. In that sense we all have freewill.. But what is important to consider is the motivation behind choosing something.. When we are given 2 choices and if we have to choose one, there is always a motivation.. In a bench, some might choose corner seat and some might choose middle seat.. Because some might want to leave early and some might want to be in the middle of conversation.. God does not force us to choose one.. What he does is, enables us to freely choose one of them.. Rather, he removes the evil desires of our heart (regeneration), which enables us to freely choose him.. In this case, Lord is saying He is enabling the desires in the soul of Jeremiah to become a prophet.. As per His will, Jeremiah freely choose to accept that..
 
There are always consequences for disobedience to God or for veering off away from His known plan for us.

What I am saying is that Jeremiah could have chosen to be a farmer and still been a prophet. One thing doesn't preclude the other.

Ok,So I can safely conclude that Since there are consequences for disobeying God,it means we are not allowed to disobey God,because the consequences are serving as a deterrent to disobedience of God's will. Right?
 
Ok,So I can safely conclude that Since there are consequences for disobeying God,it means we are not allowed to disobey God,because the consequences are serving as a deterrent to disobedience of God's will. Right?

We are allowed to disobey God because God has created us with free will. Some people are not even aware of what God's will is and so they disobey and their consequences are unrecognizable, and/or just viewed as hardship, so as a deterrent? Not so much for some. God has a plan A for each of us, but we can live our lives in such a way as we miss it, but God always has a plan B ready and waiting. He is merciful and good---always.
 
So I am the first person to post from Calvinist perspective.. Or predestination perspective.. Whatever way we choose to call..

This is my take on this.. God choose Jeremiah to be a prophet.. It was not Jeremiah wanting to become a prophet.. I think everyone agrees to that.. So the question is, could Jeremiah have chosen not to become a prophet? The answer is no.. Because I firmly believe we have freewill.. We have to say what freewill is.. It is pretty much the liberty to choose.. In that sense we all have freewill.. But what is important to consider is the motivation behind choosing something.. When we are given 2 choices and if we have to choose one, there is always a motivation.. In a bench, some might choose corner seat and some might choose middle seat.. Because some might want to leave early and some might want to be in the middle of conversation.. God does not force us to choose one.. What he does is, enables us to freely choose one of them.. Rather, he removes the evil desires of our heart (regeneration), which enables us to freely choose him.. In this case, Lord is saying He is enabling the desires in the soul of Jeremiah to become a prophet.. As per His will, Jeremiah freely choose to accept that..
So God made Jeremiah desire to be a prophet?
 
Back
Top