KINGJ: You assume Lazarus had no say in being raised from the dead? It is God's nature to force us to do as He pleases? That is the gentle nature of God Gal 5:22, 23?
JACK: I'm a tad puzzled by this statement. I would think it natural to assume that Lazarus didn't have any say in being raised from the dead or he wouldn't have been dead.
KINGJ: It is God's nature to force us to do as He pleases? That is the gentle nature of God Gal 5:22, 23?
JACK: I don't think God "forces" anyone to do anything against their will. It is admitted by Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike that a person's acts must be without compulsion and in accordance with his own desires and inclination, or he cannot be held respnsible for them. Yet the will of the Almighty is irresistable and rendered certain, but never forced. For example, centuries before Jesus was born, the prophet foretold that He would be born in Bethlehem. In order to put the Lord in that village, Caesar Augustus decreed that all the [Roman] world should be counted and taxed. Was he forced to do that? Not at all. But that action was in the plan of God centuries earlier and was an essential component in getting Jesus born in Bethlehem. Peter says the crucifixion of Christ was foreordained (Acts 2:23) but it was also carried out "by sinful hands." Did the soldiers hammering the nails into the Lord's hands realized they were carrying out an act foreordained by God before the foundation of the world? I don't think so. If God is limited by either by an outside force by even by his own acts, we have only a finite God. Take a look at Isa. 14:24. There is a great illustration of this point in Isa. 10:5-15. This passage teaches that the King of Assyria, although a proud and pagan king, was but an insturment in the hands of God, just like an ax or a saw is in the hands of a man. Was this pagan king "forced" to do God's will? No! Did he do that will? Yes! God said that Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia, would do all God's pleasure, and he said before Cyrus was even born (Isa. 44:28).
JACK: I'm a tad puzzled by this statement. I would think it natural to assume that Lazarus didn't have any say in being raised from the dead or he wouldn't have been dead.
KINGJ: It is God's nature to force us to do as He pleases? That is the gentle nature of God Gal 5:22, 23?
JACK: I don't think God "forces" anyone to do anything against their will. It is admitted by Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike that a person's acts must be without compulsion and in accordance with his own desires and inclination, or he cannot be held respnsible for them. Yet the will of the Almighty is irresistable and rendered certain, but never forced. For example, centuries before Jesus was born, the prophet foretold that He would be born in Bethlehem. In order to put the Lord in that village, Caesar Augustus decreed that all the [Roman] world should be counted and taxed. Was he forced to do that? Not at all. But that action was in the plan of God centuries earlier and was an essential component in getting Jesus born in Bethlehem. Peter says the crucifixion of Christ was foreordained (Acts 2:23) but it was also carried out "by sinful hands." Did the soldiers hammering the nails into the Lord's hands realized they were carrying out an act foreordained by God before the foundation of the world? I don't think so. If God is limited by either by an outside force by even by his own acts, we have only a finite God. Take a look at Isa. 14:24. There is a great illustration of this point in Isa. 10:5-15. This passage teaches that the King of Assyria, although a proud and pagan king, was but an insturment in the hands of God, just like an ax or a saw is in the hands of a man. Was this pagan king "forced" to do God's will? No! Did he do that will? Yes! God said that Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia, would do all God's pleasure, and he said before Cyrus was even born (Isa. 44:28).