If our future is determined for us by God, then how do we have free will like the Bible says?

If our future is determined for us by God, then how do we have free will like the Bible says?

QUESTION:

If our future is determined for us by God, then how do we have free will like the Bible says?

ANSWER:

Isaiah confirms the following,

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

This scripture tells us that God has planned and determined the beginning and the end of everything in existence. It tells us that God is outside of the realm of time which He has created. This means that God is omnipresent and can be present in the beginning of time as well as at the end of time, or anywhere in between, simultaneously. In addition, God is omniscient and is not limited in knowledge, knowing the end from the beginning, knowing how all things work out and align up, as these verses prove,

Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 

1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 

With this in mind, let's get back to the details of the question, “Is our future really determined for us by God?”

What do we do between justification and glorification?

What do we do between justification and glorification?

Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Paul tells us that if we truly believe in Jesus Christ by hearing and responding to the grace gospel, we are freely justified by the ‘decree’ of God, and we can have peace with God, and access to the grace that He provides, Rom 5:1-2.

Through faith in the gospel of grace, we are transferred from the administration of death, which is in Adam, into the administration of life, which is in Christ. When we belong to Christ’s administration, we are now identified with righteousness, peace, and life, as Paul continues to tell us,

Rom 5:17-19 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) (18) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. (19) For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

All this activity happens the moment God saves us. We do not feel anything new. We do not sense anything different. Nothing changes in our flesh or in our mind. What has changed has all happened in the spiritual realm. We have a new relationship to God. We are identified in Christ. We are sealed into the family of God. We know this and believe this because the written Word tells us.

So, what now? If I’m saved in my spirit, what happens to my life here on earth? What happens in my circumstances? What do I do from here on?

Complicated Christianity is Not Biblical

Complicated Christianity is Not Biblical

2Cor 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 

There are a few things this verse tells us.

First, Satan, through subtlety and craftiness will beguile people by enticing or luring them into a form of godliness, 2Tim 3:5, which appears genuine and sincere, but has slight deviations from the truth, consequently nullifying the grace of God and diluting the doctrine, Gal 5:3-4, like a little leaven that affects the whole lump, Gal 5:9.

Religion is one of the primary lures that deceives many. Religion focuses on an outward form of piety. All the rules, demands, holydays, observances, traditions, rituals, and practices, are all just a performance system that glorifies the flesh, or the outer man. There is such complexity in some of these religious practices that the Bible is utterly lost in all the theology and identity promoted by that institution.

What are our ambassadorial duties in this broken world?

What are our ambassadorial duties in this broken world?

The world is in a mess, right! So, what are we to be doing about it? I hear so many ‘Christians’ saying that we need to resist the changes happening in this age and make our mark on society. I don’t know about you, but I think this is the wrong mindset! If you know Bible prophecy, you will know that what is happening in the world today is part of God’s plan. I like to say that things are not falling apart (as so many think), rather things are starting to fall into place! This gives me such hope for our Lord’s soon return.

Does God expect us to halt the immorality of man? Does God expect us to stop the rise of evil? Does God expect us to disarm the Antichrist and spoil his plans? Of course not! Again, these things MUST take place. Judgement is coming upon the world. So, what then does God expect of us?

OBS: God's Word is a Progressive Plan (Part.5.1)

This is Part 5 of the Series

Click here for Part 4

TWO interesting points that required
a 'CHANGE IN COMMUNICATION'

Point #1

Even though Peter and John were disciples of Christ and had intimate knowledge of His teachings and life, it's only later, in their epistles that they write about the concepts of grace, the cross, and the redemptive blood, (which was never mentioned in the Gospels or Acts). Where did they get it from? Well, they learned it from the revelations that Paul received from the glorified Christ.