Actually He doesn't. The bible has something to say about certain prayers that He DOESN'T hear.

That has nothing to do with the post. It's not debatable at all...not even a little bit.

Created all things.



Yes.



No idea what you are referring to.



No, He didn't. No where in God's word will you find the phrase "free will".



No idea what you are driving at.

No, sorry.
We won't.
The Creator of all things has told us how things are going to play out and being extinct isn't one of them.

Yes, I know both of those things. I was just perplexed as to why you'd misuse scripture that way, that's all. There are a LOT of texts about God's goodness and blessings that could have been used, I was pointing that out.

As Christian I would think that the book that contains God's word would be sacred and would be reverenced and treated with the utmost respect, that's all.

That would be great if the bible was like a collection of pithy sayings or poems that were meant to mean whatever you want them to mean but it isn't. It's God's Holy sacred word to man. At least is deserves the respect to use it or quote it with the actual MEANING intended by the author (God)

There are a LOT of good things we can say about God, what He's done for us, what He will do for us without butchering the bible to do it.

If it's a beautiful picture of God's bounty and blessings then great...leave the passage off.

That passage has nothing to do with musical instruments or being at peace in the world. It's David's pray to be delivered from horrible terrifying oppression.

Here is the context:

“Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;”

Actually the context of that passage is about suffering for the sake of the gospel. Basically it means in the context of sharing and advancing the kingdom and in your persecution and troubles that arise from that, God will sustain you.

That (almost) has to be the most misused passage in the bible. It's in the running anyway.

I wonder how many people actually give that any real thought? (I mean Christians) This is 100% backwards from how most Christians would describe salvation and how it happens.

Nice image.

I certainly hope nobody does that. The beliefs of the JW’s are false.

Respectfully, that's a cop out. Can you see why this could be "endless"?

It's partially because you made a few statements and cited some passages and when called on them won't do the hard part which is to go back to the passages cited and read them carefully to see if what you say holds water.

For example; 2nd Peter 3:9 (a shortened summary of the passage context)

1.) The subject is about the second coming, not the scope of who's included in salvation...but be that as it may...
2.) The folks being written to are found in 1st Peter (read the salutation of 2nd peter and then go back to 1st Peter to see who's being addressed. It's the Elect of God.
3.) Because of the previous context the "us" "any" and "all" must refer to who? The elect of God! There is nothing at all in the passage that hints of anything else.

Move onto John 6: Jesus has tons of folks following Him after the miracle of the feeding of the 5000...they are asking how to be followers...they seem genuine...but what does Jesus tell them?

He tells them that they don't believe BECAUSE they aren't of HIS SHEEP. He explains it by saying that ALL that the Father gives to Jesus WILL COME and that they can never be cast out. So the REASON for their unbelief is that they aren't given by the father to the son for salvation. The ENTIRE BOOK of John continues in this vein..you can't hardly read a section without it coming up again and again.

So can you see why it's a debate? Not because there is careful exegesis on both sides and the passages are truly hard to interpret, it's because one side won't do the heavy lifting necessary.

True though it shouldn't be that way, we should strive to honor scripture by doing our best exegesis.



I don't think that's entirely true. There are passages that one side or the other deem as "proof" but in my experience, the Arminian side usually ignores context.



Well..there are a lot of passages that speak to salvation and the mechanics of how it works....they must be considered.

I see you keyed in on His foreknowledge, there is a lot that could be said about that for sure but the idea that God chooses because he "sees what we'll do and acts accordingly" isn't even remotely biblical.



Of course He does but that doesn't override what specific passages talk about in context (like the 2nd Peter one you already cited; did you check the context?)



I can see by your statement that you don't know what Calvinism teaches at all. That's the issue, not Calvinism vs the opposite viewpoint, but "your-misunderstanding vs your opposite viewpoint." Neither of your statements are biblical at all.



1.) Because you are commanded to.
2.) Because God uses means to accomplish His ends.
3.) Because it's a privilege to do so.



I don't see why...if God won't "override a free will" then the same will that got you saved can unsave you. You can't have it both ways.



There isn't any such concept in the bible as "free will" that's a man-made concept that's not found anywhere. The KEY to understanding is to take the entire bible in context and in harmony.

Did you go check out 2nd Peter and John 6 to see if your statements about free will and God desiring to save all humans is true yet?

I think you should and then come back and say "ok...I see that I misinterpreted both passages on what they were addressing and who they were addressing...I stand corrected." 2nd Peter is about God's elect and John 6 is about why some will believe and some won't....and neither help your case in the least.

Which makes the post puzzling considering the comments that followed.



Yep.



That's where you are wrong. Both the salvation process and sanctification are God's work. The bible says that our works and our will are from Him.



Keep reading that passage about drawing in John 6 , it is the opposite of the idea of free will. There isn't a such thing as free will in all of scripture. Sure...we have a will, but it's an enslaved will and not free at all.



No argument there. Choices have to be made but as you said...the choice is God's choice.



Not at all. Keep reading that passage and ask yourself what the context is and who are the "none" being spoken of. It's not a salvation passage at all but the folks being referenced are believers...God's elect that have been disbursed.



I'll agree there.

But do read the entire 2nd Peter passage in context and ask yourself who is being addressed...contextually it cannot be "every one who ever lived or will ever live"..that's not biblical...it's "none of God's elect sheep"

Except that that's not biblical.

1.) That passage isn't about offering salvation and you accepting or not.
2.) Salvation isn't that He offers it and then its up to you to do your part...He does the 99% and you do your 1% or whatever...that's not Biblical either.

Nice picture though.

I hope that's a joke.

JW's are heretics. Period.

I won't go into it all, it's well documented.