In Reply to: Re: Clergy example posted by Farmer on February 09, 2010 at 20:14:49:
My friend Farmer:
The longer I know the Lord, the more I want to see others come to know Him as well, and, of course, God wants to see them saved, and receiving good things from Him even more than we do; for sure--He loves more than anyone can.
God bless the Haitians--I pray many MORE will turn to the Lord in their time of need!
He will "wipe away all tears"--there will be a "holy amnesia" or at least a "knowing as also we are known", evetually, where grief for those who refused Him will be undone, and we will fully understand, somehow.
For those who continue to say, "Not Your will, but MINE be done", He finally agrees (Heb 9:27).
I am convinced that, without the prevenient, saving, sanctifying and preserving graces(s)--the manifold grace--of God, through Jesus Christ ALONE--I would be spiritually dead and in Hell awaiting the Lake of Fire, and deservedly so.
And, I have seen NOTHING (in the non-heretical writings) called so by the Apostles, and THEIR disciples, and so on, actually teaching the doctrines of Calvin. Calvin cam along in the early 1500s.
Also, he basically ruled the country of Switzerland (whose relationship with the Catholic Church has always been REALLY WEIRD!), and used his power regulary to have people who opposed him killed.
I believe in a "...yet so as by fire.." relationship with God which never progressed very far, like the choked out seeds--as well as the three other conditions of seeds and ground spoken of by Jesus--in the parable of the sower (the key to all other parables, according to Jesus), but still admits you to Heaven.
Sad, since God really does want to COPIOUSLY reward us.
I used to could quote all the "speculative" verses regarding Universal Reconciliation, as well. They are overwhelmingly overbalanced by TONS of Scripture saying otherwise, despite the so-called "irresistible arguments" to the contrary.
I pretty much believe in what I call "punctuated sovereignty" (as in Phil 2, with the combination of true sovereignty and Christ's "kenosis" or "self-emptying", pre-Adamic angelic free will, Adamic/post Adamic free will, both real gifts in the face of real soveriegnty, and "candidacy for the elect", for THE Antichrist, and for a few other persons in Scripture as well (like Pharaoh the TENTH time he HAD his heart hardened, and so forth.
AS sovereign Lord, God can, and has, limited His sovereignty many times, and can do so any time He wants to--He's God. THAT'S what fills the picture of the ENTIRETY of Scripture, NOT unanswerable paradigms and conundrums.
But not for Christ--THAT cannot happen, COULD NOT HAVE happened with the hundreds and hundreds of prophecies He fulfilled (the day He was born and the DAY He died, for instance, taken from a LIBRARY of books with over 40 authors written over 1500 years that we call the Bible).
I have also read Romans a lot, too, several translations, for a lot of the same reasons---what a bunch of "run-on sentences"! Paul was a great Apostle, even the greatest--just not a great grammarian! Heh, heh! "Hard to understand"--as Peter wrote of him.
If your ex-wife HAS slept with anyone else since you broke up, and you have labored in prayer over her, have done your best to communicate God's counsel to her, and she will still not repent, by Matt 5 & 19 there ARE grounds for your freedom and re-marriage.
Or not, if you don't want to. But ANY unrepented adultery on her part is sufficient for you to look for marital love elsewhere, brother. I'm not saying this to offend your own conscience, and I certainly appreciate your warm and humble counsel of warning here for others who really may NOT be seeking God's will in the matter, but only their own.
With regards,
OT2