“I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
— Job 42:2
this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
— Acts 2:23
When was this plan planned? It was planned before the foundation of the world, which also means before the fall. Not only did He plan this salvation before the world began, but He also chose who He was going to be saved before the foundations.
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
— Ephesians 1:4
The book of life of the Lamb who was slain existed before the foundation of the world also, with the names of the chosen already recorded.
What was God's choice to choose who He chose based on? Their works? No, which includes any works that God sees them doing in the future, as if God chose them based off foreknowing what they would do. I hear a lot of people argue this. So on what basis did He choose them?
His mercy.
Think of it this way. Every man is drowning in the river of his own sins, with one on the bank of the river choosing to give life jackets to a few of them.
Why does He choose them and not the others?
The answer is... because He chose them. He chose them because He chose them in other words, nothing was found in them that inclined the Lord to choose them.
This was exactly the point Paul makes when he says:
for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
— Romans 9:11
Why did God love Jacob and not Esau? Because He loved him. He loved Him because He chose to set His love on him, because He loved him.
Why does God have mercy and compassion on His chosen? Because He has mercy and compassion on them.
For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
— Romans 9:15-16
What does His mercy depend on? It depends on God, who has mercy.
“The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
— Deuteronomy 7:7-8
God loved and chose His chosen because He loved them. Therefore there is no boast before God. There is no boast because there is no room for one, salvation is of the Lord.
Let me also add that "predetermined" means that God planned His solution ahead of time.
"He chose us" -- He planned to make peoples who would belong to Him before making the world. This is talking about the church, not some predetermined thing like Joe's saved and Sally isn't no matter what they do.
You're making my point, God chooses stuff. It matters, it has real impact, God has free will. So do we, because he gave it to us, otherwise there is no need for laws or directions such as "you shall not eat of the tree of good and evil, or you will surely die".
God did not purposefully intend for us to sin, or die. We chose that path. He does decide what happens as a result, because He has all authority over creation. He figured out a solution that redeems, because He loves us. We get to choose that part too, though that choice is only made available because God opened it up as an option.
God knowing man would sin is quite different from Him predetermining him to sin, which would make no sense. We aren't puppets, and God isn't evil.
All of your free will theories and philosophies are grounded in misconception. Let's learn what this means:
But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today.
— Deuteronomy 2:30
I'll walk you through it. What two options did Sihon have?
Next, what does this verse give as to the reason Sihon made the choice he made?
And finally, what was the purpose behind the reason behind his choice?
Please respond directly to all three of these questions, in short answer format. If you fail to do this, it means you're hiding, and you're not being honest with yourself.
God knew the fall would happen, but he didn't "plan" it. He planned what to do about it in response.
I think your idea is more in line with the Greek understanding of Fate.
He did plan it. He plans all things.
“I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. — Job 42:2
this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. — Acts 2:23
When was this plan planned? It was planned before the foundation of the world, which also means before the fall. Not only did He plan this salvation before the world began, but He also chose who He was going to be saved before the foundations.
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love — Ephesians 1:4
The book of life of the Lamb who was slain existed before the foundation of the world also, with the names of the chosen already recorded.
What was God's choice to choose who He chose based on? Their works? No, which includes any works that God sees them doing in the future, as if God chose them based off foreknowing what they would do. I hear a lot of people argue this. So on what basis did He choose them?
His mercy.
Think of it this way. Every man is drowning in the river of his own sins, with one on the bank of the river choosing to give life jackets to a few of them.
Why does He choose them and not the others?
The answer is... because He chose them. He chose them because He chose them in other words, nothing was found in them that inclined the Lord to choose them.
This was exactly the point Paul makes when he says:
for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, — Romans 9:11
Why did God love Jacob and not Esau? Because He loved him. He loved Him because He chose to set His love on him, because He loved him.
Why does God have mercy and compassion on His chosen? Because He has mercy and compassion on them.
For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. — Romans 9:15-16
What does His mercy depend on? It depends on God, who has mercy.
“The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. — Deuteronomy 7:7-8
God loved and chose His chosen because He loved them. Therefore there is no boast before God. There is no boast because there is no room for one, salvation is of the Lord.
Let me also add that "predetermined" means that God planned His solution ahead of time.
"He chose us" -- He planned to make peoples who would belong to Him before making the world. This is talking about the church, not some predetermined thing like Joe's saved and Sally isn't no matter what they do.
You're making my point, God chooses stuff. It matters, it has real impact, God has free will. So do we, because he gave it to us, otherwise there is no need for laws or directions such as "you shall not eat of the tree of good and evil, or you will surely die".
God did not purposefully intend for us to sin, or die. We chose that path. He does decide what happens as a result, because He has all authority over creation. He figured out a solution that redeems, because He loves us. We get to choose that part too, though that choice is only made available because God opened it up as an option.
God knowing man would sin is quite different from Him predetermining him to sin, which would make no sense. We aren't puppets, and God isn't evil.
All of your free will theories and philosophies are grounded in misconception. Let's learn what this means:
But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today. — Deuteronomy 2:30
I'll walk you through it. What two options did Sihon have?
Next, what does this verse give as to the reason Sihon made the choice he made?
And finally, what was the purpose behind the reason behind his choice?
Please respond directly to all three of these questions, in short answer format. If you fail to do this, it means you're hiding, and you're not being honest with yourself.