Benoni pg. 2 :
Quote:
The Bible makes it clear that God wills all men to be saved(1 Tim 2:3-4, 2 Pet 3:9).
Amen. All will be saved.
1 Corin 15: 21: For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23: But every man in his own order:
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-Ok, at first I thought you were a Calvinist but from this post it appears you are actually a universalist. Let me deal with this verse and then respond general to your non-freewill argument.
- Note that verse 22 states that "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." There are at least 2 ways this verse could be looked at:
#1 : One could focus on the "all" in the verse which would cause one to conclude that everyone throughout history will one day be saved, either now or through the Lake of Fire.
#2: One could focus on "in Adam" and "in Christ" in the verse which would cause one to come to the conclusion that all who are in Adam have and will continue to feel the affects of sin and die and all who are in and will be in Christ will be made alive.
-I believe the context best fits #2. You should have continued to quote verse 23.
Verse 23 in its entirety states the following:
"But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming..."
Do you see how verse 23 fits with option #2 in reading verse 22? Looked at in this light, verse 22 does not teach all will be saved one day.
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- Now, as for the other topic at hand. While it may be true that all are dead in their sins and none seek for God on their own (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 3:11), it should be asked how is a person "quicked"/ made alive? Is it only by His Spirit? The Scriptures are clear that it is not simply by His Spirit.
-You are right in pointing to context to determine a verse's meaning, but you did not go back far enough to get a broader picture/context of the verses in question.
Ephesians 1:13 "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise..."
Other scripture verses teach us about God's word, wheather spoken or written.
Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit..." (see also 1 Corinthians 10:4,5)
Romans 10:8-15 : in part reads "...How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher..."
-So what we see through Scripture is that while God does indeed make alive we who were once dead, He generally makes alive through His word, both written and spoken.
Scripture is also clear that we can reject his word
Romans 10:16 continuing 10:8-15 "However, they did not all heed the good news..."
-God does make alive, but people do have the ability to resist His influence
Matthew 23:37, 38 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets...How often I wanted to gather your children together...and you were unwilling..."
Acts 7:51 "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did."
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-Free will is clearly taught in Scripture. God's soverignty is also taught. There is no contradiction with this.
Acts 2:23, 24 "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."
-godless men under their own free will killed Jesus, yet they all were acting in accordance with God's predetermined plans.
1 Peter 1:5 "who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed..."
-Both God's power and a Christian's faith working together are shown in this verse.
-Similarly numerous verses speak of God's free gift of salvation, while others speak of people's choice to believe or dis-believe the Gospel. There is no contradiction.