2006-07-10 17:59:24 · 9 answers · asked by sarah s 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Romans 9 is a heavy chapter. I have studied it well. Let me keep this simple. People choose to go to hell because they refuse the only way to get to heaven. Did not Jesus say that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life? So then... people who reject the only way to get there will not be judged according to grace and mercy but according to their deeds. We learn in Isaiah 64:6 what God thinks about our good deeds. So... refusing the only way to get to heaven... means they are toasty crispy critters.
2006-07-10 18:04:35 · answer #1 · answered by ddead_alive 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When I read Romans 9 one thing comes to my mind. It is a parable Jesus told about the wheat. Matthew 13:34-30. The farmer planted good seeds and later at night the enemy sowed weeds in with the good seed and when they were growing up together, the farmer told his workers not to pull out the weeds yet because it would uproot the wheat, but let them grow up together until the harvest. Then the weeds can be gathered and destroyed without hurting the wheat.
In John 2:23-25 Jesus didn't trust everyone who said they believed in him, because he knew what was inside of them. Some really believed and some really didn't. He knew the difference.
I still believe each man has the opportunity to be saved, but God already knows who has decided not to and God uses them to bring about His purposes. If he chooses to harden someone, its because they have already decided and God knows what is in them. Being God's elect is based on His knowledge of the beginning and ending, not based on Him not giving some people a choice. It is based on what they did with that choice, which is past tense for God. We think everyone should still have a choice until they die, but God has already visited their grave and knows their eternal choice. This is my opinion, not gospel truth.
2006-07-11 01:27:08 · answer #2 · answered by mustangsilver456 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Im sure He does. But you have to keep in mind though. It may be the Holy Bible. But it was written by man. So does God have a say to whether i go to Heaven or Hell? I think that those places are a state of mind. If you pass with a clear consience, im sure paradise awaits, the paradise you have always dreamt of inside. But if you pass with burdens and thoughts of how much you have wronged others, yourself and even God, your mind focuses on the torment that awaits. My theory is that, what you think and feel at the moment your life leaves your body is crucial to 'where' you end up. :)
2006-07-11 01:08:59 · answer #3 · answered by spaghettiandmeatballs_sg 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Although Calvinists are heavy into predestination and use Romans 9 as part of their defense you can not deny it's plausibility. I like to look at it this way; God is sovereign, He knows all. Now, although HE knows who will except Him and who will reject Him, WE don't know. Yes, everyones predestined and only God knows who they are. Since WE don't know who they are we must continue to proclaim the Gospel to everyone. That's the Great Commission
2006-07-11 01:08:00 · answer #4 · answered by stpolycarp77 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God has the final answers, yes. But he gives us lots of clues as to what His answers will be in some cases. Like the 10 Commandments, and other scriptures like: God hates divorce, like some practices are "detestable" to Him(I'm not making this up to be mean, it's all scripture). Jesus, Himself says "not everyone who says to me "Lord Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my father who is in heaven"
We cannot afford to be too lenient with ourselves or those we love lest they suffer hellfire!
2006-07-11 01:08:57 · answer #5 · answered by Makemeaspark 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jhn 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
2006-07-11 01:04:36 · answer #6 · answered by thematrixhazu36 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, because he IS GOD! If he doesn't then tell me who does? It certainly is not drawn out of a hat or randomly picked.
2006-07-11 01:13:56 · answer #7 · answered by gatogordo68 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how you live your life for god not yourself is part of who he decides who goes and who stays.
2006-07-11 01:04:10 · answer #8 · answered by hollywood71@verizon.net 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He knows.I hope you are in the heaven column.
2006-07-11 01:03:20 · answer #9 · answered by robert p 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋