Christians please?

Question

i seen someone mention this in another question

Ephesians 1:11
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

if things are predestined ....
then where is the free will ?
and if things are predestined ... what is the point in ministering to people ?
honest question looking for honest answers

Answer 1

Everybody has freewill, all people have a purpose, some choose not to fulfil it. God created us with a purpose, He will not force it upon us. He knowns what decisions we will make, but not all decisions we make are following His will, but in the end God will prevail. He does not need us, but He wants us to join Him. Some people will not understand what others try to say to them, but you can have a great impact or a terrible impact depending on your decisions. There is a diference between predestination & God always knowing your decisions because in the end you have still made the decision.

( Predestined - chosen & apointed before God. Don't we all have that same chance if we accept Jesus as our Savior?) We are all chosen some just refuse to be.

Answer 2

Let's read the whole scripture in context...
Ephesians 1:1 through verse 23 This whole chapter is telling us that THOSE who believe and obey are ("predestined" to eternal salvation) It is simple telling us that when we obey and become God's adopted children, we INHERIT the Kingdom of God through that obedience.
WE all have to choose to become a child of GOD.
WE all have the FREE WILL to make this choice.
WE are all offered this inheritance.

It was "predestined" to be ours through the death of Christ.
It is "predestined" to be ours through the resurection of Christ.
It is "predestined" to be ours when WE OBEY CHRIST"S teachings.

Christ's birth, life, death and ressurection were are FORETOLD,
and prophesied about in the Old Testament.

Go ye into all the world and PREACH THE GOSPEL to every creature.
He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved.
He that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:15,16

Oh yes, we are indeed to spread the word of God.
God's word will never pass away. It is predestined to stand forever.

Answer 3

Let me give you the Calvinist answer:

- We have capability to make day-to-day decisions, but we do not have the capability to look to God for salvation. No one seeks Him. Therefore our free will is intact, except for our ultimate destiny of Hell if God does not directly intervene.

- If God predestines before the foundations of the world, then when the Holy Spirit does give us faith, we respond out of joy rather than any sense of duty -- knowing that some are called, some aren't. Jesus' command to go out into all the world and preach the good news becomes more of a "ready, set, go" than "you have to" that way. We also avoid any "glory to me" for bringing others to Christ. God truly gets the credit for calling His own, we just get to participate in His work -- and no way for us to take any credit.

Answer 4

2 Peter 3:9
It is God's will that None should perish. He has made a way for any that choose Him to come to Him. He has given everyone the adoption as sons. Back up in Ephesians to verse 5

Answer 5

Kurt Godel proved that there are certain propositions which are non- decidable. this would seem to indicate that predestination is impossible. on the other hand if you derive your knowledge of all things from the bible rather than elementary logic..just carry on the way you're goin'. Have you got the box your computer came with?..is it still under warranty?..good! you will be entitled to a full refund..just send it back!

Answer 6

Events are predestined, but the choices made during them are free.
You were predestined to ask this question.
The people that answered before me used their free will to answer it. I am using my free will to answer also.
GOD knew you'd ask this, and how many will answer, and who you will pick as best answer. GOD will not influence your free will in picking the best answer. (I have candy if you pick mine though!)

"...what is the point in ministering to people ?" to provide a form of care to another. Be it medical, spiritual, intellectual, etc. One can not use force when ministering to others, it is done from our free will, and accepted from their free will. (Well I can force medicine in your body, but you can easily use your free will and negate it's effects by some means.)

Answer 7

A medieval philosopher named William Occam(of Occam's Razor fame) wrote about this. He tied predestination to God's omniscience. God knows everything that is going to happen, so those things must be predestined to happen. Occam argued that there were different levels of God's awareness or knowledge. Some things God is 'actively' aware of and these things are going to happen, period. Other things God is 'passively' aware of. These things have a little play in their destinies.

Answer 8

Good question. There is still free choice in every human being. But God predestined us to acheive a certain thing on the earth.

Answer 9

Well now pangel After reading all the great answers,What can I say. HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD. and to him who sits on the Throne Jesus Christ Son of the Living God. To Him Be All Glory Honor Power and Praise. For Ever and Ever Amen IT IS SO. and the People All Say Amen. Praise the Lord. for He is the Way the Truth and the Life. NO MAN COMES to the Father Except By Him JESUS CHRIST. His Only Begotten Son. Amen. IT IS SO. yours in J.C. peter william lack.

Answer 10

the apostle Paul speak of Christians as being "predestinated"?

Rom. 8:28, 29: "We know that God makes all his works cooperate together for the good of those who love God, those who are the ones called according to his purpose; because those whom he gave his first recognition he also foreordained ["predestinated," KJ] to be patterned after the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (Also Eph. 1:5, 11) Yet, to these same ones, 2 Peter 1:10 says: "Do your utmost to make the calling and choosing of you sure for yourselves; for if you keep on doing these things you will by no means ever fail." (If the individuals were predestinated to salvation, they could not possibly fail, regardless of what they did. Since effort is required on the part of the individuals, it must be the class that is foreordained. God purposed that the entire class would conform to the pattern set by Jesus Christ. Those selected by God to be part of that class, however, must prove faithful if they are actually to attain the reward set before them.)

Eph. 1:4, 5: "He chose us in union with him [Jesus Christ] before the founding of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love. For he foreordained us to the adoption through Jesus Christ as sons to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." (It is noteworthy that, at Luke 11:50, 51, Jesus parallels "the founding of the world" with the time of Abel. Abel is the first human who continued to have God's favor throughout his life. Thus, it was after the rebellion in Eden but before the conception of Abel that God formed his purpose to produce a "seed" through which deliverance would be provided. [Gen. 3:15] God purposed that associated with the principal Seed, Jesus Christ, would be a group of his faithful followers who would share with him in a new government over the earth, the Messianic Kingdom.)