We discussed this last night and he feels that John 3:16 and 2 Peter 3:9 are talking about "the elect" and not the whole world. What do you think about this? How do I deal with this?
(Serious answers only)
2007-02-25 06:24:18 · 20 answers · asked by Laura H 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
God sent His Son to redeem the whole world and He is NO respecter of persons......but only those who receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior WILL spend eternity in heaven!!
God is not willing for ANY to perish!!
Jesus said that many are called but few are chosen and I would take that to mean that while the WHOLE WORLD is called, it is ONLY those who believe on Him as Savior are chosen...and that
is by their own choice, NOT God's....
READ MATT:7:13, 14
Jesus said in John 6:37, that the one who comes to Him, He will in no wise reject.
You can't make everyone believe....
2007-02-25 06:45:32 · answer #1 · answered by angelique1225 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There are 2 considerations here. God does love the world in that everything is His creation and He even does good to the wicked and the righteous. But your husband is correct that the love, as in a Fatherly, saving love is indeed only for the elect. God who never changes is clear that he hates the wicked:Psalm 11:5
The LORD tests the righteous,But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
We see this in Esau who God hated before he was born. (Malachi 1)
Now lets look at 2 Pet 3:9. First Peter addresses His letter "to those who have obtained like precious faith" (vs1) so he writes to believers. Second he speaks about the ungodly in 3:5 and refers to them as "they". Now in distinction to the "they" he refers to Gods long suffering as "towards US". It is the us in distinction form the ungodly that God waits in patience as He is not wiling that any of His elect perish. If you read carefully you will see throughout Peters letter he clearly distinguishes between the ungodly and (those of faith). There is more in this very text to show this but this should be enough to demonstrate your husband is correct.
Same with John 3:16 The text makes a separation when it says whosoever will. As Luther put it so well this is where the church stands or falls in His book Bondage of the Will. One text should suffice but 2 even better.
Romans 3:11
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
Paul here showing that no man can seek God who is dead in sin so none in themselves are "willing"
Jn 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Here John explains who it is that is in the group of the "whosoever wills" It is those who "received Him" and they were born again and he points out clearly "not of the will of the flesh...but of God"
See Romans 8 to see that man without the Spirit is only (flesh) and as Paul shows there no one in the flesh can please God.
Hope this helps. Sorry but scripture shows your husband is correct.
2007-02-25 06:54:38 · answer #2 · answered by beek 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I continually admire somebody else's opinion whether i do no longer inevitably agree via fact I definitely have not walked in that persons shoes. they have come to that end with the aid of reviews in existence and trauma and the college of perplexing knocks. you at the instant are not self-accepted, you quite need God to make the fact you ask. you're positioned out with the aid of some Christians and so am I. the fact is easy. God created us. Adam and Eve had an aversion to evil. the only evil they might commit became to disobey God and consume the forbidden fruit. That became the only evil open to them. They have been incapable to do real evil. The devil got here interior the serpent and tricked Eve. Like a baby interior the 2d, she forgot the admonition of God and partook of the fruit of the understanding of solid and evil. something is historic previous. as quickly as one tiny sin is dedicated, it leads to extra and larger sin. The worst serial rapist cut down murderer in historic previous gets there incrementally, no longer all of sudden. interior the top, the middle of a guy realizes that he's a sinner and somebody has to pay for all this sin. Jesus Christ is the sin bearer. So there could be no delight by any means interior the guy who with the aid of faith accepts Jesus as his sin bearer. in fact there could be a prefer to lead others to a similar sin bearer as a fellow sinner. yet it rather is what i do in comparison to the two. God makes us do all of it the way with the aid of faith. I too might like a extra hands on God. yet, i could admit the extraordinary solutions to prayer I definitely have won in my lifetime that shows that very hand. i desire you discover the sin bearer too. we choose Him.
2016-11-25 22:37:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would like to answer this question with a question, who is the elect? Mormons believe they are, as do the Jehovah Witnesses,
the Seventh day Adventists, Messianic Jews and many other Christian organizations.
Christ died to save sinners and "we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Roman's 3:23. Paul also writes in Romans 3 that there are none righteous, not one (vs 10), there is none that seek after God. (vs 11)
It seems your husband is going through the battle that many other conservative Christians, myself included have had to fight, that is self rightousness. Keep him in your prayers, we will, as well. Remember a man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.
With God's love, the Goat
2007-02-25 06:54:10 · answer #4 · answered by The Goat 1 · 1⤊ 2⤋
sweetie, calm down. god is sooo personal, why does your hubby have to understand his spiritual truths in the exact same way you do?
just enjoy these discussions with your husband - my hubby and i are both jewish and rarely agree on the exact meaning of any jewish teaching. it still connects us because we love each other and find each other interesting enough to respect the other's opinions.
your husband obviously likes you or he would not discuss religion with you at all, you should never take this for granted because if you thought about it you would probably be hard pressed to think of many other people who like their spouse enough to talk about this kind of thing with them.
make a nice nice dinner and count your blessings, the love of a good man is a big one - take care!
2007-02-25 06:45:28 · answer #5 · answered by mommynow 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Those "born of the spirit" are who he is speaking, and he discounts the rest of the world. "They are judged already" pointing to their love of evil.
The first and second letters of Peter appears to be addressed to "... the strangers dispersed through Pontus, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, elect, ..."
How I would deal with this? A woman does not preach to her man, but shows by loving a pious works her faith in God. If you make this an issue, you are creating a wedge between yourself and your husband, and you are then guilty of "putting asunder" that which God Himself put together.
2007-02-25 06:43:16 · answer #6 · answered by Shinigami 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
He's correct, look at the last line here:
Exodus 11:5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
11:6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
11:7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel
God hates plenty of people. Look how many millions he slaughtered in the OT.
2007-02-25 06:28:22 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 3⤋
God makes the rules and God can to suspend them. Like in Bible ,when ask for 10 believers to save the all men of the town......
God is Love, and ask 'do us believe in Him and in the Savior Jesus Christ The Son of God?' Yes or no. Our yes, open the door for God can help us, if we say no God can't help us because He respects our free will.
If we believe ,we do what is write in Bible.
To live in afraid means that we haven't believe.
2007-02-25 06:53:54 · answer #8 · answered by mirna 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
God loves the whole world from eternity to eternity.
Out of His love, He brings us into existence, nurtures us, educates us, and shows us how to thankfully use His immense creation for our greater and greater happiness.
This fact has been showed by the teachings and the lives of the Messengers of God. He who seeks, will find the truth. He who refuses to painfully seek and to humbly believe, no other human beings can convince him. Because God gives each man the equal rational sense to seek the truth for himself; if any man has a higher mind to convince him, he is no longer an equal human being. Even the Messengers of God don't use Their power to force men to believe.
2007-02-25 06:39:53 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
i think it's very important not to take the bible so literally; if we did, we'd be stoning people who say God's name in vain. for example, in the bible it says to not say the names of other God's, what it probably really means is that we shouldn't commit idolatry and break away from God
2007-02-25 07:13:38 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋