Instead of us laboring in vain. For those sage and wise counsellors who'll probably go "No suffering or hard work is meaningless, God cares about our work", yeah, well, depends.
I just want to know if I'm being chastised, or cursed, or undergoing a character building session, or simply unelect. There's nothing I can do about my predicament that I haven't done.
Posted Dec 31, 2019, 10:32 AM UTC
Whatever the exact details, you know that we only suffer for the good of our souls, that God is in control of life, and that your business is to concern yourself with having faith, giving thanks for both the good and the evil that happens to you in trust that God is at work in everything for your good. Why do you need to know more than that?
Because if I'm cursed or unelect, the suffering is not for the good of my soul. Also, it would mean that while God is at work, it's not for my good.
Yeah. I can give you absolutely no comfort within Calvinism, because I just find that doctrine abhorrent and wrong on this subject. I can only say that the entire concept of reprobation is bankrupt from beginning to end, God loves everyone and wants everyone to be saved as the scriptures say, Jesus definitely did die for you and you can be sure of that fact, and you can trust that God has your best interests at heart because that's His revealed character as Love, as He demonstrated on the cross.
Yeah, the whole "Yes, No, or Wait" thing is so ineffective that you could ask a jug of milk, your pet cat, anything, the same sort of thing and it would all turn out the same.
And that ignores the fact that Jesus said any prayer in his name would be done and answered, pretty much immediately and the asker would do things Jesus did and greater. But of course that's ignored because the fact that prayer doesn't work like that, if aspects work at all, points to a reality that people dare not think of.
Pretty sure my cat would always answer no...unless the question was, "should I pour you this jug of milk?".
Ancient Egyptians might have been on to something worshiping cats then (sarcasm)
I'm contemplating just going with "May your will be done about my desire for a jug of milk".
You need to study Job.
I have, but it did nothing to help me love and appreciate the randomness of life.
He faced much worse, we should never presume anything, and God's in control; I get that, but it doesn't mean I have to enjoy everything and not have a moan.
Imho, the attitude in which we process the situation matters. It’s a good thing to want to look at a situation through the eyes of Jesus, but that means understanding the heart of God. So... it’s practice. What has God revealed to you about God? What sort of action is required to build faith, as in step out? What’s your best “guess” of God’s leaning?
Our hindsight is 20/20. You can be fearful of “falling out of God’s will” or you can take that step of faith, and realize that God will never let you “fall out.” We’ll have seasons... but that’s in God’s plan. So... live life. Suffer, enjoy, cry, laugh. It’s all part of life.
On falling out, he does actually "give people up".
God predestines no one to hell.
Doesn't revelation say he has a book with all the names of those who will go to heaven written on its pages?
Isn't he omniscient and beyond time? (if those are true he knows what we will do before we do because he lives in the future, present and past simultaneously and already knows the results of our free will being exerted, hence, his book with our names. We get free will but he has his grand plan and he already knows the results of it and of everything.)
God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God is necessary, and persistence in it until the end.
One should never lose hope at the idea of ”not being among elect” such impulse is a lie of the evil one. Attempts to lure you into the twins sins despair and presumption. By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God's goodness, to his justice - for the Lord is faithful to his promises - and to his mercy. Or a presumes upon God's almighty power and his mercy in the vain hope to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit.
Revelation 17:8"The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come."
Somebody's name either was written in the book of life at creation or it wasn't.
Revelation 20:15
"Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."
I mean, it's an unpleasant truth, but it is in the Bible.
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Calvinism is a hell of a drug.