...because I won't agree with you. Yeah I get it... LOL!
Yeah, I was sort of thinking two things at once and got my own wires crossed and just made a typing mistake (regarding premillennialism and dispensationalism). Sure. Admitting your mistakes; we normally call this humility.
However... now we're talking about a different thing, namely that you said "direct correlation" when I had said "positive correlation." I did admit not catching that on first glance (which is another act of humility). But beyond that, that was your fault, conflating two different things, which, I realize was not your intent, but you did. You made something I said ~ albeit possibly unintentionally ~ into something very different than what it was, and that deserved clarification. This should not upset you so, but I understand ~ we call that pride. <smile>
You don't mean it to be, for sure. but it is.
Yeah stop right there. That's ridiculous. You may think it hateful that God has mercy on whom He will have mercy, compassion on whom He will have compassion, Moses and Paul both say that, Moses even quoting God Himself. And... you misconstrue what it means for God to hate something or someone. In Paul's context in Romans 9, it is a righteous and holy hate, a very different thing from sinful, human hate. And every one of us are deserving of this Godly hate because we all sin. But some... He has mercy and compassion on, which is His right. He can give this salvific grace to those whom He chooses, but it is not incumbent on Him to give this salvific grace to any of us.
He certainly loves all His creation, for sure.
A mischaracterization (yet again). He chose some, despite their undeserving, because of His grace, to be conformed to the image of His Son and thus to inherit eternal life. Others He did not "purposely create to spend eternity in the lake of fire," but did not predestine to be conformed to the image of His Son. Now, His act of choosing those whom He chose was an active action (so to spead) taken by Him, but He didn't have to choose anyone, because none were deserving. The points are, 1. hell is deserved by all, and that 2. He did not actively choose anyone to spend eternity in hell.
I can certainly understand why. Yes, that some will go to hell is horrifying, for sure.
You're talking about the infinite sufficiency of Jesus's sacrifice and God's heart that all would repent and thus be saved, and, yes, that the outward invitation is to all. In thise sense, what you say is absolutely true. However, none are deserving; all have fallen short of the glory of God.
However, God makes it efficacious to only those on whom He has mercy/compassion. He gives His Spirit ~ and makes Christ's sacrifice efficacious for; issues His inward calling by His Holy Spirit to ~ only His elect. As Creator, this is His prerogative. And here we can quote Paul again: "You will say to me then, 'Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?' But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?' Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory ~ even us whom He has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?"
You can argue with me all you want, SI, but the Word of God is (and always will be) the Word of God. As Jesus says in John 8, Jesus does not say that people are of their father the devil because they do not believe, but rather that people do not believe because they are of their father the devil (not the other way around). And, in John 10, He says not that people are not among His sheep because they do not believe, but rather people do not believe because they are not among His sheep, those given to Him by the Father.
And actually, the same sort of issue that you apply (mis-apply, really) to how I see these things is applicable to how you see these things, too. Let's assume you are correct; God looked into the future and saw who would not choose Him. Why didn't He do anything about it? I mean, God can do anything, right? So God saw they would make the wrong decision, but still said, in effect at least, "Oh, well, okay. I don't love them, I hate them." Is this not unloving, and antithetical to His character and Who (or what, given that God is love, as John says) He is?
You know... I was going to let you have the last word, but I've decided against that. <smile> Or, well, I'll keep that open... depending on what your last word is... <smile> Ohhhh, that'll get you going again... <smile> Yeah, I meant to do that. LOL! Come on SI, laugh a little. Just a little. <smile>
Grace and peace to you, SI.
