Where are all the Acts 2:38 folks (3-steppers)??

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by pelathais

God is responsible, that is why there is a judgment. If, after allowing evil to have reign He did nothing about it, then He would be guilty of injustice.

There's a difference between "responsibility" and "guilt." Guilt means there was a moral failing on the part of the guilty. God is not "guilty." He is responsible, however. It is His creation and the results of His act in creating are his responsibility.

But back to the effect of of grace in salvation, Romans 9:16: "it does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy."

Of course, this is just one side of the coin. But it is the side that we as Apostolics often overlook. There is a fundamental paradox between free will and determinism. The debates around this are older than even the Christian faith. We could have the same debates endlessly here but neither side will be resolved, because fundamentally both sides are correct.

And as Christians we need both sides preached in balance. Grace and human responsibility. Both are correct.

Okay, I'll let this one drop even though there is more I could say.

In fact it can be said that you are not even making a choice in the matter. The choice was made for you before you were ever born when God selected you for salvation from before the foundation of the world.