My Crazy Faith

            The book of Romans is often used to show that God pre-decides our eternal destinies, that He determines if we go to heaven or hell because it talks about God “hardening” hearts, predestining people.   So this could sound like we are predestined to go to heaven or hell.   However, I happen to believe that Romans actually teaches free-will and human responsibility.   And the more I read it, the more I believe this.   And the more it falls in line with the rest of the Bible.  (For more posts on this, see "Links To Other Anti-Calvinism Posts." )             So in this post, I want to specifically look at how the book of Romans supports the idea that God lets us decide to choose or reject His offer of salvation, choose or reject eternal life.   The responsibility lies with us.   God does not pre-decide it for us.    ...

             “. . . God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.   For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.   And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”   ( Romans 8:28-30 )               Of all the verses that are part of the “predestination debate,” this has got to be one of the most confusing, controversial ones.   At first reading, it seems like it could be saying that God “calls certain people to heaven according to His purpose,” that He predestines people to go to heaven or hell and we don’t really have a choice in the matter because it has been decided for us from the very beginning.  (For more on this, see "Links To Other Anti-Calvinism Posts...

(These next four posts are reposts of my original, long, unbroken-up posts on predestination vs. free-will.  The previous posts on predestination all come from these posts, so you don't have to read these long ones if you don't want to.  For more on this issue, see "Links To Other Anti-Calvinism Posts." )             Imagine that I walk into your church and say, “I am taking a group of people on a mission trip with me.   We are leaving sometime soon, and you have to decide which group you’ll be part of: the one that goes or the rest that stay behind.   I have a destination picked out, a way to get there, I’ve already paid the price to take a group with me, and I’m now asking for those who want to go.   It’s up to you if you want to come or be left behind.   And if you do not deliberately choose to come with me, you will be left behind.”   This, in essence, is the way I view the whole “predestination or free-will” deba...

I haven't listened to all of these yet (and there may be repeated info in some of these), but here are some "prophecy and end times" sermons from Tony Evans, my favorite pastor to listen to.   Prophecy & End Times The End Times, the Rapture, and the Church The Coming Tribulation part 1 The Coming Tribulation part 2 Prophecy and the Rapture The Second Coming of Christ part 1 The Second Coming of Christ part 2 The Great White Throne Judgment The Millennial Kingdom What Happens When We Die? The Agony of Hell part 1 The Agony of Hell part 2 What is Heaven? The Glory of Heaven part 1 The Glory of Heaven part 2

I try not to think too much about the death of my 30-year-old sister-in-law last week (she left behind 3 kids under age 6 for my brother to raise alone now).  I'm afraid if I think about it too much, I'll start crying.  And if I start crying, I might not stop.   In fact, I couldn't even go into the room where her body was during the funeral because there were so many pictures around of her and my brother and their happy, smiling children.  My goodness, to see the happy family in the pictures - the children who have no mother now - absolutely breaks my heart.  So I watched the children in the kitchen while the funeral happened. Thankfully, the children seem too young to really understand.  When I first got there, my 5-year-old nephew told me, "Come on and see my mom.  Come see my mom."  And he dragged me up to the casket.  And as he said, "There's my mom," his voice cracked ever-so-slightly with sadness.  But then he skipped out ...

(I updated this post November 2024.  This is a bit rambly, but when am I not rambly.😁)  I believe the Bible shows that if someone is truly a believer, sealed with the Holy Spirit, then it's not possible for them to lose their salvation. It's no secret that I disagree with and  hate  Calvinism - the idea that God predestines who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.   CALVINISM IS NOT BIBLICAL!   It's full of twisted Scripture, "secret" word meanings, presumptions about how God acts, etc. - all so it can try to support its own misconceptions of God and salvation and the Gospel. But there is one area that we can agree on: a true believer cannot lose their salvation. However, I see it  much differently  than they do.  So I couldn't even call myself a 1-Point Calvinist.  (Maybe a 1/4-Point Calvinist?  But why would I even want to do that!) Calvinism believes that God picks who goes to heaven, that He causes us to believe in Hi...