Our Rulers Must Be Just Fearing God
Lets follow this up by turning to the Book of Samuel which provides the qualifier for Romans 13.
2 Samuel 23:3The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
Now that right there, that is exactly what I was talking about in Romans 13.
Those who rule over us must be just.
That means, our rulers must be righteous men, ruling with fear and love of God.
If our rulers are not doing that, they are not Gods rulers.
God may have appointed them, but they are not ministers of God to thee for good, and God does not approve of their actions.
This is why we must always remember, the Bible does not contradict itself.
Romans 13:1-4 is talking about adhering to righteous rulers, those are Gods ministers. Not unrighteous men and women, they certainly would not be Gods ministers.
God does good, not evil.
How Do You Pray For Financial Blessings
Prayer to Give Finances Up to God
Father, my finances belong to You. I thank You in advance for my financial prosperity. Lord, I know that everything that comes from You is good, so I know that by placing my finances in Your hands, You will come through for me and I will become financially stable and secure.
But Isnt This Inconceivable
I say that many stumble at this because they regard it as inconceivable. My own view is that the Bible does teach this the compatibility of Gods decisive sovereignty and mans responsibility. If this seems inconceivable to you, I would plead that you not let that keep you from believing what the Bible teaches.
But it might be helpful to draw in one attempt to help make sense of this. Can a persons acts be justly regarded as praiseworthy or blameworthy if those acts flow from a good or evil nature that inclines him in only one way?
Here is part of John Calvins answer to this objection:
The goodness of God is so connected with his Godhead that it is not more necessary to be God than to be good whereas the devil, by his fall, was so estranged from goodness that he can do nothing but evil.
Should anyone give utterance to the profane jeer that little praise is due to God for a goodness to which he is forced, is it not obvious to every man to reply, It is owing not to violent impulse, but to his boundless goodness, that he cannot do evil?
Therefore, if the free will of God in doing good is not impeded, because he necessarily must do good if the devil, who can do nothing but evil, nevertheless sins voluntarily can it be said that man sins less voluntarily because he is under a necessity of sinning?
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Christian Quotes About Free Will
Free will without Gods grace is not free at all, but is the permanent prisoner and bondslave of evil, since it cannot turn itself to good. Martin Luther
The sin both of men and of angels, was rendered possible by the fact that God gave us free will. C. S. Lewis
Those who speak on mans free will, and insist upon his inherent power to either accept or reject the Savior, do but voice their ignorance of the real condition of Adams fallen children. A.W. Pink
Free will carried many a soul to hell, but never a soul to heaven. Charles Spurgeon
We believe, that the work of regeneration, conversion, sanctification and faith, is not an act of mans free will and power, but of the mighty, efficacious and irresistible grace of God. Charles Spurgeon
Free will I have often heard of, but I have never seen it. I have always met with will, and plenty of it, but it has either been led captive by sin or held in the blessed bonds of grace. Charles Spurgeon
Free will I have often heard of, but I have never seen it. I have met with will, and plenty of it, but it has either been led captive by sin or held in blessed bonds of grace. Charles Spurgeon
Let all the free-will in the world do all it can with all its strength it will never give rise to a single instance of ability to avoid being hardened if God does not give the Spirit, or of meriting mercy if it is left to its own strength. Martin Luther
How Much Does The Bible Talk About Money
The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, and more than 2,000 verses on money. In fact, 15 percent of everything Jesus ever taught was on the topic of money and possessions-more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined. Ok, so the Bible is full of verses about money.
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Why Did God Give Us A Free Will
God gave people a free will, so that we could make our own choices.
When God created mankind, He gave him something very unique. Man received a free will, so that he could make his own choices according to his own free will.
The Fall occurred because man used his free will to listen to Satan. Nevertheless, the way of salvation was made by Jesus Christ with that same free will.
What Does The Bible Say About Financial Breakthrough
Luke 16:11 says, And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? Money must always be put to good use, before breakthrough happens. Being a good steward makes you see the fruits of your faithfulness and not only benefit from it now but for all time.
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What Does The Bible Say About Making Choices
What Does the Bible Say About Making Choices? Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
God Preached Free Will In The Old Testament
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
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To Believe We Must See Beauty
This is the basic reason that the natural person cannot believe in Christ. Believing is not just affirming the truth of Jesus, but is also seeing the beauty and worth of Jesus, in such a way that we receive him as our supreme treasure. The way Jesus expressed this was to say, Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me . There is no saving relationship with Jesus where faith does not consist in treasuring Jesus above your dearest earthly treasures.
Where this wakening to the supreme glory and value of Jesus has not happened, the fallen human heart cannot believe in Jesus. Thats why Jesus said to those who opposed him, How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? . In other words, you cannot believe in Jesus while you treasure human glory over his. For believing is just the opposite. Believing in Jesus means receiving him as supremely glorious and valuable .
This is why the natural person cannot please God. For he cannot believe God in this way. He cannot receive him and his Son as supremely valuable. But the Bible says, Without faith it is impossible to please him . Or, as Paul says, even more dramatically, in Romans 14:23, Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Objections To The Biblical View Of Hell
A loving God would not send people to a horrible hell.
Response: God is just .
- God has provided the way of salvation to all .
- Even those who havent heard of Christ are accountable for Gods revelation in nature . God will seek those who seek Him .
- Therefore God doesnt send people to hell, they choose it .
Hell is too severe a punishment for mans sin.
Response: God is holy-perfect .
- Sin is willful opposition to God our creator .
- Our sin does merit hell .
- What is unfair and amazing is that Christ died for our sin and freely offers salvation to all .
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Jesus Christ Summarized The Free Will Teaching In The Old Testament
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do. Which of the prophets didnt your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers. You received the law as it was ordained by angels, and didnt keep it!
Is Father A Prayer
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Hail Mary, full of grace.
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The Great Renovation Through Christ
The stark reality, therefore, is that human beings, as we are born with an ordinary, fallen human nature are not able not to sin. We are, as Paul and Jesus both affirm, slaves of sin . The remedy for this condition is the free and sovereign grace of God bringing about a root change in our fallen nature.
This miraculous, blood-bought, Spirit-wrought change in what we perceive and prefer is described in several ways in the New Testament. For example:
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Gods creation of light in our hearts: God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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Gods causing us to be born again: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
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Gods raising us from the dead: God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.
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Gods gift of repentance: God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
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Gods gift of faith: It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.
The Gift Of Freewill And Judgement
I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between Gods blessing and Gods curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life.
God created and gave to mankind the gift of free will the gift of choice. He could easily have made us like robots programed to do His every bidding, but he didnt, because He made us for the purpose of relationship and Love, both of which are only possible in world where we have to power to choose. From the very beginning, he gave us a unique gift and he does not intend to usurp or change that.
However, it doesnt give us a free path to abuse. God created man for relationship and fellowship. It doesnt matter which part of the world you are from, what culture you were born into, what religion you practice, what job or profession you do, what class you belong to, every single person on this earth has a duty and obligation to God. But he doesnt force it down our throats, instead he allows us to make a choice. You can choose to love and worship God during the course of your lifetime or you can choose not to love and worship him, But you should know that physical death is not the end.
JUDGEMENT:
For all of us must appear before Christ, to be judged by him. We will each receive what we deserve. According to everything we have done, good or bad, in our bodily life.
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Mans Nature And Free Will
1) Pre-Fall: Man was able to sin and able not to sin
2) Post-Fall: Man is not able not to sin
3) Regenerated: Man is able not to sin
4) Glorified: Man will be unable to sin
The Bible is clear that man, in his natural state, is utterly and completely depraved. At the Fall of Man, mans nature became fully and totally corrupt. Man is completely depraved. There is no good in him whatsoever. So, by his nature, man can not choose to do anything completely good. A depraved man can do something nice like walk an elderly lady across the street. But he does it for selfish reasons. It makes him feel good about himself. It makes her think well of him. He doesnt do it for the only truly GOOD reason, which is to bring Glory to Christ.
The Bible also makes it clear that Man, in his Post-Fall state is not free. He is a slave to sin. Mans will in and of itself can not be free. This unregenerate mans will be longs to his master, Satan. And when a Man has been Regenerated, he belongs to Christ. He is under a new owner. So even now, mans will is not entirely free in the same regard as the secular humanists use the term.
8. John 3:19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
9. Corinthians 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
The Definition Of Lust And Greed
- God declares that we should never covet or be greedy. Lust and greed are sins . The word covetousness is hardly used anymore nowadays, let us try to define it: extreme or immoderate desire to have something, greed Strong desire for possession, greed . Regarding greed: immoderate desire for money and wealth Excessive desire for gain, for money .
- It is written: Do not indulge in the love of money be content with what you have for God himself has said, I will not forsake you, neither will I forsake you . And again: He who is addicted to dishonest gain disturbs his house, but he who hates gifts will live .
Give up the idea that by playing you can improve your situation and that of your family. These passages show that this is a lie. If this is what we think we are deluding ourselves.
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What Is The Best Prayer For Money
Heavenly Father, I Come before you today to ask for a financial blessing to improve my life. My faith keeps me strong, and I know you will provide for me and the people I love. I do not seek a large sum of money. I do not trouble you for unneeded comforts or luxury.
What Does The Bible Say About Free Will
What does the Bible say about mans free will? What does it mean to be free to make choices? How can we make our own choices and God still be sovereign and all knowing? How free are we in light of Gods will? Can man do everything he chooses? These are questions that have sparked debate for decades.
Understanding the relationship between mans will and Gods will is extremely important. Martin Luther explained that misunderstanding this is to misunderstand the Sola Gratia doctrine of the Reformation. He said, If anyone ascribes salvation to the will, even in the least, he knows nothing of grace and has not understood Jesus aright.
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