Prisons are regrettable though restraint is sometimes necessary, but that is a secular matter. Private for-profit prisons are an abomination.
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We did without prisons for some time in America. Punishment was swift and public. Stocks, caning, reparations, public service, up to banishment or death.
Whatâs free will? Does God have it? Eventually? When? How long for?
Neither. Itâs best to obtain full social justice, to remove the causes of criminality. Meanwhile tagging and community service for the non-violent. And even then.
Free will is free will. You have it. God gave it to you. Time is up when God says âThatâs enoughâ. That could be in five seconds or ten years.
So I donât get surprised here, what is âfull social justiceâ and who decides the criminal laws? Does removing the causes of criminality mean taking laws like robbery, murder and rape off the books?
So what is? Free will? That God gave me? So after Iâm dead Iâve got between five seconds or ten years to make up my mind?
Sorry, I donât see how addressing inequality of outcome stops robbery, murder and rape being robbery, murder and rape; like your free will is free will. Whatever that is. If God gives it, does He have it?
What amusing thread.
Scripture makes it clear that no one is perfect, snd that everyone but one falls short of the glory. No adult has ever lived their whole life perfectly.
The Bible talks about a there being a constant battle of flesh and spirit and talks about fruit of the flesh and fruit of the spirit. We can see Gods processes throughout the Torah.
He killed off quite a bit of his people throughout the Old Testament , directly and indirectly by withdrawing favor and ect⌠from them and allowing them to fall into the hands of their enemies and so on. While doing this he also preserved them, and used everything to work towards Christ.
God days that we canât judge a persons salvation, only their works. So if someone just killed someone, we canât say with any certainty that they will be resurrected to face judgement and destruction by God. We also canât say that the people who seem to live wonderful lives are truly saved. Salvation occurs at the judgement of all people, wicked and righteous.
But scripture teaches us that we can recognize a tree by its fruits. Thatâs a no brainer. Humanity as a whole, atheists to Hindus , that you understand someone by their actions, not their words.
So scripture seems to be clear that even though there is not some fine line, there is a line.
Take the KKK. Many of them go to church, sweat up and down they love God, and some even believe that colored people can still be saved, but they also believe this weird understanding of a ban against interracial marriages. They still believe these delusional hate filled concepts of race. They think white people are superior. They also may pull over on the side of the road to help a old white last who broke down, and they may load some money to a white guy they know who lost their job. Like the saying goes , â even hitler probably loved someoneâ.
But when compare their paradigm of humanity, their lives , we donât see it as a sweet fruited spiritual tree. It seems more like a tree with rotten bitter fruit because at its core is evil. Even if some of those fruits taste sweet.!
We donât see their hearts, as exposed by their deeds, lining up with what God wants and teaches.
We also should clarify what is the law. When we see the law in scripture, itâs almost always a reserve to previous covenants with God.
So we know that God gives grace and mercy. We know that it says he chooses who he gives it to, and that part of that decision is based on what he finds when he seeks out a persons heart.
Sorry I missed these earlier. Few saved from seven billion people currently alive is still a lot.
Willful sin is never ok. The idea is that as you are convicted of each sin, you work to turn away and stop from committing that sin. As there are many sins of omission and commission, it may take a while. Itâs actually easier to concentrate on what he wants us to do than what he tells us not to do. If you spend your time learning and practicing his commands, you have much less time and inclination to sin.
There is no line drawn in the sand. The idea is to get away from sin, not see how much you can get away with.
There once was a rich lord, who was in need of a carriage driver. He interviewed several potential drivers asking them all the same question, âThe road which leads to my castle has many dangerous areas. On one stretch of that road there is a steep mountain on one side and a sharp drop-off into a canyon on the other side. If you were to be selected to drive my carriage, just how close to that cliff do you think you could get the carriage without going over the edge?â
The first man said timidly, âWell, I am a good driver! I suppose could get your carriage to within 6 feet from the edge!â
The second man said more confidently, âI am an excellent driver! I could get your carriage at least 3 feet from the edge!â
The third man said boldly, âNone surpass me in excellence! I am sure I could get the carriage right up to the edge of the road without going over!â
But for all their professed skill, it was the fourth man who was hired
The fourth man had said, âSir, if you would give me the honor and privilege of driving your carriage, I would stay as far away from the edge of the cliff as possible.â
First, can people change? and second, can God change people? If I sincerely want to change my life God respects that desire and gives me the power to do so.
When a person rejects a life of sin and turns to God, God accepts the brokenness of his/her life and begins to give her/him a new spirit. Selfishness is no joke as current events have revealed.
Salvation is there orientation of our lives. It is a profound change, which is not completed over night, but if it is real it is from God.
Depends how much you love God. All believers sin.
God loves even those who hate him, but unfortunately there is no place in Heaven for the haters. .
Salvation belongs to those who love God, so even pagans can be saved.
How do you know if you are âreally savedâ? Do you claim ro know your eternal fate before you are judged by Christ on the Last Day?
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A relative âfewâ perhaps. According to Revelation 7:9, those who are saved form âa great multitude that no one could numberâ.
We will be judge according the criteria described in Rev 2 and 3 - good works and bad works. But the most important saving factor by far is love of God.
âŚor maybeâŚfortunately? I think weâre all in for a significant spiritual bath before we could be fit for such fellowship.
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So you choose to die rather than pay homage to Thor or Zeus?
I donât think justice is served if people who happen to honestly believe in the wrong god are destroyed for that belief.
So God destroys people even though he prevented them from believing. How is that justice?
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Romans 9
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy , and whom he will he hardeneth.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it , Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
How does that answer my question?
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God cannot be unjust or unrighteous no matter what it looks like to us. We arenât in any position to accuse him of such because we are not God.
âI was just following ordersâ is an abdication of morality, not an objective morality.
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Great. So letâs open Luke 14:33 and now that you know about this sin, let me know how you plan to turn away from it.
Why not? How is it different from humans who love others but then either shun or worse those who donât reciprocate?
Per 1 Cor 13, love keeps no record of wrongs and forgives all things. If thatâs not an accurate portrayal of Gods love, what is?
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