Chosen But Free

The Book “Chosen But Free” by Norman L. Geisler gives a detailed look into the two opposing views of freewill and predestination. Geisler uses many references from scripture to dissect and relate these two theological ideas as he moves through the tough questions of whether humans have free will or not.   Geisler enters the discussion of these two ideas by explaining that all ideas have varying degrees of consequences depending on how big the idea is. Since God is a big idea, God is also the cause of the biggest consequences in our lives. After the explanation that God is not only the biggest thought humans could ever have but also holds the most significance, Geisler moves onto explaining the ideas of God’s sovereignty and free will and the relation between these two ideas.

There are a few points that Geisler makes in his book that intrigued me the most about God’s sovereignty and how human free will plays a role in that. These points are mainly addressed in questions that Geisler asks so that he can better explain the two ideas. He begins by defining Gods sovereignty and what impact that has on human nature and our free will. Since God is sovereign that means that He is ultimately in control of all of our decisions. Geisler backs this statement up by using scripture that not only demonstrates God’s sovereignty over good human decisions but also over the bad decisions humans make. Through this explanation of God’s sovereignty Geisler is asking the question of how we can make evil or bad decisions if God is in control. I agree with the viewpoint that Geisler takes when trying to answer this question. He states that God cannot be the cause of any evil. God made only good creatures and ultimately it is our decision when we make evil or wrong decisions.  We make evil or wrong decisions because of our sin nature. Geisler states that both sides the freewill argument agree that “God holds free creatures morally responsible for their free choices”.

Another one of the points that Geisler makes that I agree with is his idea on the balanced approach to free will and predestination. In this approach Geisler stresses the importance of having a good balance between the sovereignty and free will ideas so that we can solve the dilemma that they produce.  I agree with Geislers statement that he makes about the basis for any analysis of free will and predestination being the study of scripture.  He goes on to give examples that affirm that God’s sovereignty and human responsibility can be related and are expressed together in many passages.

Ultimately, Geislers book is a great overview and relation of two opposing views that are normally seen to only be contradictory. He relates these views not just by his own knowledge but by pulling examples straight from the scripture itself. “Chosen But Free” is a balanced book that gives insight and explanation into the biggest idea that humans can comprehend, God.

Worship

Growing up in church has given me the opportunity to be involved in many different types of worship. It has also given me the opportunity to see the conflicts and issues that can arise from one of the most intimate and precious gifts a church body has to offer God.  I have seen people become offended by certain types of music and the different ways that people worship. I have also seen people become frustrated when the style of music that a church plays is too slow or too old. These conflicts to me are very selfish and hurtful to a church. I think the main reason that we have these conflicts is because of a heart issue. For example, if you come into church only thinking about what you are going to get out of the worship then you are obviously not there for the right reasons. I feel like a lot of the times that is how worship is treated. In reality worship is all about what you can bring to God. No matter what the music style is, if you are singing songs and lyrics that are honoring God and praising his name, then there really is no wrong style of worship. I honestly believe that people should have their own freedom to worship as they please without being judged or condemned by anyone else. No matter if people are clapping and dancing or if they are standing still and just singing along, as long as they are giving the honor and praise to God then there should be no conflict. I believe that if people took the legalism out of worship and treated it as a true offering to God than the different conflicts of worship style could be resolved. Ultimately worship is not about the different styles or songs that we like, it is about God and what glorifies Him.

My Testiomny.

God. A name that many people don't understand. For some, the name of God brings thoughts of church, rules, and even confusion. God is something much more for me though. In this entry I just want to break down and retell how I got to know who God is and why I made the choice to live for Him.

"To live for Him" this statement means that when I was a kid, I prayed. And in that prayer I promised to God that I would believe in him and follow him for the rest of my life. I believed that I wanted God to "save" me from death. The fact that God was going to “save” me was the basis for my prayer. When we die, if we believe in God and believe that Jesus Christ, who is God's son, died for us and then came back alive from death, we will be saved from death. When we die we will be "saved" which means we get to spend the rest of eternity in Heaven. This seems like a lot for just a child to grasp. But I got it. I knew what it meant and I believed everything that I knew about Jesus. I believed that He is God's son and I believed He died for me and then came back to life to show that He truly is God's son. I knew that I wanted to learn how to have a real relationship with Him. I knew that I wanted to spend eternity in heaven when I died. I still don't know exactly how I grasped all of this at such a young age but I did and it definitely worked. I still remember sitting down with my parents in my living room and them asking me a bunch of question about God and Jesus and if I really knew what I was talking about. When they knew that I was serious about wanting to know God, they prayed for me and then let me pray and ask God to save me from me from sin and death.

Ever since that day I have been learning more about God and what it means to know Him. The motivation that I have to live for Him comes from the fact that Jesus died for me. Since He died I get the chance to go to Heaven. When I think of God I don’t think of rules, or church, I think of Jesus and the fact that he loved us enough to die for us and let us spend eternity in Heaven.