Posts Tagged ‘foreknowledge’
If there is free will, how can God prophesy specific details?
Question: I have been reading a lot about open theism recently, and I feel like it accords more with the biblical portrait of God and free will than any of the other proposed points of view (Calvinism, Arminianism, etc.). I have read in one of your posts that you also agree that it is a…
Read MoreI’m struggling with the ideas of foreknowledge and free will
Question: Thank you for all your articles and answers. They are beneficial. I have recently been struggling very much with the idea of foreknowledge and free will. I have always believed that we have free will and that God can simply use whatever our decisions are to accomplish his will. However, there are a few…
Read MoreDo you take an open view of God?
Question: Good day, Brother Jeff, I have gotten very satisfactory answers from you since I started using your site. You answer like a real teacher. I’m just shuffling off progressivism from my life and neither do I want to be an extremist to the left or right in any matter. I just want the truth.…
Read MoreThe Fullness of Time
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TheFullnessOfTime.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text Galatians 3:26-4:7 I. For a plan to succeed there must be preparation A. The plans of the diligent succeed – Proverbs 21:5 1. In part because he isn’t lazy about accomplishing what he plans – Proverbs 13:4 2. The lesson of the ant is that they prepare in advance of their needs…
Read MoreGod Provides
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/God-Provides.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 12:22-31 I. Imagine having an illness that left you unable to move on your own A. Suffering with this disease for 38 years! – John 5:5-7 B. And then a stranger comes up and cures your disease – John 5:8-9 C. No longer weak, no longer dependent! D. The Jews accused Jesus…
Read MoreDid God know before He created the world that His Son would be sacrificed?
Question: Greetings and God bless, I just read your answer: Could you explain “foreknew” and “predestined” to me? Concluding the article, you said: “The idea of predestination in the scripture can be summarized bysaying that God predetermined (or predestined) before the beginning of the world to set up a church through his Son’s sacrifice…” My…
Read MoreDoes God’s foreknowledge only apply to groups?
Question: I just read your article on the subject of predestination and foreknowledge. I very well understood the difficulties and struggle of trying to explain subjects like these and wish to appreciate your efforts I just want you to look at Acts 13:48 and Ephesians 2:10. I will like to know how these tie into…
Read MoreDoes God Already Know Everything that Will Ever Happen?
by Ken Green A Reformed (Calvinist) scholar wrote: “The Scriptures clearly teach that long before we pray, God already knows everything and that He has already determined what He is going to do.” It’s true that God is omniscient and absolutely sovereign over all things. To think that we can give God new information or…
Read MoreAre we God’s puppets?
Question: About predestination and foreknowledge: God gave us a mind of our own, but He already knows what we will choose. Therefore, He can determine His plans without taking away our own responsibility. As a child, I learned that God predestined us to believe, so we don’t choose ourselves and that He predestined what happens…
Read MoreIf God knew we would sin, why did God create us?
Question: God bless you. My heart has been troubled lately with a question that I can’t seem to answer I’ve been praying about it but no answer yet. Why did God create us? If he knew that Satan would rebel against him and that Adam and Eve would fall into sin why did he create…
Read MoreDoes God not exactly know what we are going to do?
Question: If everything is not predetermined, does that mean that God still doesn’t know what we are exactly going to do? Answer: Not exactly. God knows us better than we know ourselves. He can and does predict what we will choose to do in most things. But some things are not predictable. Remember when God…
Read MoreIf Jesus is God, how come he doesn’t know when the world will end?
Question: If Jesus is completely God, then how come the Bible says that not the son, nor the angels in heaven, but only the Father knows of the second coming? I don’t remember the verse but you probably recognize which one I’m talking about. Answer: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not…
Read MoreDoes God already know who will be in heaven?
Question: Does God already know who will be in heaven? Based on Revelation 13:8, I think He does. Answer: There are two ways Revelation 13:8 can be translated: “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation…
Read MoreIf God is sovereign, why does He express sorrow when men are bad? If God knows of everything, why did He repent?
Question: If God is sovereign, why does He express sorrow when men are bad? If God knows of everything, why did He repent in Genesis 6:5-7 and Exodus 32:12? Answer: People have a hard time dealing with the infinite. An age-old puzzle is “If God is so powerful, can He create a rock that He…
Read MoreIf God knows someone will become evil, then why would he allow them to be born?
Question: Someone asked me, “If God knows someone will become evil, such as Hitler, then why would He allow them to be created?” I went to Abraham offering up Isaac as a sacrifice and how God said, “for now I know…” Maybe God chooses not to know if we will become evil since we are…
Read MoreCould you explain “foreknew” and “predestined” to me?
Question: I have struggled for years with the “foreknew” and “predestined” parts. I believe the Bible 100% and actually understand what is being said; however, there is something I can’t quite get. Maybe I can ask my question this way: I am blessed with two grandsons. God knew from the beginning everything about these children.…
Read MoreIf Adam and Eve did not sin, would it have been only a matter of time before someone else sinned?
Question: What would the world be like if Adam and Eve had not sinned? Would it only be a matter of time before someone else after them would have sinned? Answer: It would be impossible to speculate because we don’t have sufficient information. We know that God planned on the fact that men would sin…
Read MoreIs God bound by time?
Question: We had a small discussion in our college group last week and I wanted your thoughts. Is God bound by our time? What I mean is angels are waiting to see things unfold; I think that’s somewhere in Hebrews. And then Job, of course. God calls the angels to Him twice, so we see…
Read MoreSpirits in Prison
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton In a discussion on suffering for righteousness sake, Peter turns to Jesus as an example. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He…
Read MoreWhy was I born if God knew I would fail?
Question: In the last couple of months, a question has come up at least three times. I am guessing that many others may be asking it as well. Perhaps you can help answer it. The question is essentially this, “Why was I born, without choice in the matter, into a world where chances for spiritual…
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