P
Pax
Guest
I suppose my statements may have caused a bit of confusion. The points about primary and secondary causes are not meant to suggest that there is a loss of free will. God makes our crooked lines straight and can make good come out of evil. How this occurs can certainly be a bit mysterious.
Pharaoh acted according to his free will. This is clear by the evidence of his incredible resistance to the signs sent by God through Moses and Aaron. Grace enables us to do God’s will, but it does not force us. We always have a choice. We make choices whether God gives us grace or not. Scripture tells us that God desires that all men be saved and that Jesus died for the sins of the entire world. Yet we know that not everyone believes in God or accepts His supernatural gifts of faith, hope, and charity. While salvation is there for everyone, not everyone is saved. We can even, as pointed out in in Acts 7:5, resist the Holy Spirit. And so it was with Pharaoh. He made his choices in spite of the many signs worked through the power of God.
Our discussion is starting to get into the nature of grace which an important topic. If you want to discuss this a bit, I’ll be happy to follow up along those lines. I would suggest a great book written by Frank Sheed called Theology and Sanity. It gives exceptional insights into the fallen nature of man, grace, free will, and God’s plan of salvation.
Pharaoh acted according to his free will. This is clear by the evidence of his incredible resistance to the signs sent by God through Moses and Aaron. Grace enables us to do God’s will, but it does not force us. We always have a choice. We make choices whether God gives us grace or not. Scripture tells us that God desires that all men be saved and that Jesus died for the sins of the entire world. Yet we know that not everyone believes in God or accepts His supernatural gifts of faith, hope, and charity. While salvation is there for everyone, not everyone is saved. We can even, as pointed out in in Acts 7:5, resist the Holy Spirit. And so it was with Pharaoh. He made his choices in spite of the many signs worked through the power of God.
Our discussion is starting to get into the nature of grace which an important topic. If you want to discuss this a bit, I’ll be happy to follow up along those lines. I would suggest a great book written by Frank Sheed called Theology and Sanity. It gives exceptional insights into the fallen nature of man, grace, free will, and God’s plan of salvation.