Why did you accept Christ?

Others did not because they did not feel they needed Christ, they did not feel anything towards God. Actually they did not like being told that something was bad for them they wanted to decide for themselves what was good for them spiritually.

 

I did not want my newborn son to grow up as confused as I had been and I felt desperate to know the truth. It had nothing to do with goodness (quite the reverse, in fact!) or intelligence (it hadn't helped me at all). It had to do with an inner hunger and longing for the truth of things and a desire to change or be changed, which was beyond my ability to do.

 

whetstone,

To be honest, I don't know what others did or did not do. I don't know other people's hearts.

 

Helen sounds like God was changing your heart and giving you a desire for Him.

 

Why?
Because I became aware of my great sinfulness and that I was lost without Christ! By His grace He showed this to me!

 

Whetstone,

I do respect what you want to accomplish with your question, but even after sleeping on it, I can't answer it with the kind of answer I think you are hoping for.

My relationship with Christ is exactly that, a relationship. It is based on love. I cannot explain to you why I love my children or anyone else in my life. Nor can I explain to you why I love Christ.

I can tell you that as a child, the words that made me first reach out to Christ were words that said Christ not only loved us, but loved us so much that He took the punishment we deserved, and loved us so much that He forgives the hurt we cause to him and others if we ask, and loves us so much that He will never be too busy to listen, too caught up in His own issues to care about ours, in too much of a hurry to be there for us, never so angry with us that He forgets that He loves us.

So I guess the short answer is "love".

 

Ok. So it wasn't goodness or intelligence (I agree- it wasn't those things for me either). 'It had a to do with a hunger and longing for the truth.' Now- do all people have this hunger for the truth? If they don't- why did you have it? If they do- why did you accept Christ when you had the same hunger and longing that they did?

God bless.

Dan </font>[/QUOTE]ALL people have spiritual thirst. It is up to them what they do with the truth that they are shown at various times in their lives. Very often ego gets in the way and the truth is suppressed. Often a man must 'reach the end of his rope' before he is willing to admit he can do nothing for himself and 'please, Jesus, if you are real, save me' kicks in.

An excellent book, and a short one, has an interesting thing to say about this thirst. It is "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23" by Keller. In it he discusses "he leads me beside the still water". Sheep will not drink from running water. They will only drink from still. When they are thirsty, they would rather drink from urine-contaminated roadside pools than from a running stream. So the shepherd will cut out pools where the water is still for them.

People are like that. They all thirst, but some prefer the poisonous waters. That is what seems familiar and nearby.

What I think Calvinists miss is that ALL people thirst. THAT is why "Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."
Rev. 22:17

whoever wishes. whoever thirsts.

It is our job to take the living water to these thirsty people. They are ALL thirsty.

 

I am not in the business of judging hearts, Dan. I know we all thirst. I know God does not want one to perish, but because many do, that means He is allowing other wills to work, even though He certainly doesn't have to!

What makes a man turn this way or that? If he could not choose his own direction, then a good part of what the Bible presents and says is a lie. I know that. Man can choose.

Why he makes the choices he does is something only He and God are aware of in each individual life.

You want to call it predestination because you cannot fathom God to be big enough for this, I think. But the Bible says 'choose this day' and 'do not harden your hearts' and 'seek God'.

When you then take a second look at the favorite predestination verses, you will find that it is not the person who is predestined to become a believer, but the believer who is predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. It is not the person who is predestined to become a believer, but the method of salvation has been predestined for the person who chooses to become a believer.

 

Why do some people choose to live in Chicago and others in Mesa?

Why do two people who are in the same situation, whatever that situation is, make different decisions?

Why do some turn left and others right?

Why when my wife and I are cleaning the house does she do it one way and I another?

Certainly, God is at work calling men to Himself. He is touching men's hearts. Men respond to the call God, some in belief and some in rejection-----Why?

Only God knows.

Bro Tony

 

whetstone,

Lets get something straight; when you say "accept Christ", you mean "being born again". First, you assume that I believe the same as you on what "being born again" is. Don't be so certain about that. I'm sure we're not on the same page about it. Second, you assume individuals can tell whether other individuals are going Hell or not. The fact is, we cannot. You and I cannot see or prove the condition of someone else's heart. Now to get to your question.

Why did I accept Christ? I've already answered that. Why do others reject Christ? Simply put, because they choose to. Now you may like to carry this to the next step and talk about "desire", "want", and so forth, but I already know where you're going with this. Bottom line, I don't believe I was elected to the new birth. The new birth has nothing to do with election anyway.