6 THE NEXT STRAW MAN CHOOSING TO DO THE WILL OF GOD

6 THE NEXT STRAW MAN CHOOSING TO DO THE WILL OF GOD 47 neither are all homosexuals thieves or robbers. Nevertheless like us all they need to be saved and have their sins forgiven them in order to follow Christ. Coming to Christ is salvation and salvation is from all forms of immorality, including lying, fornication, thieving, adultery, homosexuality , etc. and the gospel of Christ teaches us true morality, and true moral values. A really good book on this subject is C.S... Lewis’s book Mere Christianity.

6 THE NEXT STRAW MAN CHOOSING TO DO THE WILL OF GOD

Isaac Citation From Lamentation Proof Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? Why should the living complain when punished for their sins?

Lamentations 3:37-39 NIV

My answer Good and Bad Ordered For Good Ends My immediate answer is the correct quotation of Lamentations 3:37 is who is he that sayeth it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth it not. They are rhetorical questions that needs no answer as they are self evident. There is no mention of the decree.

See the treatment by Dr John Gill. In A Body of Doctrinal Divinity, Book II, of the Acts and Works of God, and the Internal and imminent Acts of God and His decrees in General.

A Body Of Divinity Book II,II and IV

Dr. John Gill’s Works CLICK TO VIEW This is a clear scripture that teaches that the Lord commands and it comes to pass according to his will both the good and evil they are ordered by God. In the one decree (made before the world) it was determined to reward the good and condemn the evil. There is but one decree in predestination and the Lord is not continually making new decrees.

48 6 THE NEXT STRAW MAN CHOOSING TO DO THE WILL OF GOD Isaac Responds This scripture is referencing the following... The Lord spoke.....

Deuteronomy 28

However, if you do not obey(A) the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today,(B) all these curses will come on you and overtake you:(C)

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

This is not a reference to God speaking and all things happening or being predestined.

He is referring to the curse spoken by God in Deuteronomy.

My Answer God Give Commands and Warnings Of course God is giving the His people instructions and directing them to keep the Law all of which they were bound to according to its terms. “And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us’’. Deuteronomy 6:25. If they keep the Law then sickness would not come upon them God would be their keeper and would abound with natural blessings of health, security and safety from their enemies. And according to the terms of the Law and first covenant God would afflict Israel’s enemies with the terrible diseases that they had seen come upon the Egyptians. God would be their deliverer and saviour. If they kept not the Law they would be afflicted according to the blessings and curses uttered under the law. Out side that covenant relationship all men were subject to the terrible diseases that the Egyptian were afflicted with. Nothing has change, God hasn’t changed. If you are under the Law then that was the state of things then. Moses called heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Deuteronomy 30:19. None of this shows the natural man has free will but rather they were responsible the keep the terms of the covenant. A failure to do so would result in affliction, punishment , death for murder, adultery and blasphemy. It was a do this and live situation all of which the elect , believers in Christ are saved from. And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee. Deuteronomy 7:15.

6 THE NEXT STRAW MAN CHOOSING TO DO THE WILL OF GOD 49 God being God and them being in a covenant relationship to Him, Blessings and curses were set before them. They were responsible to keep the commands of God but history shows they were incapable of doing so. Under that covenant a new covenant was foretold whereby righteousness would be imputed and imparted, a new heart would be given the people to freely live to God and righteousness given them so that the would not have to earn the blessing of Justification and a new heart capable of freely doing the will of God. Only a regenerate man is free to follow , Christ set them free.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. Ezekiel 36:26-27

There is only one covenant today among men whereby man have peace with God and that is in Christ. Not all men are in Christ and all are subjected to life’s hardships, the curses of diseases, natural disasters. Etc.. According to the new covenant all the spiritual blessings of eternal life and freedom from death are based upon the doings of Jesus Christ and freely given to all who believe not what they freely chose to do, Jeremiah 31:31-34; Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 54:10; Jeremiah 32:40. The New Covent teaches us why and how we come to be able to do the will of God and please him and love our neighbour all ourselves. We are given a new heart a new ability freedom to choose to obey the Lord Jesus out of love to him based upon our love to him. To act by faith being so justified by faith we have peace with God. The natural man out of Christ is not free in this way. It is by the grace of God working in used both to will and to do His good pleasure. All freely out of love to the Lord and each other. Only in heaven will we be free for the sinful nature that hinders our walk with the Lord whist we are in this body of sin and death. That is why a certain man Augustine prayed which sparked of the Pelagian controversy. “Grant what thou commandest and then command what thou will.” See the sermon in Part 6 of this book entitled All Christian Believe in Predestination. All of which Lance ridicules. And I add this new covenant was ordered in all things sure 2 Samuel 23:5, and was with the three persons father Son and Holy Ghost and that before the word was and predestination is non other than the execution of the one