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Today’s Devotional – March 9th

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Free-will? What Free-will!?

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Part 1

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“Ye have not chosen Me (Jesus), but I have chosen you,

and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit,

and that your fruit should remain:

that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name,

He may give it you…And when the Gentiles heard this,

they were glad, and glorified the Word of the Lord:

and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”

John 15:16 & Acts 13:48

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The term, “free-will” is often heard bandied-about in Christian circles.

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No, not those “free-will offerings” spoken of in the Old Testament.

Those offerings concerned the chosen people of God.

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No, but rather, the “free-will” which is so often spoken of today, concerns the human race, and their innate ability to choose Salvation, or not choose Salvation.

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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License

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WHAT FREE-WILL!?

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And so, to this currently popular doctrine comes the response, “free-will? What free-will!?”

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And today will be a quick glance into just what the Bible says about this subject.  

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But truth is not defined by human reason.

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No! Truth is defined by divine wisdom, as revealed in the Scriptures.

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Beware of dogma – Wikimedia – public-domain

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SATAN: “THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD”

John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11

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The very first place which must be examined is what happened in the Garden of Eden, when Mankind chose to rebel against God’s divine authority.

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Just what happened?

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Well, as we all know, Satan was given rule over Mankind.

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Oh yes, God was still the ultimate supreme authority.

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But Satan became known as, “the god of this world”. (2nd Corinthians 4:4).

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Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US public domain

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MANKIND SPIRITUALLY BLIND

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The second point to be made is this: as “the god of this world”, just what power does Satan have over the minds of men?

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Listen to this… “But if our gospel be hid,

it is hid to them that are lost:

In whom ‘the god of this world’ hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,

lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,

who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

2nd Corinthians 4:3, 4.

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Now this verse says that Mankind has been spiritually blinded by “the god of this world”, so that they are unable to see the light of glorious Gospel of Christ.

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Atheist sign – Wisconsin State – cropped photo – Wikipedia – share-alike license

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NOT JUST BLIND, BUT DEAF TOO!

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But that’s not the only place which speaks of Man’s inability to respond to the Gospel.

Listen to this…

“What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for;

but the election hath obtained it,

and the rest were blinded

(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber,

eyes that they should not see,

and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.”

Romans 11:7, 8.

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So, here is presented the spiritual condition of false brethren amongst God’s people: spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness.

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Therefore, they cannot respond to the Gospel, because they are blind and deaf, spiritually speaking!

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Brooklyn Museum – The Pharisees Question Jesus – James_Tissot – US public domain – Wikimedia

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DO YOU NEED MORE PROOF?

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Now does this take care of this notion that Mankind has free-will?

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Well, if it doesn’t, there is more proof!

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Okay, so let’s further explore this notion about free-will.

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Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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“FREE-WILL” NOT FOUND IN BIBLE!

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Thirdly, besides the “free-will offerings” connected with the Temple Service in the Old Testament, the term “free will” is never used in the Bible concerning lost humanity.

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“Free-will” is only used concerning Israelites in God’s Realm: God’s Elect.

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So even the very name, “free-will” is a non-biblical term, except concerning God’s Elect.

Yes, God’s Elect have free-will.

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But it never, never says the word, “free-will” concerning lost humanity.

Never is “free-will” used in connection with those who are lost in the world and those who are still lost in the Church!

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Jesus plainly told those false brethren… “Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye cannot hear My word. Ye are of your father the Devil.” John 8:43, 44

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magnifying glass – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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HUMANITY SPIRITUALLY DEAD

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Okay, so what else does God say concerning humanity?

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Listen… “And you hath He quickened,

who were dead in trespasses and sins:

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,

according to the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

Ephesians 2:1, 2.

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Not only does this passage call Mankind, “dead in trespasses and sins”, but also says concerning the lost, that they now have, “the prince of the power of the air, that spirit that now works in the children of disobedience”.

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Now the condemnation grows much worse!

Now God calls lost humanity, spiritually “dead”.

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But He also says they now have the spirit of “the prince of the power of the air” working within them! (2nd Corinthians 4:4)

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THIS WORLD: SATAN’S PRISON-HOUSE

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Now listen again to what God says here in 2nd Timothy…

“if God peradventure will give them repentance

to the acknowledging of the truth;

And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil,

who are taken captive by him at his will.”

2nd Timothy 2:24-26

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So, just at the time when we thought that humanity’s condition couldn’t be any worse, this above passage indicates that humanity has been taken captive by the Devil!

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Yes, this planet was eventually ordained by God to become a sort of “island prison”.

Kind-of like a “Devil’s Island”, in which this fallen rebel angel rules over lost mankind.

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Pilgrim’s Progress 15 p45_- There Sat A Man In An Iron Cage – Wikipedia – public domain

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MANKIND’S HOPELESS CONDITION!

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Thus, it is apparent from the above Bible passages, that Mankind is in a hopelessly lost condition. They are unable to repent.

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The only hope for Mankind is that God will open their blind eyes…

…loosen them from their prison and from their shackles…

…open their deaf ears, quicken their dead souls…

…nullify Satan’s antichrist indwelling spirit within them…

and “give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth”. 2nd Timothy 2:24

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Anti-Christian rally in Chicago – cropped photo – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

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TO READ PART 2, CLICK HERE…

FEBRUARY 8 (Free-will? What Free-will? Part 2: Little Jack Horner Christianity)“

Little Jack Horner – WW Denslow – Project Gutenberg

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Let me not be prejudiced by the prevailing theories of the day.

But let me be like those noble Bereans, who searched the Scriptures daily with an open mind…

Girl Praying – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…April 13 (Free-will? What Free-will? Part 5: “Salvation By Good Works”)…

…or you can also read this shorter article…FEBRUARY 9 (Free-will? What Free-will? Part 3: Little Jack Horner Christianity, Continued)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

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THE SWINE: “LUST OF THE FLESH”

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“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1st John 2:16

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This article will introduce this third beast-like face, inscribed in the Moon: a swine.

And the three beast-like faces represent the concept taught in the above verse concerning “the lust of the flesh…the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”.

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It has become apparent that the second face in the Moon, besides appearing as a wolf-like beast, also appears as a Swine.

So, let’s explore this concept, for a moment.

First of all, when a person sees the second face up in the sky, it’s arguable whether or not it looks like a swine.

But it must be conceded that the photos do indeed make it appear as if this character has a “sawed-off” snout like a swine.

And of course, a swine is spoken of quite frequently in Scripture.

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Moon – Public Domain – 2nd face Pharisee Scorner – by Cezar Popescu for Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain – cropped, highlighted & rotated photo

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Moon Into Blood: Addendum to 2nd Face: The Swine Eater”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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TOMORROW…

“March 10th (Pilgrim’s Progress: Vain-Confidence)”

Pilgrim’s Progress – Vain-Confidence – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 

ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth)  ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY (#68) THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

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THIS IS STUDY #68

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Harold Camping Jeremiah Series #68

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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

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