geisler book

Norman Geilser tries to unite Calvinism and Armenians in his book Chosen but Free. I know that Armenians and Calvinists have been debating and arguing about predestination and free will for years but Geisler tries to be more moderate in his book but I feel that is leaning more towards Arminianism than Calvinism as the book goes on. I feel that he takes the good things about Calvinism and tries to mix them with better Armenian ideas.

I agree with Geisler when he States that Calvin himself, was not an extreme Calvinist. Geisler states that Calvin believed that Christ died for the whole entire human race not just a select few. Calvin even wrote this “This is our liberty, this is our glorying against death, and that our sins are not imputed to us.” Clearly John Calvin was not an extreme Calvinist at all. I do think it is silly that Christians argue about this so much. I think the most important thing is that we are saved and on our way to heaven. So to actually debate whether God choose some or not is a waste of time, when there are greater things we can do with our time like evangelize and spread the good news.

I am a firm believer in free will, many verses in the bible state that God gave us the will to follow him, and that we are not predestine4d or that he chose some and not others. Geilser makes that clear in his book and I whole heartily agree with him. 1 peter 3:18 says For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit”. In Titus 2:11 it says “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men”. Lastly, in 2 Corinthians 5:15 it states “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf”. All these verses have the word ALL in them so I don’t really know how people can argue that God died for only the chosen when the verses say otherwise.

It is very clear that Geisler is an Armenian, although he tries to come across as more moderate. I also agree with Geisler when he talks about free will before the fall. Adam and Eve had the free will to sin or not before they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. They were told by God not eat from the tree of Good and Evil and decided to instead, indicating that they had a choice. As Geisler stated “Free will menas free choice” meaning we are very free to do what we please when we want.  On earth there is evil but one day when we die and go to heaven we will be free from evil.

worship

I think worship before the message and after the message is very important in the church. I know I always feel closer to the Lord after I praise him. Some people like a lot of instruments when praising him, but if you’re like my mom she only likes singing hymns in church. She feels that that if there is any type of beat we become more warped up in ourselves than God.  I do not believe that, I think that praising God can come in many different forms and Christians have different ways of worship. Just because someone sings hymns, in one church, or a have a full band in another doesn’t make any particular style of worship better than the other. The church I come form has a strong dislike for contemporary Christian music. They believe that it should praise God , not man. They cite these verses The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my SONG will I PRAISE him. Psalm 28:7,and Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we SING and PRAISE thy power. Psalm 21:13. They believe just because Michael W. Smith adds some instruments to his music and doesn’t say Jesus name in every line, or just because people like it that it is wrong. I strongly disagree because I believe that you and reach people through music and that if you go to a high school and bring a Christian rapper or a Christian rock band that may reach souls for Christ. Music is one of the most influential things in our world today. It affects our thoughts, the way we talk, our lifestyle, everything. So if people have different style of worship, what matt4ers is that we are all Christians and will one day b3e in h4eacen together, and all the little stuff will no longer matter.

my testimony

At the age of eleven my mom sister and I began attending a church in Howell NJ. I always thought of God as a superior being, but I never thought about him much. I was much more interested in what my friends and peers thought than going to church. The church offered a teen retreat In Pennsylvania and after much persuasion I reluctantly went along. I began to realize that most of the other kids on the retreat seemed a lot happier than me and a lot more content with life, I also couldn’t understand why they were being so nice to me. I soon realized that they had something that I didn’t-Jesus. I realized that If I were to die tomorrow I would not go to heaven because I didn’t have a personal relationship with God. After realizing this, I became a Christian on the last day of the retreat. Since then there has been a huge change in my life because, my life is centered on not what others think of me but what God thinks. I also try to put others before myself because that is exactly what Christ did when he died on the cross to save the world from sin.