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God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Free Will

Sovereignty, properly understood, creates no conflict between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will.

To be sovereign is to possess absolute authority. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5^th Edition, a sovereign is:

“One that exercises supreme, permanent authority, especially in a nation or other governmental unit …”

Under the adjectival form are included:

Self-governing, independent; having supreme rank or power; paramount; supreme…

From the Century Dictionary is cited:

“Supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; not subject to any other…. one to whom allegiance is due…”

And from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English, we see:

“Independent of, and unlimited by...

3    (AV)       All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

3    (YLT)     all things through him did happen, and without him happened not even one thing that hath happened.

3    (IGNT)    παντα δι αυτου εγενετο και χωρις αυτου εγενετο ουδε εν ο γεγονεν

     All through Him came to be (became; egeneto) and apart from him (autou) became (came to be) not yet (even) one which has come to be.

Every thing came to be through Him. Apart from Him, no thing would exist, had He not brought it into being.

Anything that came to be, did not exist prior to being brought into being...

1    (AV)       In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

1    (YLT)     In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;

1    (IGNT)    εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος

In beginning was the Word and the Word was unto/to/with/for/among (pros) the God and God was The Word.

“The Word” existed in the beginning. If The Word existed in the beginning, it had to pre-exist the beginning, or it would have had to come into being “in the beginning”. Rather, it “was” in the beginning.

“The Word” existed unto God. In the beginning. The Word did not begin to be with God, but was unto God “in the beginning”...

Mark 12:1-12

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

The paraplegic could not walk; he could use neither his arms nor his legs. He had never run and played with the other children, nor climbed a hill. He could not dress or feed himself. Others must toilet and clean him, cut his nails and beard, and brush his hair. He was wholly dependent upon the charitable efforts of others, their availability and willingness to help him, for even the most basic and personal of tasks.

Those four friends worked hard to get their friend to Jesus to be healed. The house was so full that no room remained by the door; there was no way for them to bring him in to see Jesus. No regular way.

Mark says that they “… uncovered the roof where He was, and when they had broken up, they let down the bed in which the paraplegic lay...

Did Jesus Say Harsh-Sounding Things During His Ministry?

Jesus spent approximately three and a half years travelling about Judea and Galilee, calling men to God, teaching them the truth about God, and demonstrating His jurisdiction through miracles and knowledge that He could not have apart from God:

John 10:37-38  If I do not the works of my Father, believe Me not. But if I do, though you believe not Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.’”

John 14:11  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.’”

He gave them no room to repudiate His ministry or His message, by performing the works that no one else could do.[1] As with God’s interaction with Israel – and the pagan na...

2     (AV)   …with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

2     (YLT) …with whom the kings of the earth did commit whoredom; and made drunk from the wine of her whoredom were those inhabiting the earth’;

2     (IGNT) μεθ ης επορνευσαν οι βασιλεις της γης και εμεθυσθησαν εκ του οινου της πορνειας αυτης οι κατοικουντες την γην

2       …with whom the kings of the earth prostituted themselves and those living on the earth are made drunk out of the wine of the her prostitution. (fornication)

Fornication is translated from eporneusan, which means to prostitute oneself...

1          (AV) And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

1      (YLT) And there came one of the seven messengers, who were having the seven vials, and he spake with me, saying to me, ‘Come, I will shew to thee the judgment of the great whore, who is sitting upon the many waters,

1          (IGNT) και ηλθεν εις εκ των επτα αγγελων των εχοντων τας επτα φιαλας και ελαλησεν μετ εμου λεγων μοι δευρο δειξω σοι το κριμα της πορνης της μεγαλης της καθημενης επι των υδατων των πολλων...

What is Jesus’ Message in the New Testament

Jesus’ first words recorded after His baptism, recognized as the “official” beginning of His ministry as the Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world, and His retreat into the desert where Satan tempted Him with fame and power, were, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt :17; Mk 1:15) μετανοέω metanoeo, translated as “repent”, means a change of mind, or of perception, opinion, ideas. Jesus’ first call to the people was “change”; they were to change the way they thought. His reason: the kingdom of God was at hand. Mark added that He had told the people to “believe the gospel”, which means “good news”. What was that good news? That the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of heaven” was “at hand”; it was upon them...

Why Is Death the Appropriate and Necessary Consequence to Sin?

The English word “sin” is translated from the Hebrew word חַטָּאָה‎ chatta’ah (khat-taw-aw’), and the Greek word ἁμαρτία hamartia (ham-ar-tee’-ah), both of which have the sense of having missed a mark, goal, or path, of falling short; to err or be mistaken, wandered away from what is right or good. The missing necessitates a discernible target to miss. Paul’s letter to the Romans makes a critical point:

Romans 4:15   “for the Law works indignation; for where no Law is, neither is transgression.”

Romans 5:13   “For until law, sin was in the world, but not imputed there being no law.”

Paying attention to what Paul wrote, not once but twice, we learn that “sin”, which is ‘transgression”, ...

He who argues against a good and loving almighty God because He has not destroyed the wicked, does not understand Who God is or what he has demanded of Him.

God exercised perfect judgement before the foundation of the world, condemning all unbelief and disobedience as sin, and sentencing all sin with death. All men from the beginning of time until its end are judged by His judgement, and by His judgement all are found guilty and under sentence of death. Were God to execute His justice upon men right away, all men would perish.

Rather, God’s executed judgment resides upon His Son and man’s sentencing is delayed.

God has appointed a Day of Judgement, on which all men shall be subject to judgement and sentencing...