Calvinism, Arminianism, Election & Predestination: Romans 8:29-30, 33

I think I will never really take a permanent stance on this issues. Some days I lean more toward some mysterious free will that we have to be saved some days I lean more toward Calvinist but the bottom line it doesn’t matter to me because your stance on this doesn’t save you. I know that I and no one else deserves to be saved from eternal condemnation. I’m just grateful that Jesus had mercy on me and that he died on the cross for me and that is the ultimate act of love. He is good and i trust Him. I trust I will never fully understand Him as long as I’m in this part of the world. If anyone is grappling with these issues i pray for you to come to terms that you will never ever fully understand the mind of God and that you be at peace with that.

I love it when we can simply admit we don't understand everything.

"I think it gives God glory to just let the text teach what the Scripture teaches." Thank you!

I know I can't be saved unless I'm chosen and called and I know I can't be saved unless I'm willing to repent and believe. It is all of God so that He gets all of the glory.

This makes so much sense! I thought I was saved and a Christian most of my life, first as a Jehovah's Witness and later as a New Thought adherent, and I had visited Christian churches and said the sinner's prayer, and even cried one time at a church service, vocally accepting Him. Nothing. Then one day, while at a new age music conference, after I had lost my voice for six days, in my desperation I truly called out in my thoughts (for I had no voice!) to Jesus, and vowed that if He brought my voice back, I would sing His praises every day. I forgave everyone who had wronged me. I asked sincerely for Him to forgive my sins and I gave my life to Him. BOOM. It happened. I was born again. I felt my sins, for the first time literally lift off my body. I felt cleansed of all my iniquity. Then over the next few weeks, He opened my eyes to sin as the scales fell off. I was in utter shock! It was both beautiful and terrible at the same time. But of course, it's the best thing that ever happened to me! I had been adopted as a child of God into His Kingdom! Praise God!

@44:25 .. "These are NOT dividing issues..." The best 5 words in the whole of the video... God bless you Ptr Mike!! ❤🙂

I'm so happy the YouTube algorithm planted this as a recommendation. Praise Jesus ✝

2:06, 2:24, 2:36, 2:41 - difference between election and predestination 5:01 - Ephesians 1:4 5:25 - Matthew 22:14 5:54, 6:19, 6:46, 7:08 - Acts 13:48 6:18, 6:37 - corporate election 7:45 - 8:34 - Israel and choices 9:00, 9:35, 10:20, 11:20, 15:15 - Unconditional election 11:50, 19:11 - middle ground 11:56 - Arminian view 12:27 - 1 Peter 1:2 14:25 - Romans 8:29 14:58 15:40 16:16, 16:45 - Ephesians 2:8 feminine and neuter 18:12 - predestination 18:42, 19:13 - Acts 4 20:13, 20:36 - Ephesians 1:5 and Ephesians 1:11 26:02, 26:44 - Limited atonement and 2 Peter 2:1 27:50 - Revelation 5:9 29:12 - 1 John 2:2 34:23 - Winger’s take on the five points 37:00 - sovereignty and free will 37:39 - do we need to reconcile the two? 38:49 - who chooses? 40:34 42:39 - predestination, sovereignty, and free will

Thank you Pastor Mike for this very clear presentation of what I believe. I once attended a church where the Pastor was a hard core extreme Calvanist. That would have been ok except that he kept hammering, hammering, hammering most every week,, anyone who dared to believe differently. He also misrepresented what I believe like saying that people who think they had a choice in their salvation, just want to receive some credit for their salvation. As you pointed out, this is totally not true. Jesus did all the work and deserves all the credit. The Calvanist's say their view should give Christians peace. It did just the opposite to me. At that time, I was convinced that I was one of the "chosen" to be forever lost. The final straw was when i was waiting in line to talk with the pastor one week. I heard him "quote" 2 Peter 3:9 to the woman in front of me. He said, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any," and then he inserted the following 3 words; "of his people " then; "should perish but that all should come to repentance." Does he feel the Bible needs him to add words to make the meaning clear? It was at this point that I decided it was time for me to move on to another church.

Such a good video! So grateful to learn from fellow Christian YouTubers who are so much more knowledgeable than I am. Free Will, sovereignty, election, and predestination all existing side by side - refreshing to see!

Right in the middle between Calvinism and Arminianism- that's right where I find myself as well. Thank you for the good word, brother!

Here are my thoughts on how we might reconcile predestination through God's choice of an elect and our ability to make a free-will decision to accept or deny Him. We have to realize that God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent. Omnipresent has always been understood to mean not just everywhere, but also everywhen. I think we really need to break the temporal aspect of that away from the location aspect and make it its own category: Omnitemporal. We very often forget that God is not bound by time. God created time. With this in mind. God knew the choice you would make before He created you. He knew the choice you would make before He created anything. Thus, there is no need to reconcile your free-will choices with the Will of God. He is present in all times. He knows every beginning and every outcome. God knowing what you will choose, outside of the restrictions of time, does not conflict with your ability to make the choice within time. Our confusion with this perceived conflict stems from our inability to understand an existence outside of time. God has no such difficulty.

It's very good that you bring up the calvinist's interpretation and then give your response to that. It makes your arguments more dynamic.

Mike, although I disagree with some of your doctrines, I find your unifying tone refreshing! Your manner of presentation is easy for me to hear.

I believe that God has a 'permissive will" which allows our choices and a "divine will" which has His plan fulfilled whatever our choices.

This sums it up pretty well: We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. - Proverbs 16:9

I was saved by reading the Word. I just KNEW that what I was reading was true. I didn't choose, I just believed as I read and I was born again instantly! My mother, however, confessed that she'd made a mess of her life and asked the Lord to take control and guess what? She was born again! Neither of us have ever been The same from that moment on. The outcome was the same, even though the journeys getting there were different. The take away? God is SOVEREIGN.

The best video for my struggles ... man pastors I gave read over 120 books on God, doctrine and history read Scripture cover to cover 15 times different translations and HAVE to say you are the best teacher w/o a doubt thank you and God bless you.

I sat through a TULIP orientation at a church I was attending recently. Much of what the pastor said just didn't seem to make sense to me. When the time came for Q&A I pressed him about almost every point he made. I was told it was a Calvinist church but had no idea what that meant until after the TULIP presentation for newcomers. I really appreciate your work on this subject. Your presentation is straightforward and easy to follow. I've moved on to a different "non-Calvinist" church where I am completely happy.

Amen! Absolutely the greatest and most COMPLETE explanation I have ever heard in my 45 years of being a Christian. Thanks for the hard work that you put into this.