Ergun Caner-Theo 202- Chosen but Free

Chosen but Free

There is a big debate about free will. Some people think that we are completely free and some people say that we are not.

Extreme Sovereignty view says that nothing we do can change His fixed plan, which He preordained from all eternity. I do agree with that. God does have a plan and a purpose for our life. I do agree that nothing that we do can change God mind. We not get there the way that is way that God wants us to get there. But one day we will get to the place that God wants us to be. It just may take longer. They also say that God knows with certainty everything that will happen in the future. If He does not know what is going to happen then that means that God is not omniscience. In order to be fully omniscience he has to know all the choices that we are going to be making. In order to be saving or to know that there is a God, someone had to work in us and stir our hearts. God accomplish that by sending his Spirit. The Spirit will help people to see that they are fallen and they need help.

Extreme Free will view says that God gave away some of his sovereignty to his creation. God personally did not give his creations any of his powers. If he did then he will not be fully God and his creations would be more powerful and will not see that following God is important. The one thing that I do agree with is that they say that fallen humans can still hear God’s voice even though they do not know him personally. I really do think that in order to come to know God, someone or something has to speak to them first. God’s voice is not just his own. People that a person comes in contact can speak words of advice or encouragement and that is all that is needed in order for someone’s heart to ache for God. There are many stories out there about a non-believer hearing a voice that they have never heard before and that is God.

Every human has free choice; it is just base on how that person uses it. The person is in control of what choices he is going to make. He can not blame it on anyone else because he was in control.  God did create us and gave us the power of free choice. He did know that there would be consequences with that decision but he did it anyway. One of the consequences is that humans is in control of their moral behavior and can choose what to believe in and what not to believe in. God loves us so much that he gives us his gift freely. Most things in our life are not free but the best gift we can receive is free. But in order to receive it we have to do something on our part. In order to receive it we have to have true saving faith. We have to believe in God and willing to follow after him.

Ergun Caner-Theo 202-Worship in the Church

Worship is important in the church. Worship allows Christians to get away from the world and turn their focus on God.  We are able to think about the week and see where we have gone wrong. I feel close to God when I am singing to him because I just feel like it is just God and me. Also, I love how the people around me are focus on the same thing and we are sacrificing something in order to be able to worship together. I feel like if there is going to be a band, it should be simple. The reason for that is because the band should be there for the Christians can follow them. Sometimes if the band goes all out they will take the focus off of God and make people follow them. A lot of worship songs say the same things over and over again. I think the reason for that is because that gives a time to reflect on the words and by repeating them we understand what the words mean. The church I go to has an hour to just singing. My pastor said that we do not get what Jesus did for us if we just sing a couple of songs. The more songs we sing the more we are tuned in to God. If we are tuned in on God then we will be able to focus our attention on the pastor and understand what he is trying to teach us. Most churches end with worship songs until the people are dismissed. I do not think that should away be the case. When we sing a closing song, I feel like sometimes we just forget what the pastor just talked about. Sometimes if we end with a closing prayer, I think we would remember what the pastor talked about and it would gear the conversations that we have. 

Ergun Caner-Theo 202-My Testimony

Both of my parents never went to church and did not have a strong family background. When they found out that they were pregnant with me, they knew they wanted a better life for me. When I was born they decided to bring up in a church and be surrounded by people who loved and care for me. My whole family went to church but we were the ones who went to church on Sunday and Wednesday but did not truely live it out in our life. I has always excited about going to church and while I grew up, it was me making sure everyone was up and ready to leave on time. I was around 10 or 11 when I started getting serious about my walk with Christ. I read my Bible and asked questions when I did not understood something. When I was 13, I sat down with my youth minister and we talked about how I can accept God and become baptized. Even though God has been working through my whole life, life has not always been easy. My parents ended up getting a divorce when I was a freshman in high school. But through that God has just showed me how powerful he is and he proved to me that he is all I need in my life. Sometimes it is hard to say but I am the only one in my family who is living the life that God called us to live.