Question: How does someone who denies foreknowledge or foreordination explain the following verses?
Eph 1:4-8-
4 For he chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
Rom 8:28-30
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And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who
have been called according to his purpose.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Romans 9:10-24 (NLT): This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he grew up, he married Rebekah, who gave birth to twins. But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message proves that God chooses according to his own plan, not according to our good or bad works.) She was told, "The descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son." In the words of the Scriptures, "I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau." What can we say? Was God being unfair? Of course not! For God said to Moses, "I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose."
So receiving God's promise is not up to us. We can't get it by choosing it or working hard for it. God will show mercy to anyone he chooses.
For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you, and so that my fame might spread throughout the earth." So you see, God shows mercy to some just because he wants to, and he chooses to make some people refuse to listen.
Well then, you might say, "Why does God blame people for not listening? Haven't they simply done what he made them do?"
No, don't say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to criticize God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who made it, "Why have you made me like this?" When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn't he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? God has every right to exercise his judgment and his power, but he also has the right to be very patient with those who are the objects of his judgment and are fit only for destruction. He also has the right to pour out the riches of his glory upon those he prepared to be the objects of his mercy--even upon us, whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.
Just curious.
On one hand the Bible talks about God's sovereignty over everything, including the wrong choices people make, yet at the same time it also shows that people are accountable for their choices. Quite a paradox. I think if you take the Bible as God's word then you just leave it at that without dogmatically insisting on your own "solution". I think that goes along with Paul's lump of clay analogy there.
