Debate on synergism? Maybe. What I’m really looking for is your honest opinion on this. This may be one of those things we will disagree on. I’m just going to talk, well, type, off the top of my head.
If human beings are predetermined to either accept or reject Christ, then what meaning does the sacrifice have? The point of the cross, as I see it, lies not just in the act of redemption itself, but also in the demonstration of God’s boundless love and unwavering commitment to saving humanity. The cross is a powerful testament to God’s willingness to go to any length for our salvation, regardless of our individual choices. It’s a visible display of grace, hope, and the ultimate expression of God’s desire for a relationship with us.
I’m god. No, but for this illusion. There’s a bus. There are six people on the bus. Of course, being this fictional god that I will never be, I have all the authority to do whatever I choose. Of course. So I simply chose Susy, Bill, and John to be saved, and selected Jen, Bob, and Tom for hell. Here are my honest questions about this.
1- That means that no matter what Jen, Bob, or Tom ever do, if they hear the Gospel, accept Jesus’ sacrifice, and serve in a church, they are still going to hell because God chose the other three? Does that sound like the God you know?
2- If this is the case, then of course, you have the other side of the coin. Bill grows up and becomes a person of hate and evil, yet he is saved?
3- If man has no freewill to choose, then why does the Word declare that we have a choice? A choice of what?
Verses like John 3:16 **“whoever believes”**and Revelation 22:17 “let the one who is thirsty come” suggest an open invitation to all. Throughout the New Testament, individuals are commanded to “Repent and believe” Mark 1:15. Proponents argue that a command implies the ability to obey or disobey.
God’s Desire: 2 Peter 3:9 states that God is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
No, I believe you are stating that because humanity is “dead in trespasses” (Ephesians 2:1), a person cannot choose God unless God first enables them to do so. Key concepts of this would include Predestination. Passages like Ephesians 1:4–5 and Romans 8:29–30 speak of God choosing or “predestining” people before the foundation of the world. You believe in the idea that human will is so corrupted by sin that it is naturally hostile toward God and incapable of choosing Him independently (Romans 3:10–11).
Back to synergism. The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. Many scholars and believers, I believe I am one of, hold to “compatibilism,” the idea that both concepts are true simultaneously, even if they seem contradictory to human logic.
Humans are 100% responsible for their choices, yet God is 100% sovereign over the outcome.
Philippians 2:12–13 says this:
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Ultimately, while the Bible frequently presents salvation as a choice (“Choose this day whom you will serve”), it also frequently describes it as a gift of grace that originates entirely with God. So I choose to believe both. Otherwise, to create so many people to simply be thrown into Hell just does not sit well with me.
Peter
