Free will. Your choice.[/quote]
. If a criminal with a gun to your kids head tell you to give him you wallet or he will kill him/her, and you comply, do you really believe you exhibited Free Will? A threat of eternal torture for the crime of not believing, or being made by God in such a way that you cannot believe constitutes Free Will in your mind???
If God truly intended to give us Free Will he wouldn't need the coercion, threats, and a infinite punishment for a finite crime. [/quote]
A.S.
Even many who profess to be Christians really don't have a correct concept of God. They see God as a punisher and one to be appeased.Even well meaning Christians try to earn salvation by good deeds and regular church attendance.That's not the nature of God or salvation at all.
The correct way to see the situation is that by your own deeds and free will you are already Hell bound.No one is good enough on their own for Heaven. One small lie or even lack of doing the right thing disqualifies you. God's standard is so high that none can earn it. It is so high in fact that only God himself qualifies. Because of that God became a man and suffered the punishment of Hell that men deserve. Because he didn't suffer for his wrong he can grant substitution for anyone who asks. Jesus grants the gift of having suffered in place of any person who seeks salvation from him.
It's even more than just a price paid in the stead of the sinner. Being born again means a union with Christ to the point that the man or woman shares not only in the price paid but in the heart of the redeemer.That born again person has their very nature changed to desire good rather than evil.
It's not about a God who seeks to punish anyone who won't cow down. It's about a God who seeks to rescue those already lost and headed for destruction.
