Chosen But Free

Norman Geisler’s “Chosen But Free” was a really good book and emphasized greatly the fact that God really is in control of everything. He talks about many touchy subjects in this book like the idea of free will and predestination. He also talks about evil and where evil comes from if God is all good. A great thing about this book is the fact that there are verses used all throughout. This was encouraging to see because Geisler would make a point about something, and then prove it was in the bible with a verse. Some authors just talk and write about ideas but don’t have the bible to back them up on their points. By using this, it really made me understand what he was saying better.

            God is in control, plain and simple. In Genesis it clearly states that God created the universe. If he created everything then he should be the one in charge of everything. In Chapter 3, Geisler talks all about the characteristics of God and how he has power and upholds all things. He has been here forever and will be everlasting, “before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9). No one else will be or can be everlasting, which even more proves the point that God should be the one in control and is in fact the one who is.

            Geiesler also discusses the big topic of free will. In the beginning, God gave Adam and Eve a choice, proving the fact that we are given a choice, and it is up to us to choose. We as humans have the free will to do what we want. Salvation is literally given to everyone and it is our human choice to decide whether we want to accept it or not. Here on earth, we are truly free. We are truly free because we are given a choice to do what we want, and are not bound to making a decision that we don’t want to make. I like the quote on page 21, “In heaven we will be free from evil; here we are free to do evil.” We are free to choose good or evil here on earth, but once we make our choice, we are bound to it when we die. God gave us the gift of salvation, not the gift of faith (pg. 229). Faith is what we have the freedom to choose. Basically, we all have salvation, it our choice whether we want it or not.

            The devil and evil is a major topic in this book. Where did evil come from, since God is essentially good. All good desires come from God, so where do the evil ones come from? This goes back to the idea of free will, “God made a good angel called Lucifer, who became the devil by his own free choice to sin (1 Timothy 3:6). The devil had a free choice inside of him, and evil is what he choose, God did not give him that desire because he is good, he got it from his own free will. God is good and he gives us all salvation, it is our free will whether we choose it or not.

Worship in the Church

Every church is different and no matter what, every church is going to have problems, even over the little things that do not really matter. Not every member of a church is going to get along and agree on every detail, this is where the problem begins. When people have different views on things going on in the church, problems start to arise.  I was a member of a church that had a problem with my brother playing the drums during service because the elders did not like it. The elders did not like the fact that the stage setup had to be moved around for the drum set to be on the stage. The newer, younger crowd of the church liked the drums because it was more up-beat and fun. The issue was whether or not to have the drums because the stage would have to stay the same, or have improvements made. This issue is just not a big issue at all to be dealing with. I think sometimes the elders just want things to stay the same, the way that they know, or what they grew up with. When the newer, younger crowd comes in they want to change things up a bit and make it more contemporary. I can see where the elders do not like the fact of the younger crowd wanting to change things, but sometimes it has to happen for there to be a church attendance at all. This issue is not worth fighting over. God does not care where the drums are on stage, or if there is even music. All he cares about is our hearts and how we feel toward him and worship him. When issues are fought over like this, it is not worship because it is not pleasing to the LORD. The little issues of the church need to be let go and people really need to realize that compared to God, absolutely none of this matters. Both parties of the church need to learn how to compromise and accommodate each other’s ideas. Most of the time, the unsaved people visiting the church, do not even realize what the stage looks like or what type of music there is, so why do the elder’s and members of the church argue about it. Because, in the end the point of  the church is to win lost people to the LORD.

Testimony

I was born and raised in a Christian home with great loving parents. At age 12 I was baptized by my youth minister at my home church, and I accepted the LORD as my savior. When in high school I started to feel very discouraged about going to youth group at my church, there were a lot of "clicks" and I never felt like I belonged, so I just wouldn’t go. When I was a sophomore in high school my cousin stole my stuff. The LORD taught me that just because I do not see a consequence for her does not mean that God was not going to give her one. Before my Junior and Senior years of high school I went on two mission’s trips, the first to Mexico City and the second to Romania. From these trips I kept thinking, why am I not out here poor and broke with nothing, why did God bless me with such a great life with everything I need? God opened my eyes to see how greatly he has blessed me. He taught me that I need to use what he was given me to further his kingdom. I had no idea where I wanted to attend college, when I visited Liberty, God made it very clear to me that this is where he wanted me. I am currently having a daily quiet time and learning about what he wants me to do with my life and what his purpose is for me.