1 John, Chapter 1, Man's Free Will Illuminated.
29. 1 John, Chapter 1, Man's Free Will Illuminated.
Any student of the Bible recognizes the difference between son ship and fellowship (being obedient to the Lord after we are saved). 1 John 1:1-10 is dealing with the believer's fellowship with Christ and other Christians. Notice his free will.
Free Will to Lie: 1 John 1:6 - "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not tell the truth."
Free Will to Obey: 1 John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light (obedience) ...we have fellowship one with another..."
Free Will to Deceive Ourselves: 1 John 1:8 - "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
Free Will to Confess: 1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins..."
Free Will to Deny We Have Sinned: 1 John 1:10 - "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
These verses stress the believer's free will. "If we" is used four times, and "But if" is used once. If election were true, then the possibility would never exist for a Christian to lie (1 John 1:6), deceive themselves (1 John 1:8), or make God a liar (1 John 1:10). In 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sin" would seem a bit confusing. According to Nettleton on page 22, "His saved ones serve Him." If Christians are elected to serve with no free will to do otherwise, where did the sin they are confessing in 1 John 1:9 come from? The confusion either lies with God or with Nettleton.
Now, you have a choice! As for me, I choose to believe God's Word, not the philosophy of some man. God warns the Christian to beware of deceitful men.
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." - Colossians 2:8
God does not "decide" who will be saved. God does not "make" anyone believe, even though He wants all to believe and be saved. But God, since He can see the future, knows who will believe and who will not believe. Long before I was ever born, God knew I would decide to trust Christ as my Saviour. But this "foreknowledge" of His did not CAUSE me to trust Christ as my Saviour. - Dr. A. Ray Stanford.
"False Doctrine Shipwrecks Souls"
" To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." - Acts 26:18