Chosen but Free book review

The topic of predestination is the most controversial topic among Christians. I dislike discussing this topic very much because it is never a resolvable debate. When I heard that we had to write a book report on a book about predestination I decided to get all of my opinions and thoughts about predestination out of my head and on paper. I am a three point Calvinist. As far as the 5-point diagram of Calvinism is concerned, I personally believe in three-fifths of the five points. The five points of Calvinism is best described in the acronym T.U.L.I.P. This stands for Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints. I believe total depravity because man is inherently evil. I believe in irresistible grace because God’s grace is irresistible and there is enough of God’s grace for everyone. Lastly, I believe in perseverance of the saints because as Christians, it is important that we persevere in out walk with the Lord. In his book Chosen But Free, Geisler combines both Arminianism and Calvinism. Calvinism states that God already chose who will be in heaven with him and who will be in hell. Calvinism talks about how God has already determined the fate of every man and no man has a say for his own soul. Arminianism is the exact opposite of Calvinism. Armininianism talks about how man has a free choice for everything. Geisler wrote his book, Chosen But Free to explain how it is necessary to combine the two beliefs; thus man is chosen while at the same time free. I think Geisler wrote this statement to mean that God already knows who is going to be saved but man still has a say in his future. This means that man still has to choose to follow God on his own without any encouragement from God. If man was already predetermined to become saved or not then God would receive no glory when a new convert came to the faith. Geisler talks about how living with both viewpoints we are able to make the decision to follow God on our own. However, God is omniscient and already knows who is going to but He still gives us the free will to decide to follow Christ for ourselves. In his book, Geisler states that God cannot be totally in charge of knowing whether or not we will choose to follow Him or not. If He knew then He would receive no grace whatsoever whenever a person chose to become a Christian. God also chooses not to give mankind freedom for every choice, like the Arminian point of view. God is able to control mankind in every aspect while at the exact same time He is able to give mankind the freedom of choice to follow Him or to not follow Him. When Geisler wrote his book Chosen But Free, this is what he meant. Geisler believes theology that is in a middle ground between Arminianism and Calvinism and this is what I believe because it makes the most sense. 

Andrew Lightner's Worship Breakdown

I believe that God can be worshipped in many ways. Our actions, our words, and even our feelings have the capabilities to worship God. I believe that church should be one hundred percent about worshipping God. Singing songs and praising God is a very important aspect to worshipping God. I think that church services should have plenty of songs worshipping God and the sermons should not only preach from His word, but the sermons should be centered on missions. Missions are another term for spreading God’s message of sacrifice, love, and forgiveness. I believe that God can also be worshipped through spreading His message of love and forgiveness. Spreading God’s love is one of the best ways we as Christians can worship Him. Preaching about spreading God’s love is a great way of worshipping God. I also believe that any type of music can worship God as long as the lyrics are praising His name. Some people think that rock and rap are evil. I think that many new worship songs are just as good as older and more classic worship songs. People can worship God anywhere and one of the most popular ways is through music. In church services however, the music we worship God with should not be from our top favorite fifty lists, it should be songs that everyone, young and old, in the sanctuary can sing along with. Every person has a favorite genre of music and this is why when we worship God with music in the sanctuary, every person’s interest in music should be considered. At youth events more rap and rock worship music would most likely be more acceptable, while at elderly folks meetings some gospel hymns would be more greatly accepted. Everyone can worship God his or her own way with his or her favorite music. 

Andrew's Testimony

I grew up in a Christian family and I've been taught to believe in God for as long as I can remember. I have attended Church since as long as I can remember. Church is a place that our family goes to every Sunday morning and sometimes on Wednesday nights. We go to Church because that is where we learn more about God. At our Church we learn about God and Jesus. God and Jesus live in a place called Heaven, which is another world much better and purer than ours. We learn that Jesus is the son of God and that Jesus came down to Earth in the form of a baby about two thousand years ago. Jesus grew up like the rest of us humans which was very humbling for Him to do. In the Bible in John 3:16 it states that God loved the world so much that he sent his own son down to us so that we could learn to believe in him, giving us a chance at living in heaven with God for ever. Jesus was hung on a cross to do for all of mankind's sin about 33 years after he was born in our world. He came back from the dead three days later and was taken back into heaven by his father. Because Jesus did that for us, our sins were forgiven and we have to believe in Jesus and ask for his forgiveness from our sins. Sin is defined by God as doing anything immoral or disobeying his commands. Committing lust or looking at girls the wrong way is a sin, stealing or murdering is also sin and so is drugs or excessive drinking because it changes your state of mind. All sin is created by Satan, who is the all-time arch-enemy of God. God is going to be victorious in the end and Satan knows this, which is why he tries to tempt as many people into sinning as he can. God is perfect and cannot stand sin, which is why we must not sin. If you believe in God then he will help you in your daily battle against any sin that you might have. I live this way every day even though it is impossible to not sin because humans were born with a sinful nature. The best way to live is to read the Bible on a daily basis and talk to God through prayer. This is how I live my life as a Christian. When I was 12 years old I made the decision to believe in God and ever since then I have been doing devotions, which are reading and studying the Bible, and praying just about every day.