Board Thread:Bible Questions/@comment-29848406-20160903220806/@comment-1777104-20160909032711

Working backward: I think Snow is saying that it is "accepted that free will is wrong." That which is "excepted" is excluded from discussion. As I pointed out earlier, only believers have a truly "free" will, so yes, the point about those who "don't share the mindset" is valid. They will talk back to God, but we don't, or shouldn't do so. However, when we do question God, we should not expect Him to give us a reason. He may reveal the "why" to us, but mostly He wants us to just trust Him.

Slay, the context in this case backs up the point that "free will" is fiction when it comes to someone choosing his own path. Paul is citing the Old Testament in this case and his whole argument to that point was in God's work of predestination. There are vessels made for "dishonor" as well as for honor. Some are treasures, others are destined for the trash can after serving their purpose. A vast majority of such pottery was like our paper plates. This is the reason so much is found broken inside ruins to this day. Others, like the pots that held the Dead Sea Scrolls, had been created for long life. In either case, the pot had no part in the decision.

Child, that verse proves that free will, as most people use it, is an illusion. God is the potter, we are the clay. He makes us what we are -- whether saved or not. Going further back, you state:

"People are sent to Hell because they ignored God all their life. Hell is actually a place where God is not."

That is human logic trying to save a doctrine of "free will" which is not found in the Bible. God does not send people to hell. Instead, he saves some people from hell. Instead, everyone is as free as their "mindset" will allow them to be. The doctrine of God's omnipresence cannot be denied. The "presence" of God as seen in the "throne of God" is localized (that being where the Son sits in his human body), but God, as Spirit, is everywhere.

While it may be true that the unbeliever will not be aware of God's presence, and that hell is a place where the light of God (as that which lights the new Heaven and Earth) is not seen, it does not lessen the horror of the place. Sadly, most people harden their hearts and are then "given over" to their desires. God is no "gentleman," but rather is righteous. There is a difference. Sinners go their own way on their own and face the consequences.