Acts 13:48 doesn’t support a deterministic view of election. Instead, it reinforces the principle of positive volition—those already inclined toward the truth believed when they heard it. No coercion. No pre-programmed faith. Eternal life is free for the taking. But man’s volition determines the outcome. God does not force salvation on a select few while slamming the door on the rest. He has made eternal life available to all (John 3:16; 1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9).
Tag: Positive volition
A Biblical Look at Volition
Volition is something we possess, which enables us to act. That is, we have a will, and we exercise our will. The will can be moved by reason (correct or faulty), affections, circumstances, or the coercion of others. Though there are various influences on the will, Christians are at their best when the will is governed by divine viewpoint. In this way, God’s truth takes priority over desires, which can vacillate between right and wrong.
The Despair of Atheism and the Hope of Christianity
The atheist’s worldview denies the existence of God and believes the universe and earth happened by a chance explosion billions of years ago. Rather than intelligent design, he believes in unintelligent chaos, that the earth, with all its complexity of life, is merely the product of accidental evolutionary processes over millions of years. His worldview believes everything is merely the product of matter, motion, time and chance; that we are the accidental collection of molecules; that we are nothing more than evolving bags of protoplasm who happen to be able to think, feel, and act. The conclusion is that we came from nothing significant, that we are nothing significant, and we go to nothing significant. Ultimately, there’s no reason for us to exist, and no given purpose to assign meaning to our lives. We are a zero. Some have thought through the logical implications of their atheism and understand this well.