How are we made in the Image of God?

[Arial]

I'm not misunderstanding.
The Bible is clear from beginning to end that man is to make the choice of whom he will serve.
And that choice is crucial to salvation because there ain't gonna be no YHWH deniers in the body of Christ.
That's what I did.
I made my own conscious choice to serve YHWH over any other, and I know that I can choose to reject Him and serve another if I were to decide He was no longer good enough to be my master.

That may be what you believe, but you are still misunderstanding and misrepresenting Cal/Ref when you say it teaches that man does not have the ability to make choices.

 

[Josheb]

I'm not misunderstanding.
The Bible is clear from beginning to end that man is to make the choice of whom he will serve.

Good morning everyone,

@Tambora, Please provide a verse stating man is to make a choice of whom he will serve. Before you do so, let me save you some time. You cannot use any verse in which God offers a choice to people already living within a covenant relationship God has previously established. Those people are freed to choose by the covenant condition. Don't pick just any verse that mentions choice (like Joshua 24:15). Show me the verse stating those outside God's covenant choose who they serve.

That's what I did. I made my own conscious choice to serve YHWH over any other...

Hmmm...

1. What makes you think your personal experience is true?
2. Do you think God was at work within you to make that choice?
3. Do you think it is wise for any person to measure scripture by their own anecdotal experience?

.

...and I know that I can choose to reject Him and serve another if I were to decide He was no longer good enough to be my master.

Not according to scripture.

God is master of ALL. The question is not who or what will be served (very foolish way to word the matter), but under what conditions that service will occur. Will it occur as an adopted daughter of The Most High God or a minion? In the end everyone bends the knee to Christ to God's glory.

Philippians 2:5-11
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Some will do so with Jesus as both Lord and Savior, others will do so with Jesus only as Lord. Many, many people will be thrown into the fiery lake. They will NOT be asked if they want that to happen. There will be no choice in the matter.


So please show me the verse that states "man is to make a choice of whom he will serve."

 

[Josheb]

One of my explanations of mankind being an "image" of God is because man has the ability to make choices.

Dogs have the ability to make choices. There is nothing uniquely divine in that ability.

 

[Josheb]

Freewill deniers don't like that.

???

1. Who is it that denies the existence of freewill?
2. What is the difference between freewill and free will?
3. Can you show me a verse using the phrase "free will"? (that's two separate words, not one single word)

.

 

[prism]

I don't hold to "inherited sin".
Ezekiel chapter 18 is against it:

Ezekiel 18​

(1) The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,​

.​

.​

.​

(20) The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.​

I am thankful that even though Adam's was imputed to mankind, Christ bore the iniquity of us all. (Romans 5:19, 1Peter 2:24)

 

[Eleanor]

I don't hold to "inherited sin".
Ezekiel chapter 18 is against it:

Ezekiel 18​

(1) The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,​

(20) The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.​

Correct. . .sin is not inherited, it is imputed (Ro 5:14-16, 17, 18-19),
which is the pattern (Ro 5:14) for the righteousness of Christ being imputed (Ro 5:18-19, 1:17, 3:21, 4:5-8, Php 3:9).

 

[fastfredy0]

One of my explanations of mankind being an "image" of God is because man has the ability to make choices.
Freewill deniers don't like that.

Your statement, if that's what you really believe, indicates you don't understand free will. All sides believe people can make choices. The debate is about WHO IS THE CAUSE OF THE CHOICES PEOPLE MAKE. You seem to favor free will so I will ask you, why did you decide to have a sin nature? By the way, a sin nature in a desire to due evil.

 

[Eleanor]

Your statement, if that's what you really believe, indicates you don't understand free will. All sides believe people can make choices. The debate is about WHO IS THE CAUSE OF THE CHOICES PEOPLE MAKE. You seem to favor free will so I will ask you, why did you decide to have a sin nature? By the way, a sin nature in a desire to due evil.

I think, historically, the debate has been about the extent of the power of man's will.
Does he have the power to make all moral choices? . . .he does not, he cannot choose to be sinless, as Adam was able to do, therefore, his will is not completely free.
His free will is limited.

 

[Carbon]

Riddlebarger has a good point, though not discussing the same subject, he writes:
“As divine image bearers, we are like God in every way that a creature can be like God. Yet because we are creatures, we are not and cannot become divine in any sense.”

 

[Tambora]

You ARE misrepresenting Calvinism/ Reformed Doctrine. The Bible is indeed clear that man is to make the choice of whom he will serve. Calvinist/Ref doesn't say otherwise.

I'd venture to guess that the rest of the Calvinist/Ref here, like I do, in fact claim that if one does NOT choose God, he is rejecting God. Further, if one does not choose God, he is not saved.

But the notion that one's salvation depends on the one's choice makes his salvation worse than tenuous. It contradicts salvation by grace. But if your own inability to pursue Christ faithfully doesn't convince you of your inability, then enjoy your faithfulness.

In this very post you agree that one must make the choice.
If one doesn't make that choice they won't be in the body of Christ because there ain't gonna be no God deniers in heaven.
It does not contradict salvation by grace because only God was on the cross and was buried and resurrected.
Without God doing that then no one would be released from the sting of death no matter what choice they made.

 

[Tambora]

That may be what you believe, but you are still misunderstanding and misrepresenting Cal/Ref when you say it teaches that man does not have the ability to make choices.

Do you not teach that God decided before the foundation of the world who could possibly make that choice?
That would not be the same as saying mankind chooses.

 

[makesends]

In this very post you agree that one must make the choice.
If one doesn't make that choice they won't be in the body of Christ because there ain't gonna be no God deniers in heaven.
It does not contradict salvation by grace because only God was on the cross and was buried and resurrected.

It contradicts "Salvation by Grace" because it depends on man's decision to get saved.

Without God doing that then no one would be released from the sting of death no matter what choice they made.

 

[Tambora]

@Tambora, Please provide a verse stating man is to make a choice of whom he will serve. Before you do so, let me save you some time. You cannot use any verse in which God offers a choice to people already living within a covenant relationship God has previously established. Those people are freed to choose by the covenant condition. Don't pick just any verse that mentions choice (like Joshua 24:15). Show me the verse stating those outside God's covenant choose who they serve.

Please just stop the nonsense.
Naaman made the choice without any covenant condition.

 

[Tambora]

It contradicts "Salvation by Grace" because it depends on man's decision to get saved.

It has to depend on the decision, otherwise we would have God deniers in heaven.

 

[Tambora]

Dogs have the ability to make choices. There is nothing uniquely divine in that ability.

Dogs are not made in the image of God.

 

[makesends]

It has to depend on the decision, otherwise we would have God deniers in heaven.

False. If God changes our will, rebirthing us, we will not be deniers in Heaven. It does not depend on our decision, but on his. Indeed we will decide, because he does that in us, but that decision is not what saves us, though it does demonstrate that we are saved.

 

[prism]

I don't hold to "inherited sin".
Ezekiel chapter 18 is against it:

Ezekiel 18​

(1) The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,​

.​

.​

.​

(20) The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.​

Are you Eastern Orthodox? When it comes to original sin.they believe similarly.

 

[Tambora]

Your statement, if that's what you really believe, indicates you don't understand free will. All sides believe people can make choices. The debate is about WHO IS THE CAUSE OF THE CHOICES PEOPLE MAKE. You seem to favor free will so I will ask you, why did you decide to have a sin nature? By the way, a sin nature in a desire to due evil.

Mankind chose to sin because it's the way man was created.
God's creation, even though created 'good', did not possess the perfection of God.

 

[Tambora]

Are you Eastern Orthodox? When it comes to original sin.they believe similarly.

I believe it because Ezekiel 18 tells me that no son will bear the iniquity of the father.
That means no son will inherit or be imputed with the sin of the father.
He will not bear the iniquity of the father at all.

 

[Arial]

Do you not teach that God decided before the foundation of the world who could possibly make that choice?
That would not be the same as saying mankind chooses.

Reformed theology teaches that before the foundation of the world God chose who he would give to Jesus.

Eph 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
The "us: in that letter are those Paul is writing to in the church at Ephesus. So, the "us" applies to believers.

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

Reformed does not teach that man chooses to believe. As I said earlier. Man has the ability of making choices but he always chooses according to his desires. Scripture tells us that man is at enmity with God, therefore he is not willing to choose him as Lord and Savior. He can't even understand it and considers it foolishness without the regeneration by the Spirit.

John 3:3 Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

1 Cor 2:14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.