¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Note! If you are walking after the impulses of the flesh, walking according to your own carnal mind, you are not in Christ Jesus. You cannot please God living according to the impulses of the flesh. Rom 8:8. To walk through life according to your own mind is worse than worshipping idols because you have made yourself god. To walk according to your own mind is exactly what Satan promised Adam and Eve — they would become wise like God and know good and evil; they would be able to decide for themselves what was good and what was bad. Their first decision was that they were naked and that was bad. When you walk according to your own mind, you are making your own decisions, based on your selfish rationalizations — at best, you are capable of only making the least evil decision; without God's direction, you have no idea what to do that is his will and truly good.

You can't still be in the flesh, still sinning, walking after the flesh, and be in Christ; they are mutually exclusive conditions. To believe differently, supposes that Christ embraces sin within his bodily members, supposes that he would join in a marriage to a sinful person, to suppose that light fellowships with darkness and righteousness with unrighteousness. But those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh [the sinful nature] with its passions and desires [lusts and affections]. Gal 5:24.

But whoever obeys his spoken words [obeys his spoken commands to them], truly the love of God is perfected in him; by this we know that we are in him. 1 John 2:5. Notice, this is to be "in Christ" — to have the love of God perfected in you. Paul also tells us: Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor 5:17. So many people in Christendom claim to be "in Christ" but have no idea that their claim is an abomination because to still be sinning and claim to be a part of Christ, is in effect saying that Christ is a part of sin! The non-believers, who see those "in Christ" people sinning and claiming to be a part of Christ, associate their hypocritical behavior with Jesus himself — they have become a stumbling block to others hearing the truth about Jesus and the hope of his true gospel.

² the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. This means that Paul had been freed from sin. He no longer has sin working death in his body, instead he has the law of the Spirit of Life working Life in him. Paul tells us in the next verses that he walks not after the things of the flesh (lusts and pride), but he walks after the things of the Spirit; which is to walk according to the direction and leading of the spirit. He no longer walks according to his carnal mind, but walks according to the direction of God — this is the Law of the Spirit of Life. From the Word of the Lord within: "There are no laws when you are under complete control of the spirit; you walk in love in obedience as prompted — you don't walk in restricted flesh." To be free from the law, you first have to be restored into the spiritual image of God, putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of your heart, the circumcision of Christ; to those, the law is dead. This cannot be done until you have been freed from the bondage of sin, which is the gospel Paul was sent by Jesus to preach: "I [Jesus] now send you to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins, release from sin's slavery, and an inheritance among those who are purified by faith in Me." Acts 26:17-18.

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law.
For this: Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou shall not kill, Thou shall not steal, Thou shall not bear false witness, Thou shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Rom 13:8-10

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; You shall love thy neighbor as yourself. Gal 5:14

When the Lord appears to complete your salvation, you will be filled with love and you will totally walk by the love and light of God.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;
of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Those who practice such things [lawlessness] will be banned from heaven, and banned from the Kingdom of Heaven forever.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (quietness and confident trust forever), patience (including longsuffering, steadfastness, and perseverance), kindness (including morality and integrity), goodness, faith, gentleness (including meekness and humility), and self-control (mastery of sensual appetites, passions, and desires)... Against such there is no law. Gal 5:22-23

The law was given to the fallen descendants of Adam, who had lost the guidance and life of God; when a man has been changed by God's power to walk in love as prompted by God, there is no law needed and no law that applies. When you walk as prompted by God, you are fulfilling the law; you are walking beyond total compliance with the law because:

• Obviously God is not going to command you to do anything that violates his law, and
• You are not walking according to restriction, but according to guidance to say and do the virtuous things that God prompts you do do.

³ The carnal mind is enmity with God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. The carnal mind lusts for things, lusts for people, lives in pride, lies, seeks the honor of men instead of God — wanting to be its own God as Satan promised Adam and Eve. Since the carnal mind cannot be subject to the Law of God, (the inner law on every man's heart), obviously your mind must be destroyed; from the Word of the Lord within: "that which lives in the enmity must be destroyed." The cross is to man's will and his carnal mind, which must be denied and destroyed so that we do God's will instead, speaking only what He tells us to say, and working according to His orders. The carnal mind must be destroyed by the Spirit of God to be replaced by the mind of Christ. When the carnal mind dies, you are at rest and have peace.

To walk according to your own decisions is worse than worshipping stone or wooden idols:

Your fathers have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law. And you have done worse than your fathers; for behold, every one of you walks after the imagination of his evil heart, and therefore you do not listen to and obey me. Jer 16:11-12. From the Word of the Lord within: "Every man was his own king."

For the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Gen 8:21.

I have spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts; Isa 65:2

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9.

Therefore, this I say and testify in the Lord, that from this time forward you must not walk as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Eph 4:17

Let the ungodly forsake his way, and the unrighteous man [forsake] his thoughts; Isa 55:7

Everyone is ungodly and unrighteous until the Spirit has destroyed their sinful nature on the inward cross of self-denial, which destroys the selfish, vain, carnal mind with its thoughts. The basic operation of grace is teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and how to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Tit 2:11-12.

The thoughts of the unrighteous are detestable (foul, disgusting) to the LORD, but the words of the pure are pleasant words. Pro 15:26

No one is righteous before being purified, for we, through the Spirit, by faith, patiently wait for the hope of righteousness. Gal 5:5. We persistently and patiently wait in humble silence for the Spirit by grace to teach us how to live righteously, Tit 2:11-12, and for the Spirit to destroy our sinful nature, including our carnal mind.

The LORD knows the thoughts of man, and that they are vanity. Psa 94:11

let your 'yes' be 'yes,' and your 'no,' 'no;' for whatever is more than these comes from the evil one [the Spirit of Satan within you]. Mat 5:37.

Paul, addressing crucified believers, wrote: "Where in times past you walked according to the ways of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan],.. we also all had our conduct in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts of our mind." Eph 2:3.

Note! Until you have killed, (mortified), the sinful nature within you on the inward cross of self-denial, you are walking according to the ways of the world and Satan, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the thoughts of your mind, both of which have to be destroyed by the Lord.

If you ever expect to do the will of God, you must let grace destroy your carnal mind, which is enmity with God. The carnal mind is the mind of the serpent, the mind of Satan. The God of Peace will soon come and bruise the head of Satan under your feet. Rom 16:20. Christ called the Pharisees: "you serpents, you generation of vipers," Mat 23:33; they were serpents because they were controlled by their carnal minds, which is enmity with God. (The serpent is another name for the devil or Satan.) But when Christ bruises your mind (the head of Satan) under your feet, he destroys the enmity that originated in the garden, when the serpent became man's god. Thus as Christ destroys the carnal mind and destroys the imagination, every thought becomes captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Cor 10:5. By repentance on the inward cross of self-denial, through grace God gives us a new mind, heart, and spirit; he writes his law in our mind and hearts, Jer 31:33; so that we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:16; so that we no longer fulfill the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts of our mind. Eph 2:3.

From the Word of the Lord within:

• Your thoughts are not my thoughts.
• At best your thoughts are a vain hiss.
• Those who follow their own brain will weep and mourn; there will be great pain.
• The mind is a terrible thing.
• There is a blessing to make the cessation of the mind permanent.
• You must go on waiting, watching, and listening; then our hearts will be quiet by grace.
• We must grow in silence.
• We labor with a cursed mind for the carnal mind is neither subject to the law of God, nor can it be; that which lives in the enmity must be destroyed.
• You will receive a new heart and mind. Grow up into the mind of Christ, from which all good thoughts proceed.
• To know is not to think.
• All thoughts must be rejected.
• We do not sing from our carnal minds; there will be a group of purified believers singing of the blessing.
• That which lives in the enmity must be destroyed.
• To make decisions is to live in your carnal mind.

Casting down all our own decisions,
and every barrier that is raised up against the wisdom from God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 Cor 10:5.

I once was very despondent over my carnal mind's evil, and asked the Lord why he had given us such a mind; the Lord's answer came back very quickly: "for survival until you find me." Until your carnal mind is destroyed, stay obedient to what you have been commanded, bear the daily cross making the best decisions you know how; and everything will go well.

George Fox writes of the carnal mind that must be destroyed by the grace of God:

That mind, which speaks of God, but does not live, nor dwell, nor abide in the fear of God, that mind must suffer, and pass under the judgment of God, for the curse of God is upon that mind; for that mind is earthly, and of the earth, upon which the curse of God is. And that mind may talk of God, and speak of God, but not in union with God, nor from enjoyment of God in the spirit, nor from having purchased the knowledge of him through death and sufferings [of self]; but from hearsay [or reading] of him, and from custom and tradition.

But the true fear of God destroys that mind, which speaks of him, but does not live in his fear; and that mind is raised up, which abides in his fear; and this is acceptable sacrifice, which is pure, clean, holy, and without spot. Then that which knows God, speaks of him, which has purchased the true knowledge of him through suffering; and to such there is no condemnation, but joy and peace. And this mind sings true praises to God, the other in hypocrisy; and therefore the woe is unto it. And this mind is stayed upon God, the other is gadding after the creatures, committing fornication with other lovers; and speaks of God, but is not subject to God, and must pass through condemnation.

More from Fox's Letter #19:

For whatever is seen with a carnal eye, is carnal. See, if you find something in your understandings made manifest, which is eternal, to guide your minds out of all external things, which wither away, and fade. For the cross is to the carnal mind; your carnal minds going into the carnal and earthly things, or your eyes and lusts into the earth, where lightness, rashness, crossness, bitterness, and presumption are. Then the tongue will run at random, and is at liberty; and he who does not have power over his own tongue, his religion is vain, and the light mind rules. But the light within, which convinces you, will show you, when the mind goes forth; and show you the daily cross, which is to crucify that carnal mind; for the carnal mind minds carnal things; and the cross is to the will of man, for it shall never enter [the kingdom]...,but the carnal mind is to be taken away, and destroyed.

God destroys the fleshly, carnal mind, giving the crucified believer a new mind and heart; and we have scriptures to support that very occurrence:

Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed; and get a new heart, a new mind, and a new spirit. For why will you die, O house of Israel? Eze 18:31

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts. Heb 8:10

And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God for they shall return to me with their whole heart. Jer 24:7

And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them. Jer 32:39

Strip yourselves of your former nature that controlled your conduct, which corrupts itself through lusts and desires that spring from delusion;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And put on the newly created nature [of Christ], which is created in God's image of true righteousness and holiness. Eph 4:22-24

And do not be conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. Rom 12:2,8:6-7

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; Phil 2:5

For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:16

So in humble silence we persistently and patiently wait on God, so that by his grace received, our evil mind is replaced by the mind of Christ.

⁴ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if through the Spirit you mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body, you will live. Paul tells us that to live we must kill the deeds of the body through the Spirit: Therefore mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body that are of the earthly life: fornication, impurity, inordinate affections, evil lusts of the flesh, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Col 3:5. What the Spirit shows you is your sin, with your regret and resolve to be different, the Sprit then removes the sin from your heart. You get immediate strength to be different, which grows until the sin is completely gone.

⁵ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him. Note! You cannot be an child or heir of God, unless you suffer with Christ, unless you suffer on the inward cross of self denial. Hebrews says the same: No scourging by God, then you are an illegitimate son. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps 1 Pet 2:21. For if we are dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. 2 Tim 2:11-12.  Therefore, since Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind because he who has suffered in the flesh is finished with sin, so that you should not live the rest of your time in the flesh in the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 1 Pet 4:1-2. Part of the inward cross is inward suffering, which the Lord will lead you through, when he deems your faith sufficient to survive the tribulation.

From George Fox's Journal:

You must have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings. 1 Pet 4:12-13
If you will reign with him, you must suffer with him. 2 Tim 2:12
if you will live with him, you must die with him. 2 Tim 2:11
And if you die with him, you must be buried with him, Rom 6:4
and being buried with him in the true baptism, you also rise with him. Col 2:12

There must be "a coming into his death, a suffering with Christ;" and this is of necessity to salvation;
and not temporarily, but continually: there must be a "dying daily."

⁶ we are saved by hope. Salvation is not to be presumed, salvation is to be experienced and seen.
We are saved by heart-and-soul-purifying grace through our faith in God's promises, but we must have the hope of our securing them:

• by the hope of being guided into all truth and taught all things by God,
• by the hope of being cleansed by the power of God,
• by the hope of being delivered from our sins,
• by the hope of coming out of darkness to the light of God,
• by the hope of becoming children of the light, (the light being God),
• by the hope of overcoming the world, the devil, and death, to victory!,
• by the hope of being renewed into the spiritual image of God,
• by the hope of walking by faith, in the spirit, in love, and in the light,
• by the hope of becoming pure,
• by the hope of seeing God appear in your heart,
• by the hope of seeing the glory of God,
• by the hope of you appearing in glory with Him when he appears,
• by the hope of producing the fruit of the spirit and bringing glory, honor, and pleasure to the Father,
• by the hope of becoming righteous,
• by the hope of becoming holy,
• by the hope of a forever cleansing and perfection,
• by the hope of being perfected as commanded,
• by the hope of growing up into a perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
• by the hope of being raised with Christ, as Christ is resurrected in you,
• by the hope of becoming an entirely new creature,
• by the hope of Christ ruling in your heart,
• by the hope of entering the promised rest from our labors, to thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, energized by God,
• by the hope of joining in union with Christ and the Father,
• by the hope of entering the Kingdom of God ,
• by the hope of fellowship with Christ and the Father,
• by the hope of fellowship in the Spirit with other saints in the world, and past men made perfect,
• by the hope of eternal Life in God that is brought to us as we see him bring our salvation — and
• by the hope of all of this occurring by faith through the grace of God as we live in this present world.

And how do we demonstrate our hope? To sit at Jesus' feet and listen to his word is the one thing needed by any who wish to experience the promises of the Bible:

Now it came to pass as they went, that he entered into a certain village, and a woman named Martha received him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word.
Now Martha was distracted with much serving, and came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her that she should help me."
But Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.
"There is only one thing needed, and Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42.

Jesus was not reading scriptures to Mary, he was speaking to her; we must hear him speak to us too: for the words I speak to you are spirit and they are life. John 6:63; his words spoken to us impart the life of God to us, if we hear and obey them. We must go to him. We must wait on him — listen silently, with the humility of a sinner in need of his changing power — grace. We must listen, hear, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21. Daily we must wait on Him, as we watch, listen, hear, obey... wait, watch, listen, hear, obey..... seek, listen, obey. We must endure to the end, when we see Christ bring our salvation.

To sit quietly, struggling with your mind to listen, is a cross to your will; to obey is a cross to your will — denying your will, and yielding to thy will be done — this is the inward cross of self-denial. From the Word of the Lord within: "Little by little the Lord's will, will be progressed." Do this, and you are following Jesus.

Surely he loves the people; all your holy ones are in your power. And they sit at your feet, each receiving your words. Deu 33:3

From the Word of the Lord within: "Hope releases the power of God to change you. There is no hope for anyone outside the power of God." Without the power of God working in you, there is no victory, there is no overcoming. There are three sources to the power of God being released to purify you: 1) power in the true hope and gospel, 2) power in the inward cross of self denial, and 3) the power in the name of Jesus. This power of God works in us, and keeps us through faith to salvation, which is to be delivered from sin. Christendom today is without the cross and without the true hope; and so without the power of God, left only as a form (hollow shell) of the original Christianity, without the new life of the new creature, without holiness, wallowing in sin, boasting of their imperfection, perishing, whose end is destruction. For without the power of God released to change a man, his heart remains full of sin and unacceptable to God, whatever his lips may say in the form of worship. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; so that everyone may receive what is due him, according to what he has done in the body, whether it is good or bad. 2 Cor 5:10.

⁷ The Spirit searches out all things in a man's heart. Jesus said: I am He who searches the minds and hearts, showing you your sins, giving you the motivation to repent. When you do repent, the spirit then mortifies (kills, removes) that sin in your heart. Do this repetitively, and you will become without sin by the Spirit's removal. And as you see the Spirit removing sin from your life, even the desire to sin, this becomes your first undeniable assurance of salvation to come, providing you stay on course to the end. Therefore mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body which are of the earthly life; fornication, impurity, inordinate affections, evil lusts of the flesh, and covetousness, which is idolatry, Col 3:5; this is also done by the Spirit of God: For if you live after the flesh, you will die; but if through the Spirit you mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body, you will live. Rom 8:13. So the Spirit shows a man his sins and then destroys them.

⁸ We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. While we are seeking, the creator of the universe is watching over us, protecting us, planning for us, moving the world to our benefit, and always there for us. With this assurance, we know that everything that comes our way is his will for us; and whatever happens, even if it appears to be a problem at the time, we know as it is written, all things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purpose, Rom 8:28; and because we keep his commands, he knows we love him, John 14:23. So we know that everything that happens to us has been willed by God,* to help us grow, and we have a peace that is based on the love of God to us. We can cast all of our worries and fears upon him, 1 Peter 5:7, and depend on him to work everything out to our benefit. We have confidence that he is working for us, even when we can't see how it is happening; we know he controls the whole universe, and to work our life to his union, is effortless for him.

*From the Word of the Lord within: "If people want to make a bad-choice decision, that's their prerogative."
So, do not believe that God has caused someone around you to do something evil that affects you.
He protects your life so that you can be completed, but He does not stop those around you from doing wrong.

All things includes what is alive and what is not alive; all things includes people. He can control the little details of men's lives without violating their free will and self-confidence. Those chosen by God are protected by Him while they complete their seeking course; as is written, "all things work together for good for those who love God (or as argued, God loves) and are called according to his purpose." But he only provides protection to those who are seeking him in love and whom he has called; from the Word of the Lord within: "All other people, destined for reconciliation after this life, live without protection." We have free will, but with the little details, he can move us around like chess board pieces and not violate our free will, because the insignificant details that he controls don't violate our heart's principles or our self-confidence; choices that follow our heart's principles and affect our self-confidence are made by us independently, and He does not override those decisions in anyone. This is not making something good out of a bad situation of which he had no control; he is in control of everything around those whom he has called according to his purpose, and who love him! For what? From the Word of the Lord within, "the earth exists for the saints." The earth is everyone's opportunity to become one with God as a son, but for those not so motivated, they are only obstacles, tests, and polishing stones in the illusions of this life, which appears that everyone chooses everything independently, but as the Word of the Lord within said: "every man is put in place by God." The illusion is there is no God. The illusion is that God does not control anything. The illusion is that we are all independent, under no control. It is a necessary illusion;* the nurturing soil to allow love to grow without coercion. From the Word of the Lord within: "A necessary illusion." Why is it necessary? To produce sons of love without coercion; see Why Evil is Allowed for More.

* Quantum physics has recently discovered that the entire world is an illusion; that there is no material world like science previously thought. Instead atoms, previously thought to be the basic material building block, are known to made up of tornado-like vortexes of energy; and energy is considered to be spirit. This is in agreement with the scripture: "Yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom all things exist, and for whom we exist; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom all things are made, by and through whom we exist." 1 Cor 8:6. God is light. God is a consuming fire. God is a spirit. Since we are all created beings, created from the infinite energy that makes up God, obviously He can control us when He so desires. Below are two more scriptures that show the truth of everything being created and existing within God: (for everything is energy, not the illusion of matter or substance).

He has made from one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the allotted times and the boundaries of their habitation; So that they should seek the Lord, and perhaps might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from every one of us. For in him we live and move, and have our being; Acts 17:26-28

 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Eph 4:6

Can anyone hide himself in secret places so that I will not see him?" says the Lord. "Do I not fill the heavens and earth?" says the Lord. Jer 23:24

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Col 3:11

When you are committed to following the Lord, hearing Him as you wait on Him, everything that happens to you is permitted by the Lord to bring you to perfection. He will let those around you abuse you in order to teach you to give up anger, resentment, and wanting revenge; and instead to forgive them, just as He forgave those who beat and crucified Him. We must suffer with Him in order to reign with Him. 2 Tim 2:11-12. We have to trust that everything is from Him, which trust is faith; the just shall live by faith, Hab 2:4.

From the Word of the Lord within: "live in the fortress of faith where it doesn't matter if someone gives you a kiss or hits you with a baseball bat," knowing everything that happens* to a true seeker is used to help him grow spiritually. So if I get hit with a baseball bat, He expects me to learn the necessity of forgiving: to ignore it, despite the pain suffered and wrongness of the person wielding the bat. Your life is an obstacle course, designed by God, for you to crawl over and through, learning to forgive and love despite the pain and injustice. This life is a boot camp to produce a soldier of love, whose weapon is the sword of the Spirit, the living word of God. When you realize it is God who has allowed, (permitted, not caused or motivated), that person to be rude, ugly, and painful to you, you can easily forgive them because they are just an obstacle of potential resentment, whose offense is to be overlooked, (or if not overlooked, to produce the pain of resentment), thus being used by God to help you spiritually progress.

*From the Word of the Lord within: "If people want to make a bad-choice decision, that's their prerogative."
So, do not believe that God has caused someone around you to do something evil that affects you.
He protects your life so that you can be completed, but He does not stop those around you from doing wrong.

There are no coincidences. What appear to be coincidences are purposely planned.

those who are called according to his (God's) purpose. What is God's purpose in calling a man?—so God can produce a saint, (the earth exists for the saints); so a saint can be used for righteousness by God; as a saint is energized and ordered by God to do works that bring glory, honor, and pleasure to God; which is the purpose of becoming a true Christian, who lives according to the will of God, only following God's thoughts, what to say, and what to do.

⁹ For whom he foreknew, he also predestined....Moreover those whom he predestined, he also called; and those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified. It is unknown how to accurately translate the original Greek of the verbs in these two verses. The verbs in the Greek of these two verses, (verse 29 and verse 30), point to Strong's #(5656), which refers to Strong's #5777 Tense - Aorist, which tense is not past, present, or future tense; and is typically translated as past tense, which past tense the Greek experts say is usually OK, but not always. This is a classic case of NOT being OK because those who are believers, and/or those who are seeking the righteousness and kingdom of God as the number one priority in their life, have not been glorified, which includes being in heaven with Jesus declaring your name to His brothers, in the midst of the congregation [of Heaven] and Him singing praise to you. Psa 22:22. It is impossible to translate the tense of the original Greek verbs in these two verses correctly, and the English past tense of these verbs is nonsense.

Further fallacy of these two verses: For many are called, but few chosen, Mat 20:16,22:14. Every person is anonymously called by God to depart from evil on their day of visitation when Christ, the light given to every man so that he might believe, preaches the gospel in them; He knocks at every person's door, (heart). The vast majority of people ignore His anonymous call to turn from evil because they love their selfish lifestyle and have no love of the truth about their evil ways. Thus they deny and hate the truth; thus they deny and hate Christ. The few who do heed His anonymous pleas, loving the truth, turn from evil to then be chosen by God to receive more of His Spirit in return; God gives them a taste of His goodness by revelation, which creates the hunger and thirst in them for more of Him — thus to seek Him with all their heart and soul. From the Word of the Lord within: "Every man has heard the call to repent." But it is a gentle, anonymous call to forsake their evil ways. You might ask, why anonymous? What a man hears and/or sees is the truth of his ways; if he heeds the call, he has an appreciation and love of the truth; if he ignores the call, he hates the truth. Thus it is God's test of those who love the truth, (with advancing to peace and safety), or love their evil ways (to calamity):

"If you will repent at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
But because I have called, and you refused; because I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded it.
Because you have all treated my counsel as nothing and have ignored my reproofs;
I will also laugh at your calamity, and I will mock when your fear comes.
When your fear comes as desolation, and your destruction comes as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish comes upon you.
Then they shall call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early and diligently, but they shall not find me.
Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD.
They would have none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof.
Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satiated with their own desires.
For the turning away [from my counsel] of the ignorant shall slay them, and the careless ease of fools will destroy them.
But whoever listens to me and heeds what I say, shall dwell safely; and he shall be at peace from the fear of evil." Proverbs 1:23-33

More proof: Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, "In truth I perceive that God is no respecter [shows no partiality] of persons, but in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by him." Acts 10:34-35

God is fair, God is pure, God is just, and God anonymously pleads with every man to turn from their selfish, evil ways because God would have all men to be saved; but man must heed God's convictions in his day of visitation. However, the vast majority of men love their own, selfish, evil ways; and so they deny the truth and flee from God's revealing of their deeds, unaware it was the light of God reasoning with them and attempting to save them from the consequences of their continued evil, selfish life.

The beginning works of righteousness are to regret your past sins, turn from evil as you know it, share from your excess with those who do not have the necessities of life, and make every effort to: not lie, be honest, not take advantage of anyone, not oppress people, not want more, and not complain. Further righteousness results from obedience to God's commands to you, which you hear and see as you wait on God in humble silence, listening and watching for His spoken words and revelations to you.

With God there is no time: That which has been is now; and that which is to be has already been; and God requires an account of what has past. Ecc 3:15. God foreknew everyone: those who would not turn to him, as well as those who would. So everything that is yet to happen in our dimension of time, has already happened in God's timeless dimension; thus Paul can say those whom he foreknew, he predestined, called, justified, and glorified. Rom 8:29-30. Every man in the world has his chance to turn to God because the gospel has been preached in and to every man throughout history; see Footnote 4 to Col 1:23 for the detailed explanation of how that occurs. Every man has his day of visitation, every man hears the Lord's anonymous voice pleading with him to depart from evil; and if those words are not heeded, every man will remember those words he ignored when at judgment those words will judge him.

The following is a small excerpt from George Fox's detailed writing that disproves the doctrine of predestination and the Calvinist doctrine of election and reprobation:

"If God has ordained the greatest part of mankind for hell, according to your false doctrine, then how did God send his Son: ‘who so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son into the world, that whosoever believes on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life?’ And Christ lights every man that comes into the world, with his light, which is the life in himself, the word; and said, ‘believe in the light;’ and said, ‘he that believes, is saved; and shall not come into condemnation; and he that believes not, is condemned already.’ ...And Christ sends his disciples, and gives them power, and his Holy Spirit, into all nations, to preach the gospel to every creature under heaven...Now is not this glad tidings and joyful news of salvation to every creature under heaven, this gospel of salvation? Then where are those creatures or persons that are foreordained for condemnation, as you talk of? For is it not because they would not receive and believe the everlasting gospel of salvation, the good news and glad tidings to every creature under heaven, that they perish? They did not go and say, as you that are in the error, have said and talked, and so go and tell the nations, that God had foreordained the greatest part of them for hell and condemnation. That is not the gospel of salvation the apostles preached to every creature; who said, ‘those who believe, are saved; and those who do not, are condemned already.’ So it is clear, that it is unbelief that brings condemnation.

....

Also the grace of God, which brings salvation, [Mark!, brings salvation,] this grace and favor of God has appeared unto all men Tit 2:11, [but does not bring salvation to all]. Now if God had foreordained such a number of persons, (as you say and preach), for reprobation and condemnation, how does this grace and favor then appear to all men; and how can it then be said, ‘Christ tasted death for every man?’ Heb 2:9, for by the offence of Adam and Eve, did not sin and condemnation enter into the world, and judgment come upon all men, for that all had sinned? And so by the righteousness of Christ the free gift came upon all men to justification of life; and then, where is foreordination of persons to condemnation, seeing all were in condemnation? For by the righteousness of Christ the free gift came upon all men to justification of life, Rom 5:17-18. And so, has not the condemnation and the judgment come, for not receiving Christ, and believing in him? And did not the first condemnation come upon Adam and Eve for not believing, and disobeying God?"

‘God desires not the death of a sinner, but that he might repent, return, and live:’ Eze 33:11,18:30-32 .... all nations are blessed in Isaac, and all the families of the earth in Jacob, Gen 26:3-5,28:13-14;... And Jesus spoke to his disciples, saying, ‘all power in heaven and earth is given to me; go you, therefore, teach all nations, (not some nations, but all nations), baptizing, (that is to say, dipping or plunging them), into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.’ Mat 28:20 ....God would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4. We trust in the living God, who is the savior of all men, specially of those that believe. 1 Timothy 4:9-10. For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all. Rom 11:32... Christ died for the sins of the whole world, not just some foreordained few. 1 John 2:2, Rom 5:18-19, 1 Tim 2:6, John 1:29, Heb 2:9.

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