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I
have been thinking about the cause and effect paradigm in all logical
thinking. As the cause is so is the effect. The effect has the essence
of the cause in it. So the closer we get to the effect the stronger will
be the cause. The greater distance from the cause the weaker the the
effect.
Now Here in this verse in Pauls letters about working
out your own salvation because it is God who works in you is more of
this cause and effect relationship than a 50-50 relationship. It is not
Gods done his part and now its your job to finish it. In our day and age
we hear this proposal constantly. There is a misunderstanding of this
cause and effect relationship that this verse is puts forth here.
In
our modern day thinking when we say that there is this 50-50
relationship here in this verse we are saying that there is an abiding
truth outside of the realm of theology where man is represented here as
doing something to achieve the ends that God wants him to accomplish.
This doing something is represented as strictly mans action and Gods
reaction. Or Gods commands and mans obedience. In other words what we
have in the 50-50 is man is all action and God is all command. This
verse is not teaching this philosophy. This verse does not define man
this way.
Obviously the closer you get to the cause the more the
cause will define who you are, and the farther away you get from the
cause the more you will define who you are. This is what the verse is
depicting here in God working in you. In a 50-50 relationship what is
equal is your will and Gods will working in unison. When we define us
having a self determined will we are saying that we have just as much
rite for us to define who we are as people as God does.What we are
saying is that we can have a philosophy of 50 -50 about ourselves that
is equal to the theology taught here in this cause and effect
relationship.
The whole universe is a cause and effect universe
because God created the universe and in that creation is the explanation of the cause. God defines who He is by the creation. And
yet there are also characteristics within the physical aspects of
creation that are in the cause and effect paradigm in the universe. In
how the universe functions is included in the cause and effect paradigm.
All the moral decisions in the universe are a part of the cause and
effect paradigm in all of those things that run the physical parts of
the universe, including mans decisions. To say that there is no cause
and effect the moment time started in all of the moments of time both
physical and non physical is to just create an irrational paradigm of
existence.
A self determined will has no cause since it is
neutral not desiring good or evil. To will is to desire one thing over
another, to be undetermined about the choice of two equal objects
presupposes no cause in the supposed self determined will. In this 50
-50 view of this verse there really is no cause in the choice and so
there really is no understanding of the effect or real experience in
effects but rather a rationalization , and an illogical determination of
who God is and our relationship to Him.
The logical cause and
effect is that God cause all things to work together for good for those
who love Him. In our working he is the cause of our working and He is in
the effect of our working. The closer we get to the cause the more we
are going to work in line with His design and the farther we get from
the cause the less we will be in line with His will. We must see that
there is a cause in the universe and there is a cause in our choices. We
desire one thing over another because one desire is stronger than the
other and the reason is because there is a cause for our choice to
desire one thing over another. Our new life in us is the cause. The more
we experience God presence in His word the more we will choose by cause
the good and work out our salvation.
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