Free will versus Predestination

The following is a study of Free Will versus Predestination. Personally I believe this is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for Christians and one of the most Useless discussions out there. To furthur ensure that I will probably be hung and burned as a Heretic by both sides will at least give me the satisfaction of having united them in this at least.
There are basically two veiws that are most followed:

Calvinist and Arminian.

Personally I believe the followers of each are wrong. Please note I said the "followers". I don't much care about Calvin or Arminian. Their Followers however, concern me quite a bit. See, when I discuss the Word of God, I don't want to hear "...Oh! I see! you're a follower of Calvin!" and then have everything I say completely dismissed after that. I don't follow Calvin and I don't follow Arminian.
I follow Jesus.
I follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
I follow the Word of God in Context. Please note the big period at the end of that.
This divisivness is counter productive to both sides, but what exactly is both sides?
ok, here is the boring bit:

Free will versus Predestination

From the Moody Handbook of Theology: Part 2 systematic theology/ 23 :

Arminian view. Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609) was a Dutch theologian. The Arminian view is similar to semi-Pelagianism and is representative in the Methodist church, Wesleyans, Pentecostals, and others. In thought similar to Pelagianism, Arminius taught that man was not considered guilty because of Adam’s sin. When people would voluntarily and purposefully choose to sin even though they had power to live righteously—then, and only then, would God impute sin to them and count them guilty. Although man does not possess original righteousness because of Adam’s sin, “God bestows upon each individual from the first dawn of consciousness a special influence of the Holy Spirit, which is sufficient to counteract the effect of the inherited depravity and to make obedience possible, provided the human will cooperates, which it still has power to do.”^23-42 Thus Arminius recognized an effect from Adam’s sin but not in the sense of total depravity; through divine enablement man could still make righteous choices. Romans 5:12 is not understood as all humanity suffering the effect of Adam’s sin and death; but rather because of the individual agreement with Adam’s act is sin imputed to the individual.

Views of the Imputation of Sin
Views	Romans 5:12	Adam	Humanity	Modern Adherents
Pelagian	People incur death when they sin after Adam’s example.	Sin affected Adam alone.	No one affected by Adam’s sin.	Unitarians
Arminian	All people consent to Adam’s sin—then sin is imputed	Adam sinned and partially affected humanity.	Depravity is not total; people received corrupt nature from Adam but not guilt or culpability.	Methodists, Weslyans, Pentecostals, Holiness groups
Federal	Sin is imputed to humanity because of Adam’s sin.	Adam alone sinned but human race affected.	Depravity is total; sin and guilt are imputed.	Presbyterians, Others holding to Covenant theology
Augustinian	Sin is imputed to humanity because of Adam’s sin.	Humanity sinned in Adam.	Depravity is total; sin and guilt are imputed.	Reformers, Later Calvinists

Eternal Security

There are two distinct views concerning the eternal security of the believer. The Arminian says that man has received his salvation as an act of his will and he may forfeit his salvation as an act of the will—or through specific sins. The Calvinist says that the true believer will persevere in his faith. This doctrine is sometimes called “perseverance of the saints,” which is not a proper title since it places the emphasis on man’s ability to persevere rather than on God’s ability to keep the believer. A better title might be “perseverance of the Lord.”

This doctrine does not suggest that the believer will never backslide or sin. It means, however, that when a person has genuinely believed in Christ as His Savior from sin he is forever secured by God by His keeping power.

The basis for the security of salvation does not rest with man, but with God. The security of the believer is based on the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Arminian View

Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609) was at first a strict Calvinist, having studied under Beza at Geneva. In a debate he felt his opponent had stronger arguments than he had and he changed his view, advocating universal grace and freedom of the will. His position was basically that of semi-Pelagianism in which he denied the doctrine of original sin, disputing the idea that the guilt of Adam’s sin was imputed to his descendants. He suggested that only the pollution of Adam’s sin was passed on to succeeding generations, but this pollution is only a weakness, it does not bring a person under the sentence of condemnation. Rather, it renders him incapable of attaining eternal life by his own effort. The fall of man did not or does not render man incapable of making an initial, positive move toward God.^30-11 This is achieved through God dispensing prevenient grace to all people to offset the effects of inherited depravity, thereby making man capable of cooperating with God in salvation.

Calvinist view. John Calvin was in general agreement with Luther on the subject of justification by faith. Calvin also emphasized justification as a forensic (legal) act, whereby God declares the believing sinner righteous, an act made possible by the free grace of God. In contrast to Luther, however, Calvin began his doctrine of salvation with God’s election of the sinner. Calvin understood election to salvation as unconditional for “If election were dependent on man’s faith and good works, grace would not be free, and in fact would cease to be grace.”^30-16

In relation to James 2:20, Calvin taught that justification by works does not relate to imputed righteousness but rather, as Luther also taught, works that demonstrate the reality of justification. Thus Calvin taught a “double justification.” “Primarily, justification is acceptance before God through the imputation of righteousness. This comes by faith alone. Secondarily and in consequence, however, justification is the declaration or manifestation before men of the righteousness of faith. This is justification by works.”^30-17

Calvin’s doctrine of salvation produced a milestone in that he related justification to sanctification. While maintaining the distinctiveness of each, he related both to the act of salvation. Christ does not justify someone whom He does not also sanctify. Justification, according to Calvin, becomes the motivation to sanctification. Although justification is free, sanctification becomes the believer’s response of gratitude.^30-18 Calvin remarked: “No one can embrace the grace of the gospel, but he must depart from the error of his former life, enter into the right way, and devote all his attention to the exercise of repentance.”

Arminian view. In contrast to Calvin’s doctrine of unconditional election, Arminians taught conditional election; that is, God elects to salvation those whom He knows will believe in Christ. But provision has been made for all humanity, because Christ died for everyone, not simply the elect. Although man is incapable of responding to God because of sin, God dispenses prevenient grace to all people, which enables them freely to choose to believe in Christ or reject Christ. However, the believer is capable of resisting the Holy Spirit, falling back into the world, and losing his salvation. Perseverence is essential to maintain eternal life.

Ok, that ends the clips from the theological handbooks. I hope you are still awake. See for me all of this irrelevant. Here is what I know and what I believe is important:

John Chapter 3:
16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Ok, we all know that one but "listen" closely to what Jesus says next:

17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18“He who believes in Him is not judged;
he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

Here is the part that will get me in trouble with a lot of people. I see both free will and predestination at work here. There are a lot of scriptures and I do mean a lot of scriptures that speak to both sides of this debate. Personally I believe the followers of John Calvin and Jacobus Arminian have erred in their extremisms. Plus they have erred because they "followed" one view or the other.
I follow Jesus.
I follow the word of God. The rest, the stuff that isn't really "clear" doesn't really matter.
Truthfully, it doesn't matter much. Here is what we are supposed to do:

mathew 22:37

37And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

See, reading the scriptures and reasoning these things out for ourselves is all part of trying to get to "know" God. That purpose is good and we are not going to always agree about what is written there. But when we allow it to mistreat or dismiss each other that we have missed out on what we are supposed to be doing. I don't have to agree with everything you believe for me to "Love" you. Love is what you do. It's how you treat someone. It's how you take care of someone.

That is So much more important than:

Free will versus Predestination.
Salvation won and lost or Salvation forever
Sin from Adam or Sin from our Choice.

We KNOW we CHOOSE to Follow Jesus. Whether that is by His Design or not doesn't matter. What matters is what choice are you going to make today?

We need to know How Salvation works:

Romans 3:23
...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Whether our sin came from Adam or from our own choices doesn't matter. We have all sinned and are condemned. We cannot return to God with out the penalty of Death being paid. Jesus, being perfect and without sin, by His death was able to pay that price so that we might have a eternal life with God. So what do we have to do?

The hardest thing known to man. Submit. Recognize and proclaim that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Master. Then be baptized and start living your life according to His commands. What does He command?

John 15:12
12“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14“You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 17“This I command you, that you love one another.

Now if you want to argue about whether or not Jesus was talking to His 12 original disciples or too all of us when He used the words "choose" and "chose". You go on right ahead. As for me I'm going concentrate on what He told them to do.