God is sovereign. And every thing good comes from God.
James 1:17
New Living Translation (NLT)
17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father,
who created all the lights in the heavens.[a] He never changes or casts
a shifting shadow.[b]
We are totally depraved and incapable of doing good. Thus every bad choice comes from man.
Romans 3:10-12
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
10 as it is written,
“(A)There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
When we choose to sin, it is our sinful nature that cause us to sin not God.
James 1:13
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “(A)I am being tempted [a]by God”;
for God cannot be tempted [b]by evil, and He Himself does not tempt
anyone.
No one is good except God alone
Luke 18:19
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good
except God alone.
In our innate sinful nature we are only capable of choosing bad and incapable of choosing Good.
Matthew 15:19
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
19 (A)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, [a]
fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
Jeremiah 13:23
New Living Translation (NLT)
23 Can an Ethiopian[a] change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard take away its spots?
Neither can you start doing good,
for you have always done evil.
Can a leopard take away its spots?
Neither can you start doing good,
for you have always done evil.
That is why we are unable to choose God that is good.
John 6:63-65
New Living Translation (NLT)
63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes
nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64
But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning
which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he
said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father
gives them to me.”
The equation here is not one plus one equals two; that is capable of choosing both good and bad.
The equation here is 0 plus 2 equal to 2; we are zero God is 2 ie; We're nothing, God is every thing
We can only choose evil. Every thing about us is evil.
Matthew 7:11
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, (A)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what
is good to those who ask Him
When we do what is good, it does not results from us but from God who enable us.
1 Corinthians 2:14
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 But [a]a (A)natural man (B)does not accept the things of the Spirit
of God, for they are (C)foolishness to him; and he cannot understand
them, because they are spiritually [b]appraised.
Ephesians 1:3-6
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in (B)the heavenly places in
Christ, 4 just as (C)He chose us in Him before (D)the foundation of the
world, that we would be (E)holy and blameless before [a]Him. (F)In love
5 [b]He (G)predestined us to (H)adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to
Himself, (I)according to the [c]kind intention of His will, 6 (J)to the
praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in (K)
the Beloved.
Ezekiel 36:27
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
27 I will (A)put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My
statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Hebrews 13:20-21
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
20 Now (A)the God of peace, who (B)brought up from the dead the (C)great
Shepherd of the sheep [a]through (D)the blood of the (E)eternal
covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 (F)equip you in every good thing to do
His will, (G)working in us that (H)which is pleasing in His sight,
through Jesus Christ, (I)to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 1:6
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work
in you will perfect it until (A)the day of Christ Jesus.
When we do what is good,we must be careful to acknowledge that it is not from us but are unworthy servant that have only do our part.
Luke 17:10
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy
servants who have simply done our duty.’”
For all our works are like filthy rag.
Isaiah 64:6
New Living Translation (NLT)
6 We are all infected and impure with sin.
When we display our righteous deeds,
they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,
and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
God gets the credit for the good we have done. He gets the glory not us.
1 Peter 4:11
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
11 (A)Whoever speaks, is to do so [a]as one who is speaking the (B)
utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving [b]
(C)by the strength which God supplies; so that (D)in all things God may
be glorified through Jesus Christ, (E)to whom belongs the glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen.
By humbly acknowledging that all good works came as a result of the manifestation of grace throught faith in Christ saves us from being proud.
Ephesians 2:8-9 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 For (A)by grace you have been saved (B)through faith; and [a]that not
of yourselves, it is (C)the gift of God; 9 (D)not as a result of works,
so that (E)no one may boast.
God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Psalm 5:5
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
5 The (A)boastful shall not (B)stand before Your eyes;
You (C)hate all who do iniquity.
James 4:6
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 But (A)He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “(B)God is opposed
to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Luke 18:10-14
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the
other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and
prayed this prayer[a]: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like
everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit
adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a
week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift
his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow,
saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you,
this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For
those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble
themselves will be exalted.”
So in conclusion,when you choose to sin it's has nothing to do with God but every thing to do with you.
However when you do good, is it not of you but of God working in you because every good things come from God.
No one is good except God alone.
There is some goodness in man because we are made in the image of God.
Adam eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil and become like God knowing both good and evil hence capable of doing both good and evil.
~ J. C. Ryle
Genesis 3:22
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of (A)
Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and
take also from (B)the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—
Goodness in man is the result of common grace of God not from man.
Man has the free will to choose bad but does not have the free will to choose
good because they are incapable of chosing good.
If there is anything that you can choose apart from the supernatural work of God in your heart to assist you on your decision making,that has to be evil.
Therefore it is crucial to understand that man cannot choose God.
So than how do we know God?
By God's mercy.
Romans 9:15-16
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
15 For He says to Moses, “(A)I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and
I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does
not depend on the man who wills or the man who (B)runs, but on (C)God
who has mercy.
By grace through faith in Christ Jesus
2 Timothy 1:9
New Living Translation (NLT)
9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not
because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the
beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
God will grant you repentance.
2 Timothy 2:25
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
25 (A)with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, (B)if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to (C)the knowledge of the truth,
Through regeneration (awakening) to His calling.
Titus 3:5
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
5 (A)He saved us, (B)not on the basis of deeds which we have done in
righteousness, but (C)according to His mercy, by the (D)washing of
regeneration and (E)renewing by the Holy Spirit,
By believing in God who justifies the ungodly, your faith will be credited as righteousness
Romans 4:5
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
5 But to the one who does not work, but (A)believes in Him who justifies
the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
God will work in your heart to be responsive towards His calling.
Ezekiel 11:19
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
19 And I will (A)give them one heart, and put a new spirit within [a]
them. And I will take the (B)heart of stone out of their flesh and give
them a (C)heart of flesh,
Jeremiah 24:7
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7 I will give them a (A)heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they
will be (B)My people, and I will be their God, for they will (C)return
to Me with their whole heart.
He will put His Spirit within you and cause you to walk in His statutes
Ezekiel 36:27
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
27 I will (A)put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My
statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
John 16:7
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the [a](A)Helper will not come to you; but if I go, (B)I will send Him to you.
God will put the fear of Him in your heart so that you will not turn away from Him
Jeremiah 32:40
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
40 I will make an (A)everlasting covenant with them that I will (B)not
turn away from them, to do them good; and I will (C)put the fear of Me
in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.
God will draw you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3
New Living Translation (NLT)
3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel:
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
The Holy Spirit will work in you to believe in Him
1 Corinthians 12:3
New Living Translation (NLT)
3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
You will naturally be responsive towards God's calling if you are the chosen one of God.
John 6:37
New King James Version (NKJV)
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes
to Me I will by no means cast out.
If the choice is given to us to choose Him, since we are totally deprave and unable to choose God, We will blasphemy against God by profaning His name and as a result every one will end up in Hell.
And God is being fair to sent us to hell. Because man deserve to go to hell.
Praise God that He first chose us even before the foundation of the world.
If we are able to do good, we will be judge by all the good deeds that we fail to do.
If we are given the free will to choose God, Then we are also along with it given the responsibility to choose good. Since we are totally depraved and unable to do good. We will be condemned if God were to judge us base on all the good we failed to do.
James 2:10
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
10 For whoever keeps the whole [a]law and yet (A)stumbles in one point, he has become (B)guilty of all.
Galatians 3:10
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”[a]
Philippians 3:9
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 and may be found in Him, not having (A)a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, (B)the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Galatians 2:19-21
New Living Translation (NLT)
19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ.[a] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Praise God that it is God that works in us for all the good that we do. For if that isn't the case, if God were to kept a record of whatever good that was not done base on the old covenent law, no one can survive.
Praise God that it is God that works in us for all the good that we do. For if that isn't the case, if God were to kept a record of whatever good that was not done base on the old covenent law, no one can survive.
Psalm 130:3
New Living Translation (NLT)
3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive?
However for every evil deed that we do, God will held us responsible.
Romans 2:5-11
New Living Translation (NLT)
5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will judge everyone according to what they have done. 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. 8 But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. 9 There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.[a] 10 But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
God may also chose to harden the heart of people so that they are unable to know Him.
Romans 9:18
New Living Translation (NLT)
18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to
harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
Romans 11:7
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7 What then? What (A)Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but [a]
those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were (B)hardened;
Romans 9:22
New Living Translation (NLT)
22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and
his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who
are destined for destruction.
Everything good comes from God and yet we must not grow weary in doing good which is from God.
Galatians 6:9
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
James 4:17
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Romans 2:7
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7 to those who by (A)perseverance in doing good seek for (B)glory and honor and (C)immortality, (D)eternal life;
So than the ability to know God is not of your choice. It has nothing to
do with you. But every thing to do with God working in you causing you
to turn to Him so that no man can boast. Saving you from the wrath of God.
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