the strongest influence will prevail, every time, WITHOUT EXCEPTION
When it comes to what we believe, the strongest sets of influence always dictate what all of us choose every time without exception. It is impossible to choose what we do not prefer. The actual choosing of it proves that we prefer it, even though we may be attracted to a different influence to a lesser degree.
The strongest influence may be a combination of the influences that have been brought to bear upon us in the past, plus the influence that is being brought to bear upon us right now. But in the final analysis, the strongest influence always prevails every time. For example, try to believe differently than you do now. You can't can you? That's because there are influences so strong that they prevent you from thinking any differently than you do. Same thing goes for me, and the same thing goes for everyone.
I am so glad that I have a God Who is in intimate sovereign control over all strongest influences, and because of what Christ accomplished for us all by His death and resurrection, through the power in the blood of His cross, God will eventually transform all of the temporary negative consequences of our responses to strongest influences into something better that they temporarily prevailed. And He will eventually do this for every fallen creature without exception.
As my 95 year old dad says, "That's what makes Him God."
Concordant Christians believe that it is God's decretive will (that which must occur) that we all violate His preceptive will (that which we ought to do) as much as we actually do. We believe that God justly imposes accountability on everyone even though they cannot help but do what they do, because through His intimate sovereign control of how far He lets everyone get involved in sinning and suffering God is going to manifest, and glorify, and magnify the many facets of His character in a way that is uniquely applied to each individual. Contrary to what many people think, this does not cause us to live careless sinful lives because we love, and very much want to please a God like this.
The argument about “eternal hell” always ends with the words, “My Greek scholars are more reliable than your Greek scholars,” and the result is always a stalemate.
If you think it glorifies God more to let some of His creatures suffer forever, then you keep believing that.
But if you think it glorifies God more to eventually meet everyone on the level of their greatest and deepest need which is a change in their stubborn will, then know that there is plenty of evidence in the Bible that that is exactly what God is like.
A few Concordant websites are
http://www.concordant.org/
http://www.saviour-of-all.org/
http://www.godstruthfortoday.org/
http://www.godstruthfortoday.org/Library/index1.html
http://www.tentmaker.org/
From Rodger Tutt in Toronto, Canada
“That God may be All in all” 1Cor.15:28
