Originally Posted by rachel
ok- I have read enough on here to know that we all deserve hell and that if one is predestined it is from God's mercy to us, yet my carnal but never ending brain wants to know "if God knows the all the outcomes then why create man since most of them would be born helpless to stop themselves from hurling into hell?

Paul says in Romans 9,

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So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/qna/arbitrary.html

Rachel,

why aren't you offended that God does not override our free-will and spare us eternal torment for those who choose Hell.

Why does 'free-will' trump everything else? Like, it's ok to send John Doe to hell, but whatever you do don't take away his choice to go to hell....that is offensive!

Do you know anyone who proclaims, 'it is my goal to go to hell when I die.'? Who are these Einsteins who are making this choice.

I'm not trying to sound rude, I can tell you are trying to understand how these things can be so. I'm just demonstrating the obsurdity of free-will preaching, thanks!

The salvation of the righteous and condemnation of the reprobate is happening according to God's eternal decree and to His Glory and the good of the elect for Jesus' sake.

AC

The mercy of God is necessary not only when a person repents, but even to lead him to repent, Augustine