Dear Wes,<br><br>A "works righteousness?" I don't understand, please elaborate. But yes, I do believe that man has the ability to either accept or reject Jesus Christ. I do not believe that a man can come to God of his own free will, unless God draws him first. <br><br>Concerning Revelation 22:19, no one has yet given me a valid or convincing rebuttal, the responses given me were easily refuted and shown to be unworkable.<br><br>You wrote:<br>"This whole concept that you have of a god who puts names in a book and later erases them subject to their sinful will is totally off base. I find it silly! As I try to picture in my mind this god your describe, who observes mankind and takes notes. Determining one day that someone should be in the book of life and the next day taking them out based on their ability to do what is right."<br><br>First off, I never wrote that God adds names to the book of life. I don't know if He does onr not. Secondly, our remaining in the book of life is not contingent on our ability to do what is right, but on faith in Jesus Christ. I'm sorry if you find my conclusions silly. But consider how I feel: I find it a little difficult to believe in a God that sees billions of people who will be born, all with an identical nature and all of them identical with respect as to how they would react to His life-changing power, and then He just goes and picks some. How? Did He shake them up in a giant bag and then just bestow His grace on whichever ones He randomly picked out? I know that is not what you believe, but you see what kind of sense that makes to me. On the other hand, if it were what the Bible indicated, I would have no trouble believing it at all; I don't have to understand it fully to believe it as long as God's word says it. So despite a few things within my beliefs that I don't fully understand myself, I believe what I have stated because it is what is indicated in scripture.<br><br>You wrote:"What you fail to realize is what God does in salvation. You keep talking about man resisting God, defying God, disobeying God, without realizing that the man of God doesn't do anything in any way that adds to or takes away from his salvation." <br><br>I disagree. There is plenty that one can do to affect one's salvation. Read Acts 2:40 (save yourselves from this wicked generation), Hebrews 4:11 (let us labor to enter into His rest), and 2 Peter 1:5-10 to read how to make your calling and election sure. Let me emphasize, I do not believe in salvation by works, merit, or keeping of the law. But there are conditions which God has placed upon us if we are to receive (and retain) this precious gift.<br><br>You also mention John 10:27-30. You might also try Romans 8:38-39, they both make the same point: God gives the believer security so that nothing in this world can force us away from the love of Christ. There is nothing in either of these passages or the whole of scripture that indicates that one cannot willfully walk away from God. The action indicated in such words as "pluck" or "separate" or "snatch" in these passages is "to take by force." It gives me great comfort to know that nothing can force me away from God. But these say nothing about walking away willingly. In fact the scripture says much about those who have fallen away (read the beginning of Hebrews 6).<br><br>To your question: "...who's sovereign you or God?" God. But even though it is God who works in us, He has also delegated to each of us some degree of responsibility for our souls. 2 Timothy 1:13-14 says, "Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Chist Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." So God gives us strength by the Holy Spirit to hold fast to Him. For we are new creations who share in the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4)! And we are commanded to hold on to the things which we have heard and not let them slip (Hebrews 1:2). And if we do these things we shall never fall (2 Peter 1:10), and then we too can be confident that God's work will be completed in us (Philippians 1:6).<br><br><br>In Christ,<br>Josh