We're nothing without Grace. We need God's power in order to do good. We can make distinctions about what "Choice" means, but God foreknew what our choices would be. He sealed us according to His predestined election of grace. That's not to say that man has no choice--in fact, pure free will and pure determinism both can exist in accordance with each other--God's divine knowledge is omniscience. He knows everything, and every choice we're going to make. So, He predestined us according to divine election.
However, "Once saved always saved" is also not true. There's people who taste of Spiritual Fruits and fall away, and they can never be reconciled. There are those who are written into the book of life, and are then again blotted out. There's also lost sheep and prodigal sons, who being blotted out, can be written back into the Book of Life.
But, God knows who that is, already. It's just our desire, to ask and fear God enough to write our names, and seal us, and predestine us. And to him who knocks, it shall be answered.
Which gets to total depravity. We have no power to be good, in of ourselves. Only the situations God creates can keep us out of hell. We'd be steamrolled by Satan if God didn't restrain Him. So, all our righteousness proceeds from Grace, and nothing else. And through our understanding of Christ's teachings, we move closer to Him, but through loss of desire for fear, we lose our reward. But, God knows beforehand who those who walk with Him in truth are.
So... it's hard to say. It's beyond our own understanding, but truthfully, as light and shadow exist, so does free will and determinism.
Mark 13:51Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 52Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
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