IS GOD UNABLE TO SAVE MEN BECAUSE THEY ARE �UNWILLING�?
Posted : 25 Jul, 2013 05:33 PM
The salvation of any sinner is a matter of Divine power. By nature the sinner is at enmity with God, and naught but Divine power operating within him, can OVERCOME this enmity; hence it is written, "No man can come unto Me, EXCEPT the Father which hath sent Me DRAW him" (John 6:44).
It is the Divine power overcoming the sinner�s innate enmity which makes him WILLING TO COME to Christ that he might have life. But this "enmity" is not overcome in all�why? Is it because the enmity is TOO STRONG to be overcome? Are there some hearts so steeled against Him that Christ is UNABLE to gain entrance? To answer in the affirmative is to DENY HIS OMNIPOTENCE. In the final analysis it is not a question of the sinner�s willingness or unwillingness, for by nature ALL are UNWILLING. Willingness to come to Christ is the finished product of Divine power operating in the human heart and will in overcoming man�s inherent and chronic "enmity," as it is written, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of THY POWER" (Ps. 110:3).
To say that Christ is UNABLE to win to Himself those who are unwilling is to deny that all power in heaven and earth is His. To say that Christ cannot put forth His power without destroying man�s responsibility is a begging of the question here raised, for HE HAS put forth His power and made willing those who HAVE come to Him, and if He did this without destroying THEIR responsibility, why "cannot" He do so with others? If He is able to win the heart of one sinner to Himself, why not that of another? To say, as is usually said, the others WILL NOT LET HIM is to impeach His sufficiency. It is a question of HIS will. If the Lord Jesus has decreed, desired, purposed the salvation of all mankind, then the entire human race WILL BE SAVED, or, otherwise, He lacks the power to make good His intentions; and in such a case it could never be said, "He SHALL see of the travail of His soul and be SATISFIED."
The issue raised involves THE DEITY of the Saviour, for a DEFEATED Saviour cannot be God!
By nature, God�s elect are children of wrath EVEN AS OTHERS (Eph. 2:3), and as such their hearts are at enmity with God. But this "enmity" of theirs is overcome by the Spirit and He "compels" THEM to come in. Is it not clear then that the reason why OTHERS are left outside, is not only because they are UNWILLING to go in, but also because the Holy Spirit does not "compel" THEM to come in? Is it not manifest that the Holy Spirit is SOVEREIGN in the exercise of His power, and that as the wind "bloweth WHERE IT PLEASETH", so the Holy Spirit OPERATES WHERE HE PLEASES?
[Quoted from A.W. Pink�s �The Sovereignty of God� - Baker Publications]
IS GOD UNABLE TO SAVE MEN BECAUSE THEY ARE �UNWILLING�?
Posted : 27 Jul, 2013 03:21 PM
I don't think that it's quite like that. I think that it's like getting an invitation to a wedding or a party or what have you. God "invites" everyone -- and no one can come to a saving knowledge of God unless God invites him. God is willing that all should come, but He is not willing to force anyone to come against their will. Nevertheless He will take every opportunity He has to get them to change their minds.
Also, it's like a game. He has designed the "rules" so that humans are given or allowed free will. Because He has so set the rules, He cannot arbitrarily "break" the rules by saving people against their will. He could have set the rules so that we would not have free will, but He didn't. I think that there are things that God cannot do, because they contradict logic or His character. For example, an obvious one is that God cannot lie. Does this mean that He is not all powerful? Of course not. It's just that to lie is a direct contradiction of God's character. Someone cannot be able to both tell only the truth and yet be able to tell a lie. In the same way, God cannot save anyone against their will. To do so would be to contradict the property of free will that He gave us and to break His own rules.
IS GOD UNABLE TO SAVE MEN BECAUSE THEY ARE �UNWILLING�?
Posted : 27 Jul, 2013 07:19 PM
It is clear that God did give man a free will, as He commanded Adam in Genesis 2:16-17 not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which Adam evidently did later. The well-known John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." This is clear that the invitation is open to anyone. Verse 18 of the same chapter says, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." This also indicates that it is the choice of the individual that determines his salvation. (Note that we are only able to be saved at all because of the grace of God manifested in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.) In 2 Peter 3:9, the Lord is described as "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Yet Revelation 20:11-15 talks about the Great White Throne judgment, where those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life (i.e., the unsaved) are cast into the lake of fire.
So, we know that God did give humans a free will as stated above. We also know that it is each person's choice that determines their salvation, as in John 3:18. Since we know that God is unwilling for any to perish, but that He knows that some will indeed perish, the only thing I can conclude is that God does His best to draw each individual to Himself, but ultimately it is the individual's choice that determines his salvation. God allows us to exercise the free will that He gave us, though He would rather that we all were saved. Because He allows us free will, He cannot save the unbeliever by the method that He has chosen as outlined in the Bible. So in this way it is like the game that I described earlier. He has set out the rules, and He is playing by them. Why He chooses those rules is another matter, but knowing God, it is likely for the best. But I don't think it makes God out to be any less powerful than He is.
I hope this is a little clearer, and by all means feel free to disagree with me! I am not a theologian, and discussion is a good thing. This is just my understanding of the matter.
IS GOD UNABLE TO SAVE MEN BECAUSE THEY ARE �UNWILLING�?
Posted : 29 Jul, 2013 06:30 AM
Isaiah 59
Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Revelation 22
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Romans 10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
IS GOD UNABLE TO SAVE MEN BECAUSE THEY ARE �UNWILLING�?
Posted : 29 Jul, 2013 07:22 AM
I would say, obviously, we have free will, but it does get confusing. I was raised just reading the bible and had no knowledge of this "election"/"predestination" theology. It was so obvious to me that we have free will, that it completely confused and bewildered me that this belief system even existed, but it does have some points that are hard to get around. That being said, I still absolutely believe we have free will. From what I've studied of election theology, when applied to the bible, the entire word becomes a mess of conflicting inconsistencies, and the self-sacrificing God of love who died for the whole world transforms into a tyrannical sadistic ego-monster that only truly loves himself and is unwilling to save certain people so he can punish them eternally for his own glory.
