I Can’t is not the same as I Won’t . . .

 

 

My dad had a term for lazy workers; he called them ‘can’t men’ because that was often their excuse. Even though he didn’t speak to us about being willing to try new or difficult tasks, my siblings and I grew up thinking we were capable of handling any challenge because he passed this value system on to us. When I opened my study Bible this morning, the word that reminded me of dad was ‘WHOEVER’ — a term used by God’s Word in His invitation to people and His conclusions regarding their response.

The OT tells of God calling the Israelites to be His people. He delivered them from bondage in Egypt and told them how to live. While many tried to obey, their failure resembles those my dad called ‘can’t men’ and God spoke of dealing with their refusal:

Exodus 32:31–34. So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

Deuteronomy 18:18–19. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

In the NT, Jesus also warned of refusing God. He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Sin is a serious matter. Jesus also said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” Even pointing fingers brands me just as guilty as everyone else: “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.”

The Scriptures are clear about the most serious sin. 1 John 2:23 says, “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”

Not having Jesus in my life would be evident in how I live. 1 John 3:4–10 goes on to say that “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness . . . No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him . . . Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous . . .  No one born of God makes a practice of sinning . . . whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God . . . .”

The other side of whoever are those who say yes to God when He says, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” This invitation is often repeated and is clear. Joel 2:32 says, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

In the NT, Jesus says, “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God” and “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

1 John 5:1 is clear: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The twist is that those who say “I can do it” when it comes to salvation become those who are rejected, and those who say “I cannot do it” speak the humble reality that we need God. For that, “The Spirit and the Bride (the church) say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” for it is the people who cannot save themselves who are admitted into the family of God! Whoever will is welcome.