Can everyone choose God? or not?

With God, are there any coincidences? Today’s section for ‘reading through the Bible in a year’ happens to be a prelude to the verses and thoughts expressed by Tozer in his devotional. Both are serious observations and both are a burden on my heart for the world and the attitude of many people toward God, even people who appear ‘religious’ but have no personal relationship with Him and are not yielded to His will. The Lord describes these people through the prophet Isaiah:

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” (Isaiah 29:13–14)

For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 30:9–11)

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. (Isaiah 30:15–16)

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)

Instead of a true heart that loves God, many people fake it. On the outside, they appear to be pious but in their hearts they don’t want God to speak truth to them or instruct their lives. They don’t want anyone else to speak to them about the Lord either because they prefer to live by their own ideas and strengths.

God is patient with them like He is with all of us. He longs to show us what He is like, a merciful and just God who blesses all who seek Him and trust Him.

Jeremiah, another OT prophet speaks directly to those hypocrites:

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, (Joshua 24:15–16)

They were given a choice. These verses indicate that they wanted to serve the Lord yet historically, their commitment was on and off, mostly off. Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, their desire to live for the Lord constantly wavered.

Tozer speaks of a “spark of God within a person that troubles him or her” and leads people on to salvation. It is a spiritual awareness that cannot save them but prods them toward that choice. Tozer adds that some are nice people, nice neighbors, nice friends yet live without any spark of need for God.

He adds that we are created with the ability to choose. God didn’t want or create robots. I believe that much of that ability to choose was destroyed in the fall of humanity into sin, at least the ability to choose God. Sin says, “I will do it my way” and chooses to serve self. The Spirit of God offers us new life and the freedom of making choices that please God. When that ‘spark’ comes, it presents to us the most important decision of our lives.

Those who constantly say, “I cannot help it; this is just the way I am” sound like they are making a cop-out, but what they say may be true. Without God, the stuff we choose becomes a product of a heart without that spark. I need Jesus living in me to choose the things of God. I used to be a robot but not to Him — only to my old nature, to the world, the flesh and the devil. I couldn’t help it and constantly wavered between the voice of a million desires and the spark of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to do right, but until He gave me new life, it was not possible.

The liar keeps telling me that God does not want the best for me, that He is not interested in my well-being. Every little thing that supports that lie will throw me into selfishness — apart from that wonderful spark that reminds me of what Christ has done and of the promises of God. I do not need to sin. I do not need to make ‘me’ number one. God gives me options and with the choices also gives assurance of His continual presence and care. This does not work if I fake it and become a hypocrite. It does not work if I try to do it without Him. It only works when I yield to Him so that He can change ‘the way I am’ to the way He wants me to be.

^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, Your Word is so precious and so relevant to my needs. You assure me that You will take care of all my needs, be always with me, and keep leading me in Your ways. You also grant deep joy that overcomes all the burdens of life, even when they are not lifted. I cannot fake it. I am helpless without You, but with You I can do all things. You are a wonderful Savior.

Asking the right question . . .

If God is sovereign, why does evil exist? If God is all-powerful, why do bad things happen? If God saves people by grace, not by anything we say or do, why do only a few people become Christians?

The argument seems to be between God’s sovereignty and human volition. While many Christians choose one side or the other, I think both are true. My reason is simple: in His sovereignty, God gave humanity the ability to choose.

Think of it this way: if we were created to always do what He says and always submit to His rule, we would be robots and God a puppet–master. This was not His plan. Instead, God gave us the power of choice. Adam and Eve made the first choice to disobey God and with it, humanity entered the realm of choosing to go our own way. God knew before the foundation of the world this would happen and what He would do about it. He never intended we be programmed robots who mechanically do His will.

This makes sense. With the ability to choose, making selfish choices is between trusting God or trusting ourselves. Obviously, the choice to trust ourselves is constantly there — when in danger we pick safety, in relationships we will pick those that make us feel good, and so on.

We also avoid anything that threatens this freedom of choice. This explains why people avoid God. He calls us to give our lives to Him and we misinterpret that. Like Eve, we fall for the lie that God does not care about our well-being, not realizing He is the only One who can set us free from the tyranny of always needed to have our own way.

However, God is still sovereign in this strange testing of our loyalties. He can could zap us into ‘robot’ mode, but that is not His choice. Instead, His plan involves revealing Himself to sinful people, giving us reason to trust Him. Sadly, the more selfish we become, the more blind we are to the delights of righteous living.

Yet if God opens our eyes and draws us into His kingdom, our ability to choose does not change; we still have options. Even then, our choices do not affect the sovereignty of God. Sin put us into one option: going our own way. Salvation brings back the desire and ability to follow Him, but only because He restores the ability to choose.

How does He make it possible that sinners can change? He has His ways. For proud Old Testament King Nebuchadnezzar, it was a period of mental illness and humility. God said to him:

“You shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” (Daniel 4:32)

For the nation of Israel, it was many revelations of Himself through the prophets. Isaiah said to them:

“I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.” (Isaiah 45:5–7)

Isaiah also pointed to the sovereignty of God and to what eventually will happen to those who continue in their selfish ways:

“Woe to him who strives with Him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?  . . . . Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’” (Isaiah 45:9, 22–23)

God has a plan. Not everyone will be forgiven and saved, but everyone will realize who He is and what they should have done. This ultimate result is repeated in Romans 14:11, and also in another passage that first points to Jesus. He is God revealed in human flesh who willingly became one of us that He might pay our penalty for sin . . .  

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9–11)

As for today’s devotional, the writer quotes some people who say God is trying his best to save all mankind, but a majority will not let Him save them. In other words, God is impotent.

I believe both sides of this argument are valid. God is sovereign. He did not need to give Adam and Eve a choice. They and the rest of humanity could have walked with God in the garden forever, yet that untested love proves nothing. Mankind was given a choice, but in sin they cannot make it unless God grants them the grace to do so.

^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, I understand why You came, that You love sinners, and that You created us with the power of choice. I know You have the power to save anyone. You are sovereign, yet we can say yes or no to You. What I don’t understand is why Your saving power is not used on every single human being — our will is not omnipotent and You could do it. The only answer I can think of is that perhaps I ask the wrong question? Instead of wondering why you don’t save everyone, I should ask why do you save anyone?