How does salvation work? How does faith work? Why do we say things like “if you just allow God to”, or “if only you would choose to believe?” Where does this kind thinking come from? Are we to accept what the Bible means when it says that the Lord Christ Jesus is the “author and perfecter of faith”ior are we still to run off with our “buts”? “But you need to choose Him.” “You need to believe.” To answer some of these questions let’s take a look at Pastor Jim McClarty’s entry at the GCA Q&A section entitled “Grace and Free Will.”
Question:
What would you say to someone who said this: “God’s grace is extended to all men, but not all men respond. That is because those who do not are so hardened by their own sin that they choose not to see. But the Spirit makes a call to everyone to come to God.”
Jim:
Let’s take this quote in parts, one piece at a time. Firstly,
“God’s grace is extended to all men.”
That is essentially true. It’s what theologians call “common grace.” Lots of lost sinners live very nice lives. They eat well. They have homes and cars. They live under the sun and are refreshed by the rain. Jesus said,
“For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Mat. 5:45)
And, by grace, the Word is available to all men. The airwaves are full of Christian broadcasting, there are churches everywhere, and a Bible in every hotel room. So, the grace of God extends to everyone on earth is some sense. Sinful men, who do not deserve it, live under God’s hand of provision. Fair enough.
However, God’s particular grace that leads to salvation is another matter.
“…but not all men respond.”
Exactly right. Now, to what do we attribute this fact? Is it a failing in some men that causes them not to respond? Is it a failing in God that makes Him incapable of reaching all men? Or, is it a matter of will power? Are some men just so strong that they can resist the grace of God?
I will answer the last question first. Men are fully able to resist the general, “common” grace. But, common grace is not revelatory. For instance, you can stare at the stars, or at a leaf, or at a newborn child, and be convinced that God exists. Even Paul admitted that (Rom. 1:18-20). However, that general knowledge of God’s existence that we can deduce from nature will never reveal the atoning work of Christ, man’s sinful nature, or God’s plan of redemption. You can stare are a shining lake all day, but it will never reveal such truths. You must look to Scripture for that sort of truth. Now, not everyone will respond to the revelatory truths of Scripture. So, we’re back to square one.
Why won’t everyone respond to the revelatory truths of Scripture? Are men that stupid, or weak, or freewheeling, or independent? Or, is God that incapable of revealing Himself to His creatures? Or, is everything working out exactly the way God intends it to?
Scripture – the place of revelatory knowledge – sides with the last answer. God is in control and the people who do not respond to God’s word were never His to begin with. They may live under His sky and eat His food, but that’s only because He is gracious and longsuffering with them. They have no knowledge of His truth, which can only be revealed by God’s saving grace.
“That is because those who do not are so hardened by their own sin that they choose not to see.”
Actually, no. It is not because they choose not to see, it is because they have no ability to see. It is not a matter of will; it is a matter of capability. It is not what they do that holds them back – it’s what they are.
In Christ’s parable of the sower, He said that the seed – which He defined as His word – would go out into the world. Then, he described four kinds of soil. Only one type of soil actually produced any fruit. Three quarters of the soil failed to produce. Notice, it was the same word, the same seed, but the difference was in the type of soil. Bad soil produced no fruit. Good soil produced, some more than others.
The difference was not in the choices the soil made, but in what kind of soil it was – good or bad.
Read the rest of this Q&A here.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 12:2 [↩]
