What is man's responsibility for being saved? Does God require an obligation/choice to respond to the Gospel call - or do we have no choice or will in the matter and it is all preordained?
This is a very old debate - Calvinism vs Arminianism/Pelagianism is the technical theological label and you can read more about it by googling those terms.
Consider what the Bible says - Before God formed us in the womb, He knew us, and had a plan for us ( Jeremiah 1:5 ), the Spirit we have comes from Him ( Ecclesiastes - spirit returns to God who gave it 12:7)- and you will realize we are His creation, the sheep of his pasture.
For the saved - It is a joyous thing to consider that we are pre-chosen for Salvation. The seeming absence of free will does not sting so much, because even if we had free will we would still want to go to heaven - why would we want God to give me the ability to reject Heaven, and pick Hell instead ? And if we had free will, wewould obviously pick heaven! Would picking hell be logical, smart or right? Of course not! So in one sense - free will or no free will, the outcome ( going to Heaven ) is the same - for the saved --whether you are a Calvinist or Arminian/Pelagian!
For the unsaved it's a different story, and it's the reason many others have a problem with Calvinism/Election. Here it would -seem- that even if the unsaved want to get into Heaven, they are prevented from making a free will choice to choose heaven. They seem to be preselected for Hell despite their interests and desires and never given a chance! They were picked to go to hell before they were born and that seems terrible and bad of God!
Paul had the same issue and question!!!
"What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion."
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?" But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" - Romans 9:14 - 24
You see dear friend, it's Gods universe. We have no right to question him. Paul does not have an answer other than to say it is not our place to question Him. Verses 20-22 are the key. He is saying trust God to save the righteous, and trust him to fry the truly wicked. He will save the right people, and there will be no one in hell that does not truly belong there. We want God to play by our rules forgetting that He is the one who made us and the rules in the first place!
Nevertheless, here is something that might help those that are not happy with the answer above. Everybody gets Justice, but a small portion of people get Mercy. God is NEVER UNJUST or UNRIGHTEOUS.... He is entirely justified in leaving people who reject Him to their own devices, giving them ALL THE BENEFITS He gives to the Righteous --- Rain falls on the fields of the just and unjust alike, the wicked enjoy all the benefits of his benevolence to all Creation, AND HIS PATIENCE in not wiping them immediately out of existence! The Wheat & the Tares are ALLOWED to grow together till the time of Harvest, and meantime, the invitation of the Gospel is ALWAYS out there for everyone!\
Even if the wicked don't repent, we can see in the Book of Revelation, that EVEN THOSE FROM HELL can be found in the Lambs Book of Life, and can enjoy the New Heaven & the New Earth -- God is not unjust to ETERNALLY punish people for crimes comitted in a FINITE Lifetime!
" And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. " - Revelation 20:11-15
We can clearly see that Death & Hell are DESTROYED in the Lake of Fire, so they are NOT ETERNAL. Second, note that the "Rest of the Dead" means those that NEVER accepted the Gospel... as the Righteous were earlier seen in the Book, standing on a sea of Glass, waving Palms of victory, and praising the ONE who gave them their WHITE ROBES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS! These are the ones that OBTAINED MERCY and are not judged at this 2nd Resurrection, but were part of the FIRST Resurrection (the time of the Rapture).
The Lake of Fire is reserved for the Devil, His Angels, the Beast & his prophet (of the end-times), Death, Hell, and the TRULY REPROBATE, that did not find their names in the Lambs book of Life.
Our focus on free will is therefore, really to give GOD a get out of jail free card - only those who choose to go to hell actually end up there - God has done everything he can by calling, preaching, knocking, so He is off the hook and it's man's responsibility.
Actually, the TRUTH is the exact opposite! God is sovereign over His creation, and if anyone is going anyplace, its because He sends him there! Now you see Him for who he truly is. Awesome majestic terrible!
So what about free will and man's accountability?
Think about it like this and this is really really the key question to ponder......
Why does one person respond to the gospel and another does not, when presented with the exact same evidence?Why does one person open the door to Jesus' knocking and another does not? Why?
Because they just don't feel like it? Because they are not intellectually convinced? Because the gospel is weak and foolish? Because there is something wrong with the way they were born, their environment, their circumstances, their upbringing and education, their theology, their age, their intelligence or lack of it, their situation? - what?
If being saved _ depends on all those stars aligning _ then it doesn't really depend on the will of the person, it's circumstance and accident that some get saved isn't it? What we call a _ free will choice_ then is merely a happy accident!
If God left us to our own devices, being saved would be accidental and coincidental, where is the justice, mercy, and love in that scenario?
Now do you think it's more possible that God COULD align those stars on our behalf so that we DO make that free will choice to accept the Gospel?
Yes, the decision was yours, but who led you to it? ------ So was it really your decision? I think this lines up more clearly with scripture - God can bring about the outcome he desires without messing with man's free agency. He predicted/elected the Crucifixion, but it was carried out by free moral agents acting of their own volition!
"Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: "You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land—the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.' ( Deut 29:2-4)
Seeing the miracle working hand of the Lord does not bring a person to saving faith unless the Lord himself changes the person's heart! Now we can understand why "Many are called, but few are chosen". It is the Gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. It is a powerful illustration of the total depravity caused by sin, that all the calling in the world is powerless to change our hearts unless He is willing through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe, through the faith that He provides.
Here it is in action in the New Testament- Acts 16:14 "Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul." We need to be called, chosen, and given the faith to believe! Rev 17:14 "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." Go to Him and ask Him to open your heart!!!!
At the end of it all,we are thankful he picked you and me, and grateful he may save others if we pray for them.
- We should be happy that all the stress is out of our hands, other than following his command to be a witness.
- We are happy to trust him with keeping us saved since we can't do it.
- It gives us a better picture of how big and powerful and in control He is but also how intimately he is involved in everyone's life.
In Summary, at an Individual Level, we can summarize the Doctrine of Election/Salvation thus...
Who and What are you Saved from?
God, and the Wrath of God/Hell for sinners. As a sinner, you are liable to pay the full penalty for your sin against a Holy God.
Who saves?
God. His Grace and Mercy is manifested by Him choosing to save a certain number of people from His Wrath.
How does He Save?
His righteousness demands that the penalty be paid - there is no free lunch, and He is the standard for Justice. So God makes the provision of the CROSS, whereby He Himself (in the form of the Son) pays the penalty for our Sins on the Cross, and His Righteousness is credited to our account!
How does He save ME?
God works with you to draw you to Him, and gives you the saving faith whereby you finally come to the realization of what He has done, and believe! Your faith is the mechanism by which you individually are saved.
All the Doctrine of Election means, is that you have no part in choosing whether you are saved or not. It's God who makes the choice! It is His free gift to you, so that you have NOTHING to boast about. Its ALL HIM!
The other question that is asked is why do we bother about reaching people for Christ? The answer is that God is glorified by graciously allowing us to be the means for reaching the people He chooses. This should be a great encouragement for evangelists, as it assures them that people are going to be saved through their efforts, as God is the one that will bring the right people to them.
Look at it this way. He didn't have to save ANYBODY! Thank Him for saving the ones He does.... and understand that it is ALL HIM! It should remove any pride or faith in our efforts - other than to thank Him for allowing us to be His instruments. The amazing thing is that He also rewards us for our efforts!
Get on your knees and pray that you may find favor with Him! Pray for the salvation of your friends and neighbours. That is God's will - that you should echo His heart for them, and that He would graciously honor your prayer and save them! Pray while they are still on this earth, because once they die, they have lost their chance.
All Glory to Him !!!
