God’s Sovereignty and the Human Will

Posted on by
Reply

Article by A. W. Pink (original source here)

“It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” Phil. 2:13.

Concerning the nature and the power of fallen man’s will, the greatest confusion prevails today, and the most erroneous views are held, even by many of God’s children. The popular idea now prevailing, and which is taught from the great majority of pulpits, is that man has a “free will”, and that salvation comes to the sinner through his will cooperating with the Holy Spirit. To deny the “free will” of man, i.e. his power to choose that which is good, his native ability to accept Christ, is to bring one into disfavour at once, even before most of those who profess to be orthodox.

And yet Scripture emphatically says, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” Rom. 9:16.

Which shall we believe: God, or the preachers?

But some one may reply, Did not Joshua say to Israel, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve”? Yes, he did; but why not complete his sentence? — “whether the gods that your fathers served which were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell” Joshua 24:15! But why attempt to pit scripture against scripture? The Word of God never contradicts itself, and the Word expressly declares, “There is none that seeketh after God” Rom. 3:11.

Did not Christ say to the men of his day, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” John 5:40? Yes, but some did come to him, some did receive him. True and who were they?

John 1:12,13 tells us: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”!

But does not Scripture say, “Whosoever will may come”? It does, but does this signify that everybody has the will to come? What of those who will not come? “Whosoever will may come” no more implies that fallen man has the power (in himself) to come, than “Stretch forth thine hand” implied that the man with the withered arm had ability (in himself) to comply.

In and of himself the natural man has power to reject Christ; but in and of himself he has not the power to receive Christ.

And why?

Because he has a mind that is “enmity against him” Rom. 8:7; because he has a heart that hates him John 15:18. Man chooses that which is according to his nature, and therefore before he will ever choose or prefer that which is divine and spiritual, a new nature must be imparted to him; in other words, he must be born again. Continue reading →

John 3:16 (Some Resources)

Posted on by
Reply

Pas ho pisteuwn: ‘everyone believing’ not ‘all can believe’

Chapter 8 of my book, Twelve What Abouts:

WHAT ABOUT JOHN 3:16?

The question usually posed here is something like this: How can you reconcile belief in Divine election with John 3:16?

Most assume it is not possible. Actually, if we carefully take a look at the text and not just assume its meaning, John 3:16 is a wonderful scripture that in no way undermines the truth of Divine election.

It is certainly the most famous verse in the entire Bible. Here Jesus says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

When hearing the biblical teaching on the subject of Divine election, some seek immediate refuge in a traditional, and may I say unbiblical, understanding of this verse.

They say this: “God can’t elect certain ones to salvation because John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that gave His Son so that WHOEVER believes in Christ would have eternal life. Therefore, God has done His part in offering the gift of salvation in His Son and just leaves it up to us to receive the gift through faith. Amen. Case closed!”

Though this is a very common tradition, and one I held to myself for many a year, it needs to be pointed out that in spite of the emphasis made by many people on the word “whoever,” the text does not actually discuss who does or does not have the ability to believe.

Someone might just as well be quoting John 3:16 to suggest that all churches need to have red carpets in their sanctuaries! Why? Because that also is not a topic addressed in the text. The verse is often quoted, but actually it has no relevance to the subject.
For the understanding of a text in the New Testament, we need to check the original language in which it was written, namely Koine Greek. It may come as a big surprise to learn that in the original Greek of John 3:16, there is no word corresponding to our English word “whoever.” The word “whoever” is expressing a phrase in Greek which is difficult to express smoothly in English.

Literally, the text reads “in order that every the one believing in Him, not to perish, but have everlasting life.” Continue reading →