Free Will D (Listen or Read)
The Myth of “Eternal” Rejection
We know in part…we see…dimly.
(1Co. 13:9-12)
No one has complete or perfect knowledge of God. So when a person rejects a given concept of God, they are not in truth rejecting the true God, but only their partial or flawed understanding of Him. Only Christ truly knows Him, and he to whom He wills to reveal Him (Mt. 11:27; Lu. 10:22; Jn. 6:46). If Christ has not revealed the Father in truth to someone, can that person be held accountable for rejecting what was not really made known?
Once a full revelation of God is received in the ages to come (Ep. 2:7), all will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, just as Isaiah and Paul prophesied (Is. 45:21-25; Ro. 14:11; Ph. 2:9-11). Who would want to continue in active and persistent rebellion knowing that God wants only what is absolutely best for them? Knowing then, the great goodness and love of God, along with the Holy Spirit working in each heart, all hardened hearts will melt before His glorious being. It is impossible that an omnipotent God can fail in His purposes, and some would forever resist unconditional love opting for everlasting pain. This would be totally irrational. And even if one were that irrational, such resistance would not arise out of a free will, but an enslaved will, a will in bondage to an insane mind.
Martin Luther declared:
I frankly confess that, for myself, even if it could be, I should not want free-will to be given me.…But now that God has taken my salvation out of the control of my own will, and put it under the control of His, and promised to save me, not according to my working or running, but according to His own grace and mercy, I have the comfortable certainty that He is faithful and will not lie to me, and that He is also great and powerful, so that no devils or opposition can break Him or pluck me from Him.27
John Wesley claimed that everyone in the world could be saved without the loss of liberty, according to a sermon entitled, “The General Spread of the Gospel,” which he preached on April 22, 1783. He said a city, nation, or the whole world could become Christian, and it could take place without difficulty if only we were to suppose God acts irresistibly. “Now in the same manner as God has converted so many to Himself without destroying their liberty, He can undoubtedly convert whole nations, or the whole world. And it is as easy to Him to convert a world as one individual soul.”28
Free will? Have you prayed for light and revelation about this teaching? Are His hands tied by your free will? Your belief or disbelief in “free” will must inevitably be determined by your view of God’s sovereign will and power.
The biggest factor overlooked by those who say God will not violate man’s “free” will, is the fact that man does not own himself. “All souls are mine” (Ex. 18:4). God wills all to be saved (1Ti. 2:4). If that does not happen, it is His will that is violated, not man’s.
If you might dare, imagine putting to God this question: “Do you place a higher value on our self-destructive “free will” than you do your own loving will for us, your very own children?” Please think about the audacity of this question! He created us and our wills. We and they are subject to Him.
Why is it that our tradition only accepts our will as “free” if it leads us to eternal destruction, and not free when it leads us to life in God’s predetermined will (Ph. 2:9-11; Ro. 14:11)? Unlimited freedom of will is an illusion. Such absolute freedom in man would be bondage of the worst kind imaginable.
I leave you with one final thought. If we, through our so called “free” will, can trump God’s will forever, then Christ gave up His “will” in vain. This would unlawfully rob Him of His reward for sacrificing His life for all men. Listen to His heart wrenching prayer after falling on his face in the garden of Gethsemane: “Father…not as I will, but as You will!”(Mt. 26:39). Jesus yielded up His “will” to His Father and accepted a most horrible death to save each one of us. He came to save the world! (Jn. 12:47).Did Christ think for a moment that His Father’s will to save all, and His ransom for all in due time (1Ti. 2:4, 6) would be meaningless? Not for a second! Please pause a moment and reflect on what was just said.
“Jesus…for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross (He. 12:2). What joy? There is only one thing that would give Him true joy; the total success of His mission. The Good Shepherd is not content until He finds each lost sheep. “He shall see the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied” (Is. 53:11 KJV)!He shall be satisfied!
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The pillars supporting belief in infinite punishment have crumbled. Will you now consider more seriously this critical question, “Is there hope beyond Gehenna?” Might judgment have a positive purpose in God’s unfailing plan for all? The answer, I believe, is found in the very nature of God Himself. Now, unshackled from fallacious arguments, will you look afresh with me at God’s awesome and glorious attributes? What is He really like?
References: See Bibliography page.
