We have been in a sermon series on Sunday morning entitled “How To Follow Christ,” based on the biblical principles found in Henry Blackaby’s groundbreaking book, “Experiencing God.” In this series, we have emphasized the biblical principle of salvation being all the work of God and thus God receives all the glory for the salvation of men. I know that some of you may find this biblical truth somewhat troubling and I would like to address one concern that has been brought to my attention.

There are those who say if God causes me to come to Christ, then I am nothing more than a robot under control of God with no options of my own. God is the puppet master and I am the puppet. This argument seeks to protect man’s “free will.” Some even go so far as to use a crass example by saying that God is not a rapist. He doesn’t force his love on you. How do we answer such questions?

I’ll begin by saying that we give ourselves too much credit. We think we have enough good in us so that we can recognize the beauty of God on our own and thus make a right decision. Therefore, the argument is that man can recognize and rightly choose God if only he is exposed to God and the things of God long enough. This is akin to the secular argument that if we educate people enough then they will be intelligent enough to make the right moral choices. These proponents say that education is the key to social reform and it is the key to spiritual reform as well.

However, the Bible disputes that notion. The Bible says that none of us are good and no one, on his own, seeks after God (Rom. 10:10-11). All of the spiritual education in the world will not change the human heart. Sin has damaged our ability to understand the things of God and rightly recognize the beauty of God (Eph. 4:17-18).

The Bible also says that the non-believer is spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-3) and cannot come to God on his own. The non-believer lives according to the influence of the world, making decisions as he is led by the prince of the power of the air, i.e., Satan. These men are thinking they are exercising their “free will” and are in control of their own lives when, in actuality, they are under the control of sin and are slaves to sin, powerless to do anything but sin (John 8:34; Rom. 6:16, 20; Gal. 4:3).

The things of God are foolishness to the non-believer. He cannot understand the cross of Christ. Not only can he not understand the cross, but it is offensive to him (1 Cor. 1:23-25; 1 Pet. 2:7-8). Man will not come to God on his own. So how does anyone overcome their carnal nature and choose Christ? It takes a miracle of God.

God has to change a person’s heart before the person can recognize the beauty of and desire to come to Christ (Jer. 24:7; Ez. 36:26-27). Jesus said, in John 6:44 that God has to drag a man to come to Christ. The Greek word “helko” literally means “to drag.” God has to do a supernatural act in the heart of His elect that will overcome their natural inclination to reject Him. This supernatural act is called “regeneration” (John 3:3; 6:63-65; Eph 1:3-5; Acts 16:14b; 1 John 5:10, 20).

Once God has changed the heart of a man, then he has the ability to recognize the truth of the cross. Then he can understand spiritual things. His spiritual blinders have been removed by God and now he can respond to the call to come to Christ. In fact, he can do no other because he recognizes Christ for who He is: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Lamb of God. And so, has the new man in Christ become a robot in the sense that he is doing what he has to do? No, I think not. The beauties of God are so awesome and overpowering that once He is truly seen and known, we can do nothing else but come to Him, worship Him, glorify Him, love Him, and serve Him. I am no longer a slave to sin. Now I am free to enjoy God in a personal and practical daily relationship with Him.

What are some implications of these biblical truths for Christians? Let me list a few that come to mind.

1. God is the cause of man’s understanding and coming to Christ.

2. It is not our responsibility to “cause the conversion.” God does that.

3. We are responsible to communicate God’s offer of salvation to all men, knowing that while some will not come, God will cause some to come to Christ.

4. God is the author and finisher of our salvation, therefore, He gets all of the glory.

5. Once we understand how God had to overcome our opposition to His call, we treasure and are grateful for the miracle of God saving us through Jesus even more.

Your Brother in Christ,

Les Puryear