Thy people SHALL BE WILLING in the Day of Thy power
The salvation of any sinner is a matter of Divine power.
By nature the sinner is at enmity with God,
and naught but Divine power operating within him,
can overcome this enmity;
hence it is written,
"No man can come unto ME, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him" ~ John 6:44
It is the Divine power overcoming the sinner's innate enmity
which makes him willing to come to Christ
that he might have life.
But this "enmity" is not overcome in all - why?
IS it because the enmity is too strong to overcome?
Are there some hearts so steeled against Him that Christ is unable to gain entrance?
To answer in the affirmative is to deny His omnipotence.
In the final analysis it is not a question of the sinner's willingness
or unwillingness,
for by nature
all are unwilling.
Willingness to come to Christ
is the finished product of Divine power
operating in the human heart and will
in overcoming man's inherent and chronic "enmity,"
as it is written,
"Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power" ~ Psalm 110:3
To say that Christ is unable to win to Himself
those who are unwilling
is to deny that all power in heaven and earth is His.
To say that Christ cannot put forth His power
without destroying man's responsibility
is a begging of the question here raised,
for He has put forth His power
and made willing
those who have come to Him,
and if He did this without destroying their responsibility,
why "cannot" He do so with others?
If He is able to win the heart of one sinner to Himself,
why not that of another?
To say,
as is usually said,
the others will not let Him
is to impeach His sufficiency.
It is a question of His will.
If the Lord Jesus has decreed,
desired,
purposed the salvation of all mankind,
then the entire human race will be saved,
or, otherwise,
He lacks the power to make good His intentions;
and in such a case
it could never be said,
"He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied."
The issue raised involves the deity of the Saviour,
for a defeated Savior
cannot be God.
~ A. W. Pink
excerpted from 'The Sovereignty of God'
Salvation is of the Lord.
~ Jonah 2:9
By nature the sinner is at enmity with God,
and naught but Divine power operating within him,
can overcome this enmity;
hence it is written,
"No man can come unto ME, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him" ~ John 6:44
It is the Divine power overcoming the sinner's innate enmity
which makes him willing to come to Christ
that he might have life.
But this "enmity" is not overcome in all - why?
IS it because the enmity is too strong to overcome?
Are there some hearts so steeled against Him that Christ is unable to gain entrance?
To answer in the affirmative is to deny His omnipotence.
In the final analysis it is not a question of the sinner's willingness
or unwillingness,
for by nature
all are unwilling.
Willingness to come to Christ
is the finished product of Divine power
operating in the human heart and will
in overcoming man's inherent and chronic "enmity,"
as it is written,
"Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power" ~ Psalm 110:3
To say that Christ is unable to win to Himself
those who are unwilling
is to deny that all power in heaven and earth is His.
To say that Christ cannot put forth His power
without destroying man's responsibility
is a begging of the question here raised,
for He has put forth His power
and made willing
those who have come to Him,
and if He did this without destroying their responsibility,
why "cannot" He do so with others?
If He is able to win the heart of one sinner to Himself,
why not that of another?
To say,
as is usually said,
the others will not let Him
is to impeach His sufficiency.
It is a question of His will.
If the Lord Jesus has decreed,
desired,
purposed the salvation of all mankind,
then the entire human race will be saved,
or, otherwise,
He lacks the power to make good His intentions;
and in such a case
it could never be said,
"He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied."
The issue raised involves the deity of the Saviour,
for a defeated Savior
cannot be God.
~ A. W. Pink
excerpted from 'The Sovereignty of God'
Salvation is of the Lord.
~ Jonah 2:9
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