Does God Choose Us or Do We Choose God?




DOES GOD CHOOSE US or DO WE CHOOSE GOD?

There are verses indicating that we must all choose to accept God and that this salvation is available to all people. John 3:16 says that God’s love extends to the whole world and “whosoever believes”in Jesus will have eternal life. 

Paul says “the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people” (Titus 2:11). 

God “is the Savior of all men, especially of believers” (1 Tim 4:10). 

So while Jesus is the Savior for ALL people, i.e. anyone can accept the salvation He offers, but it is only believers who will ultimately be saved. 

God offers salvation to all people (1 Tim 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). God, who sent his Son “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), desires the salvation of every person.  God’s offer of salvation goes out to all people, Jesus died for all people and God loves the whole world and desires the salvation of all people; nevertheless, only some will choose to respond to God’s saving grace and be saved.

Jesus died for all people and all people have the ability to choose out of their own Free Will whether or not they will accept God’s grace and be saved. God does not contradict Himself

“Go to all nations and preach the Good News of Jesus to everyone.” (Mark 16:15)

God has allotted to each a measure of Faith (1Cor 12:9). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through Faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:8)

God "is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) 
He "commands all men everywhere to repent." (Acts 17:30) 
He "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 2:4)
"The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." (Titus 2:11)
"It is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes." (Rom. 1:16)

Paul wrote, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Rom. 8:29-30) God predestined the character of those who would be called His children: holy, without blame and conformed to the image (and likeness) of His true Son, Jesus Christ.

The doctrine that says that God has already chosen the saved is a dangerous view because it puts all the weight on God and takes all of it off of us. If God has chosen us, then what does it matter what we do? We're going to be saved anyway! If we are not chosen, it wouldn't matter what we did if we could not be saved. Why try at all? Where is our Free Will?

When we accept Christ, we have in no way earned salvation, but simply obeyed the Will of the Father and we have done what He determined would bring us forgiveness of sins.

Eternal life is God’s gift (Rom. 6:23).