Salvation
Because God is love, and because He is almighty, He does everything that must be done according to His righteous will and judgment in this world, which lies under the power of the Evil One. Therefore, there is indeed hope for humanity, which is dead in sin. God desires to redeem human beings (all people) from this condition and make it possible for them to be reconciled to Him. Only God can do this, for humanity cannot, by its own effort, return to God or be reconciled to Him.
Peace with God for man
God wants to save man because He is love but love includes righteousness. God is just, therefore, He can and will redeem man to a new life of peace with Him, only in a righteous way. He cannot simply overlook human sin, because justice requires punishment for sin. According to Exodus 34:7 God forgives sin but never leaves it unpunished. That is why God also said in Numbers 14:18:
“The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty,”
This is just, because where sin is not punished, chaos follows, and people suffer under the selfishness (sin) of others.
From the beginning, God involves Himself with humanity. About 400 years after the flood, the Lord calls Abra(ha)m. God has a plan with Abraham: He wants to prepare for Himself a people (Israel) through whom “… all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3). His plan of salvation for humanity – through His perfect Sacrifice. Through covenants (voluntary agreements) with Abraham and his descendants (Israel), God walks a long road with Israel – often difficult because of their unfaithfulness – and at the appointed time the Blessing of God for all nations appears. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, comes as the perfect sacrifice to take upon Himself the punishment for humanity’s sin and to deliver humanity from sin. He pays the price for humanity’s reconciliation with God. A new life of peace with God is thus made possible.
Punishment for human sin is necessary, because God is righteous and has determined that blood brings atonement (Leviticus 17:11). The same passage says that life (the soul) is in the blood. This means that life is poured out when blood is poured out. Humanity cannot atone for sin through its own life, because one human life would only be sufficient to atone for the first sin—and nothing would remain to offer for all subsequent sins. Hebrews 9:22b states: “… without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
Sin must therefore be punished. The only way is through a perfect, spotless, sinless sacrifice that can bring atonement for humanity. Only God can provide this perfect sacrifice, which brings reconciliation with Him and a new life for humanity. Romans 3:24-25:
“… Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,”
God loves lost humanity so much that He Himself pays the price. John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.“
This perfect sacrifice is the Lord Jesus Christ, who came as a Jew, from the people of Israel, sent by God, and born as a human with the purpose of being the perfect sacrifice through which reconciliation with God becomes possible. 1 John 4:10:
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.“
Paul refers to this as proof of God’s love in Romans 5:8:
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.“
Jesus is the sacrifice for humanity’s sins, for which no other sacrifice can ever be sufficient. Peter confirms this in 1 Peter 2:24:
“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.“
Paul agrees in Ephesians 1:7:
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.“
So does the writer of Hebrews in 10:14:
“For by one offering (Jesus Christ) He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.“
God’s salvation is available to all. Paul teaches this in 1 Timothy 2:3–4:
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Peter understands it likewise in 2 Peter 3:9:
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
God knows, however, that many people will not be interested in being reconciled to Him. Therefore, Jesus says in Matthew 7:14:
“… narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
And in Luke 13:24:
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
The fact that God knows not all will accept this gift of salvation does not change His love. He still desires that all repent and be saved, so that it may go well with them. This is His desire for every person. Therefore, He makes provision for it.
The main reason some people do not want to be saved is that the self occupies first place in their lives. They cannot face the moral demands of the Christian life of faith. Those who do want to be saved but try unsuccessfully (Luke 13:24) are people who attempt to reach God in selfish ways, like Cain. Their motives are wrong; it is all about self and personal advantage. They want the best of this world as well as the best of the world to come. Many people often go to church but “will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;” (2 Timothy 4:3). They want to hear that God will bless them with worldly prosperity and health. They also often want to be entertained by music that is not always true praise and worship. This includes those who do not make enough effort to learn from the Bible who God is and what He has done for humanity.
The fact that God has made provision for everyone’s salvation and reconciliation does not mean that all are automatically saved. This gift of salvation and new life with God is received only by those who believe and accept it. Humanity must choose, for humans have a God-given ability to choose.
Man’s ability to choose (free will)
It is clear from the Bible that humans have the ability to make choices, and that God expects them to make choices. Some theologians struggle with the issue of free will. They seem stuck on the assumption that God can only know in advance what people will decide and do if He Himself predetermines, decrees, and ordains it. They cannot believe that God can know beforehand what every person will decide and do – even before the person himself knows what he will decide.
Some sincere believers throughout the centuries have taught that God cannot know something in advance unless He Himself causes it. For us humans this is difficult to understand, but if we believe the Bible, we must also believe that it is possible for God, because Scripture certainly teaches it.
God warns people repeatedly in Scripture to do certain things and not to do others, making it clear that they could choose whether to obey Him or not. As early as Genesis 4:7, after the fall, God warns Cain:
“… sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
Cain did not obey, and he sinned. If he had no ability to choose, God’s warning would have made no sense. Furthermore, God gives commands and rewards obedience and punishes disobedience. How could it be just or loving if God predetermined their disobedience and then punished them for it?
If everything were predetermined by God, as some mistakenly teach, it would mean that every human action and event is ordained and caused by God. It would also mean that humans could not be held responsible for selfish wrongdoing (sin), because they had no choice. One could not choose right or wrong, because everything would already be predetermined. The heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 would not have been possible. One such hero is Abraham. Genesis 15:6:
“And he (Abram) believed in the LORD, and He (God) accounted it to him for righteousness.“
If God had predetermined Abraham’s faith by manipulating his will, it would make no sense to credit it to him as righteousness.
This applies also to relationships. A relationship cannot be meaningful or genuine if it is not voluntary. Forced relationships are meaningless. This is true for humans and also for the relationship between God and humanity. God seeks meaningful relationships. According to John 4:23, God seeks true worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. To worship God in spirit means to worship Him with full devotion, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, with one’s whole heart and being. This requires the will; it cannot be otherwise. To worship God in truth also involves the will – it concerns the motive. It means worshipping God for who He is, not for questionable reasons such as gaining something from it. It remains a choice.
For the purpose of this discussion, free will simply means the ability to make choices. It does not mean total freedom or sovereignty on humanity’s part. A person may want to do many things but cannot always do everything he wants. One of these is that humanity cannot, by its own effort, be reconciled to God – even if one desires it and tries in one’s own way. Therefore, God involves Himself with humanity. He desires to deliver humanity from this lost condition and give them a new life of reconciliation with Himself.