REJECT OR ACCEPT

                                                                     Reject or Accept

 One of the most favourite verses among Christians is also one of the most disputed by them. “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” (John 3:16). Does the word ‘world’ mean the heavens and the earth or is it speaking of the earth’s population or just a portion thereof? However, though directly related with the word ‘world’, the dispute has more to do with the word ‘whoever’.

To narrow it down, it has to do with who will accept and who will reject God’s free offer of salvation. Is it saying that the ‘whoever’ are only those chosen by the Father, and that only these will accept and receive God’s salvation in Jesus? E.g., “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). Or is it saying that people can believe in Jesus even without the Father drawing them to His Son? That is the dispute in a nutshell. It’s the old ‘free will’ versus the ‘sovereignty of God’ issue.

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Do you reject or accept the bondage of the will? This doesn’t mean that you’re not free to choose the salad instead of the vegetables to accompany your pub lunch. Nor does it mean the red instead of the white wine to accompany your chicken, even though the etiquette is white with white meat and red with red meat. The bondage of the will is your ability or lack thereof to accept the salvation God offers in His Gospel. The bondage of the will means that, because of your fallen nature, your will is in bondage to sin, to self, and to Satan. If little Johnny is offered chopped liver and onions or his favourite ice-cream, which will he take? But Johnny, liver is good for you. It is a good source of protein, rich in essential nutrients, Vitamin A is good for vision, B12 for brain health, iron for… What does little Johnny hear? Bla, bla, bla… He will only have the ice-cream, thank you! Yum!

We can tell non-Christians till we’re blue in the face all the benefits of salvation; escaping God’s final judgment, renewed body in the resurrection, escape from the fires of Hell and everlasting torment, an abundant life in the here and now as we await the restoration of all things etc. But what does the non-Christian hear? Bla, bla, bla – Rejection! ‘Unless’, as Jesus says, ‘the Father who sent Me draws him.’ Therefore, the will is in bondage and will therefore reject Jesus unless God sets you free. Jesus says, ‘whoever commits sin is a slave of sin… Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed’ (John 8:34b, 36). Do you believe this?

So, when it comes to the free offer of the Gospel, the offer is genuine and is genuinely offered to anyone and everyone who will believe. However, we don’t know what’s good for us, and we will continue to love our sin instead of God’s salvation unless He sets our will free from its bondage to our bad choices which result in our evil deeds. ‘For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed’ (John 3:20). Therefore, be one of the ‘whoever believes.’ Do not reject but accept God’s free offers of salvation to you. It is free because it has been paid in full by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And give God the glory for your salvation. And always remember that ‘The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him’ (John 3:35-36).