Putting Amazing Back Into Grace: Embracing the Heart of the Gospel by Michael Horton

Author:Michael Horton [Horton, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Non-Fiction
ISBN: 9780801064005
Amazon: 0801014212
Barnesnoble: 0801014212
Goodreads: 272821
Publisher: Baker Books
Published: 1991-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Holy Spirit and Human Response

One question often asked in discussing God’s sovereign activity in our lives is, “Does God drag people into heaven kicking and screaming, against their will?” Far from it. God changes their will and their disposition. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44), so his nature must be changed.

Try drinking water from a rusty cup. The water is not rusty; the cup is. No matter what kind of drink one might put in the cup, the rusty taste will still be there. The problem with us is not simply that we cannot make the right decision for Christ; instead the problem is that we possess a nature that is opposed to God. We reject Christ of our own free will. And if we accept Christ, it will be because God changed our nature so our will would respond naturally and freely to God’s grace.

We cannot separate a person’s will from his or her nature. If it is a coyote’s nature to howl, its instincts will lead it every so often to a particular rock where it will unleash its haunting call. But a rabbit will not howl, nor will a groundhog, for it is not their nature. The difference is that with us the problem is not that we were not created to glorify and enjoy God, but that we refuse to accept that as the goal of our creation and existence. Unlike the coyote’s howling, our rebellion is unnatural, a perversion of our nature. Jeremiah said of humans, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). If an unbeliever rejects Christ, that person is only responding as his or her nature dictates. If a person accepts Christ, the person’s nature has been transformed. But in either case, that person’s will makes the choice.

The real question, then, is whether our choice is the determining factor in our salvation. I would answer yes and no. Yes, if you do not choose Christ you will be condemned, and if you do choose Christ, you will live. But the answer is also no in the sense that only a move of God’s grace can change your nature so you will say yes to him. The human heart, untouched and unrenewed by God’s effective grace, will never move a person toward the truth. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6), and faith is God’s gift (see Eph. 2:8).

Regeneration is irresistible only because the God who regenerates is irresistible. Our natural blindness keeps our eyes from recognizing God’s captivating features. So when God heals our sight, what can we say but, “Now I see!”?

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