When His disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables, Jesus said, "I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand" (Matt 13:13). He confirmed what Isaiah wrote: "For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them" (Matt 13:15). John confirmed this in his gospel.
Though He had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in Him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them." Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. (John 12:37-41)Jesus said and John understood that God had "blinded their eyes and hardened their heart" so that "they could not believe." In Romans, Paul writes the startling claim that God's desire was to "show His wrath and to make known His power" on "vessels of wrath prepared for destruction" (Rom 9:22). In fact, Paul claims that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God (Rom 1:16) first and foremost in His wrath against sin (Rom 1:18). It is right for God to be angry about sin. And that condition is universal (Rom 3:23).
The real question is not "Why doesn't God save more?" The real question is "Why does God save any?" Why even one? We are His enemies (Rom 5:10), hostile to Him (Rom 8:7). Scripture says, "The intention of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen 8:21). We aren't good people (Rom 3:12). Rather than being irritated with God for failing to save enough, we ought to be in awe of His grace and mercy for choosing to save any of us who would, if we could, pull Him down from heaven and trample Him. We shouldn't be surprised that people go to hell. The big surprise is that some don't.
3 comments:
It is important for us to remember that grace is unmerited favor. We are not so sweet and lovable that more of us should be saved, but we all are rebels seeking to be like God. The fact that He allows anyone to repent is simply amazing.
I know that the Bible supports the truth you addressed today, and I do accept it, even as I constantly debate it around and around in my mind. On the one hand, I realize that we humans are God’s enemies through and through and deserve only His wrath and judgment; on the other hand, we are born with a sinful nature and have no ability or desire to seek God unless and until He draws us to Himself (so it seems that we are doomed from the get-to). So while I am not therefore surprised that more are not saved, I must conclude that that is completely as God has ordained it to be, for His own reasons. I know this can’t be construed so as to make God stingy when He grants salvation to so few of us--knowing that He shouldn’t save any of us--yet the reality of so many generations of lost people is a hard one.
I do ask, “Why doesn’t God save more?” but I ask it along the lines of these thoughts: “God is benevolent and merciful; sinners can accept the Gospel of grace only as He grants them faith to do so; He is worthy of so many more dedicated devotees. Therefore, why doesn’t He bring more people to Himself to worship and serve Him?” I do understand that no one deserves salvation, so I am not asking from that angle; rather, I wonder why He doesn’t manifest His graciousness even more and save more unworthy sinners (since He is saving some who don’t deserve it, why not more?). Why such a small group of us?
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