God's Foreknowledge, Grace, and the Human Heart
Orientation
We often assume that salvation begins with our own choice to seek God, but Scripture reveals our natural state is one of hostility and resistance to Him.
- Humanity, by nature, is not seeking God but is 'dead in trespasses' and an 'enemy' of God (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 5:10).
- This contradicts the common belief that people, given the right environment, will freely choose God.
- Revivalism and emotional altar calls often stem from this mistaken assumption, leading to pressure and false assurance.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:7)
— Romans 8:7
Clarification
Salvation is not God forcing our will nor us independently choosing Him, but His gracious work to overcome our resistance and draw us to faith.
- God's drawing is a patient, often gradual, work of the Spirit to soften the heart (John 6:44).
- This is not 'irresistible force' where we have no part, nor is it a mere opportunity we seize on our own.
- Regeneration—being made new—follows our believing the gospel, it does not come before it (Ephesians 1:13).
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. (Ephesians 1:13)
— Ephesians 1:13
Structure
God's eternal foreknowledge and predestination involve His sovereign ordering of our circumstances to bring His foreknown children into sonship.
- God, dwelling in eternity, has already experienced all ages with His children; His foreknowledge is relational, not merely observational.
- Predestination is God's loving purpose to bring us into our inheritance as sons, not a cold decree.
- He orchestrates people and events in our lives to patiently overcome our natural hostility and bring us to faith.
But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
— 2 Thessalonians 2:13
Weight-Bearing Prose
The core assertion is that salvation originates in God’s sovereign initiative to overcome humanity’s inherited sinfulness and enmity (Romans 5:10; 8:7). This counters Arminian revivalism, which assumes human free will and employs emotional manipulation, often resulting in false conversions lacking justification. It also counters extreme Calvinism, which posits an irresistible grace that regenerates before faith. The Pauline category is clear: we are dead in sins (Eph 2:1), God draws (John 6:44), we believe the gospel, and then are sealed with the Spirit (Eph 1:13). God’s eternal foreknowledge means He has already purposed the end—sonship and inheritance for His children. His predestination works through His sovereign ordering of circumstances and relationships in our lives, a patient, gracious overcoming of resistance. This does not negate universal grace or human responsibility. Christ’s propitiation is for the whole world (1 John 2:2), and the call to all who thirst is genuine (Rev 22:17). The tension between God’s sovereign drawing and human resistance is resolved in His patient, overcoming grace, not in a system that limits atonement or denies the universal offer.
Integration
Your salvation was never dependent on the strength of your will or the fervency of your emotional decision. It rests on God’s eternal knowledge and His patient, sovereign work to bring you to Himself. He knew you, and He ordered your path to overcome the very resistance that is natural to all of us. Christ died for the sins of the whole world, and the invitation is real for all who thirst. If you have believed the gospel—that Christ died for your sins and rose again—you are sealed. You are a foreknown child, brought into sonship and a full inheritance. This is His doing, from start to finish. Rest here. The pressure is off. Your assurance is anchored in His work, His knowledge, and His promise, not in your ability to choose or persevere. Christ is your righteousness, your sanctification, and your reward.