Thy will be done!

To believe the unsaved possesses a volitional will to assent to the truth of the Scriptures, is to assume one can believe without any initiative by God. But the Scriptures are clear, in that the unsaved:

• is deceitful and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9).
• is full of evil (Mark 7:21-23).
• loves darkness rather than light (John 3:19).
• is unrighteous, does not understand, does not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12).
• is helpless and ungodly (Rom. 5:6).
• is dead in his trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1).
• is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3).
• cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14).
• is a slave of sin (Romans 6:16-20).

We are not “born again” as a result of something we have done, but solely on the basis of God’s sovereign will and power.

Soli Deo Gloria!

God’s revealed will is for your salvation!

Paul says that God "desires [or 'wills, wishes,' Gk. theleo] all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (I Timothy 2:4). Peter says that the Lord "is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). In neither of these verses can God's will be understood to be his secret will, his decree concerning what will certainly occur. This is because the New Testament is clear that there will be a final judgment and not all will be saved. It is best therefore to understand these references as speaking of God's revealed will, his commands for mankind to obey and his declaration to us of what is pleasing in his sight. - Wayne Grudem