Does Love Require Free Will?

Paul pinpoints the whole problem of your post. The kind of love God expects comes from a "pure heart and a good conscience" which no fallen man has. Instead, their heart is corrupt and their conscience is defiled by sin. You must start where the Bible starts with fallen man, and Jesus makes it very clear that it is only a "good tree" (heart) that can bring forth "good fruit" but an "evil tree" CANNOT bring forth good fruit. In the very same text (Mat. 12) he describes their condition as "being evil" not merely doing evil, as they do evil because their heart is evil.

The Bible does address this MANY times and ALWAYS in the negative. John 3:19-20 addresses it directly. Romans 8:7-8 addresses it directly. Romans 3:9-11 addresses it directly. Fallen man has no ability to love God, to please God, to obey God, to come to God (Jn. 6:44).

These are foolish analogies for many reasons. First, it reveals you lack of understanding of the fallen nature. Second it reveals your lack of understanding of Biblical regeneration. Regeneration is nothing less than creating a new moral inclination within the darkened heart - an inclination that delights in righteousness (Rom. 7:21) rather than in darkness (Jn. 3:19-20). Faith in the gospel is simply the consequence of a newly created "want to" for the things of God.

Finally, both of your illustrations demonstrate you don't understand that the fallen human heart is so irreversably adverse to God and the things of God that the only possible solution is for God to give a "new" heart as the old heart will NEVER submit, love, or choose God (Deut. 5:29; 29:5; Ezek. 36:26-27)

All your texts involve Christ and those already born again. Thus you have no proof at all.

 

It will depend on how one defines love.
The Bible tells us that God is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works (Psalm 145:9).
God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23).
God makes His sun rise on the evil as well as the good, and sends rain upon the just and unjust (Matthew 5:45).
He is kind to the unthankful and evil (Luke 6:35).
The Lord Jesus had compassion upon the multitudes (Matthew 9:36), healed the sick among them, taught them and fed them (Matthew 14:14-21).

The word 'love' is not mentioned in any of those texts, but if you think that the things described constitute love, then you will believe that God loves everyone.

However, we read that, 'Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end' (or '...to the uttermost.' John 13:1).

 

The Bible speaks of God hating certain individuals (Esau, Pharaoh) in the context of redemptive love or the "mercy" of God (Rom.9). The Psalmist says that God hates all "workers" of iniquity and not merely their works. So to say that God redemptively loves all fallen humans equally is simply not true. Redemptive love is found only "in Christ" whereas the wrath of God is presently abiding upon all outside of Christ (Jn. 3:36; Eph. 2:2-3). Those chosen "in him" before the foundation of the world are objects of that redemptive love (Eph. 1:4) and every single one are effectually called (Rom. 8:28) according to his "purpose" which is effectually administered to them unto glorification (Rom. 8:29-31) as the "elect" of God (Rom. 8:33).

Nothing prevents the worst sinner from coming to Christ for salvation but their own refusal (Acts 7:51) and nothing but God's mercy and grace can explain any sinner who does come to Christ (Jn. 6:44). The elect are unknown to all but God but are made known to us by repentance and faith in the gospel. We are always victorious whenever we share the gospel as the gospel is used to condemn the unrepentant and used by God to save the elect (2 Cor.2:14-15). None can be saved apart from the gospel as God has chosen and ordained the elect to be saved through the preaching of the gospel.

 

The above statement is verified by John 1.
Only those that do not turn from the light are given the power to become the sons of God.

Those that turn from the light are not given such a gift.

Being a living soul is granted by the unmerited favor of God, not gained by human effort, rather uniquely The Father granting that gift of faith, so that not a single person may exalt them self by proclaiming the ability to attain that which the Scriptures clearly declare is humanly unattainable.

 

The problem is that NONE of those paths lead to Christ, if we are just exewrxing our "free will", as it is under bondage to sin and the flesh!

 

Again, I will write what I have posted before in other threads that run into this area.

First, there seems to run a certain group of exclusionary folks who want to limit the blood of the cross to impact only those few redeemed of the ages. I don't consider the apostles supported this view, especially John

Second, there is a group of us that do recognize the pattern(s) of the blood sacrifice of the OT and the testimony especially of John that clearly declares the love and blood were and are for all.

It remains that salvation is not matter of not the efficiency or even the application of the blood, but the heart of belief. Those that believe are not condemned, those that do no the believe are condemned already. God alone gives that ability to believe (John 1)

John states clearly and very specifffically that the cross was not just for the redeemed but the whole world. (John 3, 1 John)

More often, those who would limit the cross would do so attempting to say in some manner John used hyperbole, but the only occasions of the hyperbole use were not Johns words, but those quotes he used from the unredeemed who would run to any means to stir up people to their view be it hyperbole or down right deceit.

The problem isn't Calvin or even Calvinistic thinking, it is with those who mistreat the Scriptures by either inclusion or exclusion in matters of faith.

One can embrace the Doctrines of Grace and still continue to acknowledge full open agreement with what John wrote.
1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John)

 

I think you ought to stop proclaiming what you think God ought to be like, and concentrate upon what He is like. I think you should read Romans 9:19-29.
The problem with the Pelagian God is that he doesn't love anyone enough to save them. He throws (to continue your analogy) a few lifeboats into the sea and then waits to see who climbs onto one. I thank God that He did not merely offer me salvation and then wait to see what I would do about it, but He saved me. I thank God every day for irresistible grace.-- no hope for any of us without it.

 

Actually, there is a evangelical view that embraces both the arminian and peligian views.

More often it is exposed by the persons view of the seed and ground found in Matthew 13.

 

Look at it as all of us deserve etrnal Hell, and that God ahs chosen to save any of us is grace!

 

You still have a God though whose desire and will to save all sinners gets frustrated by the will of his creations!

 

It is obvious you didn't take my suggestion to work through Jonathan Edwards "Freedom of the Will".

As a result you abide in great misconception of just what freedom of the will entails.

Please, spend some days working through the writing of the highly gifted Baptist pastor, educator and missionary.

At least it will give you foundationally the information from which you can make informed decision on this topic. Without which you seem to desire what cannot be Scripturally supported in the manner you are presenting.

 

If God loves everyone enough to save them, why isn't everybody saved?

 

I wouldn't call it a complete description.

The universe was created for the Cross. Election is a fruit thereof, not the root.

 

The will is ruled by love, either by the love of one's self, or the love of God. The will is never free.

 

That view of god though would mean the His creation can undo the desired plans and works of Him, and not even God can grant any created being that ability, as he alone is really sovereign...

 

If those who are lost are able to resist God efforts to save them, are they not by definition superior to Him then?