Actually yes they can, That is what the drawing of God does. It brings them to the point of becoming poor (bankrupt) in spirit. So they are forced to make a decision.
God does not turn the switch on for some people and give then no mover the ability to reject,. And keep the switch off for other people so they can never even have the ability to believe.
How you can fathom this to be true just boggles my mind.. There is no love in a god who does that.
from: The HATRED of GOD.
His By Grace--"John Gill: A Body of Doctrinal & Practical Divinity"-Doctrinal Book 1, Chapter 18
#Ro 9:11-13.
"The children not being yet born,
neither having done any good or evil; that the purpose of God,
according to election, might stand; not of works,
but of him that calleth; it was said unto her",
to Rebekah, the mother of them,
while they were in her womb,
"the elder shall serve the younger; as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated".
And what is said of these,
is true of all the objects of election and non-election.
And now let it be observed, that this hatred is to be understood,
not of any positive hatred in the heart of God towards them,
but of a negative and comparative hatred of them;
that whereas while some are chosen of God,
and preferred by him, and are appointed to obtain grace and glory,
and to be brought to great dignity and honour;
others are passed by, neglected, postponed, and set less by;
which is called an hatred of them;
that is, a comparative one, in comparison of the love shown,
and the preference given to others;
in this sense the word is used in #Lu 14:26.
"If any man hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also,
he cannot be my disciple":
the meaning of which cannot be, that a man
must have positive hatred of such near relations, and of his own life;
but that he should be negligent of these in comparison of Christ;...
in like sense are we to understand the above expression
concerning Esau, and all reprobates:
and that this may appear yet clear, it should be observed,
that in this business there are two acts of the divine will;
the one is a will not to bestow benefits of special goodness;
not to give grace, nor to raise to honour and glory:
and this God may do antecedent to,
and without any consideration of sin;
but act according to his sovereign will and pleasure,
since he is under no obligation to confer benefits,
but may bestow them on whom he pleases;
as he himself says,
"Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?" #Mt 20:15.
The other act of the divine will is, to inflict evil;
and that is always for sin, and in consideration of it;
for though sin is not the cause of the act of the will,
it is the cause of the thing willed,
which is not willed without the consideration of it;
they are the wicked God has made,
or appointed to the day of evil, and no other;
ungodly men, whom he has foreordained to that condemnation,
vessels of wrath, fitted for destruction by sin;
on whom it is the will of God to show his wrath,
and make his power known, #Pr 16:4 Jude 1:4 Ro 9:22.
In the one act, hatred, or a denial of grace,
is without the consideration of sin;
in the other, hatred, or a will to punish, is with it;
punishment being only willed for it:
but then God never hates his elect in any sense;
they are always loved by him;
to which hatred is opposite:
he may be angry with them, and chastise them for their sins;
yea, he may, as he says, and as they apprehend,
in a little wrath hide his "face" from them;
but he never hates them; though he hates their sins,
and shows his resentment at them, he still loves them freely;
renews, and raises them up by repentance, when fallen into sin,
and manifests and applies his pardoning grace to them,
and never bears any hatred to their persons.
