Non-Calvinists (self-determinists) believe that we’re saved and elected for salvation according to our own “free will.”
But is that really true? The answer has to be no. Because no one is completely free to do anything they want to do, because we all have limitations, in spite of having a free will. Free will is more accurately described as limited free will.
Consider the following examples:
We can’t will ourselves to lift 10,000 pounds just because we want to.
We can’t will ourselves to fly like a bird just because we want to.
We can’t will ourselves to become invisible just because we want to.
We can’t will ourselves to understand all the mysteries of the universe just because we want to.
Likewise:
We can’t will ourselves into Heaven in any way we want to.
We can’t will ourselves to be put in a place where we hear the gospel.
We can’t even will ourselves to believe the gospel of Christ. We may even want to believe it, but if we genuinely don’t believe it, then we can’t make ourselves believe it if it’s not in our hearts to believe.
Consider this: Prevenient grace is something many non-Calvinists believe in, where God works within a sinner to free their will so that they can understand and believe the gospel. However, this so-called freed will also includes the freedom to say no to Christ, to walk away in rejection of Him. Because within the non–Calvinist belief system, a person must be able to exercise their own free will, to choose their own eternal outcome (self-determination).
Therefore, prevenient grace really doesn’t change anything. Because we’re still left with the problem of being able to believe or not believe. Even with the element of prevenient grace, we still can’t will ourselves to believe if we truly don’t believe.
For example, there’s no possible way anyone is going to convince me that someone will ever be able to figure out a way for a human being to walk through a wall. I simply can’t and won’t be convinced, no matter how scientific their reasoning may be. This is exactly how it is with many people when they hear the gospel of Christ, or when they hear what Christianity is all about. For a lot of people, the idea that Christ is the only way to God is inconceivable to them. They simply can’t and won’t be convinced. Likewise, for a lot of other people, it’s inconceivable to them that a God of love could ever judge and condemn anyone to a place of eternal punishment. They simply can’t and won’t be convinced.
That to me is one of the biggest flaws in the non-Calvinist position. Because, it doesn’t answer the question of why one person believes and another doesn’t. Or more precisely, it doesn’t answer the question of why one person is able to believe and another is not able to believe. How can anyone believe if it’s truly not in their hearts to believe? How can anyone force themselves to believe? We either believe or we don’t. Just like the idea that someone could ever walk through a wall; there’s no possible way that I could ever will myself or force myself to believe such a ridiculous and inconceivable idea.
Therefore, prevenient grace or not, how can anyone will themselves to believe in Christ if the claims of Christianity are inconceivable to them?
The main point I’m making in this article is that the non-Calvinist position has no reasonable answer for how or why a person believes in Christ. The only reasonable answer to how or why a person believes in Christ is unconditional Sovereign election—where according to God’s Sovereign grace, He grants (provides) the gift of faith (Jn 6:64-65; Jn 10:26-27; Eph 2:8) to those whom He has elected (Eph 1:4), draws (Jn 6:44; Jn 12:32), and calls (Ro 8:28-30; 1 Cor 1:26-31) to salvation in His Son. It’s not our will that makes the difference; it’s the will of God that makes the difference.
