Concerning “Who Does the Father Draw?“…I totally agree with you except for the part that God doesn’t call everyone. I believe He does, either through hearing the Word or through observation of creation (Romans 1:18-20; Psalm 19:1-4; Job 12:7-12). Also John 12:32 says “When I am lifted up I will draw all men unto Myself”. I truly believe that every lost person has been drawn by the Holy Spirit at some point in their lives, probably several times, but continued to reject that calling. Therefore, at the Great White Throne judgment no lost person will be able to accuse God that He isn’t fair because He never called them. Actually, I think we are in agreement that people send themselves to eternal judgment and that they did indeed have a choice.
Like you, I believe the door to salvation is open to everyone during their lifetime. We know that God wants everyone to be saved (2 Peter 3:9) and Paul said everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). My point in saying God only calls those who he knows will respond comes from Romans 8:29-30.
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
Notice there’s no fallout between any of the steps from foreknowledge to glorification. The ones He foreknew He predestined. The ones He predestined He called. The ones He called He justified, and the ones He justified He glorified. The process begins with God, who knows the end from the beginning, seeing in advance those who will become His. And everyone who enters the process completes it. Based on that, it would seem that if He were to call everyone, then everyone would be saved.
But as we know that’s not the case. Therefore, I can only conclude that there must be a difference between being drawn by the Holy Spirit and being called by God. It must be that although the Holy Spirit draws all men, some harden their hearts against this and resist. At the GWT judgment I believe those who resisted unto death will be enabled to recall all the times in their life when this happened, until finally their hearts became too hard to penetrate. This will show them to be without excuse.
After years of study I’ve become fully persuaded that each of us controls our own destiny where our salvation is concerned. Otherwise God is neither fair nor just.