Why doesn’t God save everyone?

Response

“Why doesn’t God save everyone now if He loves us and desires us to spend eternity with Him?” This common question and similar ones often deter individuals from seeking a deeper connection with God, as they perceive it as an insurmountable obstacle. However, this question is founded on flawed assumptions. Once these assumptions are rectified, the inquiry into why God doesn’t save everyone loses its previous significance.

Whenever we pose questions about God from our limited earthly viewpoint, we face a limitation. Essentially, we are like tiny specks of dust gazing up at the universe and insisting that it conforms to our finite understanding. Frequently, when we inquire, “Why doesn’t God simply save everyone?” we begin with the presumption that our compassion exceeds God’s, setting us on the wrong path from the start. God is flawless, and His ways surpass human comprehension (Isaiah 55:8-9). Embracing this truth and aligning our thoughts with His perspective enables us to gain deeper insights.

True wisdom originates from God “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”, (Proverbs 9:10). He is infinitely creative and initiated the creation of our universe “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”, (Genesis 1:1). He spoke everything into existence (Genesis 1) except for man. When He formed Adam, He knelt down in the soil and shaped his body from clay. Then He breathed life into the man’s nostrils, “and man became a living soul” “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and manbecame a living soul.” , (Genesis 2:7). It was the image of God that distinguished mankind from all other living creatures. That “living soul” was immortal, intended to last forever. God had chosen to create a being so similar to Him that man could reason, reflect, intuit, and have the ability to make decisions. Without that ability to choose, human beings would not reflect God’s image (see Genesis 1:27). God respects what He has created to such an extent that He will not allow even His overwhelming love to violate our will. Why doesn’t God just save everyone? Because He will not violate the will He has given us.

One remarkable aspect of God’s human creation is that He made Himself emotionally vulnerable to us. He didn’t have to do that. The triune God has always been the very embodiment of joy, love, and peace; He is complete in Himself with no needs or unmet desires. Countless created beings worship and serve Him day and night (Daniel 7:10;Revelation 5:11;Revelation 7:11;Isaiah 6:1–3). Yet He grants human beings the great privilege of bringing Him pleasure or sorrow. We can reflect His glory in ways unique to our design (Proverbs 16:7;Psalm 147:11;Psalm 149:4). Or we can reject His love and His commands (Ezekiel 8:17;Ezekiel 33:11;2 Kings 22:17). God’s act of creating us can be likened to a husband and wife who are perfectly happy and content in themselves, but they decide to have a child. That decision brings with it the potential for exceeding joy and exceeding sorrow. They have chosen to alter their lives by creating a vulnerability that they did not have to create. As thThey love and care for that child, longing for the child to love them back. However, they won’t force the love because forced love is not love at all. Why doesn’t God simply save everyone? Because our love for Him must be voluntary.

God pours out His love and provision on this earth “that ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven: for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”, (Matthew 5:45), desiring that His human creations acknowledge His truth and love Him back. He reveals Himself in numerous ways (Psalm 19:1;Psalm 97:6;Romans 1:19–20), working behind the scenes to lead us to Him (Isaiah 46:10–11;Proverbs 16:33). He provides, protects, and blesses, offering mankind numerous chances to seek Him (Jeremiah 29:13;Romans 2:4). Yet, He won’t impose salvation on the unwilling. Why doesn’t God just save everyone? Because gifts must be willingly accepted.

God has given His very best—His only begotten Son—to settle our sin debt (John 3:16–18;2 Corinthians 5:21). He does not take the rejection of that offer lightly. The Father who witnessed His own beloved Son being tortured to death for the sake of an ungrateful crowd refuses to diminish that sacrifice by later deciding it was unnecessary (see Acts 4:12;Isaiah 42:8). Why doesn’t God just save everyone? Because salvation can only come through

Faith in Christ. “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” «He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.», (1 John 5:12).

We err when we, from our earth-bound perspective, magnify the love of God out of proportion to His justice, righteousness, and wrath toward sin (Romans 1:18; Isaiah 61:8). Sin is serious, and the debt against our Creator must be paid «blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;», (Colossians 2:14). We can accept Jesus as our substitute «For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.», (2 Corinthians 5:21), or we can pay for sin ourselves in eternity (Matthew 25:46; Jude 1:7). C. S. Lewis has famously stated, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek, find. Those who knock, it is opened” (from The Great Divorce).