Why Does Christ Want Some Not to Believe? // Ask Pastor John

If God desires all people to be saved, why did Jesus sometimes speak in a way that kept people from believing?

Why does Christ want some to not believe? That’s a perplexing question for a lot of Bible readers who scratch their heads when they meet texts like Matthew 13:13 and Luke 8:10. Today the question arrives from a listener named Max — a question for Pastor John, who joins us over Skype again. “Hello, Pastor John! Can you explain Jesus’s parable in Luke 8:9–15, in which he quotes Isaiah 6:9? In Isaiah 6:10, God says to ‘make the heart of this people dull, . . . lest they see with their eyes, and . . . understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.’ What perplexes me is that God purposefully keeps people from salvation even though 1 Timothy 2:4 states that God wants all people to repent and receive salvation. Please help me to understand this seeming paradox and, if possible, God’s reasoning behind hardening certain hearts to keep them from repentance.”

Read or listen to this interview at our website: https://www.desiringgod.org/in....terviews/why-does-ch

Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes: https://www.desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john

• Category

  Educational