Nuggets from "Whatever Happened to Heaven?" by Dave Hunt

Nuggets from "Whatever Happened to Heaven?" by Dave Hunt

In spite of His infinite power, God’s authority did not prevent Satan from persuading mankind to rebel and go its own way. In that perfect environment Adam and Eve, fresh from God’s creative hand and free from the corrupting influences of civilization and the sophisticated temptations we face today, nevertheless turned their backs upon the Creator who had graciously placed them in that paradise.

Wasn’t God sovereign then? Did He not have all power? Of course He did. We surely have no more authority today over the nations in the name of Christ than God had over Adam and Eve, and we can expect to fare no better. Nor did the imposition of law from Mount Sinai solve the problem of sin and rebellion. Each person must exercise his individual choice, and that choice cannot be forced even by God himself.

Of course, Satan was defeated at the cross. That only means, however, that those who now belong to Christ do not have to allow Satan any place in their lives. It does not mean that we can choose for the rest of the world not to continue in his kingdom and thereby take over cities and nations. We cannot extend to others who are in rebellion against God the personal victory that is ours because of our submission to His will. They must be willing to obey Him also. There is an eternity of difference between the robotic response under the insistence of the irresistible grace of Calvinism, and the warm and loving response from the heart by those who have been genuinely wooed and won by God’s love. It is the latter that God desires and for which He made man capable.