Why don’t people respond to the gospel message?

Why don’t people respond to the gospel message? This is the heartfelt cry of anyone concerned with the salvation of souls.

Fundamentally, the answer lies in the good purposes of God. No one, from their own resources will ever turn to God. But God in his goodness, draws people to himself. I know there are all sorts of questions that arise from this truth, but the foundational thinking is that we have an all powerful and good God.

My intention in this blog is not to explore this matter further, but to take up another question. It is the question of the human response to hearing the gospel. We can ask this question, because God in his sovereignty, made us morally responsible beings. We make choices and are accountable for these choices. So my question is ‘why do so many people have a neutral or even negative response to the incredible message of forgiveness?’

As we draw near to Easter and recall the gracious action of our God in the sacrifice of His Son on the cross, we cannot but think about forgiveness. Forgiveness is great news. Forgiveness, true forgiveness, is free for the forgiven but comes at great cost to the forgiver who must not hold anything against the one who has wronged them. In human experience we seek retribution when wronged. We want the offender to feel the pain we have felt. But God offers forgiveness, not retribution.

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