The universal call of “whosoever will” is the most amazing aspect of the gospel of salvation. This “whosoever will” includes you. It includes everyone and anyone. No one has ever been excluded, and no one ever will be excluded.
God’s universal call to whosoever will
The gospel call has always been the same from Adam and Eve after they sinned, to Abraham, to Moses, to Malachi, to you and me, and to everyone else who ever lives. “The heavens so declare the glory of God, and proclaim his wisdom, power, and goodness, that all ungodly men are left without excuse” (Matthew Henry Commentary).
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky displays what his hands have made. One day tells a story to the next. One night shares knowledge with the next without talking, without words, without their voices being heard. [Yet,] their sound has gone out into the entire world, their message to the ends of the earth. He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun, which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom. Like a champion, it is eager to run its course. (Psalm 19:1-5 GWT)
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved, for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD promised, among the remnant called by the LORD. (Joel 2:32)
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)
God’s present call to whosoever will
The universal call to whosoever is clearer and more available now than ever. The creation still speaks. Now, the message can be transmitted around the world in seconds. There is no excuse.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. (John 12:46)
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:9-13)
For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)
Warning against whosoever will ignore the call
Since the call has been universal from the first to last, from Adam and Eve to you, the penalty for ignoring the call can be universal too. There is no excuse. No one has ever been excluded, and no one ever will be excluded.
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18)
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36)
But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:33)
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38)
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:26)
But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. (Luke 12:9)
Will you accept the call?
The message is clear. You cannot be neutral about the gospel any more than you can be neutral about Oxygen. The “whosoever will” includes you. You must choose. This is one of the most powerful reasons that I reject the false doctrine of Calvinism’s extreme predestination.
Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:16)
So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. (2 Timothy 1:8)
Can you explain to me about predestination? Does God actually predestine some people for heaven while predestining the rest for hell?
Thank you for taking the time to write. This is a complicated question that has caused division among Christians for hundreds of years. The division started because the Roman Catholic church teaches it’s all up to you to say confession, attend mass, do penance, and to suffer for your sins even after death in purgatory. During the reformation, godly men started to see that this was wrong. Jesus Christ had done all the work. I think they went too far, but if I had been in their shoes, I would have made the same mistake. Some of them started believing that it was all up to God and none up to you.
This is complicated because the Bible clearly uses the word predestination. Unfortunately, now we hear that word through the filter of the reformation preachers rather than how it was written in the Bible. This is complicated because good people on both sides of the question have been unreasonably dogmatic in their approach and have vilified one another rather than trying to work towards common ground. It’s kind of like what’s happening in the Republican and Democrat parties right now. We don’t have to do that. We can be at peace with one another regardless of our doctrinal understanding. (Please read Romans 12; 13; and 14 in the NLT)
In my opinion, the short answer is No, God has not predestined any individual for heaven or predestined any individual for hell. I believe the Bible teaches that God has predestined the plan of salvation and given us the freewill to accept it or reject it. God has chosen to call everyone, but only some will answer. I have written several posts that might help explain this concept in more detail.
Sometimes it can seem like a minefield out there. Some churches teach predestination. Some churches teach you can lose your salvation. Some churches teach you have to be water baptized by them to be saved. Some churches teach you have to speak in tongues to be saved. Some churches teach you have to keep the ten commandments. Some churches teach stranger things. Fortunately, our salvation doesn’t depend on our doctrinal understanding of all these deep subjects. We are saved by trusting in the finished work of the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But don’t give up because there are a lot of good churches.
Hope that helps. People have spent their whole lives studying this subject, so don’t be surprised if it seems confusing. Keep praying for God to lead you. He has promised to hear that prayer (James 1:5).