Board Thread:Bible Questions/@comment-29848406-20160903220806/@comment-1777104-20160904194610

Thank you, Snow, for your contribution. Of course it is true that chosing to do things our own way will lead to abusing our freedom. However, it is clear from life (and is a complaint in some of the Psalms), that bad people often "get away with" things for years, dying in their sins with all the honors their "greed and sin" afforded them. The trials only harden those who don't know God, turning them against Him. It is one of the main things that turn nominal believers into atheists.

The point is, one's self-will is not strong enough to pass the test. When tempatations, meant to test one's will, come to the unbeliever, any "success" in resisting them turns into pride, the root of all sin. The Pharisees in Jesus' day are a prime example of this. This is why, as I wrote above, we must not appeal to an unbelievers "free will." It is not up to a spiritually dead person to "make a decision." It is unfair to even expect them to.

It is the work of the evangelist -- the believer telling others about God and His work through Jesus Christ -- to present God's truth. God, through the agency of His Word (the Bible) and the Holy Spirit moving in His People, will call those for whom Jesus Christ died to save. This call will reach the ears of those whose self-wills have been set free to do God's will.