Would you agree that people in this temporary world have a veil over their eyes and are deceived and kept from seeing God as he truly is?
If so do you not think that when the veil is removed that even the most hardened sinner could be won over by God's grace and mercy?
If God's grace and mercy never ends, then is it not possible for every human to eventually break by the grace and God and come to him once they see him for who he truly is?
Agree to some extent. I'm assuming you are believer and have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do you credit for making that choice or do you believe that God really chose you and that when the Holy Spirit came upon you and convicted you, that you couldn't really resist coming to faith?
I agree, however isn't preaching that God will punish you with eternal torment, if you don't believe in Jesus, coercion? Persuasion is not the same as coercion. In the ages to come is not God capable of persuading all that is worthy.
Why do you say that? If we are honest with ourselves, no of us have faith in anything or anyone that we have not been given some proof for? A husband does not faith in his wife, if she had not shown something that proves she is worthy of having faith in. No sinner comes to God without some proof of God's love and mercy, whether it be a revelation of God's word, a miracle, or the love of God shown through another believer. There is no such thing as 100% truly blind faith.
Free will is a temporary illusion. Did Pharoah have free will, or did God harden his heart for his purposes?
What about Proverbs 21:1? God can change the heart of whoever he wills.
Even Isaiah questioned why God turned his heart from his ways in Isaiah 63:17
The point is that no honest Christian can say they came to God based solely on their own decision and will. No of us come to God unless the Holy Spirit moves on our hearts and softens our hearts. So can anyone of us truly claim that we chose to serve God solely based on a free will decision, or is it truly a miracle from God that he draws any of us to himself?
Is your faith in the grace of God, or in your own will to make the right choice?
Let me first point out, just so you know, I am living with a brain injury and sometimes have a little trouble completely understanding the written word, so if I do not answer your exact question it may be because I have misunderstood. Please be patient. Also I may not for similar reasons, be able to express myself as eloquently as you.
Do people have a veil over their eyes when it comes to God and is It possible eventually that all will come to believe?
Yes I think people do perhaps have a veil over their eyes when it comes to God. Not everyone chooses to see God as a gracious and merciful God. In their determination to reject God, they choose to see him as an angry God who has unreasonable expectations and is unfair. We do know that God made atonement available to every one through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ, but we also know that it does not necessarily follow that all will be saved.
Did God choose me or did I choose Him?
Well, let me be completely honest about this. I grew up in a devout Christian home. I went to church twice ever Sunday and Sunday School, as well. I was brought up in an environment where it was possibly easier for me to choose God. Yes, I have been through periods of doubt and I have been through times when my faith isn’t where I would like it to be. However, something always brings me back to God. Last year I became very ill, very, very suddenly. In lots of ways, the odds were very much stacked against me - 80% of people don’t make it to the hospital alive with the condition I had and many, many more don’t make it past the first 20 days. I survived. Yes I have a residual brain injury, but it is not anywhere near as bad as it could have been. I had so many people praying for me. Yet despite being a Christian, I don’t believe in miracles. Why would God choose to save me and not someone else? If I was praying for someone in a similar position I would pray that God would give them and their family the courage and strength to deal with whatever comes. So many people have told me that God chose to protect me. I’d love to have some conviction that he did. Why would God choose me over anyone else? Oh I trusted God when I was ill - at least when I was conscious. I prayed that the outcome would be positive but I trusted and understood that it might not be. I had a certain acceptance and quietness because I knew I had chosen Him.
Does the Holy Spirit move us to accept God?
I’m not sure it works that way to be honest. I think the Holy Spirit becomes part of our life when we have accepted God - I don’t think it moves us to accept him. The Holy Spirit is the means by which we are nurtured and able to grow in our relationship with God. First we are saved and at the same time we receive the Holy Spirit.
God hardened Pharaoh’s heart?
Well, yes and no. God revealed himself to Pharaoh through divine revelation and in so doing, hardened Pharaoh’s heart towards him. Pharaoh was considered to be the strongest, most wise man in the land - in many lands - and yet he had no power against God’s power. This is what hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh could have shown humility in the light of God’s dominion but he chose not to. He chose to continue to be a proud and vain man which is why God did not act with mercy towards him.
Isn’t threatening someone with Hell, coercion?
No, because if it was then everyone would be saved. Some people aren’t too bothered by what happens in the next life, as long as they see themselves as having lived well in this world.
So did I want to choose God or did I want to make the right choice?
I was taught about God’s goodness and mercy ever since I was a small child. I witnessed for myself a testimony to that goodness and mercy in the lives of people around me as they tried to live as Christians. I wanted to know the same God they knew. Yes I also wanted to make the right choice but making the right choice is a leap of faith. If you want to know God however, you want to live a life that is pleasing to Him.