"The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you" (Romans 8:7-9a).
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What is interesting is that you will never find anyone who is trying to receive the Holy Spirit. The volitional choice made by the individual not to follow God is subject to the divinely sovereign work of God, seen in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Notice that the initiative lies with God. As Romans 9:16 states, "So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." Yet we know that the choice made by the unredeemed is just what it is - a choice. The nature of it is free from compulsion, and it is indeed volitional. However, it is a choice that leads to eternal consequences, namely the unceasing torment in the fiery furnace, separated from the eternal glory and joys of heaven.
The heart of this reality is mysterious for one glaring reason, stated in the form of a question: how does human responsibility play into the sovereign plan of God? Can the idea of human responsibility even co-exist with the sovereignty of God?
In commenting on this topic, C.H. Spurgeon probably said it best:
"If...I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is foreordained, that is true; and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring."
We can learn a lot from this quote. It urges us to let the scriptures speak for itself. I have the tendency to struggle with not allowing my fallen logic to impose itself on biblical truth. We are, but mere men; He is the pre-eminent God. Here is the simple irony: if we could completely understand His mind, given our own sinfulness, then perhaps God is not the God of the Bible...and thank God that's not the case.
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