"Whosoever will may come"

[smscreen]

Mike,

Well, it's almost midnight, and we're deep into a discussion of reformed theology, "Calvinism", and the doctrine of Limited Atonement. Since this is an endless discussion, we've parked for a moment on this question, which we are passing on to you:

Is there a verse in the Bible, in whatever context, that makes the statement, "whosoever will may come."? We have looked in online concordances to no avail.

Always interesting to find out what we think is in the Bible and what actually is in the Bible...

[Mike Miller]

That exact phrase is nowhere to be found in any of the 8 translations I consulted. However, I think a more important question is whether the idea appears in Scripture. Do we see the concept that whoever wants to come to Christ may come? The answer is a resounding YES.

Of course, that doesn't settle any debates between Calvinists and Arminians (or hybrids). Arminians teach that anyone can come to Christ who wants to, and they typically charge Calvinists with denying that truth. However, Calvinists also affirm the concept (John 3:16; Romans 10:13). The difference is that Calvinist believe that no one will want to come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit affects such a change in their hearts as to overcome their rebellion. The Calvinist sees passages such as Romans 3:11 (no one seeks God) and Ephesians 2:1 (dead in trespasses and sins) as teaching that people are spiritually dead and will not seek God on their own. Further, passages like John 6:44 (no one can come to Jesus unless drawn by the Father) and Ephesians 2:4-5 (it is God who made us alive) teach that God must do something in the heart of the dead, sinful, rebellious sinner for him to believe and have the desire to come. Not only that, but the Calvinist believes that every single person that God makes alive (regenerates) will come (John 6 & 10; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:3-6).

So, the real question is not "can anyone who wants to come to Christ come?" Rather, "Can someone want to come without God first affecting a change in his heart?" Hope this helps.