Revelation 7:9-10
I believe we can expect to see something of God’s overarching goals in Scripture. We’ve discussed before how the one thing He chooses not to violate, even as the Almighty over all things, is the sovereignty He allows us in asking for Salvation. He surely uses a variety of means to compel and convince us, but I don’t think He has ever been shown to overwhelm our choosing His Saving Grace. This would make sense because it is on this same basis we will be judged for Salvation or Damnation. No one, neither the sheep nor the goats, will be able to say ‘God ultimately made this choice for me without my consent’.
In a like manner, God also seeks to ultimately surround Himself with genuine worshippers, those who choose to venerate Him out of their own volition. No forced worship will ever be found around the Throne, once He has completed His plans. These genuine worshippers cannot be created, but must be cultivated. Even though ‘the stones would cry out’ (Luke 19:39-40), we are made as independent personalities who have the aforementioned freedom of choice while under His absolute Sovereignty. These worshippers have been cultivated by His Intent and Grace to come to this conclusion.
The overarching theme of this began with the first Adam who was perfect and innocent. The second Adam offers rescue to Fallen people who understand the sin the first Adam couldn’t know about until it was too late. The necessity of a Saving choice begins with a burden of sin. God chose not to create Adam and Eve as ‘genuine’ worshippers, but instead through the circumstance of sin, (God is not the Author of sin – 1 John 1:5) He has undertaken the breathless task of calling us back to Him without violating the sovereignty of our choice to ask for His Grace.
Adam could not have been a grateful worshipper with the mud of prior sin on his boots – he couldn’t until after his disobedience. We, however, come to Him from an endless variety of circumstances, necessarily aware of the sin we ask for relief from. In the end, these are the sort of genuinely grateful and sincere worshippers He will nurture to Himself.
He’s really taken the hardest path, given that humanity now begins bent against Him in all ways, save our God-given conscience. And to Who is this credit due? It is true each child of God made that choice, but we know it is only because of Him we made the choice. We did not even know we sinned until the Law, says Paul (Rom 7:7). He provides His Spirit to convict us. He gives all faith to quicken us. He manages as the Almighty Sovereign God to guide each created soul to His conclusion – all without creating the choice Himself. He actually demonstrates this incredible act of cultivating true-choice worshippers without forcing His Sovereignty, but brings it about through His Sovereignty. This is a most amazing accomplishment, most worthy of our praise and His Glory.