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If God chooses us, do we have any choice?
Ephesians 1:4-6
4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Because we start out spiritually dead, unable to respond to the Lord, only God can give us the gift of life (2:1-2). When sin entered the human race, it left everyone helpless. We cannot come to God unless he draws us (John 6:44). It is not our own awareness that we are sinful people that first turns us to God. Rather, it is God who in his mercy awakens that awareness within us in a similar way to how Jesus summoned Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-44).
Some believe our salvation through Christ is limited completely to God's sovereign choice. The only ones who believe in Christ, they point out, are those whom God appointed for salvation before time began (v.4). They emphasize that there is no one who seeks God (Romans 3:10-11). However, God in his mercy has chosen to save some (Romans 9:15). Salvation does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy (Romans 9:16).
Others suggest God gives every person the ability to choose in terms described as "free will"—his grace and mercy extend to everyone. These people say that each person has to respond by deciding whether to repent of sin and turn to God. They suggest that God honors people's choices to either refuse or accept Christ's invitation (Luke 13:34).
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