It was a balmy, ninety-two degrees as we took the thirty-eight minute drive to the tiny airport in northwest Indiana. My two young children were hearing the story of their great grandfather for the first time. A replica of the plane my grandfather co-piloted during World War II was awaiting us at the Porter Regional Airport. My grandfather passed away well before my children were born and he never really talked about his exploits during the war. But, I’ve heard the story many times and I tried to paraphrase as best I could to my son and daughter while I drove down the highway. The following excerpt is from a wonderful book that detailed the encounter.
Another round from the same burst did even more harm. Tondelayo’s copilot, Lt. Edward J. Hicko, felt he wasn’t doing anything productive while the pilot manhandled the damaged plane, so he pulled out his service automatic, cracked open the side window, wedged the gun barrel against the window frame, and popped away at Zeros. While he held the pistol in his right hand to reload it, a Japanese bullet pierced his back. The slug passed through his intestines, exited his lower abdomen, then nearly severed his right thumb before damaging the grip of the automatic. Due to the racket of gunfire and the engine outside his window, Hicko didn’t realize immediately what had happened. The discovery of the wound stunned him; he refused to comprehend that he had been gut-shot.
The engineer, Staff Sgt. Weldon Ishler, was sickened by gas fumes. He punched a hole in the bulkhead of the bomb bay, discovered the damaged fuel line, and wrapped the line with a rag, using his bare hand as a clamp. This reduced the leak to a trickle, but he could not hold it indefinitely. Periodically, the radio operator took over. The fight rolled on. In the rear of Tondelayo, empty brass casings piled up beneath the turret. Up front, Hicko slumped in his seat, holding his hand against his abdomen as blood seeped between his fingers.
The enemy fighters would not slack off. Damage began to accrue. The turret gunner aboard SNAFU, Staff Sgt. Robert T. Henderson, was just as busy as Murphy. While frantically trying to reload his guns, Henderson was wounded by slugs that smashed through the Plexiglas. He fired a few more rounds before the guns were empty again. When the next enemy fighter bored in, he could only crouch behind the armor plate while bullets smacked all around him and chunks of Plexiglas rained down on his head.
Another crewmember aboard SNAFU, Staff Sgt. George M. Hardy Jr., was hit in the head. He made his way forward and got medical help from the navigator, Lt. Gerome A. Migliacci. While Migliacci administered first aid, a bullet sliced his ear and struck Hardy in the shoulder. Right after that, Migliacci noticed the fire. The bomb bay was crackling with bright flames, too involved already for a handheld fire extinguisher. But Migliacci tried anyway. Afterward, he moved forward and informed Anacker about the situation. The pilot merely glanced over his shoulder and nodded, then turned right, easing alongside the island’s shoreline. If a fuel line had been hit, Anacker had to ditch quickly before a fuel tank blew.
- Excerpt from Target: Rabaul: The Allied Siege of Japan’s Most Infamous Stronghold, March 1943 – August 1945 by Bruce Gamble
The name of the aircraft was the Tondelayo and this was her most storied mission. They bombed several Japanese vessels and the crew fought valiantly in the sky of the South Pacific. I told this story as my children and I arrived at the airport to explore various World War II planes that were touring the country. We climbed aboard the Tondelayo and crawled throughout the plane trying to imagine what it was like for this noble crew during the war and especially on this specific mission. Then, my children took a seat in the co-pilot chair which was my grandfather’s station. It sent chills up my spine to have my children share the co-pilot seat that was manned by my grandfather. But, as I snapped the picture and reminisced, another thought occurred to me.
My grandfather was shot in the back and the bullet pierced his intestines eleven times and then came out of his stomach and hit his thumb. Survival was slim, in fact, after the plane crashed a telegram was sent home to his wife informing her of his death. However, he did not die. Against all odds and a long recovery, my grandfather survived and lived for close to 50 healthy years after this event. Now, my children never met my grandfather but were enthralled with the story and loved crawling through the plane and sitting in the co-pilot’s chair. It was an overall great experience.
Oftentimes I wonder what would have happened if my grandfather did not survive. My dad would have never been born and obviously never met my mom. I would not have been born. The ripple effect would have been tremendous. This leads me to think about when other people die or survive, the effect it has on future generations and their existence. How can all of this be so random in determining who will live and be born into this world. Well, the truth is that these decisions are made by God and they are not random at all. But instead, they are planned, ordained and orchestrated by God. He determines who will live and die and He determines who will be born. God is the placer of all things and all things have their being in His son, Jesus Christ.
Your eyes saw my embryo, And my days, all of them were written upon your scroll; The days, they were formed when there was not one of them (Psalm 139:16).
You see, God has planned out the details of each individual’s life. He formed the days, what would happen in those days, when we would be born and when we will die. In fact, He formed each day and wrote it on his scroll to signify that it is set in stone. God planned each detail of our days before one of them came to be. In addition to this, God had this unalterable plan for us before we were even born, while He was forming us in the womb. For You Yourself (God) achieved the making of my inmost being; You overshadowed me in my mother’s belly (Psalm 139:13).
My grandfather did fight for survival and he, I believe, was a very heroic man. However, his death was never in question. He was going to survive the gunshot wound and plane crash because God planned for it to happen that way. It might not have been a certainty from my grandfather’s perspective, but from God’s absolute prospective, my grandfather was going to live another fifty years.
I mentioned that one of the reasons I believe in the Holy Scriptures is because they point to a God who is in complete control of His creation. Just look at the order of life and the complexity of the human body. The handprint of intelligent design is on everything that our human eyes can see. However, the creation is tainted by evil which seems to throw God’s plan off course. This is not the case, and later, we will discuss the purpose and plan for evil. Now, let’s turn our attention to the scriptures that prove God is in control of His universe. Then, we will look at what He actually plans to do with us.
Ephesians chapter 1, verse 11 says: In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. With regard to our human choices that honor God, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose (Philippians 2:13). Everything means everything, your non-free will choices and all of your circumstances. The good things you do are done by God Who works in you to will and act according to His purpose. If God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, then how can humans be free to do anything that is not in conformity with the purpose of His will? The answer is that they can’t because free will is a myth. God conforms and dictates the good and evil in the world to work according to His predetermined and ultimate purpose.
Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8-10 goes on to say: For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and this is not of you; it is God’s approach present, not of works lest anyone should be boasting. So, this is the way God is currently operating. This is how He was dealing with the people from Paul’s time and the way He is dealing with the people of today. God is operating though grace and faith and He gives both of them to us. All the faith you have is from God for God gives to each a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). All the grace you have is from God. Humans are not responsible for any of this faith and grace, therefore we cannot boast. It is not up to us to make a choice for Jesus as some would say. That choice is made for us by God and was determined well before we were even born because God decided that He would give believers the faith to believe and the grace to be saved.
The rest of Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10 states: For His achievement are we, being created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God makes ready beforehand, that we should be walking in them. So we are being created in Jesus through God’s own process. He is forming us as the scripture tells us we are His workmanship. It goes further, as being saved is a process of formation to become like Jesus, not a one-time event. We cannot do anything of ourselves or independently of God to be saved but God’s grace will work in us to teach us, train us and give us what we need to be doing the very things God created us to do. Though we are doing and are actively involved in being created in Christ Jesus, it is all through the grace of God that is freely and one hundred percent given to us.
Next, the scripture that speaks of God making decisions before people are even outside the womb. Another testament to the sovereignty of God as the book of Romans recites the story of Jacob and Esau. It is God, not man that makes these choices.
Romans 9:13: Just as it is written: “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I hated.” What then shall we say? Is God unjust? The writer asks the question as to whether God is unjust because God made the decision to have the older brother Esau serve the younger, Jacob. It was custom that the younger would serve the older. However, later in life Jacob tricked Esau out of his birth rite and got the blessing from his father Isaac. Jacob later became Israel.
So what! People are tricked out of things every day. Just look around and you have swindlers everywhere. So what’s so special about Jacob and Esau? What’s so special? God made all these decisions about the destiny of Jacob and Esau’s lives before they were born, before they did anything good or bad. So, God had their entire destiny set. This was no little thing, as mentioned before, Jacob eventually was renamed Israel and we all know that the people of Israel play a major role in scripture. I conclude that if God would control the destiny of Jacob and Esau, then He controls the destiny of every human being.
Psalm 139:16 says: Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Before one day even happened, before the foundation of the world, God planned each day of our lives. These days are written, which means they cannot be changed or swayed in any way.
We started looking at Romans 9:13-18 when we talked about Jacob and Esau now let’s finish those verses. God says, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on man’s effort, but on God’s mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
Remember, Pharaoh was the one who kept God’s people in captivity despite Moses continually pleading for their release. In these above mentioned verses, The Apostle Paul (Author of the book of Romans) says that man’s effort is not the determining factor in how a man responds or acts towards God. He goes on to say that God has mercy on those He wants but also hardens those He wants. If God is responsible for hardening someone’s heart, then it is not the person’s free-will choice to reject God or act contrary to His plan. God planned it. Just like He did in the case of Pharaoh when he would not let God’s people go. God did this for a reason, so that He might display His power and be proclaimed in all the earth. God has a reason for setting someone’s heart against Him, we look more into the reasons God would do this in a later section. However, it is important to understand that it is God who directs the steps of man that lead to a hardened heart. A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way (Proverbs 20:24)?
Let’s take a look at perhaps the most sobering scripture that shows that God’s plan involves hardened hearts and evil bringing about his perfect will. Acts 4:27-28: Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Wow! Pilate, the man who allowed Jesus to be crucified by the high priest and Jewish allotment, did this because God’s power and will decided that he should do this. This was planned beforehand, since the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Pilate chose to go along with crucifying God’s own son because God put this in his heart. Pilate was just acting in accordance of God’s predestined plan. As a result, Jesus’s death and resurrection became a reality that will eventually save all people from death. God had to harden the hearts of Herod and Pilate in order to save the world through Jesus. It was not possible for Herod and Pilate to make any other decision. All works according to the plan of Almighty God. In fact, there is more to the above scripture. It was not just Herod and Pilate that conspired against Jesus. The Gentiles and the people of Israel were also a part of supporting the torturing and death of Jesus. This was also decided beforehand by God. If God decided that all these people would act this way then these people were not free to act in any other way.
So, it is God that works in us to harden our hearts. Also, going back to Philippians 2:13, it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. This proves that it is God working in us to produce our heart’s intentions and actions of the flesh and spirit. Good or bad, in fact, God has bound all men over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all (Romans 11:32). God causes us to do good things and bad things, some more bad than good and vice versa. However, all of this is ordained by God, going back to Ephesians 1:11, Who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.
Now, I am not saying that man does not make choices. We make choices every day and we will be held accountable for these choices. However, these choices are a product of a human nature and circumstances of life. God is in control of every circumstance and shapes every human to act according to their circumstances and nature in order to carry out a destiny in which the Lord has already set.
Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it? As if a rod were to wield him who lifts it up, or a club brandish him who is not wood! This verse in Isaiah 10:15 is speaking to the fact that we are controlled by the Almighty God. We cannot walk outside of His predetermined will for us. We have as much free will as an ax does when a person swings it. The ax is under complete control. We are the ax is God’s hands…or perhaps a better illustration is that we are clay in God’s hands. In the book of Romans, this exact comparison is made, that God is the potter and we are the clay. Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use (Romans 9:21)? How can anyone believe the scriptures and believe that we have a free will at the same time? You have to ignore half of the bible and discard scripture after scripture in order to deny the sovereignty of God. Humans want to have a free will but scripture plainly says that man has no free will. Therefore, you will be left with the choice of believing what man wants to believe or believing what the bible actually says.
In Isaiah 14:24, God actually states in the first person, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.” This does not sound like a God who allows His plans to be thwarted by humans, Satan or any other power in the universe. We will get to Satan’s purpose and the role of evil. Rest assured though, they are part of God’s plan not an exception to it. If that’s not enough, then Isaiah 46: 10-11 certainly states the certainty of God’s plan. Isaiah is quoting God here:
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.
It is perhaps the most difficult truth to come to terms with, especially for us Americans who were taught that no one can tell us what to do. The truth that we are not the masters of our fate, that we are not the captain of our soul. To believe that God is directing our steps and has predetermined each and every detail of our lives before we were even born is difficult because we want to be in control, at least a little. You want to start an argument a party, tell someone they don’t have free will and see what happens. Now, I am not saying that people do not have a will, because they do. However, if they have “Free-will” then this would need to be free from any outside influence. However, every choice we make is caused by some circumstance. Some would object, “I can choose to be a fan of any NFL football team, but I use my free-will to root for the Chicago Bears.” Well, yes, that is your choice. But, it is not free. So many things are working to cause you to be a Bears fan. Perhaps you live in Chicago, you have preference towards certain players, you like the uniforms, you like sports, you like football. However, if you grew up in Green Bay or didn’t like sports, your preference would be different.
Anyway, perhaps a poor example, but, the bottom line is that scripture states that God works in humans and creates circumstances that cause people to act according to his plan and foreknowledge. Well, what about sin? Surely, if someone sins, God did not plan or have anything to do with them sinning.
Have you ever heard the story of Abimelek?
Abraham moved to a new region and told the leader of this region that Sarah was his sister, when in fact, she was his wife. Abraham was worried that once the people in this area saw Sarah’s beauty, they would kill him and take Sarah. Abimelek, upon seeing Sarah, took her. God informed Abimelek in a dream that indeed Sarah was a married woman. Abimelek protested that even though he was tricked by Abraham and Sarah, he did not touch Sarah. Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her (Genesis 20:6).
Here we have a plain statement from God that He actually kept someone from sin and did not let a person do a sinful action. This is God’s work, not the supposed free-will of man. If God can stop one man from sinning, then couldn’t He stop all men from sinning? A sovereign God certainly could. However, as we will see soon, sin plays a major role and has an intended purpose within God’s divine plan. All is of God and nothing can operate outside of His intended purpose.
Okay, I am going to take a break before we get into God’s sovereign act of calling the Apostle Paul. We have discussed that God is in control and that control cannot be altered by man in any way. Men, women and children cannot surprise God by their actions. Indeed, God’s foreknowledge makes it impossible for free will to be true. Think about this: If God knows what we will do in the future, then we are not free to make any other choice than what God knows is going to happen. However, scripture says that God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge goes much deeper that just knowing what is going to happen. We have already discussed many of these scriptures. However, another scripture that hits on this point is Isaiah 46:10 where God says I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. “I say, My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”
In the above mentioned scripture, God knows the end, how things will turn out. He has the end in mind and the exact outcome from the very beginning. He declares what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future. Nothing can change this as God says His purpose will stand and He will do all that He pleases. So no human is free to act in a way that is separate to what God has declared. Therefore, no man has a ‘Free-will.’ The future is as set in stone as the past and humans cannot act contrary to God’s will for the future as much as they cannot go back and change the past.
So if God is sovereign and runs His creation exactly the way He wants, what is His purpose and desire? I believe this is stated in 1 Timothy 2:4: For this is ideal and welcome in the sight of our Savior, God, Who wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth. Does God really will that all men be saved? If He is a God of love, He certainly would. Also, is this just a weak, unattainable wish of God that will not come true? Does God desire to save all men but cannot because of the free-will of man? Well, the words of scripture answer these questions and crush the notion that God cannot get exactly what He wants. Man cannot stop the will of God. God wills all men to be saved and every last one of them will be saved. God wills every man, woman and child to be saved and He works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will (Ephesians 1:11). For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose (Philippians 2:13). A man’s steps are directed by the Lord (Proverbs 20:24). God says, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand (Isaiah 14:24).”
Now, I am sure there are objectors that would argue God does not force us to do things and that humans make choices all the time. Well, we do make choices and we certainly have an illusion of freedom in those choices. However, every scripture in the bible will attest that we cannot act independently from God. The almighty has ordained the end from the beginning and has planned every detail of our lives. The circumstances of our life, how we react, and the way God created us will lead us into the very decisions that God has planned for us to make. Just like when Isaiah 10:15 asks: Does the axe raise itself above the one who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it? In the same sense, man cannot act separate from God and do his own thing. That is how absurd the notion of free-will is when it comes to the scriptures. God says that believing in free will is the same as believing that the axe and the saw act independently of the person using them. The next time you use or see someone using an axe or a saw, just observe and see if those tools can do whatever they want or if they are under complete control. If you believe that the axe and saw do their own thing than that is as ridiculous as believing that man has free-will. Sorry if this is a difficult pill to swallow but scripture after scripture prove this point. If anyone believes in free-will, they must ignore countless verses and stories in the bible that prove God is sovereign and that man is clay in His hands.
We, as humans cannot do good on our own. We need God operating in us to give us the faith, grace and love that we need to act according to His delight. This is illustrated again in Jeremiah 13:23 when the following question is posed: Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. It is impossible for a leopard to change his spots and for a man to change his skin color. God equates this to how it is impossible for man to act good without the divine influence of God. We need God’s influence, which is His grace, in order to do the good things of God and to bring us out of evil. This is not free-will; it is God’s gracious action upon us.
One more story for you. A story about a man named Saul of Tarsus. This is an important story because this man held the coats of men who stoned Stephen, a servant of Jesus Christ. Saul approved of killing this believer and many more. However, this man became the greatest missionary in the history of the world, the apostle Paul. He wrote thirteen letters in the New Testament! Paul writes this about himself and the grace he received: But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life (1 Timothy 1:16).
You see, Paul was once Saul, his name was changed at his conversion. Saul was on his way to persecute and arrest believers in Jesus Christ. This man broke into houses in the middle of the night with his goons and dragged men, women and children out of their homes. He opposed Christ more than anyone as he proclaimed to be the worst of sinners. He had no intention of repenting, choosing to believe, accepting Christ, or even seeking any other truth. Saul hated Christ and his followers! Yet, in a moment, chapter 9 of the book of Acts tells us that he was knocked off his horse and the Lord Jesus Christ himself told him, “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Jesus did not give him a free will choice, nor could Saul’s decision be free after such a terrific circumstance of being blinded by the risen Christ. The Lord later appeared to a disciple named Ananias and said regarding Saul, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the gentiles and the kings and before the people of Israel (Acts 9:15).
The Lord changed Saul’s name to Paul and he became the single greatest missionary in history. Paul spread the good news of Jesus Christ in his time. However, as mentioned before, his letters to the early believers make up a big portion of the New Testament of the bible. So, how many more throughout history are being saved by reading the New Testament and Paul’s words. Do you really think God left the vessel that would be such a significant part of his plan, to chance? Or worse yet, left it to the mercy of Saul’s free will choice? No. The bible says that Paul was chosen since the beginning of time (2 Timothy 1: 9-10). Paul was chosen by God before he took one step toward Jesus Christ! He was on his way to kill and torture Christians. He did not choose Jesus Christ to be saved, Jesus Christ chose him. Remember, the apostle Paul says that his conversion will be an example for those who believe and receive eternal life. Now, we all probably will not see the Risen Lord in this life, but what the apostle is getting at is the example of Jesus choosing us and giving us transcending grace, through nothing we have done.
This leads to probably, in my view, the most decisive scripture that proves man does not make a free-will choice to come to Jesus. It is 2 Timothy 1:9-10: who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Christian preachers will tell you that “You” and “You” alone need to make a decision to accept Jesus Christ. This is an action or a “doing something” on our parts. However, the above mentioned scripture tells us that we are saved based on nothing we have done. We are saved because God chose to save us and this decision was made before the beginning of time. How can we possibly believe that we made a free-will decision to be saved? We just can’t, if we believe these scriptures. Believers were chosen before they were even born, before sin was even a problem. How are they free to be anything other than what God called them to be.
God knows humanity because He created our inmost being and knit us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). He chose when and where we would be born and put specific people around us while orchestrating all circumstances to bring about His plan within us. God chooses to save some people now and He chooses to save the rest later. This is done by God’s design and in His timing. Nothing we can do will change that. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is free to operate outside of God’s intended purpose.
I understand that coming to the realization that we do not have free-will is one of the most difficult truths to comprehend. We want to be in control of our lives. However, that is why the belief in free-will is one of Satan’s greatest weapons to put our faith in us and not God. If you don’t believe me, tell the next person you see that free-will does not exist and see what happens. Sorry, that is what the scriptures clearly teach. You can believe these plain statements or not. I think it is comforting to know that I cannot screw up my destiny and that my destiny is held by a God filled with love and one who has a far better plan for me than I could even imagine. We clearly make thousands of choices each day and it appears that we make those choices of our own volition. But, none of those choices are free from the influence of God. He directs us even when we have the perception of making our own way.
As far as religion goes, free will is taught because, especially in Christianity, they need a scapegoat. They need to blame eternal hell on the person to get God of the hook. None of the choices we make are without influence so they are not free. God is in control of our circumstances and indeed He holds our entire being.
Grace and self-will
Grace is one of the most difficult things in the world to comprehend. I think this is because we are taught from a very young age that if you do what is right good things will happen and if you do what is wrong bad things will happen. We are disciplined by parents, teachers and other authority figures using reward and punishment based on our actions. This system has its place for sure but must be abandoned to truly embrace the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Grace is completely unmerited and you can do nothing to earn it. The moment a person does a good work or refrains from doing an evil deed to earn grace, then grace is no longer grace as you did or did not do something to earn it. Grace is the absolute, finished work of Jesus Christ given to us. Yes, we may need to do specific works or become something, be trained. But, this is all of God from start to finish.
Every religion in the world, including Christianity has at least some to-do list in order to earn salvation from a deity. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and every denomination of Christianity teach that a person must do certain things or they will go to an eternal hell. Those are the major religions but you can add any sect or any other religion and you will come up with the same result, even if at first, like Christianity, it appears that they rely on faith and not works.
Most Christians will say that you are saved by Jesus Christ through faith. However, they don’t realize that that faith is a gift from God. They say that you need to make a free will choice to believe in Jesus to activate His death and resurrection. No sir! No Mam! Either Jesus died for us or He didn’t. Our belief does not change what He did nor does our choice activate anything. Christians will tell you that it is your belief in Jesus that will save; His actual death and resurrection saved no one. Not true, Jesus was tortured for hours on the cross and then died. The Almighty Son of God secured your destiny, along with everyone’s destiny. It is a done deal; Jesus saved you no matter what. Belief will come in God’s timing for each individual person. Those who come into the realization of God’s truth will enter sooner, the others will enter later.
With that being said, I want to clarify that I am no expert on grace. I do not believe people will be saved in continuing in sinful ways. Yes, they will be saved but not by continuing in their sin. They will be corrected by grace and will go through a difficult process of being saved. Jesus has saved all by His death and resurrection but many people will turn from their sinful ways before they come home. Again, the whole process is of God.
God has created each and every one of us uniquely and has a unique plan, an individual plan, to bring each of us home. Our hearts, no matter how hard now, will one day be throbbing with joy. We will have the greatest possible joy, peace, love, happiness and all good things once God has completed us.
Saved ignoble 
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