If saving faith in Christ is a God-given gift, what prevents God from giving this gift to everyone?

Question

If saving faith in Christ is considered a gift from God rather than an attainable skill through personal effort (as discussed in Is faith a skill that can be developed over time?), then what prevents God from bestowing this gift universally? Why doesn't everyone on the planet just wake up the next morning with the God-given faith that Jesus is their personal savior? Are there unstated conditions preventing God from doing this?

On the other hand, if God does offer the gift of saving faith to everyone, then why does it appear to be case that not everyone receives it? Why is it the case then that so many people around the world fail to proclaim to have saving faith in Christ (including adherents of other religions, atheists, agnostics, etc.)? Why would anyone in their right mind refuse such a powerful, life-changing divine gift?

I'm seeking an overview of perspectives on this matter.

Answer 1

The faith that saves can be available to anyone:

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some people understand slowness, but is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to perish, but wants everyone to repent. (2 Peter 3:9)

but it requires a full surrender of your will to God's will:

For if you live according to human nature, you are going to die, but if by the Spirit you continually put to death the activities of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

and there are many people who are not willing to fully surrender their entire life to Jesus.

Answer 2

"If saving faith in Christ is a God-given gift, what prevents God from giving this gift to everyone?"

Nothing from God's end. It is offered to all. The limiting factor is us. The sin of the world is taken away in the Lamb of God and eternal life is in the Son. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.

In order to live by faith of the Son of God one must receive the light of the Son of God and in order to receive the light of the Son of God (which is his person/God is light) one must reject/repent of the darkness of one's own self:

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

This is what prevents God just out of hand saving everyone: Men don't love the light, they love darkness; they prefer it and choose it. The light is there for literally everyone to receive. Jesus died to make it so. Whosoever will, let him come. And whosoever will not ...

One must look upon the crucified Son and see oneself as they deserve to be; rightfully judged, dead, hopeless, already condemned and cry out, Oh Lord save! Proud flesh fights this all the way.

Answer 3

There are essentially two answers depending on one's religion and beliefs about God.

1. Predestination; or
2. Faith and effort are required to receive and apply the gift.

In brief, we either have no power to choose for ourselves, or we have the power to choose to receive the gifts that God freely offers us. If we have power to choose, then our choices really matter, and determine our eternal outcomes. If we cannot choose, then unchangeable "fate" determines our eternal outcomes and God would be arbitrary (and evil), or impotent (and hence not God).

What do the Scriptures say?

Acts 10:34

God is no respecter of persons

1 Timothy 4:14

Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

Clearly it is possible to choose to neglect gifts given to us from God, or this exhortation would be meaningless.

1 Corinthians 13:4

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

Clearly all these gifts amount to nothing without charity. Therefore we cannot presume that being given one or more spiritual gifts equals the fullness of salvation and eternal life.

1 Corinthians 14:1

Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts

Why have an action verb if our actions do not affect the outcome? Paul clearly tells us we are responsible to seek these gifts, including charity. He also says in the preceding chapters that different gifts are given to different individuals by prophecy. If you missed out on the "faith to be saved" gift, does that mean you cannot be saved? Of course not! Paul is highlighting a path of progress--one that requires our engagement, effort and earnest desire.

For as clear as Paul is on this subject, the additional revealed Scripture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints greatly clarifies this matter:

Doctrine and Covenants 88:33

For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.

Perfectly consonant with Paul's exhortation to Timothy, a gift from God does not do us any good if we do not receive it. Check your inbox from God, open His gifts to you, and use those gifts worthily.

Doctrine and Covenants 14:7

And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

Notice the word "if". God commands all men, everywhere, to repent, have faith in Christ, and receive His authorized baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Even the gift of the Holy Ghost is not automatically received by the ordinance of the laying on of hands. Although the ordinance is required to make the gift available, individual action is required to unlock this gift.

God is not evil, nor is He arbitrary. Receiving the gifts of God is a choice we each make, every day of our lives. Therefore, what we do with His gifts and opportunities in this life really matters.

Receiving any of the gifts of God is never a passive act. It always requires faith and effort on our parts to receive them. Predestination irrespective of choice, in any salvific matter, is false.

Whether one subscribes to the doctrines revealed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not, this dichotomy holds true: One either believes that one's choices affect the outcome , or does not believe this. Our actions--what we do with God's gifts to us--are the best testimony of the degree of our gratitude to Him for His priceless and infinite gifts, and our actions determine whether or not we are ultimately saved by those gifts.

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

To address your additional question,

Why would anyone in their right mind refuse such a powerful, life-changing divine gift?

No one in his right mind can refuse this gift. Yielding to temptation is consenting to be deceived. The Lord has said numerous times in Scripture that wickedness leads to darkness in the heart and mind (see Isaiah 60:2, Romans 1:21, Matthew 6:23, etc.). There never was a good reason to sin or to reject any gift from God. We must all acknowledge this in order to have a sane (sane means "well/healthy") mind ourselves.

Answer 4

Roadblocks and Obstacles There are too many verses in the Bible that emphasize whosoever will may come, and that God is not willing that any should perish, to doubt God's love for His creation. (Acts 10:34; 2 Peter 3:9)

So where's the beef? What's the hang up? Why doesn't everyone experience God's available grace? The answer is as simple as it is profound: Closed fists, closed minds, closed hearts, closed eyes. As the proverb goes, There is none so blind as he who will not see. An independent spirit, a stubborn will, an arrogant ego are the only things hindering a soul from experiencing the most awesome privilege in the universe!

A benefactor may offer the most exquisite gift in the world, but if a person does not reach out his hand--his open hand--and take it, all is in vain! Giving is an act predicated upon the act of receiving. But the good news is that the prayer of a righteous man can unleash a holy power that is able to soften the hardest heart. And the love of God can bring the tallest man to his knees! The knowledge of the Holy can open the blindest eyes to the existence of saving faith available to all ...who will just...

Answer 5

Saving faith is a gift from God, and once received, that faith is to grow and strengthen. Just as a baby can only digest milk at first, which causes it to grow enough to then take solid food, new-born 'babes' in Christ need to mature by growing in grace. See Paul's letter to immature Christians in 1 Corinthians 3:2. Then see the rebuke to Christians in Hebrews 5:12. Also, Peter pointed out that the word of God those Christians had was the gospel of Christ, so,

"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." 1 Peter 2:1-2 K.J. Bold italics mine.

That word 'sincere' is a key element for the main question, but I am first clearing-up your secondary question about whether faith is an attainable skill. Saving faith is not; but once given, faith needs to grow into the mature faith of a believer who is based upon the biblical gospel of Christ. A lot of Christians don't seem to be skilled in that discipline, perhaps because they generally live undisciplined lives? Or perhaps they have an indifferent attitude, foolishly thinking that, "Oh, now I'm saved, that's it"? Such an attitude gives rise to questioning whether they truly have saving faith at all.

Your next secondary question is, "Why would anyone in their right mind refuse such a powerful, life-changing divine gift?" This also needs to be tackled in order to then get to the main question.

The simple answer is that a closed mind, or a spiritually dead mind, cannot grasp that the gift of saving faith is a powerful, life-changing divine gift. The key point here is that they want to contribute to being saved. They do not have the humility to admit that they are deserving of the judgment of God due to their sin, and that God's judgments are righteous. If they did, they would be on their knees, confessing directly to God that only by grace can they be saved, and seeking Christ to be their saviour.

This now makes answering the main question easy. Only when people face up to the magnitude of sin (instead of comparing themselves favourably with those they consider to be 'worse' sinners than themselves), and the righteousness of God in judging all sin, will they call out to God to be saved. Indeed, that in itself could be said to be the first 'sign' that God has started to bring them to a living hope, which is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

As Galatians 6:7 points out, we best not be deceived, for God is not mocked, and we reap what we sow. He alone knows the hearts of all (1 Kings 8:39; Mark 3:5 & 8). It his prerogative to give a new heart, and a new mind, to those whom he chooses. And who are we to think he ought to do that to everyone when we cannot even know the extent of the corruption and the deceitfulness of our own hearts? - Jeremiah 17:9

Summary – For God to give saving faith to everyone would be for him to sweep sin under the carpet, to say, “Well, I’m just going to save you anyway”. But God is holy and righteous and will not tolerate sin; it has to be judged. Those who think lightly of sin, or who prefer to walk in the darkness where they suppose their sin cannot be seen, mock God who sees and knows everything. But if they will humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, they too may receive the gift of saving faith and be transformed.

Answer 6

Background: Paul writes the epistle to the Romans, which assembly had already existed (I am told) before he began his ministry, so this is not a letter of pastoral care to an assembly he had planted; rather he goes to great lengths to set out his theology systematically - some commentators say in order to prove himself to this assembly, as he hopes to gain their support for his planned mission to Spain (Romans 15:24, 28). The benefit to us is that the letter is a pretty thorough introduction to Christian theology (Hebrews is another).

Predestination

Chapter 9 is dedicated to teaching regarding what we call these days Predestination. I won't quote it as it really needs to be read as a whole, or even the whole epistle in one session... It seems from his introduction in the first few verses that he grapples with a very similar question than the one put forward by the OP: why is it that the Jews, widely regarded as God's chosen and the recipient of His gifts and special favors, have not welcomed Jesus and the salvation He brings, eagerly and with open arms. Then he explains the sovereign will of God that chooses to give the gift of salvation (through faith) to one and not the other. Although we don't always understand the reasons, it is completely in God's prerogative to do so. (Paul here, and in a couple of other verses, alludes to the necessity of having opponents so that the veracity of faith can be tested.)

Now on to an important sub-question that OP asked:

Why would anyone in their right mind refuse such a powerful, life-changing divine gift?

An answer (in my opinion) is found again in Romans, chapter 1 from verse 17 onward. Remember again he speaks here to the assembly in Rome, of which he says they are among "the called of Jesus Christ" (verse 6, KJV). Yet he warns them that people can "hold the truth in unrighteousness" (verse 18, KJV) and shows a progression that once people start to oppose the truth, this eventually leads to a total denial of even God's existence.

There are numerous examples of prominent christians, church leaders even, that have slid to outspoken atheism due to sin in their lives. Sin requires repentance, or it will lead to rebellion. If someone does not want to let go of sin, he needs to let go of God (conscience is funny that way). (Some let go of God but hold on to religion, as the money and influence is hard to give up.) And I can promise you from firsthand experience that even if a person experiences the Holy Spirit, sees answered prayers and even miracles, but wants to hold onto some sin, he will rationalize that all away. He will tell you he is "wired that way", "born that way", and even that you should prove the existence of God, as if the image of God they have in their minds is of something "like a corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things" (creation) (cf Rom 1:23, KJV). Yes, humans are fallible and tend to be not "in their right minds" :-)

I am not a Mormon, but IMHO pygosceles's answer is actually pretty close: God gives the gift to some in undeserved mercy, but the undeserved mercy does not benefit them if they do not accept it and take it up. It is not automatically and irresistibly life-changing and saving.

While I'm not a Calvinist either, I've had some exposure to their doctrine on this matter. "Predestination" is also very prominent in it, to the extent that it is stressed that "works" don't play any part in it. To it is added that nobody knows whether he is predestined. So some take it to the extreme that they live a pretty sinful life, since "whatever works I do I can't influence the outcome". It is however often also said that one that is predestined will often exhibit this in the way he conducts his life (although it is possible that one predestined will only receive the gift of salvation minutes before dying, so no conduct will be visible to other people - e.g. the criminal on the other cross). ((I disagree with the calvinist definition of/stance on "works" because I believe the works that Paul and the other NT writers refer to is a blind and ritualistic following of the law of Moses, like a programmed robot, and divorced from faith in God. Consequently IMHO there are still works necessary for salvation, but these are works of obedience, in answer to the calling, and not works to try to gain a positive balance sheet so as to be "admitted to heaven".))