A major issue in the Gospel of John is clearly signaled in the closing verses of John 9. In verse 39 Jesus makes it clear that God is in control of events in this world. He has come in order that judgment might take place, "so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind" (39). There is no hint here of any human choice or responsibility. But then Jesus asserts that the Pharisees must take responsibility for their own blindness (41), no one has done it to them. We see in John 9:39-41, therefore, a dynamic tension. God is in control of events, yet human beings are responsible for their own destiny.

The same dynamic tension is found throughout the Gospel. John 12:37-43 seeks to answer the question; Why is it that Jesus did so many miraculous signs and yet many did not believe in Him (37)? Two answers to the question are given. First, it is asserted that many "could not believe" because, to quote Isaiah the prophet, God "has blinded their eyes, and deadened their hearts" (38, 39). The original is explicit, "they were not able to believe" (38) because of God's action. Second, however, even many who believed would not confess their faith "for they loved praise from men more than praise from God" (42, 43). Unbelief has a dual cause; divine action, on the one hand, and human action on the other.

It is clear throughout the Gospel of John that faith is a condition for receiving the gospel. It is an attitude that human beings must adopt for themselves (3:18, 36). They are not allowed any excuse for unbelief (15:22; 12:47), it ultimately results from a lack of will (5:40; 7:17). Ultimately, people do not come to Jesus because in some way they refuse to come. Unbelief signals a moral problem. The reason people don't come to Christ is that they have something to hide (3:19-21; 5:44; 8:37-47).

Sin, you see, leaves you only two choices if you want to live with yourself. First, you can confess your sin to God and whoever else it needs to be confessed to, and be at peace with yourself and the universe. Or, second, you can change your theology to fit the reality of your unredeemed sinfulness. Behind most heresies, therefore, is a moral problem. People's theologies change to fit their lifestyles. This is supported by the findings of psychology. Research indicates that what you believe has relatively little impact on how you live. You will find sexual, physical, alcohol and drug abuse among church members in good and regular standing and in similar proportions to the secular world. But the reverse is different, how you live has a massive impact on what you believe. To engage in known sin will eventually change what you believe, if it is not confessed and forsaken.

But the above truth must not cause us to overlook its opposite reality in the Fourth Gospel. In John 6:36-47 Jesus asserts that no one comes to God unless it was given him or her by God (37). No one comes to God unless they have been drawn by God, or "pulled" (44). But while faith is never possible without God's intervention, even in this passage there is the sense that in the end people are permitted to make their own decision, whether they will allow themselves to be drawn or not (37, 40). "Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to Me" (45).

In the sayings of Jesus recorded in the Fourth Gospel, therefore, John strikes a powerful dynamic between God's "predestination" and human responsibility. No one should ever say that they came to God. No one comes to God unless God chooses to draw them. But who does God draw? "They will all be taught by God" (45, cf. Isa 54:13). The danger in the doctrine of predestination is not in what it affirms, but in what it denies. Predestination affirms rightly that God is the reason anyone comes to faith. None of us would even begin the walk with Christ, unless God had intervened in our lives. But predestination oversteps the bounds of Scripture if it asserts that we have no choice in the matter of whether or not we will be saved.

The Gospel of John repeatedly asserts that human beings have a choice and that they are held responsible for that choice. The ultimate and greatest sin in the Fourth Gospel, therefore, is unbelief (16:9; 9:41). To refuse to believe in the face of such a great salvation, and in the face of all God's "pulling" power is sin of unconscionable proportions. Yet even there, no human being would even become aware of the sin of unbelief unless the Holy Spirit became the agent of conviction (16:9). To boast of spiritual prowess is, therefore, the most feeble of all boasts.

Perhaps this dynamic tension can best be harmonized as follows: When I look at my own past, it is clear that I owe all spiritual progress to the mighty working of God in my life. When I look to the future, it is equally clear that there are choices that I must make.