Does Man Have the Ability to Look?

Numbers 21:8-9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

The Lord told Moses that anyone who was bitten had a choice to make.

Choice #1: Look and live!
Choice #2: Don't look, don't live!

Pretty simple right?

This isn't God giving man the ability to SAVE himself. Instead, God is giving man the ability to choose or not choose to TRUST HIM. God told man to LOOK...to BEHOLD!

The reason the Lord sent the fiery serpents was because the people spoke against God. Their sin brought death. The bible says in Numbers 21 "and much people of Israel died."

All of us are bitten by the serpent of sin. All of us will die because of sin. For the wages of sin is death.

The character of God is demonstrated in this Look & Live Principle. You either choose life or choose death.

Imagine someone trying to look, but couldn't because God chose death for them.

Imagine someone trying NOT to look, but their face was forced to look, because God chose life for them.

This is the insanity of Calvinistic teaching. In their attempt to understand the character of God, they end up greatly misrepresenting His character.

John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3 represents God's character. Christ is lifted. Notice, God is the initiator. Christ is the central focus. God reveals his will for man. It all starts with God.

Now man has a choice to make:

Choice #1: believe, and you will not perish.
Choice #2: believe not, and you will perish.

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

God's will is to draw all men toward Him.

Christ has been lifted. Will YOU choose to look and live?