Although God created man in his image, that image is totally broken and distorted through sin. Man was no longer a perfect image bearer, he only retained what the Cannons of Dordt calls the "glimmerings of natural light". Man cannot restore himself or any other to the right state in which he was created. In fact, the only way this restoration is able to take place is purely by the grace of God. When God gives to us the gift of faith and puts his Spirit in our hearts, we are again able to begin to reflect his glory as we were created to do.
However, it is not the will of God that every man should be saved, and therefore restored to this image. Cannons of Dordt, First Head, Article 15:
Article 15. What peculiarly tends to illustrate and recommend to us the eternal and unmerited grace of election is the express testimony of sacred Scripture that not all, but some only, are elected, while others are passed by in the eternal election of God; whom God, out of His sovereign, most just, irreprehensible, and unchangeable good pleasure, hath decreed to leave in the common misery into which they have wilfully plunged themselves, and not to bestow upon them saving faith and the grace of conversion; but leaving them in His just judgment to follow their own ways, at last for the declaration of His justice, to condemn and punish them forever, not only on account of their unbelief, but also for all their other sins. And this is the decree of reprobation which by no means makes God the author of sin (the very thought of which is blasphemy), but declares Him to be an awful, irreprehensible, and righteous judge and avenger thereof.
Since it is only by the grace of God that man is able to be saved and restored to his image, and since it is clear from the his Word that it is not his purpose to save all men, it stands to reason that all men do not have the potential to be redeemed. An example of this is found in Romans 9. Verses 11-13 talking about the birth of Jacob and Esau say this:
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Esau did not have the potential to be redeemed because it was not the purpose of God to redeem him.
I do not mean by any of this to discourage witnessing or evangelism. Just because all men do not have the potential to be redeemed does not mean we are not called to bring God's word to them. We do not know the heart. We may not judge who the elect are, that is God's job. And we may very well be the tools which God uses to bring others to him. We can also find comfort in this when our witnessing and our work for God do not seem to bring forth the results we wish they would. In I Kings 18& 19, God's prophet Elijah is facing this situation. In chapter 18, all of the prophets of Baal have seen the glory of God in Elijah's sacrifice on Mount Carmel, but by the very next chapter, Elijah is fleeing for his life. He comes to the Lord in a despairing prayer, saying look at all that I have done for you, and yet, I am the only one left who believes. God then tells him to go up into a mountain, where he sees a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire. But God is not in any of them. God comes to him in a still small voice. He is showing Elijah that He is not only present where there are amazing results. It is not his purpose that all those to whom Elijah has preached be redeemed. He is comforting Elijah by saying, don't worry about the results, just do what I have called you to do and I will make it work out as I see fit. We also can find comfort in this. We can love and serve our fellow humans, and we can do our best to be witnesses and teach them of Christ's love, but ulimatly, the results are in the hands of our heavenly Father, and everything will work out according to his will.
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