I know what he said and it is wrong. He said “everyone” and that is flat wrong. What he said is not in accordance with the plain teaching of the Bible and only false teachers make such claims. What he said is spiritual poison that will ensnare those who don’t know the Bible and the unwise. Men in their natural state want nothing to do with God, the sovereign God of the Bible. Romans 3 could not be more clear, among many other passages.
Men may play around with a relationship with the god imagined by men, but they don’t care for the God of the Bible. False religionists love their god, but their god isn’t like the sovereign God of the Bible who chose some for salvation from before the foundation of the earth. They don’t like the Sovereign God who blinds the eyes of some so that they cannot see the truth and believe. They don’t like the God who works ALL THINGS according to the counsel of his own will. Lost men want a god who allows them to decide for themselves whether they will or will not be in a relationship with him and ultimately be saved, but that is not the God of the Bible. False teaches speak of a Jesus who died for all and desires for all men to be saved. But the Jesus of the Bible said the purpose of His parables was to disguise the truth so that His enemies would not hear the truth and believe. The God of the Bible told Moses that He would be gracious to whom He would be gracious and show mercy on whom He chose to show mercy (Exodus 33:19). Paul reiterated this same point about God’s discriminating love and mercy in Romans 9. False teachers and rebels hate the fact that the Bible teaches that before they were even born and had committed any sin, God loved Jacob and hated his twin brother Esau (Romans 9:13). They imagine themselves more moral and just than the thrice Holy God and shout “that’s not fair” to Esau.
The God of the Bible set His love on a specific group of people in eternity past. He chose them based not on any merit He could foresee in them for they have no goodness or merit to offer. Romans 8:28 tells us this group of people were “called according to His purpose.” These people are “conceived in iniquity” and born “dead in trespasses and sin,” so by nature they are rebels like all sons of Adam. But because He set his love on them, they are eventually regenerated (born again) by the Holy Spirit during their lives. Because of this miracle they have eyes to see, ears to hear, and they believe. Christ bore the sin of these chosen ones on the cross ( He gave His life for His sheep, the elect John 10:15) In John 17 Christ said he doesn’t even pray for the world, but only for those given to Him by the Father.
Do want anything to do with that God? I hope you do because that is the one and only sovereign God of the Bible.
Just your IMHO only.
I really like what Father Barron had to say and he is correct.