Christianity and fatalism

Look at this passage:

⁹ And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
¹⁰ Make the heart of this people dull,
    and their ears heavy,
    and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
    and turn and be healed.”
¹¹ Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”

Isaiah 6:9-11 ESV UK

This is not fatalism. This is not God saying he wants people to turn away from him. The meaning of this passage can only be found by reading the passage as a whole, which is about God calling Isaiah to ministry. When Isaiah says, “Here am I! Send me.” God responds in the verses above, warning Isaiah of the rejection that being a prophet will bring. Isaiah’s response of, “For how long, Lord?” shows that he was not expecting this to be long term. If this passage was about fatalism, that God’s will is only for a pre-determined elite to be saved, would Isaiah be very soon calling for all of Judah and Israel to repent? “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” it says in Isaiah 7:9.

That God wishes all to be saved is seen throughout the Bible, but particularly in the New Testament. God desires that all people will come to believe in him and desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 4:2. In the Psalms and in later Isaiah God refers to idols which are deaf and dumb. God is saying to the idol worshippers are being compared to the idols they worshipped, deaf and dumb.You become what you worship.

The point of worshipping God is that we come more like God. Worshipping anything other than God takes us away from godliness, if you believe that God is a stickler for ruled you become legalistic, if you believe that God is a god of love with an infinite patience for people then you become more loving. The fruit of the Spirit are a result of living in the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are what God is like. That passage, like the one in Isaiah 6 is the same, you become what you worship, worship and live in the power of the Holy Spirit and you produce the fruit of the Spirit, you become like God, live by your natural desires and you not only move away from being like God, and become pretty antisocial towards other people too. Don’t believe me? Check out the full passage.

I leave the last word to the Apostle John,who says in 1 John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”