Cheryl Schatz

Mark,
You asked questions of TL. Now I know that he/she can answer for themself, but let me take a stab too, okay?

Now TL, does God ‘draw’ every single person, yes or no? If yes, show me one verse that saids that.

Yes.

John 12:32 (NASB95)
32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

Jesus as God said He would draw “all men” to Himself. I believe Him.

Does God the Father ‘grant’ everyone to come to Jesus, yes or no? If yes, show me one verse that saids that.

Yes. Permission is granted to anyone who is thirsty to come.

John 7:37 (NASB)
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

In Isaiah God commands all to turn to Him and be saved. This is once again a universal statement with the term all the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 45:22 (NASB)
22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.

In Isaiah 55:1, God calls all to come. The universal language of “every one” who thirsts is part of the command to come. This is the quote that Jesus made when He spoke in John 7:37

Isaiah 55:1 (NASB)
The Free Offer of Mercy
1 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.

You asked:

Did God choose Israel above all the other nations of the world?

Yes, but it was for an earthly purpose. Nowhere does God say that He chose Israel unconditionally to be saved and all the other nations of the earth unconditionally to be damned.

Did he choose Jacob over Esau? Did he choose Isaac over Ishmael?

Yes. But the Scripture never says that the choice was for unconditional salvation vs unconditional damnation. The choice was for an earthly purpose.

Does God have mercy on whom he wills, and harden whom he wills?

Yes God has mercy on whomever He wills and hardens whomever He will. But He tells us whom He will show mercy to and whom He will harden. Please show me who are the ones that God wills to have mercy on and who are the ones that He chooses to harden? God gives His answer in the Scriptures. What do the Scriptures say?