Tozer's View on God's Role in Human Repentance

Tozer’s assertion that God cannot force a person to repent is theologically unsound and contradicts the clear testimony of Scripture regarding the nature of divine grace and human depravity. Repentance is not merely a moral effort or a voluntary decision stemming from residual human will; rather, it is a supernatural gift bestowed by the Holy Spirit. As stated in 2 Timothy 2:25, God grants repentance unto life, indicating that the very capacity to turn from sin is initiated and empowered by divine agency. If God only took nine steps, leaving the tenth to a fallen human, the gospel would collapse into Pelagianism, suggesting that salvation is ultimately contingent upon human moral stamina.

The Westminster Confession of Faith addresses this directly in Chapter 15, Section 5, declaring that God, in His infinite mercy, "effectually calls" the elect out of the state of sin and death into the state of grace, endowing them with new hearts. This aligns with John 6:44, where Christ explicitly states, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." This drawing is irresistible in its efficacy for the elect, not because it compels the will in a mechanical sense, but because it changes the heart itself, making the sinner willing to believe and repent. To suggest God cannot do the repenting for us is to misunderstand the nature of regeneration; God does not merely assist in our repentance, He produces it.

This distinction is vital for the assurance of the believer. If repentance depended on our own spiritual strength, our faith would be unstable, fluctuating with our emotional states or moral failures. Instead, Reformed theology teaches that the same grace that draws us to Christ preserves him in faith and holiness. The common misconception that God waits passively for a sinner to muster enough courage to turn back ignores the reality of total depravity, which renders the unregenerate heart dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Pastoral care must therefore emphasize that our salvation is secure not because we are strong enough to hold on, but because the God who began a good work will faithfully complete it (Philippians 1:6). The glory belongs entirely to God, who gives both the will and the deed, ensuring that the sinner’s response is a genuine, Spirit-wrought act of faith and contrition.