Reply #13: Because He gave humans free will, He cannot preempt our choice.

[believerinchrist]

What Christ did on the cross was much more than just assure certain people entry into heaven. While he walked on the earth, he was a human being who chose God no matter what Satan threw his way. Since he never "sinned" (let go of God), Satan could not demand his death, but Christ, in order to defeat Satan's hold on the human race, chose to die. Somehow his death "legally" paid the price for the whole human race's freedom from evil. His resurrection--the ultimate victory of righteousness over evil--made a way for the human race to experience a "new birth" on an individual basis. The newness on the inside of people and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (the power of God) put believers in the position to overcome evil. It is now up to the human race to use that which God has given us to destroy evil.

God will not override human choice--if we choose to believe deceptions and make evil choices (choices that harm ourselves and others), He will not stop us. However, He is continually working with us to show the love, grace, mercy, and compassion He has for each of us (sometimes, the ones who are called by Christ's name really need to learn this). He has confidence His love will prevail.

By the way, the book of Job is one of the most misunderstood books in the Bible. To briefly summarize it, Satan was going after Job, God put limits on what Satan could do, Job was unable to overcome because of the misconceptions he had, his three friends were sadistic (and were reprimanded for their arrogance), a young man named Elihu (which means God himself) spoke truth, God spoke to Job, Job repented, and God restored what Job had lost.