“strongly urged” seems like an understatement 
I don’t think even the ESV’s footnotes (“everyone is forcefully urged into it”) captures it as “urged” softens it.
That seems far more accurate to the Greek.
Alex
Interesting point. And perhaps instructive to compare with what Jesus says later in Luke:
Luke 14:23, the parable of the Great Banquet - “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full."
Shalom
Johnny
My understanding of the way God “compels” people to do things is that he does it by loving them to the utmost (not like human compulsion which uses threats, weapons and fear!)
So I agree with the OP and Johnny’s point but think we need to be careful how we use words like compel.
Yes, that does seem linked. Thanks that’s helpful.
I suspected someone would quickly point that out 
However, I do agree with you. Personally on the Our Will vs. God’s Will scale, I lean towards a variation of Compatibilism where God always gets what He wants but without ever violating morality or causing us to be puppets. I think as it’s a result of the “good news” we can be confident it’s a positive compelling, not a negative one.
I 100% agree with the last part Alex. One reason I love UR is because you can combine God’s absolute sovereignty and achieving all His will, with the free decisions of mankind. Of course that freedom is confined to the faculties God has given us, and is in no way comparable to His freedom. But it is freedom enough to love genuinely and that is all the freedom I need!
I understand ‘compelling’ in a relational sense. God, as our father, allows our freedom but will on occasion, for our own good and when we cannot help ourselves, intervene. Much like a human father would compel his child to not put their hand on the stove. Or to not run in front of a car. This doesn’t change the freedom of the child. It just interferes when necessary, in order to be a good parent- much in the same way that miracles do not change the fact of Laws of Nature.
Sweet, I hit a home run! 
I 100% agree with you there 
I agree, I’d also say the Prodigal Son was compelled to go home…
Indeed he was!
And yay home runs!
Hi JaelSister, Alex
Good posts. But while I am certainly in agreement with the overall tenor of your comments, how do you guys square the obvious fact that God so often does *not *intervene in human affairs, allowing His children to endure terrible suffering, with you notion of “compelling in a relational sense”.
I am a compatibilist myself, following in the footsteps of Tom Talbottt. But I do struggle with the *amount *of freedom we seem to be allowed, and the capacity it gives us to harm others.
For what it’s worth, my own view is that UR is *essential *to theodicy. Without the ultimate reconciliation and restoration of all, there cannot be any justification for the presence of such appalling suffering in the world. And somehow the fact that ‘all shall be well’, in the unsearchable wisdom of God, means that we will one day accept that the suffering we endure did indeed have a worthwhile, even necessary purpose.
Shalom
Johnny
I assume God is (& has been) always working towards reconciling everything as fast as possible without violating morality, however it’s inherently an extremely complex & slow process. e.g. if He intervened more obviously it would actually slow things down. I suspect the fact that Jesus ascended & sent the Spirit instead, indicates this. i.e. if Jesus was still physically roaming the Earth today, that would hamper reconciliation…
It’s difficult, as it’s certainly not the way I’d intuitively go about reconciling everything! I suspect faith/trust in the unseen must be more important than we realise. Having said all that, my impression of the coming Judgement is that the curtains are drawn back & we will see the spiritual realm clearly, making everything way more intense. It will be interesting to see how faith/trust function in the age beyond.
I agree.
this is a good thread, thanks for pointing that out, Alex!
while i don’t understand the terminology, my shakey grasp of what is and isn’t free about our will seems to be basically in agreement with everyones’ so far.
Johnny’s point about the amount of suffering is well brought up, and something i do often question. Alex’s answer is a very reasonable one. it seems so important to not minimalise the suffering some (most) experience, but to have the promise that one day we will be raised out of the slough of despond and washed clean and fed and warmed up, and that even the experience that was so bad will be seen as a stepping stone…an unpleasant one, but ultimately leading to the good. i suspect i will feel that way about some of my less enjoyable experiences one day as well, even if i’m not ready to now.
Johnny, as we discussed the other day, Universal Reconciliation is really the only thing that adequately deals with Theodicy.
so then, i suppose the compelling may sometimes be pleasant (God’s lovingkindness), and sometimes less pleasant (yanking a child back from putting its hand in the fire), or even allowing something bad to happen to the child so that it can empathise with others (though that begs a question which i struggle to answer)…
well it’s not an easy thing to answer…thousands of years of philosophy haven’t yet scratched the surface. but UR offers the only real hope i’ve ever seen.
edit, nearly forgot this, but someone mentioned that the prodigal son was compelled to return. now, that’s interesting…it wasn’t in this case the Father, though He waited. it was the son’s own need for self preservation and a memory of how things were better before he struck out on his own that compelled him. so maybe that is yet another thing that can compell…God allows us our inheritance and freedom, but we misuse it, and God knowing that simply awaits our return…we will come back a little sadder, a little wiser, and alot more appreciative and humble…overall a better person, as the sadness turns to joy when we are welcomed back with feasting!
I think the NIV does a better job of translating this passage.
“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it.
The verb biazo (pressing, violently forcing) is in the Middle Voice and “The middle voice indicates the subject performing an action upon himself (reflexive action) or for his own benefit. E.g., “The boy groomed himself.” Many verbs which occur only in middle voice forms are translated in English as having an active sense; these are called “deponent” verbs, and do not comply with the normal requirements for the middle voice.” (Pierce, L. Tense Voice Mood. Woodside Bible Fellowship.: Ontario)
16:16 follows the parable of the Shrewd Manager which is about the importance of actively moving to accomplish one’s goals. 16:16 reflects a principle of the kingdom of God and that is that many things we can recieve or participate in in the kingdom of God come through agressive effort, pressing in, tarrying, pushing, persistant struggle! Life in the Kingdom as sons is not for the timid and fearful, but for those who are filled with faith, passion, and a good work ethic.
At least, that’s what I think this parable is about, and 16:16 seems to sum it up for me.
It shares a similar usage in Mt. 11:12, the only other place biazo is used in scripture. “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.”
There are things about the kingdom of God that we shall only attain through actively, persistantly, forcefully seeking them!