The following is an article about God's Sovereignty by Steve Cornell. All I can say is Amen.
http://thinkpoint.wordpress.com/2007/05/07/a-neglected-and-misunderstood-attribute-of-god/
-Jacob
Showing posts with label Sovereignty of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sovereignty of God. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
God's Sovereignty in Salvation: PART 2
"Unconditional Election"
When last I left you, in part 1 of this series, we discussed "Total Depravity." It is a necessary prelude to this second post in the series of God’s sovereignty in salvation, if you have not read it, please do so before you engage this post.
At the end of the first post I left with a very open ended question. The question in itself was one that make’s the soul in whom God is working despair. The question in essence was this: "If what Scripture teaches is true, and no one seeks for God and no one can choose God, and apart from God there is no salvation, what hope does mankind have?"
Scripture does clearly teach that this is the state of mankind. Lost, and hopeless to do anything about it. No amount of good works can save, because in God’s eyes "...No one does good, not even one." (Romans 3:12) If we were left alone to do what our heart desired, no one would ever choose to follow God. All would be lost.
So what hope do we as sinful humanity have? God’s Sovereignty is our hope of salvation. It is His free-will that He has, that saves those whom He chooses. God unconditionally elects, or chooses, those whom He will save.
Unconditional Election can be defined in this way:
"God has shown us in His word that from eternity past He has elected some sinners to be saved from the condemnation that is justly deserved by all, purely on account of His gracious mercy and love, not because of any foreseen merits in those sinners. Because of the fact of total depravity, salvation must originate with God, and we read in the Bible that it is God’s sovereign will alone that has determined the recipients of salvation."
Now, as always, let us turn our attention as well as our hearts and minds to the Scriptures, so that we can see that this is the teaching of God and not man.
Ephesians 1:3-12
"3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory."
What incredible language God uses here! "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." This rules out any possibility that our works justify us before God. God chooses us before we had the chance to even exist. Let’s look at some more Scripture.
Romans 9:9-13
"9For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son." 10And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call-- 12she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
Romans 8:28-30
"28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."
Clearly, it is the teaching of Scripture, that tells us it is God who is completely responsible for salvation. Look what Jesus says in John 6:44.
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."
Is this not merely compatible with what Scripture teaches about mankind’s fallen condition because of sin? We do not want God, seek God, know God. Therefore, because we are unable to turn to God ourselves, God must draw the sinner to Him by His power and grace. Indeed this is what Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches.
"8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Grace is a gift of God.
Salvation is a gift of God.
Faith is a gift of God.
None of these thing are our own doing, they come from God who is the "the founder and perfecter of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2)
If you accept the clear teaching of Scripture regarding the fall of man and the doctrine that has been called "Total Depravity" then you must see that this is the only way anyone could be saved. The doctrine of "Unconditional Election" is also very clearly taught in Scripture as I hope you have seen.
What about some common objections to this doctrine? For instance, often it is proclaimed that when Scripture talks about God foreknowing someone as in Romans 8:29, "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined...", that it means God looked into the future and saw that a person would accept Jesus as savior and so God predestined them to salvation.
Obviously, however, that cannot be the case. Why? Because man is depraved and no one seeks for God. If God simply let us do our thing and did not intervene, no one would choose Him, and no one would be "elect" if this were how God did things. The problem with this view is that it is man centered. Man likes to assume that he is in control of his life, and yet that is just not true. As we discussed in one post ( http://reformationinprogress.blogspot.com/2007/03/does-man-really-have-free-will.html ), man’s will is enslaved to either sin or to God, but it is never truly free.
So "foreknowledge" does not mean to know in advance what is going to happen. In fact if you do a word study here, you will find that the root word here "knowledge" is the Greek equivelant to that of the Hebrew word "yada" which also means know. Let’s look at a few places where this word is used in Scripture, both in the Hebrew and the Greek.
Genesis 4:1
"Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten
a man with the help of the LORD."
Exodus 33:17
"And the LORD said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."
To quote from James White’s book "The Sovereign Grace of God", which you all should read by the way, and can buy it here: www.aomin.org, this is what Dr. White has to say about this same issue.
"Hence, we have seen that "to know" in Scripture, especially when it is God who is doing the "knowing" and when the object of this "knowing" is personal (a person, or a people, as in Israel), refers not to a knowledge of data and facts, but a personal relationship between God and the "knowee." With this concept in mind, let us now look at the concept of God’s foreknowledge in the New Testament." (White; 145)
Yes, let’s.
Acts 2:23.
"this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."
This again is the exact same word as we saw in Romans 8:29. Let’s put in place here in Acts 2:23 the same meaning that many try to place upon Romans 8:29. If we were to do that, it would read something like this:
"This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan of God, well, definite that is, because God looked into the future to see what Jesus (who is God) would do and since He saw that Jesus would indeed be crucified, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."
You see the problem? Foreknowledge is not God’s knowledge of future events. Foreknowledge is God’s decision to enter into a personal relationship with a person from before they exist. Or in Jesus’ case God has known Him (or Himself within the trinity) personally for all eternity.
Clearly God chooses on the basis of His own free-will, and not on the basis of anything we do, whom He will save and whom He will not. As for other objections to this doctrine here is what
God says through Paul in Romans 9:14-24.
"14What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" 21Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- 24even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?"
Ultimately it comes down to this. God is God and I am not. I am unable to save myself, so my only hope is that God will save me.
If you accept the clear Scriptural teaching of Total Depravity, you must accept the equally clear Scriptural teaching that God chooses people by His own free will, unconditionally, apart from what we do. That is Unconditional Election.
In Him -Jacob
When last I left you, in part 1 of this series, we discussed "Total Depravity." It is a necessary prelude to this second post in the series of God’s sovereignty in salvation, if you have not read it, please do so before you engage this post.
At the end of the first post I left with a very open ended question. The question in itself was one that make’s the soul in whom God is working despair. The question in essence was this: "If what Scripture teaches is true, and no one seeks for God and no one can choose God, and apart from God there is no salvation, what hope does mankind have?"
Scripture does clearly teach that this is the state of mankind. Lost, and hopeless to do anything about it. No amount of good works can save, because in God’s eyes "...No one does good, not even one." (Romans 3:12) If we were left alone to do what our heart desired, no one would ever choose to follow God. All would be lost.
So what hope do we as sinful humanity have? God’s Sovereignty is our hope of salvation. It is His free-will that He has, that saves those whom He chooses. God unconditionally elects, or chooses, those whom He will save.
Unconditional Election can be defined in this way:
"God has shown us in His word that from eternity past He has elected some sinners to be saved from the condemnation that is justly deserved by all, purely on account of His gracious mercy and love, not because of any foreseen merits in those sinners. Because of the fact of total depravity, salvation must originate with God, and we read in the Bible that it is God’s sovereign will alone that has determined the recipients of salvation."
Now, as always, let us turn our attention as well as our hearts and minds to the Scriptures, so that we can see that this is the teaching of God and not man.
Ephesians 1:3-12
"3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory."
What incredible language God uses here! "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." This rules out any possibility that our works justify us before God. God chooses us before we had the chance to even exist. Let’s look at some more Scripture.
Romans 9:9-13
"9For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son." 10And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call-- 12she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
Romans 8:28-30
"28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."
Clearly, it is the teaching of Scripture, that tells us it is God who is completely responsible for salvation. Look what Jesus says in John 6:44.
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."
Is this not merely compatible with what Scripture teaches about mankind’s fallen condition because of sin? We do not want God, seek God, know God. Therefore, because we are unable to turn to God ourselves, God must draw the sinner to Him by His power and grace. Indeed this is what Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches.
"8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Grace is a gift of God.
Salvation is a gift of God.
Faith is a gift of God.
None of these thing are our own doing, they come from God who is the "the founder and perfecter of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2)
If you accept the clear teaching of Scripture regarding the fall of man and the doctrine that has been called "Total Depravity" then you must see that this is the only way anyone could be saved. The doctrine of "Unconditional Election" is also very clearly taught in Scripture as I hope you have seen.
What about some common objections to this doctrine? For instance, often it is proclaimed that when Scripture talks about God foreknowing someone as in Romans 8:29, "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined...", that it means God looked into the future and saw that a person would accept Jesus as savior and so God predestined them to salvation.
Obviously, however, that cannot be the case. Why? Because man is depraved and no one seeks for God. If God simply let us do our thing and did not intervene, no one would choose Him, and no one would be "elect" if this were how God did things. The problem with this view is that it is man centered. Man likes to assume that he is in control of his life, and yet that is just not true. As we discussed in one post ( http://reformationinprogress.blogspot.com/2007/03/does-man-really-have-free-will.html ), man’s will is enslaved to either sin or to God, but it is never truly free.
So "foreknowledge" does not mean to know in advance what is going to happen. In fact if you do a word study here, you will find that the root word here "knowledge" is the Greek equivelant to that of the Hebrew word "yada" which also means know. Let’s look at a few places where this word is used in Scripture, both in the Hebrew and the Greek.
Genesis 4:1
"Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten
a man with the help of the LORD."
Exodus 33:17
"And the LORD said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."
To quote from James White’s book "The Sovereign Grace of God", which you all should read by the way, and can buy it here: www.aomin.org, this is what Dr. White has to say about this same issue.
"Hence, we have seen that "to know" in Scripture, especially when it is God who is doing the "knowing" and when the object of this "knowing" is personal (a person, or a people, as in Israel), refers not to a knowledge of data and facts, but a personal relationship between God and the "knowee." With this concept in mind, let us now look at the concept of God’s foreknowledge in the New Testament." (White; 145)
Yes, let’s.
Acts 2:23.
"this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."
This again is the exact same word as we saw in Romans 8:29. Let’s put in place here in Acts 2:23 the same meaning that many try to place upon Romans 8:29. If we were to do that, it would read something like this:
"This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan of God, well, definite that is, because God looked into the future to see what Jesus (who is God) would do and since He saw that Jesus would indeed be crucified, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."
You see the problem? Foreknowledge is not God’s knowledge of future events. Foreknowledge is God’s decision to enter into a personal relationship with a person from before they exist. Or in Jesus’ case God has known Him (or Himself within the trinity) personally for all eternity.
Clearly God chooses on the basis of His own free-will, and not on the basis of anything we do, whom He will save and whom He will not. As for other objections to this doctrine here is what
God says through Paul in Romans 9:14-24.
"14What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" 21Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- 24even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?"
Ultimately it comes down to this. God is God and I am not. I am unable to save myself, so my only hope is that God will save me.
If you accept the clear Scriptural teaching of Total Depravity, you must accept the equally clear Scriptural teaching that God chooses people by His own free will, unconditionally, apart from what we do. That is Unconditional Election.
In Him -Jacob
Friday, March 23, 2007
God's Sovereignty in Salvation, debate over "Total Depravity"
If you go down to the first article in the series "God's Sovereignty in Salvation" you will see a discussion taking place there that might intrigue the theologically inclined. There is a comment there now that I will post a respnse to tomorrow, as I do not have the time right now, but I believe it needs answered.
-Jacob
-Jacob
Monday, March 19, 2007
Does Man Really Have "Free-Will"?
I have been reading as of late a book by Martin Luther called "The Bondage of The Will." As the title implies it addresses the issue of "free will" versus the "enslaved will." And thus is my question of the day to you, my readers. Is mans will really as free as most would like to think? I dare to say no, it is not.
Just a couple of posts ago on this blog we took up the issue of God's sovereignty in salvation and the first part of that series was on the Total Depravity of man. In that post I gave Scripture that conclusively taught that mankind is totally depraved, and in bondage to sin. Not only are we as people enslaved to sin, but we are incapable of doing anything about it ourselves.
I see the discussion of "free will" finding its answers in the doctrines of grace and a proper understanding of the sovereignty of God. In my series on the sovereignty of God in part 4 which you may see here: http://reformationinprogress.blogspot.com/2007/02/sovereignty-of-god-part-4.html, we looked at how God is the mastermind behind all things. Everything that takes place, does so by the will of God.
From the above linked article:
"Here is an illustration that I find helpful. God observes His creation not as we do as temporal beings, but as the sovereign Lord over all creation. He is the painter, we are a part of the painting. God is not merely in the process of painting the picture, the picture is already complete. God views the past, present and future, complete and simultaneously. He asserts prophecy not because He is merely confident He can make it happen, but He asserts prophecy because it is already done.
Consider the following verses from Hebrews 2:6-96.
It has been testified somewhere, "what is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for Him? 7You made Him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned Him with glory and honor, 8putting everything in subjection under His feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside of His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. 9But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. (Emphasis mine)
Look at what Scripture tells us. It says that everything has (past tense) been put into subjection under the feet of Christ. It’s done, finished, complete. But Scripture also tells us that as of now we do "not yet see everything in subjection to Him.
We look at the world and say "there is evil all over the place" we don’t see that Jesus has all of this under His subjection, but He does. Why? Because God sees the future judgement of Satan, evil and sin as already completed. It is finished. We don’t see it now as temporal beings, but God has already won the battle in the future. He exist outside of time and the story is already over. This is part of why God knows all things, because it is already finished and done according to His will. Not that God would be incapable of seeing the future, but it’s a moot point, because God wrote the future."
For more about God's sovereignty I recommend that you read the whole article and 6 part series. But nevertheless, Scripture clearly teaches that the ultimate reason things happen the way they do is because God ordains them to happen as they do. God is in control.
That said, let me here ask, do we have truly "free" will? Since we ultimately do what God has ordained us to, the answer is no. However, here is where we will enter into the discussion of whether what we do is by compulsion, or by necessity.
Compulsion would refer to an outside source forcing its will upon us, making us do something that we did not really want to do. Does God make us do things we don't want to do? No, He doesn't force us to do anything against our "will."
What do I mean by that? Someone might say here "You just said that we don't have free will and then you say that God won't make us do something against our will. What are you smoking?" You can be sure, I meant just what I said. Let me quote Luther when discussing "necessity" versus "compulsion."
"I could wish, indeed, that a better term was available for our discussion than the accepted one, necessity, which cannot accurately be used of either man's will or God's. Its meaning is too harsh, and foreign to the subject; for it suggests some sort of compulsion, and something that is against ones will, which is no part of the view under debate. The will, whether it be God's or man's, does what it does, good or bad, under no compulsion, but just as it wants or pleases, as if totally free." (Luther, 81)
Let's talk this out for a bit shall we? Remember in the discussion of "total depravity" that we discussed how mankind loves its sin. We sin because we want to, and we have no desire on our own to stop sinning. God has ordained all that we do, but he has not forced us against our will, because we love what we are doing and we long for more of it. So man freely does what man wants to do, however they do so, not by compulsion but by necessity, for that was what God had predestined for them to do.
In the same way God does not force someone to love Him, but instead he takes out their heart of stone and gives them a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26,
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
God gives the sinner His Spirit making them a new creation who no longer wants sin, they want God. They have not been compulsed to do anything, they freely do just what they want, but they do it out of necessity because God ordained them to do so.
Ultimately it comes down to this, the will of man is enslaved either to Satan and sin or to God and righteousness, but regardless of which one it is enslaved to the will of man does its bidding not under compulsion but freely and gladly, and they do so because God has ordained it to be so.
Let's look at how Luther explains this in an analogy.
"So man's will is like a beast standing between two riders. If God rides, it wills and goes where God wills: as the Psalm says, 'I am become as a beast before thee, and I am ever with thee' (Ps. 73:22-23). If Satan rides, it wills and goes where Satan wills. Nor may it choose to which rider it will run, or which it will seek; but the riders themselves fight to decide who shall have and hold it." (Luther, 103-104)
I would note, as would Luther if anyone should question his meaning, that God always wins the fight when it is His desire to ride a particular beast.
I think this example wonderfully illustrates the position of mankind. Although I would add, again, that the beast is not being driven by compulsion with whips and spurs, but by a carrot or sugar cube in front of them, the beast pursues willingly the direction it is led.
So does man have free will? Ultimately the answer is no. But we carry on day to day, feeling as though our will is totally free, because we do only that which we desire most to do. And it depends upon whether our will is enslaved to Satan and sin or to God and righteousness as to what desires we have in our hearts.
-Jacob
Luther, Martin. The Bondage of the Will. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2005.
Just a couple of posts ago on this blog we took up the issue of God's sovereignty in salvation and the first part of that series was on the Total Depravity of man. In that post I gave Scripture that conclusively taught that mankind is totally depraved, and in bondage to sin. Not only are we as people enslaved to sin, but we are incapable of doing anything about it ourselves.
I see the discussion of "free will" finding its answers in the doctrines of grace and a proper understanding of the sovereignty of God. In my series on the sovereignty of God in part 4 which you may see here: http://reformationinprogress.blogspot.com/2007/02/sovereignty-of-god-part-4.html, we looked at how God is the mastermind behind all things. Everything that takes place, does so by the will of God.
From the above linked article:
"Here is an illustration that I find helpful. God observes His creation not as we do as temporal beings, but as the sovereign Lord over all creation. He is the painter, we are a part of the painting. God is not merely in the process of painting the picture, the picture is already complete. God views the past, present and future, complete and simultaneously. He asserts prophecy not because He is merely confident He can make it happen, but He asserts prophecy because it is already done.
Consider the following verses from Hebrews 2:6-96.
It has been testified somewhere, "what is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for Him? 7You made Him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned Him with glory and honor, 8putting everything in subjection under His feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside of His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. 9But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. (Emphasis mine)
Look at what Scripture tells us. It says that everything has (past tense) been put into subjection under the feet of Christ. It’s done, finished, complete. But Scripture also tells us that as of now we do "not yet see everything in subjection to Him.
We look at the world and say "there is evil all over the place" we don’t see that Jesus has all of this under His subjection, but He does. Why? Because God sees the future judgement of Satan, evil and sin as already completed. It is finished. We don’t see it now as temporal beings, but God has already won the battle in the future. He exist outside of time and the story is already over. This is part of why God knows all things, because it is already finished and done according to His will. Not that God would be incapable of seeing the future, but it’s a moot point, because God wrote the future."
For more about God's sovereignty I recommend that you read the whole article and 6 part series. But nevertheless, Scripture clearly teaches that the ultimate reason things happen the way they do is because God ordains them to happen as they do. God is in control.
That said, let me here ask, do we have truly "free" will? Since we ultimately do what God has ordained us to, the answer is no. However, here is where we will enter into the discussion of whether what we do is by compulsion, or by necessity.
Compulsion would refer to an outside source forcing its will upon us, making us do something that we did not really want to do. Does God make us do things we don't want to do? No, He doesn't force us to do anything against our "will."
What do I mean by that? Someone might say here "You just said that we don't have free will and then you say that God won't make us do something against our will. What are you smoking?" You can be sure, I meant just what I said. Let me quote Luther when discussing "necessity" versus "compulsion."
"I could wish, indeed, that a better term was available for our discussion than the accepted one, necessity, which cannot accurately be used of either man's will or God's. Its meaning is too harsh, and foreign to the subject; for it suggests some sort of compulsion, and something that is against ones will, which is no part of the view under debate. The will, whether it be God's or man's, does what it does, good or bad, under no compulsion, but just as it wants or pleases, as if totally free." (Luther, 81)
Let's talk this out for a bit shall we? Remember in the discussion of "total depravity" that we discussed how mankind loves its sin. We sin because we want to, and we have no desire on our own to stop sinning. God has ordained all that we do, but he has not forced us against our will, because we love what we are doing and we long for more of it. So man freely does what man wants to do, however they do so, not by compulsion but by necessity, for that was what God had predestined for them to do.
In the same way God does not force someone to love Him, but instead he takes out their heart of stone and gives them a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26,
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
God gives the sinner His Spirit making them a new creation who no longer wants sin, they want God. They have not been compulsed to do anything, they freely do just what they want, but they do it out of necessity because God ordained them to do so.
Ultimately it comes down to this, the will of man is enslaved either to Satan and sin or to God and righteousness, but regardless of which one it is enslaved to the will of man does its bidding not under compulsion but freely and gladly, and they do so because God has ordained it to be so.
Let's look at how Luther explains this in an analogy.
"So man's will is like a beast standing between two riders. If God rides, it wills and goes where God wills: as the Psalm says, 'I am become as a beast before thee, and I am ever with thee' (Ps. 73:22-23). If Satan rides, it wills and goes where Satan wills. Nor may it choose to which rider it will run, or which it will seek; but the riders themselves fight to decide who shall have and hold it." (Luther, 103-104)
I would note, as would Luther if anyone should question his meaning, that God always wins the fight when it is His desire to ride a particular beast.
I think this example wonderfully illustrates the position of mankind. Although I would add, again, that the beast is not being driven by compulsion with whips and spurs, but by a carrot or sugar cube in front of them, the beast pursues willingly the direction it is led.
So does man have free will? Ultimately the answer is no. But we carry on day to day, feeling as though our will is totally free, because we do only that which we desire most to do. And it depends upon whether our will is enslaved to Satan and sin or to God and righteousness as to what desires we have in our hearts.
-Jacob
Luther, Martin. The Bondage of the Will. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2005.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
God's Sovereignty in Salvation: PART 1
The Doctrine of Total Depravity
The doctrine of "Total Depravity" is sometimes called "Total Inability" or "Radical Depravity." No matter what title it is given, the meaning is the same. We will use the title "Total Depravity" as it is the traditional title first used for the doctrine.
Total Depravity may be defined in this way:
"Because of the effect of sin that came upon all of mankind at the fall in Genesis 3, all people have been seriously affected by sin in every part of their being, mind, body and soul. Sin has rendered mankind unable to understand spiritual things and unable to know or love God in our own strength. Because of the effects of the fall, mankind is enslaved to sin and does it’s bidding not under compulsion, but freely chooses to do so because mankind loves it sinful actions. Mankind is incapable of freeing themselves from the effects of sin."
One thing that should be cleared up about this doctrine, and this is often a misconception of what is taught by it, is that total depravity does not teach that mankind is a evil, or sinful as it could possibly be. Even though everyone is born totally depraved we pass opportunities for evil all the time. Even Hitler probably walked on by an opportunity to kick a puppy out in front of a truck one time. Everyone could be more sinful, that isn’t the point. The point is that sin has effected every part of every person, totally.
Where shall we start in showing what Scripture says about this? Well I think it’s always best to start the story from the beginning, Genesis 3.
I trust that anyone with even a passing knowledge of Scripture knows the basic story of the fall. God creates His perfect creation including Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve rebel against God and sin by eating the fruit of the tree of which they were commanded not to eat. And because of this rebellion against God, sin enters creation.
This now brings us to Genesis 3:16-19.
16To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
17And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,'cursed is the ground because of you;in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
Let’s look at some of sins effects upon creation.
1.We see that sin increased pain in giving birth to children. So sin has changed things in a physical bodily sense.
2. We see that relationships between men and women, husband and wife are affected by sin. Even though God created women to be a helpmate to men, now because of sin the natural tendency is for the woman to control her husband and lead even though that is the husbands duty, and in turn the husband because of sin often rules over his wife unlovingly.
Note the word desire is the same Hebrew word in Genesis 4:7.
"7If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."
Clearly "desire" is equated with taking control.
3. We see that due to sin the very earth itself has been effected. Before the fall plant life grew with ease but due to sin now any farmer can testify that it is a struggle to produce healthy crops free of weeds and thorns. It take much work, and now days money, to produce good crops.
4. And then finally we see that due to sin, mankind now eventually dies. The body decays and eventually gives out.
Most importantly however is the loss of relationship with God that mankind suffered when sin took hold of creation.
Genesis 3:22-24.
"22Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever--" 23therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life."
The Garden of Eden was where man and God literally walked together, and enjoyed fellowship that we can now only imagine. And because of sin, mankind was cast out from the garden, and cast out of the direct presence of God.
Literally thousands of years went by between the time of the fall of man and the New Testament times, but was man able to break free from the grip of sin? No. Just look at what Paul writes in Romans 1:18-32.
"18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."
Man has done nothing to slow the effects of sin. Man is incapable of doing so, nor does man desire to do so. Mankind does not only murder, slander, gossip, boast, etc.,etc., but we also "give approval to those who practice them."
Think of the ethnic cleansing that continues to go on today. Think of the abortion that thrives in our own country today. And what do you see... people cheering on murder. You may say, "well I do not approve of such things", but many do, and you are not so righteous yourself. Maybe you’ve never murdered anyone, but you’ve lied, you’ve probably stolen, you have certainly disobeyed your parents, you’ve gossiped, you’ve slandered, and much more, you sin every single day as do I! Do not play the self justification game, you’ll lose.
If anyone should think that they don’t fit the categories given in Romans 1then they should look at Romans 3:10-18.
10as it is written:"None is righteous, no, not one; 11no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 13"Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.""The venom of asps is under their lips." 4"Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." 15"Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16in their paths are ruin and misery, 17and the way of peace they have not known." 18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
No one who believes the Bible to be the word of God can escape the grasp of this passage. Words and phrases like "none" and "no one" and "all" pretty well nail us all to the truth, that every man, women and child, is totally depraved. Our hearts are naturally bent upon sin. We love sin, it’s what we do best. We are good at it. We don’t want to know God, we serve our own gods that serve our own purposes. We are natural born liars and murderers at heart. "There is no fear of God before their (our) eyes."
1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that "14The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."
We all enter this world as "natural" people. None of us on our own "accept the things of the Spirit of God." We ride them off as folly, foolishness. Even more we are told that those who are natural and in the flesh are hostile to the things of God.
Romans 8:7-8.
"7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
We are incapable as sinners to submit to God’s law, His word, His truth. We cannot please God as depraved sinners, nor do we want to.
When the serpent said to the woman in the garden of Eden, "surely you will not die" he knew something very well. They did not physically die that day when they rebelled against God, but the died spiritually at that very moment, and now everyone in mankind is born spiritually dead from the womb.
Romans 5:12.
"12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned."
What does God promise for those who rebel against Him and continue in their sin? "... it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." (Hebrew 9:27) And 2 Peter 3:7 says "But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."
Look at 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10.
"5This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering-- 6since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed."
God requires holiness in order for us to fellowship with Him. God says in 1 Peter 1:16 "...You shall be holy, for I am holy." But as Scripture has very clearly shown, man is not holy. Man is evil and bent on doing evil, they love their sin and sin rules over them.
So let me leave you today with this one very important question.
If God requires perfect holiness/righteousness as a prerequisite for fellowship with Him. If we must be righteous to enter the kingdom of God on judgement day, what hope do we have?
Some will rightfully say, Jesus. But understand, we have been told that the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit. We have been told that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. We are told that no one seeks for God. Our natural inclination is to forsake God. Our nature allows nothing else but to deny God and His son Jesus Christ. Is that not what Scripture has so clearly said?
So if we are incapable of doing anything pleasing before God, and we naturally reject spiritual things and therefore naturally choose to reject the Son of God who is the only hope of salvation, and God requires perfect righteousness for salvation, what hope does mankind have?
The answer is in God’s word, and we will look at that next time.
The doctrine of "Total Depravity" is sometimes called "Total Inability" or "Radical Depravity." No matter what title it is given, the meaning is the same. We will use the title "Total Depravity" as it is the traditional title first used for the doctrine.
Total Depravity may be defined in this way:
"Because of the effect of sin that came upon all of mankind at the fall in Genesis 3, all people have been seriously affected by sin in every part of their being, mind, body and soul. Sin has rendered mankind unable to understand spiritual things and unable to know or love God in our own strength. Because of the effects of the fall, mankind is enslaved to sin and does it’s bidding not under compulsion, but freely chooses to do so because mankind loves it sinful actions. Mankind is incapable of freeing themselves from the effects of sin."
One thing that should be cleared up about this doctrine, and this is often a misconception of what is taught by it, is that total depravity does not teach that mankind is a evil, or sinful as it could possibly be. Even though everyone is born totally depraved we pass opportunities for evil all the time. Even Hitler probably walked on by an opportunity to kick a puppy out in front of a truck one time. Everyone could be more sinful, that isn’t the point. The point is that sin has effected every part of every person, totally.
Where shall we start in showing what Scripture says about this? Well I think it’s always best to start the story from the beginning, Genesis 3.
I trust that anyone with even a passing knowledge of Scripture knows the basic story of the fall. God creates His perfect creation including Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve rebel against God and sin by eating the fruit of the tree of which they were commanded not to eat. And because of this rebellion against God, sin enters creation.
This now brings us to Genesis 3:16-19.
16To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
17And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,'cursed is the ground because of you;in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
Let’s look at some of sins effects upon creation.
1.We see that sin increased pain in giving birth to children. So sin has changed things in a physical bodily sense.
2. We see that relationships between men and women, husband and wife are affected by sin. Even though God created women to be a helpmate to men, now because of sin the natural tendency is for the woman to control her husband and lead even though that is the husbands duty, and in turn the husband because of sin often rules over his wife unlovingly.
Note the word desire is the same Hebrew word in Genesis 4:7.
"7If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."
Clearly "desire" is equated with taking control.
3. We see that due to sin the very earth itself has been effected. Before the fall plant life grew with ease but due to sin now any farmer can testify that it is a struggle to produce healthy crops free of weeds and thorns. It take much work, and now days money, to produce good crops.
4. And then finally we see that due to sin, mankind now eventually dies. The body decays and eventually gives out.
Most importantly however is the loss of relationship with God that mankind suffered when sin took hold of creation.
Genesis 3:22-24.
"22Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever--" 23therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life."
The Garden of Eden was where man and God literally walked together, and enjoyed fellowship that we can now only imagine. And because of sin, mankind was cast out from the garden, and cast out of the direct presence of God.
Literally thousands of years went by between the time of the fall of man and the New Testament times, but was man able to break free from the grip of sin? No. Just look at what Paul writes in Romans 1:18-32.
"18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."
Man has done nothing to slow the effects of sin. Man is incapable of doing so, nor does man desire to do so. Mankind does not only murder, slander, gossip, boast, etc.,etc., but we also "give approval to those who practice them."
Think of the ethnic cleansing that continues to go on today. Think of the abortion that thrives in our own country today. And what do you see... people cheering on murder. You may say, "well I do not approve of such things", but many do, and you are not so righteous yourself. Maybe you’ve never murdered anyone, but you’ve lied, you’ve probably stolen, you have certainly disobeyed your parents, you’ve gossiped, you’ve slandered, and much more, you sin every single day as do I! Do not play the self justification game, you’ll lose.
If anyone should think that they don’t fit the categories given in Romans 1then they should look at Romans 3:10-18.
10as it is written:"None is righteous, no, not one; 11no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 13"Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.""The venom of asps is under their lips." 4"Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." 15"Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16in their paths are ruin and misery, 17and the way of peace they have not known." 18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
No one who believes the Bible to be the word of God can escape the grasp of this passage. Words and phrases like "none" and "no one" and "all" pretty well nail us all to the truth, that every man, women and child, is totally depraved. Our hearts are naturally bent upon sin. We love sin, it’s what we do best. We are good at it. We don’t want to know God, we serve our own gods that serve our own purposes. We are natural born liars and murderers at heart. "There is no fear of God before their (our) eyes."
1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that "14The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."
We all enter this world as "natural" people. None of us on our own "accept the things of the Spirit of God." We ride them off as folly, foolishness. Even more we are told that those who are natural and in the flesh are hostile to the things of God.
Romans 8:7-8.
"7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
We are incapable as sinners to submit to God’s law, His word, His truth. We cannot please God as depraved sinners, nor do we want to.
When the serpent said to the woman in the garden of Eden, "surely you will not die" he knew something very well. They did not physically die that day when they rebelled against God, but the died spiritually at that very moment, and now everyone in mankind is born spiritually dead from the womb.
Romans 5:12.
"12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned."
What does God promise for those who rebel against Him and continue in their sin? "... it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." (Hebrew 9:27) And 2 Peter 3:7 says "But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."
Look at 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10.
"5This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering-- 6since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed."
God requires holiness in order for us to fellowship with Him. God says in 1 Peter 1:16 "...You shall be holy, for I am holy." But as Scripture has very clearly shown, man is not holy. Man is evil and bent on doing evil, they love their sin and sin rules over them.
So let me leave you today with this one very important question.
If God requires perfect holiness/righteousness as a prerequisite for fellowship with Him. If we must be righteous to enter the kingdom of God on judgement day, what hope do we have?
Some will rightfully say, Jesus. But understand, we have been told that the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit. We have been told that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. We are told that no one seeks for God. Our natural inclination is to forsake God. Our nature allows nothing else but to deny God and His son Jesus Christ. Is that not what Scripture has so clearly said?
So if we are incapable of doing anything pleasing before God, and we naturally reject spiritual things and therefore naturally choose to reject the Son of God who is the only hope of salvation, and God requires perfect righteousness for salvation, what hope does mankind have?
The answer is in God’s word, and we will look at that next time.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
The Sovereignty of God: Part 6
Let us go ahead and finish the definition that was originally given for the sovereignty of God. The last part of the definition that remains yet to be explained is the following:
"God is Holy, perfect and sinless and is Himself the author of truth, the standard of good.
Anything that pleases God to do, He does. Nothing can hinder the plans and /or the will of God."
So let’s start with "God is Holy, perfect and sinless" and go from there. It would take forever to cite all the verse that teach the holy perfection and sinlessness of God, but here are just a few to make the point.
Leviticus 11:44
"For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground."
Psalm 77:13
"Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?"
Psalm 99:9
"Exalt the LORD our God,and worship at his holy mountain;for the LORD our God is holy!"
Next we see that God is "perfect" in all his ways.
Deuteronomy 32:3-4
"3For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! 4"The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he."
2 Samuel 22:31
"This God--his way is perfect;the word of the LORD proves true;he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."
And now we come to God is "sinless."
Speaking of Jesus the Scripture says in Hebrews 4:15
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."
The holiness and perfection of God really defines the fact that He is sinless. In fact it is this that leads us to the next part of our definition. God " is Himself the author of truth, the standard of good."
It is because God is the creator and that He is perfect and Holy that He Himself defines what sin is. Sin is anything that is contrary to law of God. And since God makes the law and it is against His nature to break His own law, God is sinless.
God as creator is the one who says what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false, what is holy and what is sinful, it is His right to set such parameters and His alone as sovereign creator. God’s person, nature and word as revealed in Scripture, is the standard for truth and good. No one else can lay claim to this. Truth and that which is good is objective and comes from the creator.
If I were to make up a rule and say it was true and good, what authority would I have to do so. My opinion is subjective. However God as the creator of this universe is the only one who can set parameters on truth, and goodness. His opinion is objective. He created the law of gravity which is true whether we like it or not and He created the law in Scripture which is true whether we like it or not.
Next in our definition we see "Anything that pleases God to do, He does."
Psalm 115:3
"Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases."
The final part of our definition is this "Nothing can hinder the plans and /or the will of God."
Daniel 4:35
"all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,and he does according to his will among the host of heavenand among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his handor say to him, "What have you done?"
Who could blame God of wrong doing? No one, God is God and can do as He pleases. God is the standard of good and therefore He is just in all His actions even when we cannot understand them. Who can stop God from fulfilling His plans? No one, God is almighty, no man can hold Him back.
This concludes our study on the definition of the "Sovereignty of God." This was of course just a prelude to discussing the "Doctrines of Grace" a.k.a. the five points of Calvinism. I encourage you to review all 6 parts of the Sovereignty of God series before you jump into the discussion of the 5 points because it will inform you as to God sovereignty in the salvation of man.
God bless and we’ll get to the "Doctrines of Grace" very soon!
"God is Holy, perfect and sinless and is Himself the author of truth, the standard of good.
Anything that pleases God to do, He does. Nothing can hinder the plans and /or the will of God."
So let’s start with "God is Holy, perfect and sinless" and go from there. It would take forever to cite all the verse that teach the holy perfection and sinlessness of God, but here are just a few to make the point.
Leviticus 11:44
"For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground."
Psalm 77:13
"Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?"
Psalm 99:9
"Exalt the LORD our God,and worship at his holy mountain;for the LORD our God is holy!"
Next we see that God is "perfect" in all his ways.
Deuteronomy 32:3-4
"3For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! 4"The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he."
2 Samuel 22:31
"This God--his way is perfect;the word of the LORD proves true;he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."
And now we come to God is "sinless."
Speaking of Jesus the Scripture says in Hebrews 4:15
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."
The holiness and perfection of God really defines the fact that He is sinless. In fact it is this that leads us to the next part of our definition. God " is Himself the author of truth, the standard of good."
It is because God is the creator and that He is perfect and Holy that He Himself defines what sin is. Sin is anything that is contrary to law of God. And since God makes the law and it is against His nature to break His own law, God is sinless.
God as creator is the one who says what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false, what is holy and what is sinful, it is His right to set such parameters and His alone as sovereign creator. God’s person, nature and word as revealed in Scripture, is the standard for truth and good. No one else can lay claim to this. Truth and that which is good is objective and comes from the creator.
If I were to make up a rule and say it was true and good, what authority would I have to do so. My opinion is subjective. However God as the creator of this universe is the only one who can set parameters on truth, and goodness. His opinion is objective. He created the law of gravity which is true whether we like it or not and He created the law in Scripture which is true whether we like it or not.
Next in our definition we see "Anything that pleases God to do, He does."
Psalm 115:3
"Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases."
The final part of our definition is this "Nothing can hinder the plans and /or the will of God."
Daniel 4:35
"all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,and he does according to his will among the host of heavenand among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his handor say to him, "What have you done?"
Who could blame God of wrong doing? No one, God is God and can do as He pleases. God is the standard of good and therefore He is just in all His actions even when we cannot understand them. Who can stop God from fulfilling His plans? No one, God is almighty, no man can hold Him back.
This concludes our study on the definition of the "Sovereignty of God." This was of course just a prelude to discussing the "Doctrines of Grace" a.k.a. the five points of Calvinism. I encourage you to review all 6 parts of the Sovereignty of God series before you jump into the discussion of the 5 points because it will inform you as to God sovereignty in the salvation of man.
God bless and we’ll get to the "Doctrines of Grace" very soon!
Monday, January 15, 2007
The Doctrines of Grace
An easy way to help remember the five doctrines of grace (also known as the five points of Calvinism) is the acronym T.U.L.I.P.
T, is for Total Depravity.
U, is for Unconditional Election.
L, is for Limited Atonement.
I, is for irresistible grace.
P, is for perseverance of the Saints.
In the following posts each will be defined and discussed in detail. In James White’s book The Sovereign Grace of God, he starts the conversation of the five points of Calvinism with a discussion of God’s Sovereignty before he ever talks about the five points. I think this is wise, after all if a person doesn’t accept the sovereignty of God in the first place then everything else that follows will certainly be rejected.
So my first post in the upcoming series will be on the Sovereignty of God. Hopefully I’ll get to it sometime this week.
In Him -Jacob
P.S. I reccomend James White's book mentioned above, it can be found here: www.aomin.org.
T, is for Total Depravity.
U, is for Unconditional Election.
L, is for Limited Atonement.
I, is for irresistible grace.
P, is for perseverance of the Saints.
In the following posts each will be defined and discussed in detail. In James White’s book The Sovereign Grace of God, he starts the conversation of the five points of Calvinism with a discussion of God’s Sovereignty before he ever talks about the five points. I think this is wise, after all if a person doesn’t accept the sovereignty of God in the first place then everything else that follows will certainly be rejected.
So my first post in the upcoming series will be on the Sovereignty of God. Hopefully I’ll get to it sometime this week.
In Him -Jacob
P.S. I reccomend James White's book mentioned above, it can be found here: www.aomin.org.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
