Quote of the Day

“God’s sovereignty does not negate our responsibility to pray, but rather makes it possible for us to pray with confidence.”

– Jerry Bridges

Jesus Is On The Wrong Side of History

from Trevin Wax

A fictional conversation from the first century A.D.

  

Stefanus: I wish you would change your mind, Gratian. You are going to be made fun of and marginalized.

  

Gratian: Any suffering or ostracism I may face will not compare with the glory that awaits me.

  

Stefanus: Glory? I fear you are losing your mental grasp of things. Have you not seen the splendor and glory of the Empire? Don’t you see how Roman principles are extending throughout all the earth?

  

Gratian: The Empire looks powerful, yes. But God’s kingdom will outlast it.

  

Stefanus: Surely, you jest!

  

Gratian: Jesus said so.

  

Stefanus: You continue to speak about this backwoods Jew who taught all sorts of strange things. I fear for what may happen to you when you refuse to pinch incense at the altar and reveal your dedication to the Empire’s gods.

  

Gratian: I will refuse.

  

Stefanus: But why? You know that the Empire is a tolerant, broad-minded place for people of good will who believe in all sorts of gods…

  

Gratian: As long as worshipping Caesar trumps them all…

  

Stefanus: Of course, but you still have the freedom to worship privately as you please -

  

Gratian: - as long as publicly, I bow the knee to Caesar.

 
Stefanus: What is the harm in recognizing the absolute authority of Caesar?

 
Gratian: I would be telling a lie. The emperor is under King Jesus.

 
Stefanus: Keep your voice down. Do you realize what you are saying?

 
Gratian: I will answer to King Jesus. So will you. And so will Caesar.

 
Stefanus: You dare challenge the ultimate authority of the Empire? Can’t you see the progress of history? Are you so blind… to ignore that history is moving in Caesar’s direction? Recent surveys show that people are not putting up with you and your silly ideas… your simpleminded way of life.

 
Gratian: I don’t follow Jesus because He is popular, but because He saved me.

 
Stefanus: Think logically for a moment about this Jesus of yours and what he taught.

• He said he was the Savior, but anyone can see that Caesar is the one in whom we have security.

He said we should never divorce, but anyone can see it is in the best interest of men to be able to put away their wives.

He said we should care for the least of these, but anyone can see that poor fathers and mothers should be free to abandon their newborns to the trash heap.

• He said we should love our enemies, but anyone can see that we should favor our friends and punish our opponents.

He said we should never commit adultery or even lust after another, but anyone can see that sexual openness is more natural for human happiness.

He said there are things that don’t belong to Caesar, but anyone can see that Caesar is in charge of everything.

Gratian: What are you saying then?

 
Stefanus: That Jesus is obviously on the wrong side of history. The world is moving forward and you are stuck in the past following the bizarre teachings of a Jewish leader. Recant your strange beliefs! Or at least stay quiet about them.

Gratian: I cannot, and I will not. I do not see history the same way you do.

 
Stefanus: Why not?

 
Gratian: No matter how confident you are that history is moving in an upward progression and that the Roman Empire will expand across the earth and lead all to eternal peace and harmony, you are wrong. The kingdom I belong to will outlast the Empire, despite the appearances.

 
Stefanus: How do you know this?

 
Gratian: Because my King came back from the dead. And the One who defeats death is the One who defines history.

Quote of the Day

“A man does not become a Christian by taking a decision. He is made a Christian by God, who had marked him out before the foundation of the world and who sees to it that he is born, and sees to it that he believes.”

-Martyn Lloyd-Jones

(Romans – God’s Sovereign Purpose)

10,000 Things

“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”

That was one of our most widely spread tweets in 2012. So we want to say it again for 2013 and make this promise even more solid.

Not only may you see a tiny fraction of what God is doing in your life; the part you do see may make no sense to you.

• You may find yourself in prison, and God may be advancing the gospel among the guards, and making the free brothers bold. (Philippians 1:12–14)
• You may find yourself with a painful thorn, and God may be making the power of Christ more beautiful in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:8)
• You may find yourself with a dead brother that Jesus could have healed, and God may be preparing to show his glory. (John 11)
• You may find yourself sold into slavery, accused falsely of sexual abuse, and forgotten in a prison cell, and God may be preparing you to rule a nation. (Genesis 37-50)
• You may wonder why a loved one is left in unbelief so long, and find that God is preparing a picture of his patience and a powerful missionary. (Galatians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:12-16)
• You may live in all purity and humility and truth only to end rejected and killed, and God may be making a parable of his Son and an extension of his merciful sufferings in yours. (Isaiah 53:3; Mark 8:31; Colossians 1:24)
• You may walk through famine, be driven from your homeland, lose husband and sons, and be left desolate with one foreign daughter-in-law, and God may be making you an ancestor of a king. (Ruth 1–4)
• You may find the best counselor you’ve ever known giving foolish advice, and God may be preparing the destruction of your enemy. (2 Samuel 17:14)
• You may be a sexually pure single person and yet accused of immorality, and God may be preparing you as a virgin blessing in ways no one can dream. (Luke 1:35)
• You may not be able to sleep and look in a random book, and God may be preparing to shame your arrogant enemy and rescue a condemned people. (Esther 6:1–11)
• You may be shamed and hurt, and God may be confirming your standing as his child and purifying you for the highest inheritance. (Hebrews 12:5–11)

There are three granite foundation stones under this confidence for 2013: God’s love. God’s sovereignty. God’s wisdom.

Love: In the death of Christ on our behalf God has totally removed his wrath from us (Romans 8:3; Galatians 3:13). Now there is not only no condemnation (Romans 8:1), but now God is only merciful (Romans 8:32). Even his discipline is all mercy.

Sovereignty: There is no power in the universe that can stop him from fulfilling his totally good plans for you. “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).

Wisdom: God’s infinite wisdom always sees a way to bring the greatest good out of the most painful and complex situations. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33).

Therefore, no matter what you face this year, God will be doing 10,000 things in your life that you cannot see. Trust him. Love him. And they will all be good for you.

---

Divine Sovereignty in Proverbs (2)

Man’s plans cannot alter God’s purpose. What he wills, he will do.

Man makes his plans, but what God has determined to do is irrevocably unalterable. Regardless of what man may desire to do, the sovereign will of the Lord will stand:

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lordthat will stand. —Proverbs 19:21

Man makes his plans, but God’s eternal purpose will prevail. In His sovereignty, God will alter man’s plans when they conflict with His will. The purpose of the Lord, Waltke notes, refers to “God’s immutable will.” His divine plan, determined before time began, endures forever. As for man’s plans, “God can make them successful or cancel them or bring about the reverse of what people intend. Even the best human plans and efforts cannot stand before Him if He does not will it.” People have many plans, but the Lord’s counsel or purpose will stand.

—Steve Lawson, Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2006), 152–153.

Divine Sovereignty in Proverbs

There is no such thing as luck, and there are no random occurrences.

God rules the universe, both in the whole and in its smallest parts. Even the tiniest occurrences in this world, events that seem random, are under God’s directional control:

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. —Proverbs 16:33

Even the smallest occurrences in life fit perfectly into the larger picture of God’s eternal purpose. Nothing is accidental or random. Everything is intentional and purposeful, carried out with divine design. Bridges writes that the casting of the lot “is an acknowledgment of absolute Sovereignty; giving up our personal responsibility, and virtually appealing to an Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent God. It teaches us, that things that we conceive to be accident are really under Providence. ‘What is chance to man is the appointment of God.’” Simply put, even things that may appear to be chance occurrences are, in fact, under God’s control.

—Steve Lawson, Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2006), 152.

Sovereign Election in Psalms

God’s sovereign choice of his people guarantees more than their eternal destination. Election guarantees their sanctification here and now, as well.

Out of the mass of sinful humanity, God has set apart a chosen people for Himself. Each of these elect individuals will become increasingly godly:

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lordhears when I call to him. —Psalm 4:3

David teaches here that God “sets apart” the godly, an act that is synonymous with divine election. This choice was made before time began, and guarantees that all God’s chosen ones will be sanctified and become godly within time. God does not elect a person because he or she is godly, but in order that the person might become godly. Spurgeon comments upon this verse, “The godly are the chosen of God, and are, by distinguishing grace, set apart and separated from among men. Election is a doctrine which unrenewed men cannot endure, but nevertheless, it is a glorious and well-attested truth, and one which should comfort the tempted believer. Election is the guarantee of complete salvation, and an argument for success at the throne of grace. He who chose us for Himself will surely hear our prayers.”

—Steve Lawson, Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2006), 144.

Divine Sovereignty in Psalms

God reigns supreme in the heavens, and His plans never change from one generation to the next. From everlasting to everlasting, His eternal counsel remains the same:

The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. —Psalm 33:11

In this verse, David refers to “the counsel of the Lord,” which is the eternal deliberation and decree of God, formed in eternity past, by which He made the irrevocable choice of His all-wise will. No matter what man may attempt, the eternal counsel of the Lord will be sustained unwaveringly from one generation to the next. In fact, nothing that any being can do will alter or subvert it. God’s divine purposes remain immutable and unalterable from age to age. Commenting on this text, Albert Barnes writes, “There can be no superior counsel or will to change it, as is the case with the plans of men; and no purposes of any beings inferior to himself—angels, men, or devils—can affect, defeat, or modify His eternal plans. No changes in human affairs can impede His plans; no opposition can defeat them; no progress can supersede them. . . . The things which he has designed, or which He intends shall be accomplished. . . . The plans of God are not changed by the passing off of one generation and the coming on of another; by new dynasties of kings, or by the revolutions that may occur in states and empires.” All of human history moves forward toward its divinely appointed end under the absolute control of God.

—Steve Lawson, Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2006), 136.

Divine Sovereignty in Judges

That God not only uses but also directs evil for his purpose is a difficult doctrine for many. But Scripture is filled with examples of God doing so. Evil men, in spite of themselves, serve him.

Divine sovereignty also was seen in God’s exercise of supreme control over human affairs, even over evil kings. By the free exertion of His supreme will, God strengthened an evil king to do evil:

The Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. —Judges 3:12b–13

According to this passage, God may strengthen unbelievers to enable them to defeat His people for His own purposes. Thus, God uses unholy people to accomplish His holy plans for the good of His people. Explaining this truth, Matthew Henry states, “God made them know that He had a variety of rods wherewith to chastise them: He strengthened Eglon king of Moab against them. . . . Here was another king of Moab, whom God strengthened against them, put power into his hands, though a wicked man, that he might be a scourge to Israel. The staff in his hand with which he beat Israel was God’s indignation.” In short, God’s sovereign control extends even to unbelievers, whom He may use for His higher purposes.

—Steve Lawson, Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2006), 107–108.

Demonic activity is also under divine control.

In His sovereignty, God also exercised absolute authority over a demon spirit and used it to accomplish His own purposes:

Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, —Judges 9:22–23

Here, God was revealed as controlling an evil spirit to accomplish His all-wise purposes. Even evil spirits, then, are subservient to God’s sovereign will. At His own discretion, God may send demon spirits to perform His holy pleasure. Noted commentator C. F. Keil writes, “Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, so that they became treacherous towards Him. ‘An evil spirit’ is not merely ‘an evil disposition,’ but an evil demon, which produced discord and strife, just as an evil spirit came upon Saul. . . . This evil spirit God sent to punish the wickedness of Abimelech and the Shechemites.” All this demonic activity was orchestrated by the sovereignty of God.

—Ibid., 108.

Divine Sovereignty in Job

The entire narrative of Job is a declaration of God’s sovereignty. Within that narrative are many examples of his sovereign power, of which this is one:

By His sovereignty, God has determined the precise number of days and months each person will live upon this earth. Nothing can circumvent the lifespans allotted by God according to His sovereign will:

“His days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.” —Job 14:5

Even when life appears to be out of control, as it certainly did to Job, God remains in complete control. This transcendent truth is evidenced by the fact that the duration of a man’s life upon this earth remains fixed in the unchanging, eternal plan of God. Henry writes, “Three things we are here assured of—(1.) That our life will come to an end; our days upon earth are not numberless, are not endless, no, they are numbered, and will soon be finished, Dan. 5:26. (2.) That it is determined, in the counsel and decree of God, how long we shall live and when we shall die. The number of our months is with God. . . . It is certain that God’s providence has the ordering of the period of our lives; our times are in His hand. . . . (3.) That the bounds God has fixed we cannot pass; for His counsels are unalterable, His foresight being infallible.” What Henry writes is absolutely true. Despite the uncertainty of life, we must acknowledge that God has decreed the number of our months, having set limits that we cannot exceed.

—Steve Lawson, Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2006), 125.

Open Theism

Open Theism is a heresy taught and accepted by some whom most would say are true believers. Melissa and I experienced this ourselves at our former church in Greensboro NC and it led to us moving to our current one. This is a great article by John M. Frame (original source here) refuting the conclusions of Open theists.

Open theists, such as Clark Pinnock, John Sanders, Gregory Boyd, and William Hasker, seek to do justice to the “give and take” in Scripture between God and human beings. For example, in Ex. 32:7-10, God tells Moses he will destroy Israel for worshipping the golden calf and raise up a new nation from Moses himself. Moses intercedes, however, and in verse 14 God “relents.” God also seems to “change his mind” in Isa. 38:1-5, where Isaiah prophecies that King Hezekiah will die, but in response to Hezekiah’s repentance adds fifteen years to his life, and in Jonah 3-4, where God retracts an announcement of judgment in response to Ninevah’s repentance.

From these and other such passages, the open theists infer that God is a temporal being (not “above time” as in much traditional theology), that he changes his mind, that his plans are influenced by creatures, that he sometimes regrets actions that he has performed (as Gen. 6:6), and that he does not have exhaustive knowledge of the future. On their view, God’s regretting and relenting come about because human free decisions are utterly undetermined and unpredictable. So God must adjust his plans to the free choices of human beings.

We should not ignore these “relenting” passages. On the other hand, we should not forget either the pervasive biblical emphasis on God’s sovereign control of the world and his exhaustive knowledge of past, present, and future. God brings about natural events (Psm. 65:9-11, 135:5-7), even apparently random ones (Prov. 16:33). He controls the smallest details of nature (Matt. 10:29-30). He governs human history (Acts 17:26, Isa. 10:5-12, 14:24-27). If someone dies accidentally, it is because “the Lord lets it happen” (Ex. 21:12-13). Contrary to open theism, God brings about human free decisions, even sinful ones (Gen. 45:5-8, Judg. 14:4, 2 Sam. 24, Isa. 44:28, Luke 22:22, Acts 2:23-24, Rev. 17:17). He hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Ex. 4:21, 7:3), and others as well (Deut. 2:30, Josh. 11:18-20, 1 Sam. 2:25, 2 Chron. 25:20), for his own purposes (Rom. 9:17). He is also the source of human faith (John 6:37, 44, 65, Eph. 2:4-10, 2 Tim. 1:9, Acts 13:48, 16:14-15, 18:27) and repentance (Zech. 12:10, Acts 5:31, 11:18). So human freedom is not indeterminate as open theists maintain. We are free in that we do what we want to do; but behind our plans and desires are those of God (James 4:13-17).

In general, God “works out everything in conformity to the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:11; cf. Lam. 3:37-38, Rom. 2:28, 11:33-36). And God cannot fail at anything he seeks to do (Ps. 33:11, 115:3, 135:6, Prov. 21:30, Isa. 14:27, 43:13, 46:10, 55:11, Dan. 4:35, Rev. 3:7).

Since God controls everything, he knows everything, including the future. Knowing the future is a test of a true prophet (Deut. 18:22) and indeed of a true God (Isa. 41:21-23, 42:9, 43:9-12, 44:7, 48:3-7). Through his prophets, God often predicts the future centuries in advance (as Gen. 9:26-27). Contrary to the open theists, who think God cannot anticipate human free decisions, he often predicts human behavior in detail (1 Sam. 10:1-7, Jer. 37:6-11, Matt. 26:34). He predicts the behavior and character of human beings in the distant future (1 Kings 13:1-4, Isa. 44:28-45:13).

How then should we understand God’s “relenting?” For one thing, God states as a general policy in Jer. 18:5-10 that if he announces judgment and people repent, he will relent; similarly if he pronounces blessing and people do evil. In other words, relenting is part of God’s unchanging plan, not a change forced on him by his ignorance. Further, God is not only transcendent, but immanent. He has dwelled on earth in the tabernacle and temple, in Christ, and in his general omnipresence (Psm. 139:7-12). When God interacts with people in time, he does one thing, then another. He curses, then blesses. His actions are in temporal sequence and therefore, in one sense, changing. But these changes are the outworking of God’s eternal plan, which does not change.

It is important, then, to see God as working from both above and below, in eternity and time, not only in time as open theists propose.

Divine Justice

In spite of the clarity with which Scripture addresses this topic, many professing Christians today struggle with acceptance of God’s sovereignty—especially when it comes to His electing work in salvation. Their most common protest, of course, is that the doctrine of election is unfair. But such an objection stems from a human idea of fairness rather than the objective, divine understanding of true justice. In order to appropriately address the issue of election, we must set aside all human considerations and focus on the nature of God and His righteous standard. Divine justice is where the discussion must begin.

What is divine justice? Simply stated, it is an essential attribute of God whereby He infinitely, perfectly, and independently does exactly what He wants to do when and how He wants to do it. Because He is the standard of divine justice, by very definition, whatever He does is inherently just. As William Perkins said, many years ago, “We must not think that God doeth a thing because it is good and right, but rather is the thing good and right because God willeth and worketh it.”

Therefore, God defines for us what justice is, because He is by nature just and righteous, and what He does reflects that nature. His free will—and nothing else—is behind His justice. This means that whatever He wills is just; and it is just, not by any external standard of justice, but simply because He wills it.

Because the justice of God is an outflow of His character, it is not subject to fallen human assumptions of what justice should be. The Creator owes nothing to the creature, not even what He is graciously pleased to give. God does not act out of obligation or compulsion, but out of his own independent prerogative. That is what it means to be God. And because He is God, His freely determined actions are intrinsically right and perfect.

To say that election is unfair is not only inaccurate, it fails to recognize the very essence of true fairness. That which is fair, right, and just is that which God wills to do. Thus, if God wills to choose those whom he will save, it is inherently fair for him to do so. We cannot impose our own ideas of fairness onto our understanding of God’s working. Instead, we must go to the Scriptures to see how God Himself, in his perfect righteousness, decides to act.

—from John MacArthur’s forward to Steve Lawson’s Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2006), 8–9.

Quote of the Day

“There are no loose threads in the providence of God, no stitches are dropped, no events are left to chance. The great clock of the universe keeps good time, and the whole machinery of providence moves with unerring punctuality.”

– C. H. Spurgeon

Quote of the Day

“Nothing will ever enter your experience as God’s child that, by God’s sovereign grace, will not turn out to be a benefit to you” – John Piper

Quote of the Day

“It always seems inexplicable to me that those who claim free will so very boldly for man should not also allow some free will to God. Why should not Jesus Christ have the right to choose His own bride?”

– C. H. Spurgeon

Never Waste A Good Crisis

From Tim Challies:

You never want to waste a good crisis. That is true in politics and religion and any other field that values ideology, that values one thing over another or one thing in place of another. As Christians we know that the Lord often uses times of crisis to call people to himself, that when people are weak, he remains strong and reveals himself as strong. Of course if God uses crisis, so must Satan. In those times of intense difficulty we may be more aware than ever of the cosmic battle that wages around and inside us.

I have been thinking of the value of crisis as I have watched Americans grapple with President Obama’s recent mandate that demands that almost all employers and health insurance companies provide free contraceptives, up to and including contraceptives that cause (or can cause) abortions. The outrage to this mandate is multi-faceted. On the one hand it forces employers and insurance companies to violate conscience in providing contraceptives for those who are opposed to all forms of birth control, or abortifacient birth control for those who have no objection to preventive contraceptives. In either case, it ignores the separation of church and state that is so integral to America; with this mandate government forces violation of religious conscience.

This is a true crisis and I feel great sympathy for Americans as they wrestle with the implications and call for this bill to be abandoned. I would do the same if I lived south of the border.

As my friends to the south deal with this crisis, I want to offer a word of advice or encouragement: Please do not forget that there are many people who will seek to take advantage of this crisis in order to advance their agenda. Please keep fighting against this injustice, but do be careful how you fight and who it is you fight with.

I was not surprised that one of the first and loudest objections came from Charles Colson. He is, after all, a cultural commentator and a leader within evangelicalism. He and Timothy George worked together to pen a piece for Christianity Today they titled First They Came for the Catholics. Acknowledging that this crisis was first advanced against the Roman Catholic Church and their hard [official] stance against contraception, Colson and George said, “We evangelicals must stand unequivocally with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters. Because when the government violates the religious liberty of one group, it threatens the religious liberty of all.” They are right, of course, that violating the religious liberty of one group violates the religious liberty of all. But note their underlying assumption that Roman Catholics are brothers and sisters. Rick Warren offered a very similar note via Twitter: “I’m not a Catholic but I stand in 100% solidarity with my brothers and sisters to practice their belief against government pressure.”

The solutions Colson and George propose revolves around The Manhattan Declaration, a document that has already been much debated since its 2009 release. This document was framed around three cultural and biblical issues: the sanctity of life, the meaning of marriage, and religious liberty. It has been a while since most of us have thought of the Declaration, but a crisis like this one brings it right back to the forefront. After all, today’s crisis treads upon two of those three issues: the sanctity of life and religious liberty. It is exactly the kind of crisis that make that Declaration appear relevant and necessary.

Yet that Declaration is dangerous, and particularly so in the way it does damage to the gospel. You may want to revisit R.C. Sproul’s article Why Didn’t R.C. Sproul Sign the Manhattan Declaration?. The heart of his objection is this: “The Manhattan Declaration confuses common grace and special grace by combining them. While I would march with the bishop of Rome and an Orthodox prelate to resist the slaughter of innocents in the womb, I could never ground that cobelligerency on the assumption that we share a common faith and a unified understanding of the gospel.” John MacArthur’s reasoning is much the same: “Support for The Manhattan Declaration would not only contradict the stance I have taken since long before the original ‘Evangelicals and Catholics Together’ document was issued; it would also tacitly relegate the very essence of gospel truth to the level of a secondary issue.” Whatever was true of that Declaration in 2009 is true today.

I cannot speak of the motives of Colson and George, not without some speculation, but I do know that we do well to be alert. Their desire to lower the wall between Evangelicals and Roman Catholics—the wall of the gospel of salvation by grace through faith alone—is well-documented. Don’t think that they will allow today’s crisis to go to waste. There may be times for cobelligerency, to fight side-by-side with people who are on the other side of the gospel divide. This may even be such a time. But please remember that these are times to be more careful than ever, to continue to preach those gospel truths to yourself, and to ensure that the gospel is never, ever minimized or compromised. The more we labor with people on the other side of that gospel divide, the more we are prone to allow our similarities on non-gospel issues to blur our differences on the gospel itself.

I know that in times like this many Christians look for leadership, they look for trusted leaders to help them think through the issues so they know what to do. My encouragement is to take your cues from a few trusted individuals, people who have earned the right to be heard. In times like this so many of us turn to men like John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul and ask their help. These are men who have a long history of ensuring that the gospel remains central, men who have always valued truth over popularity, who have been willing to stand firm on truth. If this crisis continues without quick and happy resolution, I hope we will hear from men like MacArthur and Sproul who are specially gifted to help us interpret this time and help us know how to act.

For now, tread carefully, pray earnestly, hold tightly to the gospel, and remind yourself that no one wants to waste a good crisis. Through it all, know that Christ has already conquered and even this is under his complete and total sovereignty. In some way, at some time, he will glorify himself in it and through it.

What is God Sovereign Over?

The Bible verses below are far from exhaustive, and each should be interpreted according to its genre and context. But I am convinced that these verses—rightly interpreted—definitively establish God’s absolute sovereignty over all things. And since compatiblism is true, none of this contradicts the equally biblical teaching that Satan is “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) and that human choices are genuine and significant.

God Is Sovereign Over . . .

Seemingly random things:

The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the LORD.
(Proverbs 16:33)

The heart of the most powerful person in the land:

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
he turns it wherever he will.
(Proverbs 21:1)

Our daily lives and plans:

A man’s steps are from the LORD;
how then can man understand his way?
(Proverbs 20:24)

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
(Proverbs 19:21)

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. . . . Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
(James 4:13-15)

Salvation:

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
(Romans 9:15-16)

As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
(Acts 13:48)

For 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. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
(Romans 8:29-30)

Life and death:

See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
(Deuteronomy 32:39)

The LORD kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
(1 Samuel 12:6)

Disabilities:

Then the LORD said to [Moses], “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?”
(Exodus 4:11)

The death of God’s Son:

Jesus, [who was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
(Acts 2:23)

For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
(Acts 4:27-28)

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief. . . .
(Isaiah 53:10)

Evil things:

Is a trumpet blown in a city,
and the people are not afraid?
Does disaster come to a city,
unless the LORD has done it?
(Amos 3:6)

I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the LORD, who does all these things.
(Isaiah 45:7)

“The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. . . . “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
(Job 1:21-22; 2:10)

[God] sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. . . . As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
(Psalm 105:17; Genesis 50:21)

All things:

[God] works all things according to the counsel of his will.
(Ephesians 1:11)

Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.
(Psalm 115:3)

I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
(Job 42:2)

All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, “What have you done?”
(Daniel 4:35)

Quote of the Day

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: “Mine!”

– Abraham Kuyper

Sovereignty of God

Although the sovereignty of God is universal and absolute, it is not the sovereignty of blind power. It is coupled with infinite wisdom, holiness and love. And this doctrine, when properly understood, is a most comforting and reassuring one. Who would not prefer to have his affairs in the hands of a God of infinite power, wisdom, holiness and love, rather than to have them left to fate, or chance, or irrevocable natural law, or to short-sighted and perverted self? Those who reject God’s sovereignty should consider what alternatives they have left.

Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination

Not the Full Story...

Question: If God is Sovereign, why pray?

Answer: It is BECAUSE God is Sovereign that we do pray. He is Lord of all and can change things, even putting it on our hearts to pray that He would do so.

John Wesley said, “God does nothing except in response to believing prayer.” There is some truth there but its not the full story. Creation took place before there ever was a prayer meeting. God made His plans long before anything else ever existed. God gave a people to His Son in eternity past who in time will come to Him (John 6:37) and He did so when no one asked Him to. God is not merely a responder, He is a master planner. He is found even by those who never sought Him (Romans 10:20). Lets always be people of prayer but let us be forever thankful that God is not limited to our prayer life before He can act in this world; otherwise we would be Sovereign and not Him.