sovereignty

Tranquility is Found in God’s Sovereignty

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stormCharles Spurgeon observed, “Because the Lord has bid the universe abide, therefore it stands, and all its laws continue to operate with precision and power. Because the might of God is ever present to maintain them, therefore do all things continue. The word which spake all things into existence has supported them till now, and still supports them both in being and in well-being. God’s ordinance is the reason for the continued existence of creation.”[1]

Why does the earth remain as it has? Because of the ordinance of God for it to remain. The King has decreed that the sun rise every morning, and so it has been since he gave that order. He has called for the weather to continue its cycles of wind, rain and snow, just as the seasons continue in their order—all because of the King’s commands.

We shouldn’t be surprised. Just as an earthly king’s decrees are obeyed by his human subjects, so too must the heavenly bodies and all of creation obey the Lord God—because as Psalm 119:91 says, “By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.” (Psalm 119:91, ESV). Our security is not in ourselves, but in Almighty God who stands above creation and in sovereign power over everything.

[1]Charles Spurgeon, Psalm 119:91, Treasury of David, 5:316.

Theological Commitments of the Biblical Gospel: Unable to Resist God’s Calling

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Dragged against your free will?

Resistance to the Gospel

If a person is elect, what assures that they will actually answer this divine call? The Arminian/semi-Pelagian, seeing everything through the lens of libertarian free-will, assumes that man can walk away from the drawing of the Spirit of God. But clear and straightforward passages such as the so-called “golden chain of redemption” in Rom 8:28-30 show that the process once begun by God cannot be thwarted:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 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 8:28–30, ESV)

Again, if the Lord God is sovereign in all things, he must have the power to overcome the deadness of sin and the resistance that inevitably comes from the naturally sinful desires of the elect before they are regenerate. The one who rejects the irresistible calling of God point to the observable reality of those who on a daily basis reject the gospel call of the evangelist.

But this general or universal declaration of the world to be saved is not the call of salvation we are speaking of here. This universal call is, of course rejected every day by many. We are speaking here of the “electing call” of God. This is the act of the Spirit of God moving, changing, provoking the will of the sinner so that all at once he sees his guilt before a holy God and his spiritual predicament, he also sees his need for a Savior, and he sees the beauty of Christ and how irresistible the call to come and drink of the living waters is. 

Dr. Lloyd-Jones says of this doctrine:

And again I could refer you to Ephesians 1:18 and to 1 Thessalonians 1:5 once more, and to Philippians 2:13. In other words, there are proofs positive of this statement that it is the internal operation of the Holy Spirit upon the soul and the heart of men and women that brings them into a condition in which the call can become effectual. And when the Spirit does it, of course, it is absolutely certain, and because of that some people have used the term—which I do not like myself—irresistible grace. I do not like the term because it seems to give the impression that something has happened which has been hammering at a person’s will and has knocked him down and bludgeoned him. But it is not that. It is that the Holy Spirit implants a principle within me which enables me, for the first time in my life, to discern and to apprehend something of this glorious, wondrous truth. He works upon my will. ‘It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do.’ He does not strike me; He does not beat me; He does not coerce me. No, thank God, what He does is operate upon my will so that I desire these things and rejoice in them and love them. He leads, He persuades, He acts upon my will in such a way that when He does, the call of the gospel is effectual, and it is certain, and it is sure. God’s work never fails, and when God works in a man or woman, the work is effective. [1]

When Paul and Silas approached the women who worshipped by the river in Philippi, it says in Acts 16:14 that “The Lord opened [Lydia’s] heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” The Lord did not destroy her volition, but as the Sovereign Lord, he overcame her inability to see and understand and believe so that she paid attention to the gospel and believed.

Those who say that they believe in the sovereignty of God yet, because of love, God allows man to have a free will to choose or reject him is biblically, theologically and logically flawed. If God gives up his sovereignty in the area of salvation, he is not truly sovereign, because God cannot ordained the end without ordaining the means. God’s saving grace overcomes the internal resistance by changing the will of those whom he will save so that they have ears to hear and eyes to see and a heart to behold the glories of Christ, the One who died to set them free from their sins.

[1] David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, God the Holy Spirit (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1997), 73.

Theological Commitments of the Biblical Gospel: Election

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment
Must be a low information voter.

God cast a vote for you, Satan casts a vote against you, and you get to cast the deciding vote? Really?

Election: Who Chose Whom?

The Arminian/semi-Pelagian understanding absolutely rejects any type of election based solely upon the free choice of God. Their understanding of this can be seen in the response of the Synod of Dort (1619):

“The true doctrine concerning election and reprobation having been explained, the Synod rejects the errors of those:[3]…Who teach: That the incomplete and non-decisive election of particular persons to salvation occurred because of a foreseen faith, conversion, holiness, godliness, which either began or continued for some time; but that the complete and decisive election occurred because of foreseen perseverance unto the end in faith, conversion, holiness, and godliness; and that this is the gracious and evangelical worthiness, for the sake of which he who is chosen is more worthy than he who is not chosen; and that therefore faith, the obedience of faith, holiness, godliness, and perseverance are not fruits of the unchangeable election unto glory, but are conditions which, being required beforehand, were foreseen as being met by those who will be fully elected, and are causes without which the unchangeable election to glory does not occur.

This is repugnant to the entire Scripture, which constantly inculcates this and similar declarations: Election is not of works, but of him that calleth (Rom. 9:11). And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed (Acts 13:48). He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (Eph. 1:4). Ye did not choose me, but I chose you (John 15:16). But if it is by grace, it is no more of works (Rom. 11:6). Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son (1 John 4:10).[4]”

God is sovereign in his divine choice of those who are saved contra the Arminian system. As for those who would say that this means that God actively predestines sinners to condemnation (a view sometimes called double predestination) Scripture does not teach that God actively predestines sinners to the Lake of Fire, but that those whom God does not elect unto salvation are passed over, left in their sins to face the fruit of their sin. This form of reprobation sees God as passive in his condemnation because man is merely receiving the just desserts for his rebellion and law-breaking.

If a person holds to an understanding of personal depravity that is less than total, or is inconsistent with this understanding, he or she will more than likely see election as being based upon the free choice of the sinner.

[3] Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Lexham Press, 1997).

[4] Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Lexham Press, 1997), I.2.5 Emphasis mine.

Singing Praises in the Fires of Affliction

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20140718-230648-83208048.jpg

“At the close of a dark and gloomy day, I lay resting on my couch as the deeper night drew on; and though all was bright within my cosy room, some of the external darkness seemed to have entered my soul and obscured its spiritual vision. In sorrow of heart I asked, “Why does my Lord deal thus with his child? Why does he permit lingering weakness to hinder the sweet service I long to render to his poor servants?” For a while silence reigned in the little room, broken only by the crackling of the oak log burning in the fireplace. Suddenly I heard a sweet soft sound, a little clear musical note like the tender trill of a robin beneath my window. “What can it be? Surely no bird is singing out there at this time of the year and night.”
‘My friend exclaimed, “It comes from the log on the fire!”
‘The fire was letting loose the imprisoned music from the old oak’s inmost heart! Perchance he had garnered up this song in the days when all was well with him, when birds twittered merrily on his branches, and the soft sunlight flecked his tender leaves with gold. Ah, thought I, when the fire of affliction draws songs of praise from us then indeed we are purified and our God is glorified. As I mused, the fire burned and my soul found sweet comfort in the parable so strangely set forth before me. Singing in the fire! Yes, God helping us, if that is the only way to get harmony out of these hard apathetic hearts, let the furnace be heated seven times hotter than before.”

—C.H. Spurgeon

How to Live a Life of Gladness and Joy–Psalm 90

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Studd quote

In my office I have an old grandfather clock that was given to me by my grandparents. On the face of the clock it says, Tempus Fugit, Latin for “time flies.” It’s so true, isn’t it? So, how can we make sure that we don’t waste our lives, but instead live for the Lord with joy and gladness? Moses instructs us in this psalm.

1Lord, you have been our dwelling place

in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You return man to dust

and say, “Return, O children of man!”

4 For a thousand years in your sight

are but as yesterday when it is past,

or as a watch in the night.

5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,

like grass that is renewed in the morning:

6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;

by your wrath we are dismayed.

8 You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;

we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

10 The years of our life are seventy,

or even by reason of strength eighty;

yet their span is but toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 Who considers the power of your anger,

and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord! How long?

Have pity on your servants!

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 Let your work be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands![1]]

Before we get to the “practical” portion of living life with gladness and joy, we need to see that the basis of this type of living comes from a correct understanding of (1) The Timelessness of God (in verses 1-2); (2) The Temporariness of Man  (in verses 3-6); (3) A Short Life Shortened by Sin (in verses 7-11);  and finally, (4) How to Live Life with Gladness and Joy (verses 12-17).

1. The Timeliness of God (vv. 1-2)

The has proven to his children over and over that he is stable and faithful to men throughout all generations. He has shown this truth in special ways to Israel and Christ’s Church. Even before man, or even the earth and her majestic mountains were created, when there was no one to testify to his faithfulness, the Lord was the same. As Revelation 22:13 reminds us, he has no ending and beginning—he IS the alpha and omega. Psalm 102:25-27 says:

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

but you are the same, and your years have no end.[2]

Our God is never-changing and unbound by time.

2. The Temporariness of Men (vv. 3-6)

Do you realize that man is just animated dust (v. 3)? We were made of the dust of the ground and we shall return to that dust when our life is removed from this body we inhabit. And if that isn’t bad enough, verses 4-6 reminds us that our time before God is only momentary and fleeting away. We are like the vapor of steam that rises in the morning when the sun hits the dew on the grass.

Do you see the comparison that is made in these first two sections of this psalm? God is eternal and timeless, and man is temporal and bound in time. It is like comparing a diamond to a styrofoam cup. One is eternally valuable and the other is only momentarily useful, but common, abundant and short-lived. This can be jarring and unsettling in our narcissistic world, but if we are to see things biblically, we need to set these matters in order correctly.

3. A Short Life Shortened by Sin (vv. 7-11)

Verses 7-8 are clear, this eternal god who has created everything sees all of our sins.No man escapes from his sovereign examination. And verses 9-11 teach us that God does not just watch with an indifferent eye, but he sees in order to judge our sins.

For Moses, the author of this psalm, he would have seen this truth firsthand in the life of Pharaoh. Having repeatedly ignored the command of God to let the Hebrew nation go in clear defiance to the judgments he and his nation experienced (Ex 10:28), Pharaoh personally faced the temporal wrath of the Lord in the angel of death visiting his own home and killing his own son. Some people, like Pharaoh, will face the horrible reality of the judgment of God in this life. They will reap what they have sown. And if they will not bow the knee in repentance to God, they will face him again in eternal judgment.

Some people have scoffed at the idea of God judging sin because they think that those who are not judged in this life must get away without facing the consequences for their sins against God. That is the way that the psalmist felt in Psalm 73. As he looked around, he became envious of the way the wicked not only seem to get away for their sin, but they seem to die happier than the righteous. Apparently, crime does pay! But then he came to his conclusion, “For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.[3]” It may take some time, but the Lord always gets his man and no one escapes the final judgment of God.

Life is short enough. But our sin drags us down and shortens the length of many lives. Seeking joy and gladness in sin is temporary solution that will never compensate for the misery that it brings.

4. How to Live Life with Gladness and Joy (vv. 12-17)

In this last section, we see some of the more practical aspects of this psalm. Below I have listed five applications of what Moses wrote in his psalm that can point our hearts to live life in a God-honoring way:

1. Remember that God is eternal and your life is short, so make it count! (v. 12)

Everyone has a finite number of days on this planet. If you think that you have forever to get busy for the Lord, you might be tempted to squander your short life. But if you focus and get busy in the work the Lord has for you, you will find the purpose the Lord has made you for.

2. Live with Heaven in mind (v. 13)

Do you really believe that Jesus is coming again? We can often see what we believe in the way that we live our daily lives. In Revelation 22:20, we not only see the Lord’s promise of his return, but we also get a glimpse of the Apostle John’s longing heart to see Jesus. That should make us more aware that when he comes, the Lord is going to hold us accountable for the few short years we lived for him (Matt 25:14-30). Somebody said that Christians are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good. But I think that we can be so earthly minded that we do no heavenly good.And when we are busy at our work in the fields of the Lord, we will find our joy, especially as we look forward to our great reward.

3. Find joy in your relationship with the Lord. (v. 14)

Have you ever eaten a fruit salad where a sweet piece of fruit makes another sweet piece of fruit seem like it’s not sweet at all? The world can be like that. We chase after cheap, temporary thrills and when the One true joy—Christ, is presented to us, we find that he isn’t so sweet to our souls. But we sometimes have been overly satisfied with the trinkets and baubles of the world instead of the treasure that is Christ. That is why some Christians can find no joy or gladness in the Lord. Entertainment has overshadowed the substance of Christ. But if we will pull back and focus on the Scriptures as they point us to the Lord, we will find that he is the sweetest joy of all (Jer 2:11-13).

4. Look at the blessings and not just the hardships of life (vv. 15-16)

Life is hard sometimes. An honest biblical view of the world would never deny that. But we are not called to Christ so that we can complain and grow bitter over this fact. Moses asked the Lord to help him and the people to see the blessings as well as the hardships, to literally “make them glad” (v. 15) and for the Lord’s goodness to be shown to his people. We need to pray that way as well when we feel that we are growing cold and unthankful.

5. Stay busy with God’s work (v. 17).

Finally, the psalmist ends asking for the Lord to establish the work of the people’s hands with divine favor. God has given us work to do, and we not only want the Lord to bless our work, but we also want the Lord to establish it as well. Can you imagine truing to rake leaves in a wind storm? Who wants to do that? We want our life and work to count for the glory of God so that when this short life ends, we will be satisfied and glad that God used our feeble work to further his great and glorious plan just a little bit. And that is a life that will end with joy!

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 90:1–17.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 102:25–27.

[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 73:27.