Pendulum Swinging on God's Sovereignty

God's sovereignty is a wonderful thing. It would be horrid if God didn't have control over His own universe. In fact, if He did not He wouldn't be God at all. As far as I know, all Christians take comfort in God's omnipotence.

That being said, Christians have managed to find various ways to argue over this doctrine again and again and again. I've been part of that argument in the past and have been all over the place on the issue. You may have as well.

I was raised in a Wesleyan church in western New York State. I recall fondly discussions of how great God is, how wonderful God is, and how we can trust Him to care for us. However, when it came to salvation it was basically all in my hands. God was waiting for me, of my own free will, to select Him. God was portrayed as a sort of cosmic cheerleader, hoping I would surrender to His Lordship. It was completely up to me.

Many years later, after moving to Georgia and joining a Southern Baptist Church, I went to seminary. While there I swung on the theological pendulum all the way over to the other side. I became firmly entrenched in the Calvinism camp. Somewhat interestingly, this did not occur because of any of my seminary classes. Rather, a few friends of mine leaned in that direction. Upon their suggestion I began reading authors like John Piper and R.C. Sproul. The rest was history. God selected some, didn't select others, and that was it.

In the years since that time I've mellowed. As for the theological pendulum, I've swung back somewhere near the middle. While I believe God is sovereign over salvation, I also believe that each individual has a real responsibility to repent and believe. This is a real choice. It matters. While we do not have complete freedom of the will (how can a sinful person have that?), we also are not robotic in nature. Upon hearing the gospel message, we have what amounts to a real, true choice between God and the world.

As for daily living, I cherish God's care over life. He is active. He is involved. However, He also allows things to happen. What we do impacts the world for better or worse. God controls from behind the scenes, but we are real participants in what occurs in our lives - and the lives of others.

This is an important issue. We should all think it through. However, we should not allow this to divide us as followers of Christ. Sadly, this has through the years been extremely divisive doctrinally. Whole denominations have formed over the issue. Sometimes the opposing sides actually call the salvation of the other into question. This must stop!

I firmly believe that God cares much more about the unity of His body than He does about whether or not any of us knows exactly how sovereign He is. I don't know where you are on the pendulum related to sovereignty/free will. However, I do want us to be united. That is of first importance.

Exceedingly Bored With the Whole Calvinism and Arminianism Debate

I am bored beyond words (except for the words in this blog post) concerning the Calvinism and Arminianism debate that is raging in some circles of American evangelicalism. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, the debate focuses on God's sovereignty and man's responsibility related to salvation. It's somewhat more complicated than that, but I REALLY do not want to delve into the details here.

I admit to having been involved in this debate a few years ago. I was a die-hard Calvinist in the Baptistic vein. I was also a pain.

The more I think about this issue, the more I see it as a big danger to the unity of the church in this country. While Calvinism/Arminianism is not a gospel issue, the unity of the body is. We should all be much more concerned about the togetherness of the church than we are about specific points of doctrine.

Please understand: doctrine is important. However, different doctrines are more important than others. The doctrine of the unity of Christ's church is far more important than the doctrines of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility.

The night before He died, Jesus Christ prayed in John 17:20-21, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Jesus was concerned for the unity of his church. He didn't show too much worry about sovereignty and responsibility.

To sum up, the whole Calvinism thing puts me to sleep. I care far more about the body of Christ acting and living like what it is: the body of Christ.

Why Bacon is Good for You

Yummy!

Thinking Outside the Reformed Box

About seven years ago I began to embrace the biblical truth of God’s sovereignty over salvation. Prior to that, I had always believed that man has free will and therefore ultimately makes the decision about whether or not to surrender to Jesus Christ. After searching the scriptures for several months in 2003-2004, I came to see and love God’s sovereign choice in salvation.

I still love the doctrines of election and predestination. I also continue to embrace the Doctrines of Grace and the 5 Solas of the Reformation.

Something else has happened to me, however, during the last few years. I’ve realized that in this country amongst the Reformed there are certain topics that dominate conversations. There are also certain topics that are basically ignored. This is not healthy or balanced (and it's especially dangerous and prevalent among seminary students).

Taking a Closer Look - John 6:44

The Apostle John has much to say about God's role and man's role in salvation. This is probably because his gospel is much like a large evangelistic tract. His purpose statement is one of the clearest in scripture: "...but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:31)

Today we will look at John 6:44. This verse says:

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day." (NKJV)

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." (ESV)

"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." (KJV)

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." (NASB)

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." (NIV)

"No man can come to me except the father which hath sent me, drawe him. And I will rayse him vp at the last daye." (Tyndale)

"No one is able to come unto me, if the Father who sent me may not draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day." (Young's Literal Translation)

In this passage, Jesus is speaking with a group of people. He is clearly talking about the issue of salvation. Some in the crowd appear to be His followers, while others are not. Several of those who oppose Christ have just been complaining about His statements. In 6:43, Jesus says, "Do not murmur among yourselves."

Then, in 6:44, Jesus explains who is able to come to Him and who is not. Jesus very clearly states that no one is able to come to Him unless something else first happens. What is that something else? The Father in heaven, who sent Jesus to earth, must first draw him.

Jesus is saying that in order for anyone to come to salvation in Jesus, a condition must first exist. That condition is that God the Father has drawn that person. It is very important that we understand what the word "draw" means.

The Greek word Jesus uses for "draw" carries the idea of dragging, tugging, hauling, or leading by force.

Jesus also uses this word in John 21:6. It pictures fishermen drawing in fish by a net. This verse says, "And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish."

It is critical that we understand what Jesus is saying. By using the word "draw," Jesus is telling us that God the Father is in control of whoever comes to the Son. A fisherman does not ask which fish want to get in the boat. Rather, the fishermen pull the fish they want into the boat. It is the fishermen, not the fish, who are in control.

If Jesus had wanted to, He could have said in 6:44, "...the Father who sent me woos, coaxes, attracts, or convinces him." However, that is clearly not what our Lord said. He said "draw" to make the point that God the Father is absolutely sovereign over who is able to come to the Son.

This verse also implies that whoever is called will come. It would be absurd to think that God would sovereignly call some people, but that they would reject His call. If this is the case, God would not be sovereign.

In summary, John 6:44 shows us that anyone who comes to Christ must first be called by the Father. The word "draw" is the key. It portrays a sovereign God who determines who is saved by Christ and who is not.

Taking a Closer Look - John 13:1

In this Taking a Closer Look Series, my goal is to look at various biblical passages that impact the way we think about God's sovereignty and man's responsibility as they relate to salvation.

So far I have posted about John 3:16, John 1:12-13, and Romans 10:9-10.

I have chosen to look at John 13:1 because it makes a very important statement about Jesus' love as it relates to His followers and the world. This is significant because John 3:16, which heavily influences the way many Christians think about salvation, also discusses God's love and the world.

First, please take a look at the text of John 13:1. Several translations are quoted below:

"Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." (ESV)

"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." (KJV)

"Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." (NASB)

"Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." (NKJV)

"And before the feast of the passover, Jesus knowing that his hour hath come, that he may remove out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own who are in the world -- to the end he loved them." (YLT)

John 13:1 falls at a significant transition point in John's gospel. This is the beginning of the Farewell Discourse, which is Jesus' final teachings to His disciples the night before His crucifixion. Chapters 13-16 focus on His direct teachings, while chapter 17 is Christ's High Priestly Prayer.

John 13:1 appears to be a sort of summary statement about the love of Christ for His 12 disciples. Since Jesus is about to spend several chapters talking directly with His close disciples, it appears that "His own" from 13:1 refers to these specific disciples, as opposed to all of His followers. His love for them is about to be displayed in His washing their feet, and ultimately in His sacrifice on the cross.

For our purposes, we will focus on the second half of 13:1 (the first half simply tells us that Jesus knew it was nearing His time to leave the earth). In the second half of the verse, John tells us three main things:

1. Jesus loved His own.
2. Jesus' own were in the world.
3. Jesus loved them to the end.

The key to this passage, as it relates to our focus, is the phrase, "having loved His own who were in the world." The ESV, NASB, and NKJV all translate this the same way.

This phrase is significant because we learn that Jesus loved "His own." This is no surprise to us. We all know that Jesus loved His disciples. What is interesting is that John says that Jesus loved His own "who were in the world." We can take from this that Jesus loved His own disciples in some way that He did not love the world.

John does not tell us how this love differs. In 13:1, he does not tell us whether or not Jesus loved the world. In this verse, He simply tells us that Jesus loved the 12 - who were in the world. John appears to take the time to write "who were in the world" in order to both contrast the 12 with the world, and to contrast Jesus' love for the 12 with how Christ thinks/feels about the world.

Why does this matter? The reason is that this verse helps shed some light on John 3:16. In John 3:16, we are told, "For God so loved the world..." A better translation is probably to say, "God loved the world in this manner..." Regardless, there has been much debate over what this means. Does it mean that God loves every individual on the earth? Or, does it mean that God loves individuals who live in all parts of the earth (i.e. not just Jews)?

John 13:1 tells us something about this. It is clear that Jesus loves His disciples in a unique manner. Jesus loved "His own." This is different from how He felt about "the world." Therefore, John 13:1 indicates that John 3:16's meaning of "world" is most likely referring to individuals around the world as opposed to every individual in the world.

This corresponds to God's soveriegn election and predestination based upon His own sovereign will.

Taking a Closer Look - Romans 10:9-10

How do these two verses impact our understanding of God's sovereignty, man's responsibility, and salvation?

Let's remember what is going on in the book of Romans. At the end of Romans chapter 8, Paul has told us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (see verses 38-39). At this point in the letter, the reader could wonder, "What about Israel? Hasn't God rejected them?"

It seems that Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, anticipated this objection to 8:38-39. Therefore, in chapters 9-11 of Romans, Paul discusses God's continued relationship with Israel, and makes the point that God has not rejected them.

When reading Romans 9-11, we must not make the mistake of treating these chapters as if they have no application to Gentiles. Any fair reading of chapters 9-11 makes it clear that at least 10:9-17 pertains to many more than just Israel.

So let's see what Romans 10:9-10 means, keeping in mind the context.

Below are several versions of Romans 10:9-10.

KJV "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

NKJV "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

ESV "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."

NASB "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

NIV "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

NLT "For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved."

YLT "that if thou mayest confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and mayest believe in thy heart that God did raise him out of the dead, thou shalt be saved, for with the heart doth one believe to righteousness, and with the mouth is confession made to salvation."

In 10:8, Paul writes, "But what does it (righteousness based on faith) say?" The answer Paul gives is, "The word (of salvation) is near you." What is this word? It is explained in verses 9-10.

In verse 9, Paul writes a simple "if-then" statement. In other words, if one thing happens, then another thing happens. What occurs in the "then" phrase depends on what occurs in the "if" phrase.

So, if a person both A) confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus, and B) believes in his heart that God raised him (Jesus) from the dead, then C) he will be saved.

It amounts to a simple statement of cause and effect. An individual's confession (not just acknowledgment , but acknowledgment based on a life-altering decision) and belief (more than head knowledge; this is a belief that changes a person's course of life), leads to his being saved.

Verse 10 is simply an explanation and description of how verse 9 comes about. It just gives the reader a fuller meaning of what verse 9 is telling us.

So what can we learn from verses 9-10? We learn much the same that we saw in John 3:16:
-if any person confesses Jesus as Lord
and
-if that same person believes in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead
then
- that same person will be saved.

Much like John 3:16, this is a sweet, simple statement about the gospel. We should commit these verses to memory because they are so important to the heart of what we believe as Christians.

We must also look at what Romans 10:9-10 does not say:
-It does not tell us about God's sovereignty as it relates to salvation.
-It does not tell us whether or not man has free-will to choose God.
-It does not inform us as to whether or not God wills for everyone to be saved.

However, it does seem that the wording of Romans 10:9-10 implies that man has some sort of choice in all this. Clearly, all men are given the responsibility of confessing and believing, or refusing to do so. That appears to amount to some sort of choice. If a person does not make an active choice for the gospel, then he has made a passive, but real, choice against it.

However, we are not told anywhere in these verses that this is a free choice. Paul is silent to this. Despite this, the choice does appear to be a real choice that certainly has real consequences.

Can a choice be a real one even if it is not a free one? Well, I suppose your answer to that will depend on your theology. That is not a can of worms I want to get into right now.

To summarize Romans 10:9-10, we are presented with a simple, but wonderful, "if-then" statement. If any person confesses Christ and believes in His resurrection, then he will be saved. This alone is amazing.

Taking a Closer Look - John 1:12-13

This is Part 2 of a series where I'm taking a look at biblical passages that have direct bearing on the issues of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility as they relate to salvation.

Several months ago I discussed John 1:12-13. I've expanded on that post here.

First, here is John 1:12-13 in a few different bible versions:

NKJV, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

KJV, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

ESV, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

NASB, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

NIV, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

NLT, "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan-- this rebirth comes from God."

YLT, "but as many as did receive him to them he gave authority to become sons of God -- to those believing in his name, who -- not of blood nor of a will of flesh, nor of a will of man but -- of God were begotten."

As always, context is important to this passage. John 1:1-18 is the opening prologue to John's account of the gospel. In these 18 verses, we are told many amazing things about the Word - Jesus. I encourage you to read this passage by clicking here.

In the verses immediately preceding 1:12-13, we are told that Jesus' own did not receive Him. This is referring to Jesus' rejection by the vast majority of His Jewish brethren. The wording says that they, "did not receive Him."

In verse 12, we are told something wonderful. Verse 12 tells us that anyone who receives God by believing in His name has the right to become a child of God. What an amazing right this is! To become a child of God is the best adoption any of us could imagine.

Verse 13 tells how this comes about. We are told how it is that a person comes to receive Christ. We read that anyone who receives God has been spiritually born because it was the will of God for this to happen. Take note of the fact that John makes it explicit that this did not happen because of the will of man. It is because of God's will that anyone is born spiritually.

What is going on here? The ordering of what is happening is the key. First, God wills that a person be born spiritually ("born again"). Second, a person who has been spiritually born receives God by believing in his name. Third, that person has the right to become a child of God.

It is clear based on this passage that God initiates salvation (being born spiritually) by His sovereign will. Again, John states that this is according to the will of God, not of man. When a person is born spiritually, he is then able to respond in faith (believing in God). When a person responds to God in faith, he is saved (becoming a child of God).

John 1:12-13 refers to God's election of some people to become His children. This passage indicates that this is based not upon foreseen merit (belief) in His followers, but rather is based upon His will.

This passage, then, is supportive of God's sovereign hand in salvation. It is also important to note that this passage speaks of people "receiving" Christ. This makes it clear that man is involved somehow in this process - it is not robotic. Therefore, faith is important.