God's sovereignty and man's free will.

Norman Geisler is a Christian theologian with a long and distinguished career as a lecturer at a number of Bible Colleges in the US.  Some years ago he wrote a book entitled "Chosen But Free" which looked at seeking a Biblical balance between God's sovereignty and Man's free will.   At the beginning of this book he stated that this issue had been the one that his students has questioned him most on.

The issue clearly perplexes many people, including Christians and atheists, and I'll give 3 examples of why this is:

1.  Romans 13 v 1 tells us God appoints the government but, in Western countries, at least, we have the free will to choose the government.  How can it be that God ordains but man has free choice?

2.  The Bible teaches in many places that God the Father sent Jesus to die for our sins.  Isaiah chapter 53 foretold this 700 years before it happened  (a clear example of the Bible being true and infallible).  It was ordained that Jesus would die for our sins.  However, God still held Judas responsible for betraying Jesus, and the Jews for howling for His blood.  How can it be that God, the Father, ordained Jesus to die for us and yet holds people responsible for the deed?

3.  In a number of places in the NT we are told that God has fore-ordained people to be saved, and they are the ones who believe in Christ; an example being Acts 13 v 48 "....and those ordained to eternal life believed".   Moreover, in 1st Peter 1 v 2 we read that Christians have been elected "according to the foreknowledge of God".   How can it be that God ordains people to eternal life and yet holds to account the unbelievers who, if they die "in their sins", will be "cast into the Lake of Fire" Revelation 20 v 15?

These are questions people may ask for understandable reasons and for the answer we need to turn to Isaiah chapter 55 and Romans chapter 9.

In Isaiah 55 v 8-9 we read that God's thoughts and ways are higher than man's thoughts and ways.

This doesn't mean that Man is unintelligent but that we do not have the capacity to fully understand God.  If we could fully understand God then He wouldn't be God.    It is rather like asking your pet dog to read a daily paper;  he may be an intelligent animal but he simply doesn't have the capacity to read a paper.

Now let us turn to Romans chapter 9.

In Romans 9 v 9-13 we read that God chose Jacob over Esau.  Moreover, in verse 15 it states that God has mercy on "whom he wishes".   This is re-inforced in verse 18 were we also read that "whom he wishes, he hardens".   Anticipating the objection to this (in verse 19) Paul goes on to say "Who are you, o man, to answer back to God" - and that is the ultimate answer to the questions raised at the beginning of this article.

God is God and we are mere humans beings; He is sovereign over His creatures.  Romans 9 goes on to speak about the potter and the clay (verses 20-21; see also verses 22-24).

As far as the unsaved are concerned the promise is there, that if they will turn to Christ He WILL NOT turn them away (see John 6 v 37); for those of us who believe we rejoice in God's mercy and kindness shown to such undeserving sinners - "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness"  Lamentation 3 v 22-23.

It's all fore-ordained anyway.

I note from the national press that Westminster politicians are getting into a right state over the possibility of Scotland voting for independence next week.  It seems that even the Queen is "deeply concerned" (as well she should be, given that she has offended the Lord over signing the "gay marriage" law - God is not mocked). 

However, I find the whole thing (Scottish "independence" that is) highly amusing.  Leaving aside the obvious economic flaws in the finances of an independent Scotland, the result has already been ordained by God.

In Romans 13 v 1 we read that "the powers that be are ordained of God".   Some "Christians" may wish to re-write that to say that God merely allows rulers to be in authority, but the text is crystal clear.  I well remember about 30 years ago leading a home group Bible Study when this issue came up.  One of our number was a bit of a leftie and strongly rejected the clear teaching of this verse (Maggie was PM at the time!).  However, God doesn't simply "allow" rulers into authority He actually puts them there.

Of course, it is right to vote, some may say it's a civic duty, and I always vote in the "big" elections BUT I recognise that the result is not something we need to be troubled about because it's all in God's hands anyway.

The implications of what I have just written are rejected by many on the grounds that past and present rulers have done, and are doing, wrong to their people (and people of other nations!).  We think, of course, of Hitler and Stalin; Mugabe and Putin.  Moreover, some of our own Prime Ministers have been responsible for wrong doing as we saw just a decade ago when Blair led this country into an illegal and unjust war that caused many thousands of civilian deaths.

However, even though God ordains the government that doesn't mean that they are not accountable to Him for the way they have governed.  Romans 14 v 12 tells us that one day we must all stand before God to give an account ( perhaps this is why atheists get so angry and aggressive; they don't like the thought that there is a God who sees everything and will bring them to account).   The rulers who have governed unjustly will have to account for the way they have misused the power granted to them by God, but this doesn't negate the fact, and it IS a fact, that God appoints them.

As we consider all this we should experience a feeling of deep calm; to know that God is in control, and that He will work all things out in His own good time, should cause us to leave all things in His hands and not worry about the election results (or the result of the poll on Sept 18th!).

Moreover, what good will it do politicians to be on the winning side - if their souls are not saved then being  a victor in the election will profit them nothing.

God's purposes WILL be carried out.

In the 1970s I used to receive a magazine called "The Voice of the Martyrs" which highlighted to dreadful suffering of Christian believers in the communist countries of Eastern Europe.  The evil communists put Christians in prison, tortured, and even murdered them.  Moreover, Bibles were burnt by the 1,000s in huge bonfires as the enemies of the Gospel attempted to eradicate all traces of Biblical Christianity.

Every year this magazine would have a text for the 12 months up to December and, one year, (I believe it was about 1978 or '79) the text was "The God of peace will bruise Satan under your feet shortly" from Romans 16 v 20.

As I read this I remember thinking something like the following: "Surely, that can't happen; the communists are so entrenched and so powerful".  However, as we all know, communism in E. Europe collapsed within a decade and Christian evangelism was able to be openly done and not in secret as before.   Indeed, in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, a building that was once used to frame laws against Christians became the venue for a Gospel rally!

Truly, the Gospel had triumphed over communism and God had had the last word against those who opposed Him and His word - the Bible.

I was reminded of this Gospel victory as I pondered the 2 greatest threats to Biblical Christianity today - militant Islam and militant atheism/secularism.

We all know how these twin forces (both inspired by Satan, the enemy of people's souls) are being marshaled against the Gospel.  In our own perverse and wicked nation we have seen evidences of political correctness being used by atheists to try and silence evangelism.  We are all aware, too, of just how vicious militant Islam is. 

In the light of these threats we may well find ourselves being discouraged BUT, let us remember how God has worked in times past to ensure His word goes out.  He has vanquished His foes in the past and He will do so again.

In the meantime let us re-double our efforts to spread the Word, knowing as we do, that the Gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes"  Romans 1 v 16.

"I could never worship a God like that!"

In the Bible God commanded King Saul to attack the Amalekites and completely wipe them out, every last one of them.  He  also commanded him to destroy all the animals.  However, the king disobeyed the Lord and spared King Agag.  He also spared a number of animals ostensibly to use them as sacrifices to the Lord.

No doubt Saul thought it was good to spare the animals in order to sacrifice them to the Lord but Samuel, the prophet, rebuked him stating that obedience was more important than sacrifices. (You can read the whole account of this in 1st Samuel chapter 15).

Opponents of the Bible point to this (and many other Biblical accounts of God ordering the mass slaughter of people) as a means of attacking God.  What kind of being, they say, could be so cruel as to make such an order?

There are several things wrong with this line of reasoning.  Firstly, God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55 v 8) and when He gave these commands He had His reasons for it - however much it may seem repellent to our humanistic society which extols the "goodness" of human nature.

Secondly, the pagan nations were a constant source of temptation to the Israelites.   The Israelites had been chosen by God to be a monotheistic nation - that is, to worship one God, but the pagan nations were idolatrous.  In order to keep the chosen race pure from sin it was necessary to wipe them out.  The disobedience of  the Israelites in letting them live led directly to snares being put before God's people, and their being led astray.

Thirdly, God is sovereign, we are not, and that is the ultimate answer.  When people say "I could never worship a God like that" my answer is simple - "I know, until God takes out your heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh, you never will!"

Moreover, when people rail against God in this way we need to remember the words of Romans 9 v 20  "Who are you, o man, to answer back to God".

I have heard people say things like "When I meet God I'm going to tell Him just what I think of Him!"   However, when people meet God they will be so over-awed by His presence they will immediately fall down and worship Him.  Those who have got right with Him before they died (by accepting Christ as their personal Saviour) will rejoice in His presence; but those who have died in a rebellious state will be in abject terror as they realise that they were wrong all along.  They should have listened to Christians attempting to help them by pointing them to Christ as they ONLY way to Heaven.

In the meantime let us re-double our efforts to spread the Gospel, knowing that we ARE on the victory side.

Why do people believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour?

There are a number of reasons why people refuse to repent of their sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour but ultimately it comes down to  the simple fact that they have been blinded by the devil - see 2nd Corinthians 4 v 4.  Given that fact one may wonder how it is that anyone will believe; if the devil is stronger than people (and he is) and if he has blinded people (and he has) how can anyone believe?

There are six reasons why people repent of their sins and accept Christ:

1.  Truth is revealed to them.  

In Matthew 16 v 13-17 Peter declares Jesus to be the Son of God.  Jesus sates that Peter believed this because it was revealed to him by His "Father in Heaven".   Of course, anyone can have an academic knowledge of the teachings of the Gospel, but until God reveals truth to their hearts then they will not believe.

2.  God draws them.

In John 6 v 44 Jesus makes it clear that no-one can come to Him until the Father "draws them".   Think of water in a well not being able to draw itself, a person comes along and draws that water using a bucket.  That is what happens when people come to Christ for salvation - they are drawn to Him..

3. They are enabled to believe.

In John 6 v 65 Jesus said that no-one can come to him unless "it has been given him by my Father".  The New International Version is more explicit,  using the word "enabled".   In our natural state we are not able to receive the "things of the Spirit of God" (1st Corinthians 2 v 14) .  For us to believe we need to be "enabled".

4.  They are the sheep who hear the shepherd.

In John 10 v 26-27 Jesus said to a group of people "You do not believe because you are not of my sheep, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me".   Those who are not "the sheep" may hear the physical voice of a Gospel preacher but they will not hear the voice of Christ, and they cannot, because they are not of the sheep.

5.  They have been ordained to eternal life.

In Acts 13 v 48 we read of those who believe doing so because they were "appointed to eternal life".  In John 6 v 37 we read of those who have been given to Christ coming to Him.  These 2 verses are making the same point - people believe because they were ordained to do so.

6. Their hearts have been opened.

In Acts 16 we read of Paul going to Philippi to preach the word and he preached to a group of ladies gathered by the riverside.  As he did so the Lord opened Lydia's heart so that she gave attention to what Paul was preaching, and she got saved (see verse 14).  

When I got saved in Sept 1975 I thought it was me opening my own heart and accepting Christ, but as I read the Bible I find that it was God who did the work - all praise to His glorious name!

As I spread the Gospel on the streets of Kent I am encouraged to know that God has all these things in hand and that HE WILL draw people to Himself in repentance and faith.

 

Israel - proof that the Bible is true.

In preaching and teaching the Bible the first emphasis must always be on the cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.   People need Him in their lives and so we should make that the first priority in evangelism and Bible teaching.   Issues like evolution, abortion and gays are important, and we should have Biblical views on them, but people's need of personal salvation come first.

To that end we read the Bible and see Christ on every page; in particular, we see a huge number of Old Testament prophecies and how they are fulfilled in Christ.  As we read them our faith is encouraged and we are strengthened in our belief that the Bible is infallible.

There are other prophecies in the OT that relate, not to the cross, but to Israel and, while we must not be sidetracked from the Gospel, it does us good to see how they have been fulfilled even in our day and generation.  One such prophecy is found in the last two verses of the book of Amos.  This prophecy states that the Jewish people would return to the land (meaning, of course, Israel) and "would never again be uprooted".  After the ransacking of Jerusalem in 70AD, and the dispersion of the Jews, it appeared that they were finished as a race.  Humanly speaking, they would simply assimilate into the nations they went to, and, through intermarriage, would eventually die out.

As the centuries passed, the land of Israel became part of the Ottoman empire and there was no place for a nation dedicated to preserving, and protecting, the Jewish race.   Over the centuries the Jews were savagely persecuted (much of this being orchestrated by "Christians"; think: Martin Luther's call for Jews to be driven off their land), the worst example being the holocaust when 6 million were murdered.  Yet despite all this, there were Christians who believed in the OT prophecies like the one mentioned above, and they were looking for the day when Israel would, once again, become a nation.

Against all the odds, humanly speaking, Israel became a nation in May, 1948 and, despite numerous attempts to destroy it (the latest being the Hamas campaign dedicated to the removal of Israel from the map) it still stands today.  This is a stunning fulfilment of prophecy and should encourage the faith of people, like myself, who believe that the Bible is true in every detail.

In stating the above I am aware that sometimes the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) carry out attacks that lead to tragic loss of civilian life; I'm also aware that Jews need Christ as their Lord and Saviour - they are not automatically right with God just because they are Jews.  However, the fact that Israel came into being, and continues to survive, is solid proof that the Bible IS God's word, and what He says WILL come to pass.

If what God says about Israel comes to pass, then what He says about a coming judgement day is also going to come to pass.  There will be a day of reckoning when we must all give account of ourselves to God.  Only those who have trusted the Saviour can be sure of eternal life.

The New Birth

In John chapter 3 we read the words "Except a man be Born Again he cannot see the kingdom of God". 

About 12 years ago I was passing out tracts when a man approached me and said "I've done the Born Again bit".   I don't doubt his sincerity, and he may well have been a true believer in Christ, but his choice of words was a little unfortunate.  In reality we don't do the "Born Again bit", God does it in us.

As we consider this subject it may be helpful to look at four questions viz.

1.  Why is the New Birth necessary?

It is necessary because we are, in our natural state, dead in trespasses and sins (see Ephesians 2 v 1).  This speaks for itself; there is no spiritual life in people who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.  This is why they consider the claims of Christ to be irrelevant and not important enough to give any thought to.   Moreover, those who die in that state of spiritual deadness are under God's condemnation for all eternity.

2.  What is the operation of the New Birth?

In other words, how does it happen?   It happens when the Holy Spirit of God comes upon people and gives them new life.  It cannot be explained, but needs to be experienced (ie. better felt than telt).  I experienced this, in my own life, in September 1975 when I got saved.  Millions of people all over the world, over the last 2 millenia, have also experienced the same phenomena .   The Bible likens it to a wind which cannot be seen but it's effects are clearly visible (see John 3 v 8).

3. What is the condition of the New Birth?
 
The answer is found in 1st John 5 v 1 where we read that "everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God".    When we come to the realisation that we are lost sinners, that Jesus died for our sins and rose again, and we truly repent and accept Him, then we are Born Again.  God brings us to newness of life.  The Bible puts it like this:  "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" 2nd Corinthians 5 v 17.

4. What is the result of the New Birth?

I've already alluded to this in the previous paragraph when mentioning the new life we experience.  We are also adopted into God's family; we become His children (see John 1 v 11-13). Many people believe that we are all naturally God's children but this is not the case.  We are all, naturally, the devil's children; but when we get saved then, and only then, do we become the children of God through faith in Christ.

This is vital subject but, sadly, so many people continue in their spiritual deadness because they refuse to submit to the Lordship of Christ.  May the Lord be pleased to draw precious souls to Himself through the spread of His infallible word - the Bible.