The Sovereignty of God Bible Test

By Justin Edwards

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. - Ephesians 1:3-6

Thanks to John Samson for posting the following "Sovereignty Bible Test", which cleverly emphasizes the sovereignty of God in all things, most especially our salvation.  The origins of this quiz is unclear, but I'm thankful it is making its rounds across the internet.  Enjoy!

Eph 1:11 – “him (God) who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”

1. If God works all things after the counsel of His will, how much does He work to the will of you, me, Satan, etc.?

A. None.

B. 20%

C. 50%

D. 85%

Isaiah 14:24 The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.”

2. How much of what He purposes to come to pass, doesn’t?

A. All of His purposes will come to pass

B. Some of His purposes will not come to pass

C. A few of His purposes will not come to pass

D. A lot of His purposes will not come to pass

Romans 8:29, 30 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.

3. How many do you think have been called, justified, or glorified that He did not first foreknow or predestinate?

A. Write in your answer: ___________________

John 10:14, 15 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

4. Where does this scripture say that Jesus laid down his life for the sheep and the goats

A. It doesn’t

B. It doesn’t, but I just know He meant the goats, too

John 6:65 “no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

5. How many come to Jesus that were not first given to Him by the Father?

A. 0

B. 5,000

C. 5,000,000

D. 10,000,000

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me

6. How many that the Father gave Him will not come to Him?

A. Two

B. A couple of thousand

C. A couple of million

D. Trick question, it says they will all come to Him

John 10:28, 29 I (Jesus) give them (My true sheep) eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

7. How many sheep do you think have been snatched from either God’s or Jesus’ hands?

A. None

B. 50,000

C. 500,000

D. 1,000,000

Rev. 13:8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Rev. 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

8. Considering this, and other related scripture, God having to blot out a name from the book of life would mean:

A. God makes mistakes.

B. Some have been snatched from Jesus’ hands?

C. God didn’t know that some of His sheep were really goats.

D. None of the above.

Matt 13: 10, 11 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

9. Jesus himself declared that one of the reasons why He spoke in parables was that the truth might be concealed from whom it was not intended. Is this fair?

A. No.

B. Yes.

C. Who are we to question God?

D. I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that verse.

Romans 8:28 we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

10. How many things do not work for the good of those who love God?

A. 10% of all things

B. 40% of all things

C. 85% of all things

D. Trick question, the Bible says all things work for the good of those who love Him

Mark 14:30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you (Peter), this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

11. (A) Could Peter not have denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed twice?

Answer here: ____________________________

11. (B) Did Jesus coerce Peter to deny him, or did Peter do it of his own heart and will?

Answer here: ____________________________

Exodus 4:11 [God Himself asks the rhetorical question] “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?”

12. Is this fair?

A. Yes.

B. No.

C. Who are we to question God?

D. I’m going to pretend this isn’t in the Bible

OK. the test is over, but in truth, the whole of life is something of a test as we learn just how Sovereign God is in all things and we learn to trust in His loving care.

Did the test make you think about just how Sovereign God truly is? Hope so.

“In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

You Do Not Believe Because...

By Justin Edwards

You do not believe because you are not part of my flock. - John 10:26

Last Friday's post Atheists Hate Jesus, but Some Don't Realize It has created quite the stir in the comment section.  Many Atheists have commented asking many questions about "the Christian God" (as they say), but the answers given have not satisfied them.  I do not blame them since the Bible clearly states it is impossible for them to understand:

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. - 1 Corinthians 2:14

My experience has been that quoting such a verse only serves to make them more angry.  Not only does it anger Atheists, but it angers professing christians who do not accept the Bible as the infallible Word of God.  Such would be the case from a fellow that goes by the name of Former Conservative (FC) who runs a blog titled Confessions of a Former Conservative.  Most, if not all, of the commenters came from his blog, which serves to attack Christian websites/blogs of whom he disagrees with ridicule and snarkiness.  FC holds much disdain and contempt for fundamental evangelical Christianity, and the fruit that he shows can be described in no other way than this:

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. - 1 John 4:20-21

Examples of this hatred have come through many blog posts at the Former Conservative website.  He has ridiculed many of my own blog posts, in addition to posts by Tony Miano, Defending. Contending., Trisha Ramos, and Steve Sanchez.  FC abhors the Holy Bible and Jesus' command to "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15).  Although I have never mentioned FC on airō before now, he has been the inspiration for a few blog posts including Jesus Died for Me and the recent 4-part series Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath.

The reason for this post is to address in more detail a comment from one of the commenters (named "depizan") from Friday's article, who said:

"All of His sheep will hear His voice and follow Him, and all who come to Him He will never cast out."

Some of the people questioning your take on the Christian God are, er, His sheep. Are you really that certain that your take is correct and not theirs? How can you say they haven't come to him? I'm pretty sure only God would know that, yes?

I assumed "depizan" is referring to FC, and perhaps one or two others commenters on the post who share an equal disdain for fundamental evangelical Christianity as FC.  Ultimately this is a disdain for the God of the Bible.  Whether admitted Atheist, liberal christian, or anyone else who does not believe the God of Scripture, there is a reason for this given by Jesus Himself (who liberal christians claim to believe yet oftentimes reject or seek to deconstruct the rest of Scripture.  Some call themselves "red letter christians").

Jesus did not shy away from the doctrines of grace (commonly called "Calvinism" today), but rather He was bold in their proclamation.  Take, for instance, the verse posted at the top of this article where Jesus said,

You do not believe because you are not part of my flock.

Note that this does not say,

Because you do not believe you are not part of my flock.

It is important to understand that Jesus is saying the reason they do not believe is because they are not one of His sheep, for if they were one of His sheep, they would indeed believe.  The verse follows Jesus' parable of the sheepfold and the testimony of the Good Shepherd.  In John 10:26, Jesus was speaking to the Jews who rejected Him and accused Him of blasphemy by claiming to be God.

Going back to the beginning of the chapter, Jesus gives the parable:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers (John 10:1-5).

The thieves and robbers Jesus is referring to are the blind Scribes and Pharisees who do not exalt Christ, but rather exalt their own self-righteousness and promote their man-centered agendas.  This would also apply to any modern/postmodern preacher whose motives are anything but of God.  To this end, J.C. Ryle comments,

The false shepherd of souls is he who enters the clerical office with little or no thought about Christ, from worldly and self-exalting motives, but from no desire to exalt Jesus, and the great salvation that is in Him.

These false shepherds will scatter the sheep.  When a sheep, a born again believer, hears the truth of God's Word, he is drawn by it in such a way that it soothes his soul.  When the Gospel is proclaimed, they are stirred and excited, never growing tired of hearing about the love of God to save men and women from their sin.  These do not follow the voice of a stranger, but rather they know and follow the voice of their shepherd.  

Jesus continues in John 10:11, 14-15:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep...I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Here Jesus makes the unpopular claim that He, as the Good Shepherd, laid down His life for His sheep.  He did not lay His life down for all, for all are not His own.  Christ laid His life down for those the Father gave Him from eternity past (John 6:37; Ephesians 1:4).  Christ laid His life down for His sheep, and He knows them each by name (verse 4).  When they hears His voice, they will follow Him without exception, and they will love Him and obey Him, being sanctified in the truth of God's Word (John 17:17).  Amazingly, just as the Father knows the Son and the Son knows the Father, so too does the Son know each of His sheep the same.

Speaking of these truths found in the Gospel of John (in addition to pointing out that God's sheep have been commissioned to call His remaining sheep through the proclamation of the Gospel), my friend John Samson comments,

From John’s Gospel, we can make the following scriptural statements: All that the Father has chosen to be His from eternity, He has given to the Son (John 6:37); and all whom He has given to the Son, the Son knows (John 10:3); and calls (John 10:3-5); and all whom He calls, know Him (John 10:14) and recognize His voice (John 10:4-5) and they come to Him (John 6:37) and follow Him (John 10:4, 27); and the Son lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11); and He gives them eternal life (John 10:28) and keeps them in the Father’s word (John 17:6), so that not even one of them is lost (John 6:39), to glorify the Son forever (John 17:10). This is the indestructible foundation for an infallible salvation that rebounds in the end to the glory of both the Father and the Son.

None of Christ’s sheep finally reject His word. Though He allows some of His sheep to resist the word for a long time, never do they reject it finally. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.” (John 6:37). What a promise! And what a privilege we have in sharing the Gospel with people, as we witness the Good Shepherd rounding up His sheep.

So what of those who are not part of Christ's flock?  Returning back to John 10:26, they do not believe because they are not of the sheepfold of the Good Shepherd.  Even more bluntly in John 8:39-47, Jesus said of those who do not believe:

...Now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God...If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here...Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires...because I tell the truth, you do not believe me...Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

What is the cause and effect?  People who reject the God of the Bible and do so until death do not understand the things of God because they cannot hear the voice of Christ.  They are spiritually deaf.  Because the truth is spoken, they do not believe.  It is because they are not of God, but of the father of lies, Satan.  They are in bondage to their sin and the devil has blinded them so they cannot see the Kingdom of God (2 Corinthians 4:4).  It is only those who are of God, who are of His sheepfold, who can hear the words of God and be changed into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When praying to His Father in John 17:1-26, Jesus interceded for His sheep:

I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

According to Christ Himself, the world hates you when you love the truth, namely Jesus and His Holy Word to us, which includes the infallible writings of the Old and New Testament.  Believers were given by the Father to the Son, and it is these for whom He laid down His life.  Jesus does not intercede for anyone other than the sheep of His flock.  He guides us and guards us and will sanctify us in and by His Truth found in the inerrant Word of God, the Bible.  The world hates us because we are not of the world, but God has called us out of the world to no longer be like the world.  

This leads me into a biblical warning for "Former Conservative":

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. - John 15:18-19

FC, it is clear the world loves you as its own.  I say this for no other reason but to call you to examine yourself per 2 Corinthians 13:5 through the Word of God. I encourage you to begin in the book of 1 John. You have managed to build a following of people who reject, deny, and hate the God of the Bible, and they commend you for your attacks against born again believers.  Satan has further deceived you into thinking you are journeying a worthy cause.  Not only is this confirmed in your hatred for the Body of Christ as evidenced in your writings, but it is further established by the following from 1 John 4:5-6:

They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

The world listens to you and loves you, FC.  That is a major red flag, one that you must heed.  Whether or not you will heed the warning I do not know - that will depend upon whether or not you are of God for God's children love the truth, love the brethren, and love the holy and righteous God of love and wrath.  Plead for mercy from God, FC.  Until you know you've been born again and have received eternal life, plead with Him day and night that He would make His truth known to you, that He would sanctify you by His Word.  Plead with Christ to give you eyes to see and ears to hear that you would love all of the attributes of God, to receive Him as your Lord and Savior, that you would receive God Himself to spend eternity with Him in glory.  

Back to the original question posed by "depizan", a conclusive question might be asked:  

is Former Conservative one of God's sheep?

At this point, FC may be one of God's sheep, but his fruit indicates he has yet to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. I pray God does indeed call FC by name that he would repent and follow the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible.

In closing, I post the following message to any of the sheep who frequent Former Conservative's website or any other person who is not yet born again.  Perhaps there is only one of you reading, but know this:  the Good Shepherd knows you by name and He is calling you to come into the fold.  Listen to His voice and follow Him.  He declares for you to repent and trust in Him alone for your salvation, and when you do, He promises you abundant life (John 10:10).  The world loves its own, and they hate the Lord Jesus Christ and His sheep, but the Good Shepherd is calling you out from among them.  He did not die for the world, but He did die for you.  God stepped down from His throne in heaven that you would be reconciled to Himself through the blood of Jesus Christ, that you would receive the riches of His mercy and grace and reign with Him forever! 

Listen to the voice of your Shepherd as He calls you forth from among the spiritually dead.  Forsake everything that has kept you from the Lord.  Leave the crowd behind, lay down your pride, and never look back.  If you desire to know who Jesus really is, if you feel the draw of the Holy Spirit, if you want to know exactly what Christ did and why He did it for His sheep, then please read about The Suffering Servant.  If you have any questions about anything, I offer you the same as I offered Jon in the comment section of this post. 

One of God's lost sheep is out there somewhere, perhaps amongst the readers of Confessions of a Former Conservative.  If that is you, come to Christ.  Come to the Lamb and be healed.  Come to the King and receive the reward of your inheritance.  Come to Lord of the Harvest, and live!

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. - Revelation 22:17

Oh little sheep, fix your eyes on the cross: 

A Simple Test for Distinguishing Heresy from Sound Doctrine

Charles Spurgeon

It is a remarkable fact that all the heresies which have arisen in the Christian Church have had a decided tendency to dishonor God and to flatter man. They have always had for their covert, if not for their open aim, the exaltation of human nature, and the casting down of the sovereignty of divine grace.

Robbing God of the glory which is due unto his name, these false prophets would shed a counterfeit lustre upon the head of the rebellious and depraved creature. On the other hand, the doctrines of the gospel, commonly known as the doctrines of grace, are distinguished for this peculiarity above every other, namely, that they sink the creature very low, and present the Lord Jehovah before us as sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.

So true is this, that the most uneducated Christian may, even if he is incapable of refuting an erroneous discourse, always be able to discover its untruthfulness, if it glorifies man at the expense of God. The merest babe in grace may carry this test with him: in the midst of the diversities of opinion with which he is surrounded, he may always judge, and judge infallibly too, of the truth or falsehood of a doctrine by testing it thus—

"Does it glorify God?" If it be so it is true.

"Does it exalt man?" Then it must be false.

On the other hand, does it lay man very low, and speak of him in terms which tend to make him feel his degradation? Then doubtless it is full of truth. And does it put the crown upon the head of God, and not upon the head of man's free-will, or free-agency, or good works? Then assuredly it is a doctrine according to godliness for it is the very truth of the Lord our God.

(HT: Pyromaniacs)

Edwards and Spurgeon on Divine Sovereingty and Election

By Justin Edwards

Jonathan Edwards

"From my childhood up, my mind had been full of objections against the doctrine of God's sovereignty. It used to appear like a horrible doctrine to me. But I remember the time very well, when I seemed to be convinced, and fully satisfied, as to this sovereignty of God, and His justice in thus eternally dealing with men, according to His sovereign pleasure. My mind rested in it; and it put an end to all those quibbles and objections. And there has been a wonderful alteration in my mind, with respect to the doctrine of God's sovereignty, from that day to this. God's absolute sovereignty…is what my mind seems to rest assured of, as much as of any thing that I see with my eyes. But I have often, since that first conviction, had quite another kind of sense of God's sovereignty than I had then. I have often since had not only a conviction, but a delightful conviction. The doctrine has appeared exceedingly pleasant, bright, and sweet. Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God. But my first conviction was not so."

"When men are fallen, and become sinful, God by His sovereignty has a right to determine about their redemption as He pleases. He has a right to determine whether He will redeem any or not. He might, if he had pleased, have left all to perish, or might have redeemed all. Or, he may redeem some, and leave others; and if He doth so, He may take whom He pleases, and leave whom He pleases. To suppose that all have forfeited his favor, and deserved to perish, and to suppose that he may not leave any one individual of them to perish, implies a contradiction; because it supposes that such a one has a claim to God's favor, and is not justly liable to perish; which is contrary to the supposition. It is meet (right) that God should order all these things according to His own pleasure. By reason of His greatness and glory, by which He is infinitely above all, He is worthy to be Sovereign, and that His pleasure should in all things take place. He is worthy that He should make Himself His end, and that He should make nothing but His own wisdom His rule in pursuing that end, without asking leave or counsel of any, and without giving account of any of His matters. It is fit that He who is absolutely perfect, and infinitely wise, and the Fountain of all wisdom, should determine every thing [that He effects] by His own will, even things of the greatest importance. It is meet that He should be thus Sovereign, because He is the first being, the eternal being, whence all other beings are. He is the Creator of all things; and all are absolutely and universally dependent on Him; and therefore it is meet that He should act as the Sovereign possessor of heaven and earth." (Edwards, The Justice of God in the damnation of sinners)

Charles H. Spurgeon

"There is no attribute of God more comforting to his children than the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, they believe that Sovereignty hath ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children of God ought more earnestly to contend than the dominion of their Master over all creation - the kingship of God over all the works of His own hands - the throne of God, and His right to sit upon that throne. On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by world-lings, no truth of which they have made such a football, as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the Sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except on His throne."

"We give our hand to every man that loves the Lord Jesus Christ, be he what he may or who he may. The doctrine of election, like the great act of election itself, is intended to divide, not between Israel and Israel, but between Israel and the Egyptians, not between saint and saint, but between saints and the children of the world. A man may be evidently of God's chosen family, and yet though elected, may not believe in the doctrine of election. I hold that there are many savingly called, who do not believe in effectual calling, and that there are a great many who persevere to the end, who do not believe the doctrine of final perseverance. We do hope the hearts of many are a great deal better than their heads. We do not set their fallacies down to any willful opposition to the truth as it is in Jesus but simply to an error in their judgments, which we pray God to correct. We hope that if they think us mistaken too, they will reciprocate the same Christian courtesy; and when we meet around the cross, we hope that we shall ever feel that we are one in Christ Jesus."


For two short but excellent articles on God's sovereignty and election in our salvation, please see the following two articles by John Samson:


God is at the Center

What is meant by Divine Election?

The Sovereignty of God in Creation

By Justin Edwards

From Chapter 2 of A.W. Pink's The Sovereignty of God, titled "The Sovereignty of God in Creation":

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created" (Rev. 4:11).

In the great expanse of eternity which stretches behind Genesis 1:1, the universe was unborn and creation existed only in the mind of the great Creator. In His Sovereign majesty God dwelt all alone. We refer to that far distant period before the heavens and the earth were created. There were then no angels to hymn God's praises, no creatures to occupy His notice, no rebels to be brought into subjection. The great God was all alone amid the awful Silence of His own vast universe. But even at that time, if time it could be called, God was Sovereign. He might create or not create according to His own good pleasure. He might create this way or that way; He might create one world or one million worlds, and who was there to resist His will? He might call into existence a million different creatures and place them on absolute equality, endowing them with the same faculties and placing them in the same environment; or, He might create a million creatures each differing from the others, and possessing nothing in common save their creaturehood, and who was there to challenge His right?

If He so pleased, He might call into existence a world so immense that its dimensions were utterly beyond finite computation; and were He so disposed, He might create an organism so small that nothing but the most powerful microscope could reveal its existence to human eyes. It was His Sovereign right to create, on the one hand, the exalted seraphim to burn around His throne, and on the other hand, the tiny insect which dies the same hour that it is born. If the mighty God chose to have one vast gradation in His universe, from loftiest seraph to creeping reptile, from revolving worlds to floating atoms, from macrocosm to microcosm, instead of making everything uniform, who was there to question His Sovereign pleasure?

Behold then the exercise of Divine Sovereignty long before man ever saw the light. With whom took God counsel in the creation and disposition of His creatures? See the birds as they fly through the air, the beasts as they roam the earth, the fishes as they swim in the sea, and then ask, Who was it that made them to differ? Was it not their Creator who Sovereignly assigned their various locations and adaptations to them!

Turn your eye to the heavens and observe the mysteries of Divine Sovereignty which there confront the thoughtful beholder: "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory" (1 Cor. 15:41). But why should they? Why should the sun be more glorious than all the other planets? Why should there be stars of the first magnitude and others of the tenth? Why such amazing inequalities? Why should some of the heavenly bodies be more favorably placed than others in their relation to the sun? And why should there be "shooting stars," falling stars, "wandering stars" (Jude 13), in a word, ruined stars? And the only possible answer is, "For Thy pleasure they are and were created" (Rev. 4:11).

Come now to our own planet. Why should two thirds of its surface be covered with water, and why should so much of its remaining third be unfit for human cultivation or habitation? Why should there be vast stretches of marshes, deserts and ice-fields? Why should one country be so inferior, topographically, from another? Why should one be fertile, and another almost barren? Why should one be rich in minerals and another own none? Why should the climate of one be congenial and healthy, and another uncongenial and unhealthy? Why should one abound in rivers and lakes, and another be almost devoid of them? Why should one be constantly troubled with earthquakes, and another be almost entirely free from then? Why? Because thus it pleased the Creator and Upholder of all things.

Look at the animal kingdom and note the wondrous variety. What comparison is possible between the lion and the lamb, the bear and the kid, the elephant and the mouse? Some, like the horse and the dog, are gifted with great intelligence; while others, like sheep and swine, are almost devoid of it. Why? Some are designed to be beasts of burden, while others enjoy a life of freedom. But why should the mule and the donkey be shackled to a life of drudgery while the lion and tiger are allowed to roam the jungle at their pleasure? Some are fit for food, others unfit; some are beautiful, others ugly; some are endowed with great strength, others are quite helpless; some are fleet of foot, others can scarcely crawl-contrast the hare and the tortoise; some are of use to man, others appear to be quite valueless; some live for centuries, others a few months at most; some are tame, others fierce. But why all these variations and differences? What is true of the animals is equally true of the birds and fishes.

But consider now the vegetable kingdom. Why should roses have thorns, and lilies grow without them? Why should one flower emit a fragrant aroma and another have none? Why should one tree bear fruit which is wholesome and another that which is poisonous? Why should one vegetable be capable of enduring frost and another wither under it? Why should one apple tree be loaded with fruit, and another tree of the same age and in the same orchard be almost barren? Why should one plant flower a dozen times in a year and another bear blossoms but once a century? Truly, "whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did He in Heaven, and in the earth, in the seas, and all deep places" (Psa. 135:6).

Consider the angelic hosts. Surely we shall find uniformity here. But no; there, as elsewhere, the same Sovereign pleasure of the Creator is displayed. Some are higher in rank than others; some are more powerful than others; some are nearer to God than others. Scripture reveals a definite and well-defined gradation in the angelic orders. From arch-angel, past seraphim and cherubim, we come to "principalities and powers" (Eph. 3:10), and from principalities and powers to "rulers" (Eph. 6:12), and then to the angels themselves, and even among them we read of "the elect angels" (1 Tim. 5:21). Again we ask, Why this inequality, this difference in rank and order? And all we can say is "Our God is in the heavens, He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased" (Psa. 115:3).

If then we see the Sovereignty of God displayed throughout all creation, why should it be thought a strange thing if we behold it operating in the midst of the human family? Why should it be thought strange if to one God is pleased to give five talents and to another only one? Why should it be thought strange if one is born with a robust constitution and another of the same parents is frail and sickly? Why should it be thought strange if Abel is cut off in his prime, while Cain is suffered to live on for many years? Why should it be thought strange that some should be born black and others white; some be born idiots and others with high intellectual endowments; some be born constitutionally lethargic and others full of energy; some be born with a temperament that is selfish, fiery, egotistical, others who are naturally self-sacrificing, submissive and meek? Why should it be thought strange if some are qualified by nature to lead and rule, while others are only fitted to follow and serve? Heredity and environment cannot account for all these variations and inequalities. No; it is God who maketh one to differ from another. Why should He? "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight" must be our reply.

Learn then this basic truth, that the Creator is absolute Sovereign, executing His own will, performing His own pleasure, and considering nought but His own glory. "The LORD hath made all things FOR HIMSELF" (Prov. 16:4). And had He not a perfect right to? Since God is God, who dare challenge His prerogative? To murmur against Him is rank rebellion. To question His ways is to impugn His wisdom. To criticize Him is sin of the deepest dye. Have we forgotten who He is? Behold, "All nations before Him as are nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God?" (Isa. 40:17, 18).

The Unrivaled Supremacy of Jesus Christ

By Justin Edwards

Dr. Steven Lawson delivered a powerful message exegeting Hebrews 1:1-4 at the 2007 Resolved Conference titled, The Unrivaled Supremacy of Jesus Christ.

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

This supreme Lord of all lords and unrivaled King of all kings is worthy of our supreme devotion, radical allegiance, and unwavering loyalty. I pray this message helps give you a glimpse of the matchless supremacy of Christ and leads you to worship Him with your life.
 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. - Romans 12:1

Please click to listen: The Unrivaled Supremacy of Jesus Christ

Predestination and the Free Offer

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."—John 6:37.

These two sentences have been looked upon as representing two sides of Christian doctrine. They enable us to see it from two stand-points—the Godward and the manward.

The first sentence contains what some call high doctrine. If by "high" they mean "glorious towards God," I fully agree with them; for it is a grand, God-honoring truth which our Lord Jesus declares in these words,—"All that the Father giveth, me shall come to me." Some have styled this side of truth Calvinistic, but while it is true that Calvin taught it, so also did Augustine, and Paul, and our Lord himself, whose words these are. However, I will not quarrel with those who see in this sentence a statement of the great truth of predestinating grace.

The second sentence sets forth blessed, encouraging, evangelical doctrine, and is in effect a promise and an invitation,—"Him that cometh to me I will an no wise cast out." This is a statement without limitation of any kind: it has been thought to leave the free grace of God open to the free will of man, so that whosoever pleases may come and may be sure that he still not be refused.

We have no permission to pare down either sentence, nor is there the slightest need to do so. The first sentence appears to me to say that God has chosen a people, and has given these people to Christ, and these people must and shall come to Christ, and so shall be saved. The second truth declares that every man who comes to Christ shall be saved, since he shall not be cast out, and that implies that he shall be received and accepted.

These are two great truths; let us carry them both with us, and they will balance each other. I was once asked to reconcile these two statements, and I answered, "No, I never reconcile friends." These two passages never fell out: they are perfectly agreed. It is folly to imagine a difference, and then set about removing it. It is like making a man of straw, and then going out to fight with it.

The grand declaration of the purpose of God that he will save his own is quite consistent with the widest declaration that whosoever will come to Christ shall be saved. The pity is that it ever should be thought to be a difficulty to hold both truths; or that, supposing there is a difficulty, we should have thought it our duty to remove it. Believe me, my dear hearers, the business of removing religious difficulties is the least remunerative labor under heaven.

The truest way is to accept the difficulty wherever you find it in God's word, and to exercise your faith upon it. It is unreasonable to suppose that faith is to be exempted from trials: all the other graces are exercised, and why should not faith be put to the test? I often feel a joy within my spirit in having to believe what I cannot understand; and sometimes when I have to say to myself, "How can it be?" I find a joy in replying that it is so written, and therefore it must be so.

In spite of all reasoning stands the utterance of God. Our Father speaks, and doubts are silenced: his Spirit writes, and we believe. I feel great pleasure in gliding down the river of revelation, upon a voyage of discovery, and hour by hour obtaining fresh knowledge of divine truth; but where I come to an end of progress, and see my way blocked up by a sublimely awful difficulty, I find equal pleasure in casting anchor under the lee of the obstacle, and waiting till the pilot tells me what next to do.

When we cannot go through a truth, we may be led over it, or round it, and what matters? Our highest benefit comes not of answering riddles, but of obeying commands by the power of love. Suppose we can see no further into the subject—what then? Shall we trouble about that? Must there not be an end of human knowledge somewhere? May we not be perfectly satisfied for God to appoint the boundary of understanding? Let us not therefore run our heads against difficulties of our own invention, and certainly not against those which God has seen fit to leave for us.

Take, then, these two truths, and know that they are equally precious portions of one harmonious whole. Let us not quibble over them, or indulge a foolish favouritism for one and a prejudice against the other; but let us receive both with a candid, large-hearted love of truth, such as children of God should exhibit. We are not called upon to explain, but to accept. Let us believe if we cannot reconcile.

Here are two jewels, let us wear them both. As surely as this Book is true, God has a people whom he has chosen, and whom Christ has redeemed from among men; and these must and shall by sovereign grace be brought in due time to repentance and faith, for not one of them shall ever perish. But yet is it equally true, that whosoever among the sons of men shall come and put his trust in Christ shall receive eternal life. "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

"None are excluded hence but those
Who do themselves exclude.
Welcome the learned and polite,
The ignorant and rude."

The two truths of my text are by no means inconsistent the one with the other: they are perfectly agreed. Happy is the man who can believe them both, whether he sees their agreement or does not see it.

I was cruising one day in the western Highlands. It had been a splendid day, and the glorious scenery had made our journey like an excursion to Fairy Land; but it came to an end, for darkness and night asserted their primeval sovereignty. Right ahead was a vast headland of the isle of Arran. How it frowned against the evening sky! The mighty rock seemed to overhang the sea. Just at its base was a little bay, and into this we steamed, and there we lay at anchorage all night, safe from every wind that might happen to be seeking out its prey. In that calm loch we seemed to lie in the mountain's lap while its broad shoulders screened us from the wind.

Now, the first part of my text, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me," rises like a huge headland high into the heavens. Who shall scale its height? Upon some it seems to frown darkly. But here at the bottom lies the placid, glassy lake of infinite love and mercy: "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Steam into it, and be safe under the shadow of the great rock. You will be the better for the mountain-truth as your barque snugly reposes within the glittering waters at its foot; while you may thank God that the text is not all mountain to repel you, you will be grateful that there is enough of it to secure you.

- Charles H. Spurgeon

(HT: Pyromaniacs)

Chosen from the Beginning

By Justin Edwards

When one is regenerated by the Holy Spirit unto salvation, they are made a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and as such are no longer citizens of this world, but citizens of heaven. This citizenship cannot be revoked.

In 1 Peter 1:1-2, Christians are called the elect, the chosen, according to the prearrangement (G4268) of God. We are, in fact, aliens sprinkled by the blood of Jesus Christ, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, for obedience to God's Son and the work He prepared for us beforehand (Ephesians 2:10).

Romans 8:28-30 further explains God's sovereign role in our salvation:

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

The idea that God would choose some but not all is perhaps the most controversial doctrine of Christianity. Yet Scripture is clear that God will have mercy and compassion on whom He pleases (Romans 9:14-24).

Volumes upon volumes of books can and have been written on the sovereignty of God in salvation and it remains controversial, so this short post will not come close to solving this centuries-old debate.

By taking a look at a few of the words in Romans 8:28-30 we get a clearer picture of how salvation is for the glory of God alone:

Called: Many have been called or invited, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). Not everyone who hears the voice of God through the Gospel will respond to the calling. But those who are called according to His purpose, will indeed have ears to hear and be saved through faith in Jesus Christ.

Foreknew: This is Strong's #4267. It means to have knowledge before or to foreknow. In context, it means to foreknow of those whom God elected to salvation or for whom He predestined. It is the same word used in 1 Peter 1:20 where Jesus was foreordained before the foundations of the world to fulfill the will of His Father. Another form of this word is found in 1 Peter 1:2 and has the context of prearrangement, or to arrange in advance. We see that this foreknowledge is not merely having knowledge of something beforehand (in this case, who will be saved). But even if that is the case, this foreknowledge was reinforced by predestination.

Predestined: This is Strong's #4309. It means to predetermine or decide and appoint beforehand. This allows for no room that God's foreknowledge is restricted to only having knowledge of those who will respond to the calling of salvation in the future. No, God has not only called us to salvation, He has also chosen an elect for salvation, and it is for His good pleasure and will (Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:11).

Conformed: God appointed His elect to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. God will fashion His children to the glorious image of His Son by the working of the Holy Spirit. We become conformed to Christ by transformation through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). It is a supernatural act of God that our minds are renewed.

Justified: Those who God has predestined for salvation are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ. This is a legal transaction whereby the righteousness of Christ is imputed, or attributed to, those who have responded to the calling by faith. No one is righteous in all the earth because we have all broken God's Law. It is impossible for any lawbreaker, any sinner, to be considered justified before God on the day of judgment. Thus, Jesus' finished work on the cross and His resurrection from the dead has been considered payment in full by God. Because we have no means to make ourselves justified, Christ's payment is attributed to our deficient account, and through the blood of Christ we can be justified, or made righteous, before the throne of God.

Glory: Lastly, the glory of God is imparted to the born again believer through the Son. It is for the very glory of God that we are saved. Everything God does is for His glory, and it is why He has chosen a people for Himself. 2 Peter 1:3

³His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

By God's abundant mercy and grace He has called and chosen His elect so that His name will be glorified. The glory of God in salvation is of utmost importance to understand as relegating the work of salvation to man has resulted in a form of easy-believism that has given far too many a false sense of security in salvation. Man's responsibility in salvation is to respond to the calling, yet all who are called according to His purpose will indeed respond by faith. John 6:37:

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

John 6:44

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

Furthermore, because we were dead in our transgressions (Ephesians 2:5), it is only by His grace that He grants us repentance to respond by faith and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 2 Timothy 3:25

...correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,

True repentance is only found through godly sorrow by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Here is the result in 2 Corinthians 7:10

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Any other form of sorrow is of the world and leaves a state of hopelessness as the person, though they are striving to please God, miserably fails because they have trusted in themselves alone to please God. Without this godly remorse, the unrepentant sinner will continue down this path of condemnation. It is only when they have been broken by their sins against God that they will be led to salvation through repentance produced by godly sorrow. The trust in themselves for salvation is transferred to Jesus Christ alone.

To those who have been chosen by the mercy of God, His grace will yield in His children hope, peace, joy, patience, longsuffering, kindness, humility, gentleness, self-control, and a selfless love found only through the Lord Jesus Christ. The born again Christian is given a new nature by which he will overcome the world and the things of the world because of the work of the Holy Spirit within him. He is no longer controlled by the works of the flesh, but faithfully walks according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1). This same Spirit has sealed the born again believer as a deposit to guarantee our inheritance of eternal life (Ephesians 1:14). Because we are now God's possession, we who have been bought for the price of Jesus' precious blood, we are eternally secure in this salvation.

As such, salvation is a sovereign act of God that He will see through completion. Jesus Christ is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). If a professed Christian stops believing, stops trusting, stops repenting, stops confessing and reverts back to a lifestyle of sin, darkness, and habitual carnality, it is evidence that they were never saved. Those who are in the Vine will abide (continue) in the Vine (John 14:16). Therefore, we are instructed to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith. This will give us assurance that Christ is within us, unless of course we fail the test (2 Corinthians 13:5). 2 Peter 1:10-11,

¹⁰Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, ¹¹and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And how do we make our calling and election sure? Peter makes this clear in the previous verses,

⁵...make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

The consequence of not growing in the faith you possess will prohibit you from having genuine assurance of your salvation. Not growing in your faith will lead to doubt. Not examining yourself by the Word of God to see if you are growing in your faith could be evidence that there is no Hope within you except the false hope in which you profess. This should give rise to work out your salvation with fear and trembling before a Holy God. For if the fear of the Lord is not within you, God may not be working in you at all (Philippians 2:12-13). 

In conclusion, every born again believer has been chosen by God. Salvation is a sovereign act of the Lord performed for His glory alone through Jesus Christ. God draws the sinner to repentance, which leads to faith, which leads to justification, which leads to sanctification. Sanctification is not an option for the born again believer. Like salvation, sanctification is the glorious work of God through the Holy Spirit. Everyone who names the name of Christ must depart from sin (2 Timothy 2:19). And by His grace, the child of God will do just that as they are no longer a slave of disobedience, but a slave of righteousness (Romans 6:1-23). Because the born again believer has been washed, justified, and sanctified (positionally made pure), he has been perfected forever in the eyes of God (Hebrews 10:14). This means he cannot lose his salvation because salvation is not a work of man, but a work of God alone for His glory alone.

Why has God decided to have mercy and compassion on some but not all? I don't know. Who am I to question the Potter? But let us give thanks to Him who chose us from the beginning, let us make our calling and election sure, and let us obey the command of God to preach the Gospel to every creature. Who will He choose? I don't know that either, but whoever He chooses, He will not cast out.

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,  to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.- 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

Judgment and the Love of God

Oswald Chambers

The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience— preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.

In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.

If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account. Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.

Who Is Responsible for a Believer's Salvation?

By Mike Ratliff

30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV)

There are so many who want to attack the teachings I post with their extra-biblical arguments, which are mostly based in tradition. There are many topics where the numbers of those doing this drop drastically, but when it comes to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and how it relates to what is hot in the visible church “right now” like “missional” stuff my spam bucket seems to fill up fast.

The Bible clearly shows us that God is sovereign, completely sovereign, in salvation, not the person. Let us ask some questions and then answer them scripturally. I will ask a few questions then list the answers by linking to scripture so you can go there and prayerfully read it yourself.

“Did God sovereignly elect us and save us? Or did He act in accord with what He knew we would do? In other words, “Who makes the first move?”

God wills                                                  John 1:12-13; Eph. 1:5, 11
God draws                                                John 6:44
God grants                                                John 6:65
God calls                                                   1 Thess. 2:12; 2Thess. 2:14; 2Tim. 1:9; 1Pet. 2:9
God appoints                                           Acts 13:48; 1 Thess. 5:9
God predestines                                      Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:5, 11
God prepares                                           Rom. 9:23
God causes                                               1 Cor. 1:30
God chooses                                            1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13; Eph. 1:4
God purposes                                          Eph. 1:11
God delivers and transfers                   Col. 1:13
God saves                                                 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5
God makes us alive                               Eph. 2:5
God pours out His Spirit                     Titus 3:6
God brings us forth                               James 1:18
God justifies                                            Rom. 8:30; Titus 3:7
God sanctifies                                         1 Thess. 5:23
God glorifies                                           Rom. 8:3

The passages above summarize what Sacred Scripture teaches about God’s role in salvation. If you have taken an honest look at these passages then you have seen that God is the ‘first cause’ or imitator of a believer’s salvation.

Soli Deo Gloria!