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My purpose is not to attempt an explanation but rather to exhibit once again the Bible’s consistent teaching that God is able and does move upon the hearts and minds of people to accomplish His purposes.
but rather that He works in His mysterious way through their wills to accomplish His purposes.
Do you need the good favor of a certain professor in order to get a good recommendation for a job? If that job is God’s plan for you, God is able to and will move in the heart of that professor to give you a good recommendation.
Your promotion, or lack of it, is in the hand of God. Your superiors are simply His agents to carry out His will. They
As we do so, it will be helpful to keep in mind that the biblical writers never seemed to be aware of the problem, except for one statement by Paul in Romans 9:19-21. And Paul’s statement seems to raise
Biblical writers seem unware of the problem that God's sovignty poses
So while the Bible asserts both God’s sovereignty and people’s freedom and moral responsibility, it never attempts to explain their relationship.
The first is that God is infinite in His ways as well as His being.
The relationship of the sovereign will of God to the freedom and moral responsibility of people is one of those mysteries.
This realtionship a mystery us
I believe one of our problems in dealing with this subject is that we tend to view the interaction between God and man on the same level as the interaction between man and man.
treating God like a man
We tend to think of God as being like us.
thinking that God is like us
Yet the Scriptures teach that God does move a person’s will, but in such a way that the person acts freely and voluntarily. Furthermore, sovereignty on a human plane suggests force and coercion, people doing things against their wills as in the subjection of slaves to masters, but the Scriptures never portray God’s sovereignty in this manner. The second truth we must keep in mind is that God is never the author of sin.
We all do God"s secret will volenterly
Yet the Scriptures teach that God does move a person’s will, but in such a way that the person acts freely and voluntarily. Furthermore, sovereignty on a human plane suggests force and coercion, people doing things against their wills as in the subjection of slaves to masters, but the Scriptures never portray God’s sovereignty in this manner. The second truth we must keep in mind is that God is never the author of sin.
never the author of sin
It is frequently asserted in the Scriptures that God uses the sinful actions of men to accomplish His purposes
God uses the sinful actions of men to fulfil his purposes
But the fact that people’s sinful intents and actions serve the sovereign purpose of God does not make God the author of their sin nor make them any less culpable for their actions. God judges people for the very sins that He uses to carry out His purpose. This truth is taught in such passages as Isaiah 10:5-16 (we will look at this passage in another chapter). The third truth to keep before us is that the Bible consistently portrays people as making real choices of their own will.
People still accountable for their actions as out of their own will they make those choices
But the fact that people’s sinful intents and actions serve the sovereign purpose of God does not make God the author of their sin nor make them any less culpable for their actions. God judges people for the very sins that He uses to carry out His purpose. This truth is taught in such passages as Isaiah 10:5-16 (we will look at this passage in another chapter). The third truth to keep before us is that the Bible consistently portrays people as making real choices of their own will.
people make choices out of tgeir own will
the choices people make are moral choices; that is, people are held accountable by God for the choices they make. The actions of Judas, Herod, and Pilate were wicked acts even though done under the sovereign appointment of God.
The Bible teaches both the sovereignty of God and the free moral choices of men with equal emphasis.
But just as we must not misconstrue God’s sovereignty so as to make people mere puppets, so we must not press man’s freedom to the point of limiting God’s sovereignty.
But in the light of Scripture, it is decisive that this creaturely freedom poses no threat or limitation to the sovereign and almighty Divine enterprise….
And anyone who does not take both this Divine ruling and human responsibility seriously can never rightly understand history.6
Our first response should be one of trust.
Our first response to trust God
No one can harm you or jeopardize your future apart from the sovereign will of God. Moreover, God is able to and will grant you favor in the eyes of people who are in a position to do you good. You can entrust your future to God.
God will grant you favor
We should then look to God in prayer in all those situations where some aspect of our futures lies in the hands of another individual.
Commit to God in prayer those things were people have important descions over us
Bitterness usually stems not so much from the other person’s actions as from the effects of those actions on our lives. Consider the following scenario in your life.
You see, it is the effects of your being fired, not the act itself that determines whether you are tempted to become bitter.
It is affect of peoples actions that make us bitter not the actions themselves
But God never allows people to make decisions about us that undermine His plan for us.
God will never allow any action against you that is not in accord with His will for you. And His will is always directed to our good.
Why do we struggle with resentment and bitterness when someone else’s decision or action adversely affects us? Is it not because it is our plans that have been dashed, or our pride that has been wounded?
We get bitter when our plans are disrupted not God's plan for us
One of the speaker’s main points was that if we want to live less stressful lives, we must learn to live with a single agenda: God’s agenda. He pointed out that we tend to live under two agendas, ours and God’s, and that the tension between them sets up stress.
Learning to live with God's agenda
One of the speaker’s main points was that if we want to live less stressful lives, we must learn to live with a single agenda: God’s agenda. He pointed out that we tend to live under two agendas, ours and God’s, and that the tension between them sets up stress.
The remedy for less stress in my life, live by God's agenda
His agenda for our lives that God will guard, protect, and advance. We must learn to live by His agenda if we are to trust Him.
First, we should never use the doctrine as an excuse for our own shortcomings.
Never use God's soverignty as an excuse for my shortcommings
Second, we should not allow the doctrine of God’s sovereignty to cause us to respond passively to the actions of other people that affect us. We should take all reasonable steps within the will of God to protect and advance our situation.
not an excuse to respond passively
Neber should be used promote passivity
Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
Our duty, then, is to obey the “things revealed,” that is, the will of God as revealed in Scripture for every area of life. Scripture
Our main duty to obey the reavealed will of God
He will direct it according to His sovereign purpose for His glory and our good.
one of the most frequent references to it concerns His sovereignty over nations and governments.
intresting i have been thinking about this
In terms of our trusting God, the sovereignty of God over the nations can at first glance seem theoretical and remote from our daily lives.
In the West, especially, we don’t often consciously feel the actions of government impacting our lives from day to day.
not true in 2023
Christians are viewed unfavorably in much of the world today and in many countries face outright persecution from hostile governments.
For Christians living in these countries, the assurance that God rules over the governments that rule over them should give courage and confidence to them in times of harassment or persecution. Those of us living in countries where religious freedom is allowed should regularly give thanks to God for that freedom.
true and recongise it is a christian cukture that needs the gospel. what i have said here is key
I fear that Christians in this country have too great a confidence in political institutions … [rather] than of the government of God.”2
this is fading in 2023. Even the middle classes are less trusting in our poltical institutions
For us that is not a particularly striking event, but for a Muslim country to allow a Christian school to remain open when others were closed was indeed unusual.
God had the human heart which had authority in his hand
This Iranian brother had a correct perception of the sovereignty of God in the decrees and decisions of governments.
Just as we saw in chapter 4 that God is sovereign in the hearts of individuals, whose decisions and actions affect us, so God is also sovereign in the decisions and actions of government as they affect us.
We cannot separate the history of a nation from the people of that nation.
amen history key for understanding God working
For the most part, governmental officials and legislative bodies do their work quite apart from any intent to carry out the will of God.
Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. (Acts 4:27-28, emphasis added)
Proverbs 16:9—“In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps”—
one of the first ever bible versesthat struck me as a week old christian
