Commentary on First Peter Quotes

“The false view of election first takes foreknowledge to mean a passive prescience. That is, they take it to mean that God passively discovers what his creatures would decide in the future apart from his sovereign control, and then he makes a decision regarding the status of these creatures on the basis of this awareness. But this means that his decision regarding the status of these creatures is in a real sense determined by these creatures themselves, and the difference between these creatures and other creatures are in the creatures themselves, apart from God's sovereign decision to make a distinction between them. It may be said that God is still the one who determines the principles by which men must be saved, but it is the men themselves who decide which ones would receive salvation.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“False doctrine results when people confuse responsibility with freedom, or when they assume that responsibility presupposes freedom, so that humans are responsible only if they are free.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“The Bible does not teach both divine sovereignty and human freedom, but it teaches both divine sovereignty and human responsibility.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“God possesses absolute and unlimited rights over his creation.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“It is a false doctrine to suggest that God provides the mere possibility of salvation, and that it is up to each individual to actualize it when he believes the gospel by his own free will.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“Faith in the gospel in no way comes from the person himself – the understanding is sovereignly granted by God as he removes the blindness from the mind and enlightens it, and the willful assent is produced in him by God's power, as a gift that he gives only to those whom he has chosen.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“Rather, whoever believes the gospel does so only because God chooses to save him, to change his inner nature, and to produce faith in him.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“He has no need of anything that you give him, as if you can give him anything, but you have need of him to give to you, and you are always entirely at his mercy. People sometimes forget that, or they simply refuse to acknowledge it.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“you are dealing with an absolutely sovereign and powerful God.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“The Bible does not say to the Christian, "Thank you for choosing Jesus Christ" or even "Congratulations on your wise decision"; rather, it says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16). Needless to say, to misunderstand or even reverse this fundamental truth in our doctrine of salvation is to cripple a person's relationship with God at the very beginning. And for this person to perform the work of the ministry is to spread heresy.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter

“His life teaches us that our faithfulness to God is not something that is inherent in our personality, nor do we have the "free will" to simply decide to become loyal disciples. But our faithfulness to the Lord is itself a work of his sovereign grace, so that if we are faithful to him, it is not he who owes us, but it is we who owe him! There is no place for boasting, but only for praise and gratitude.”
― Vincent Cheung, Commentary On First Peter