God's Sovereignty & Man's Responsibility (Part 2)

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Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King. Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth. If you�d like to go to the website, you can, nocompromiseradio .com.

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MD, although I have a D -min, not a demon, but a D -min, and used to be in the business of prostate cancer biopsy guns.

I�d be happy to walk through, especially, especially what do you think about worry and trust and decisions that you have to make in leading families, and I�ve already talked to somebody on the phone about that, and I have been given by God most graciously a ministry, of course, here at the church for 21 years, and then now more particularly a cancer ministry, and I am happy to talk about God�s faithfulness even when

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No Compromise Radio, working on a couple of books this year as well. A compilation with some other authors is one, still under wraps right now, can�t tell anybody,

I guess for the right price I could, and what�s this little angel thing doing here? It�s like a girl angel, never saw one of those in the

Bible, with a little halo. And then I�ve got the

S. Lewis Johnson Colossians information. I don�t know if I told you, Lewis�s second wife,

Martha, she just died last year, late last year, and Mary had died, I think, in 1980, it was 1979 rather, and then

Lewis was remarried in 1980 until Martha went home to be with the

Lord just this last year, and I think Lewis has been dead now for 13 years, since 2004.

The kingdom of God just keeps marching on, Jesus just keeps building His church,

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I�m not talking about that, but just for you, the listener, and for me, one day it�ll be us too.

So live for the dash. All right, here�s what we�re doing.

We are talking about sovereignty of God and human responsibility. That is a kind of a

Chinese finger puzzle for lots of people. Remember those? I don�t know if that�s the right way to call,

I mean, that�s what we called them, so I have nothing against Chinese people, obviously, but maybe they�re made in China, I mean,

I guess a lot of things could be called that now. Chinese Lincoln Logs, I don�t know why it was called that, maybe they designed it.

But it�s difficult when you have sovereignty of God and human responsibility. People tend to default, especially in evangelical circles, free will.

How do you reconcile free will and sovereignty of God? Answer, I don�t, because that�s like, how do you reconcile �cheese it�s and E equals

MC squared? I have no categories. Cheese it�s a processed flour with salt and some sugar and garlic.

Man�s will isn�t free any longer because of the fall, right?

It�s bound by nature. If the nature is one of unbelief and enmity with God, then that�s the will will be cordoned off by the restraints of the nature and it can�t make decisions to honor

God and to love God when it�s got a nature that says I hate God and could never make such a choice.

How do we go about reconciling the two? And the answer is, the Scriptures don�t reconcile the two and we don�t need to.

We can understand the two as best as we can based on revealed Scripture, but we don�t have to reconcile and we don�t have to make an excuse and we don�t have to feel embarrassed, we just proclaim both.

One of the great things about verse -by -verse teaching, and I think you should be at a church that teaches verse -by -verse, they can teach faster or they can teach slower, but if you teach verse -by -verse or you study the

Bible even yourself verse -by -verse, you�ll see the context. And we did a show last week, did we not, �Context as a

King.� And I don�t know, every time I say king,

I want to say prophet, priest, and king. But when you look at Scripture, you will quickly see that both of these are true, but they�re not reconciled.

They don�t need to be reconciled. They�re truths that with our finite fallen minds we can�t grasp, but we could study enough to say, �Okay,

I see that, and I see God�s sovereignty can break into man�s will anytime he wants, give that person, break into man anytime he wants, give him a new nature.�

And that new nature then, a nature of belief and friendship and love to God, will respond in such.

Now, before the fall, Adam was able to obey. You�re going to have to say yes. And he was responsible to obey.

You�re going to have to say yes. Well, what�s happened now is Adam fell, and Adam�s first sin was credited to our account by imputation immediately.

Theologians argue between �mediate� and �immediately.� I think it�s clear, �immediate.�

Consequently, as a result, we have sin natures. God deals with people federally.

He deals with the first Adam and the last Adam, I mean,

He deals with us through the first Adam and the last Adam. They were our federal heads. Adam was a public person.

That is to say, He represented us. We talk about Jesus as a representative and substitute.

Do we not? Yes, we do. I like to just say the representative, substitute, and risen Savior. So I talk about active obedience, passive obedience, resurrection, conquering death, that type of thing.

And when you believe in one Adam, two Adam, a federal headship, then it�s very helpful to work through issues about active obedience, law of gospel, and all that.

Right now we�re just thinking about responsibility and ability. Adam, before the fall, had responsibilities and he had abilities.

He was able to do it. Now Adam�s fall happens, and there�s the curse, and let�s just still stick with Adam for the time being, although what he did affected us.

We were hanging, like Thomas Goodwin said, on Adam�s girdle. We can�t obey anymore based on our own nature.

The question really is, though, are we responsible? Does inability negate responsibility?

Hey, I can�t do this. How could I still be required to do it? This has been a philosopher�s conundrum for a long time,

Immanuel Kant and others. What about my inability, therefore

I�m no longer responsible? Adam, after the fall, he still was responsible.

God didn�t change his law because his law is tied to his nature. And since God is holy and just and righteous, he�s not going to say, �Because

Adam can�t obey now, I�m going to change the law because that would call into question his nature.�

See how everything�s tied together. What would God do? What could he do? God could have judged the angels fell.

God just judged those. No plan of redemption, no salvation, no second chance, as it were.

Thankfully, God is merciful and gracious and kind and long -suffering and patient, and he loves sinners.

And even though sinners could not obey, while still responsible,

God sends the second Adam, who can perfectly obey, is responsible and can perfectly obey.

And we now can receive that obedience through faith. There�s two ways of salvation. The legal method, keep the law perfectly, perpetually, personally, or trust in the one who did that very thing, perpetually obeying the law as a man, yes, the

God -man, truly God, truly man, verily God, verily man.

Those are the two options. It�s the legal method or by faith. But as Meredith Klein would say, �Heaven is earned.

Heaven is merited.� Why? Because that�s the way you�re going to have to get in. You�re like, �Well,

I have� �No, you�re going to just stay right there. No co -mascots here. You stay right there.

We�re not going to do this again today.� �She�s looking at me.�

Anyway, righteousness via the law is needed.

Jesus is our righteousness. I think it was Luther, well, it was Luther, who said, �Learn.�

I think he said to not Spaladin, but somebody, �Speland, learn how to pray,

Jesus, you are my righteousness and I am your sin ,� that type of thing. Man, responsible before the fall.

Man, able to obey before the fall. After the fall, still responsible. God doesn�t change his law because of his nature, but man can�t do it.

He needs a new nature. He needs a new will. He needs to be made born again.

He needs to be justified. He needs to be reconciled. And we could talk about a variety of those things. Don�t say to yourself, �Well, if man�s not free, he�s a robot.�

Well, you�ve got man who fell, and then now he�s enslaved to sin. He is enslaved to sin.

And as one New England theologian said, �Man always makes the choice according to which power exhorts greater force on his will.�

What are you going to do? Where are the forces? Pink said, �Inability to pay a debt does not excuse the debtor.�

Wow. Now we can�t say to God as unbelievers.

No unbeliever can say, �Listen, you made me this way. I�m only human.�

Humid. I�m only human.

No creature can say, �I�m only human.� Not one particular creature. No person can say, �I�m only human.�

That means you didn�t make me rightly. Of course, it says in Scripture, �God made man upright.�

What happens? It says, �I�ve got a debt to you, God, but I can�t pay it.�

There�s no way I can earn anything. So God goes, �Okay, then you don�t have the debt because you can�t pay.�

No, �Inability to pay a debt ,� Pink writes, �does not excuse a debtor who has recklessly squandered his estate.

Nor does drunkenness excuse the mad or the violent actions of a drunkard, but rather it aggravates his crime.�

God has not lost his right to command. �Even though man through his wickedness has lost his power to obey.�

That�s exactly right. You can�t pay me back, I will just excuse you.

Chapter 11, chapter 13, bankruptcy, no big deal. And as some writers have talked about, this is not somebody who borrowed money and can�t pay it back.

This is somebody who�s an embezzler, and they won�t pay it back, and they can�t pay it back.

�Is not God unjust in requiring of man in his law what he cannot do ?�

Heidelberg Catechism, question nine, answer, �No, for God so created man that he could do it.

But man, upon the instigation of the devil, by deliberate disobedience, has cheated himself and all his descendants out of these gifts.�

That�s so true. This morning, doing my power reading through those eight books, I�m reading Ersinus�s commentary on the

Heidelberg Catechism, and he was talking about this very thing, people blaming God, �God, you�re sovereign, I can�t do anything about it,

I�m fallen, you made me this way.� One even said, �You know what,

I�m a product of what star I was born under, or what planet

I was born under, and with all the astrology.� I think that was Ersinus. I also read

Calvin today with that, and then there�s a quote by Augustine, that�s bad.

I can�t remember which one I was reading, but both have been good. Heidelberg Catechism, question nine, take that,

Scott Clark, how do you like that? R. Scott Clark, Heidelberg Catechism, question nine, come on.

Three forms of unity. Well, what about six forms of unity? What about Westminster Confession, shorter and longer catechism?

Aren�t my Reformed friends really under six forms, or subscribing to six forms of unity?

How many of those, I wonder, could I subscribe to? What if I could subscribe to most everything, and most all of them?

Man�s will is enslaved, is it not, to evil. This is Luther, is it not?

Bondage of the will. I�m starting to read a bunch of Luther now, because I got tired of people quoting

Luther, but never reading Luther. One of the only books I had read up until this, the last couple years when

I�m trying to read more Luther, is I did read His Bondage of the Will, and I kind of liked it, because it was, you know, it was rock �em, sock �em robots, if you remember that game.

I saw one of those games at Aldi the other day. I wanted to get a little taste of Germany here in the U .S., but Aldis in Germany are way better than the

Aldis here. No offense, as my kids would say. Aldi actually bought out

Trader Joe�s. Aldi�s rockin� in Europe, but here in the States, you don�t go to Aldi.

I mean, if you like Cheetos that are called Tochis, and they just mix up the words and stuff, and it�s not even plain label, it�s worse than plain label, then you go to Aldi�s.

By the way, they�re one of my sponsors here at the show. I was on the other day,

Iron Sharpens Iron, with Chris Arnzen. He�s got a bunch of sponsors. I think like, you know, plumbing companies and such, well, why don�t

I have those? We need some of those people. I need a new

MacBook or something, don�t I? Some people do that. They say, �Hey, you know, I�ve got some needs.�

Maybe it�s easier for them to say it. I have a job. I don�t make my living from no co -radio, but I am going to have to retire one day, saving all those pennies at Aldi USA.

The ones that they also have in Germany are, well, just think about it this way. We go to these big supermarkets here in New England, Wegman�s, Shaw�s, Price Chopper, Market Basket, Hannaford, and, you know, you go around the world, you go around the states and it�s

Safeway or Piggly Wiggly or what�s the one they have down in Florida, Publix or something, a variety of different big chains with big stores.

Well, in Germany, you�ve got a few big stores, Kaiser and Kaufland, but you don�t, they�re harder to get to, but there�s a lot of little pennies,

Penny Saver, Aldi. I knew them all just the other day

I was there, but anyway, they�re little grocery stores. You can buy almost everything, but, you know, you don�t have the selection.

Back to the point, sovereignty, responsibility. Adam falls. We no longer have the ability to obey everybody after Adam except for Jesus, of course.

We�re enslaved to evil and bondage to sin. Oh, yeah, Luther, bondage of the will.

Our will is either free, Erasmus, Roman Catholic humanist, or bond, bound, binded, bond, boot kick.

The dog, he�s just looking at me. Luther, quote, �Whatever man does, he does necessarily, though not with any sensible compulsion, and he can only do what

God from eternity willed and foreknew he should. Which will of God must be effectual and his foresight must be certain.

Neither divine nor human will does anything by constraint, and whatever man does, be it good or bad, he does with as much willingness as if his will was really free.�

Oh, isn�t that interesting? �God foreknows nothing by contingency, but that he foresees purposes and does all things according to his immutable, eternal, and infallible will.�

See what�s going on there? That�s amazing. That�s a whole show in and of itself.

I guess what I really like to talk about, because that�s going to get me into another little rabbit trail. God is commanding people today to repent and believe.

Let�s just cut to the chase, to the theological chase. Unbelievers are commanded to repent and to trust in Christ Jesus and His work, and they can�t do it.

Can anyone say, �I believe by myself. I trusted in Jesus without the work of the triune

God. I did not need the Holy Spirit to convict me of sin. I did not need the Holy Spirit to give me new life.

I did not need the Spirit of God to give me new affections. I did not need the Spirit of God to make me a new creation.

I did not need the triune God to justify me. I need not the God of the universe to make my eyes see and make me alive, to cause me to be born again, to use the language of 1

Peter. But the Bible says He caused us to be born again. This is really the issue, the mini little picture,

Lazarus come forth. What in Lazarus contributed, cooperated with, synergistically,

S -Y -N -ergistically, cooperated with God, could not do it.

But that doesn�t mean God still has desired anything less but perfect obedience to the law or trust in the

Son, who perfectly obeys. I mean, one sin against a thrice holy

God, you don�t want that. When you say to yourself, man�s will is in slavery to sin, but he�s kind of got the veto power over God.

God votes for you to get saved, Satan votes against you to get saved, and you cast the deciding vote.

Really? That�s almost kind of like back in Persia days where you�ve got good and evil,

China, ying and yang, God�s not around anywhere, you got two powers, good, evil, bad, you know, better.

What about God? Is the human will, here�s the question as we wrap up the show today, is

God�s arrangement such that the human will is untouchable to Him?

He won�t touch the human will. It�s, you know, it�s a holy of holies. He won�t go there. He can�t even enter into that particular room.

Can God intervene in the human will? It says in Ezra 6 .22

that He had caused them to rejoice and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God, the

God of Israel, Ezra 6 .22. Revelation 17 .17, �For God has put in their hearts to execute

His purpose by having a common purpose and by giving their kingdom to the beast until the words of God should be fulfilled.�

Proverbs 16 .1, �The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the

Lord.� Proverbs 16 .9, �The mind of man plans his way, but the

Lord directs his steps.� They�re responsible, that�s true.

They�ve got motives, plans, ideas, goals, but can

God intervene in the human will? Many are the plans of a man�s heart,

Proverbs 19 .21, �But the counsel of the Lord it will stand.�

What�s going on there? What�s going on there with Romans, I mean, Proverbs 19 .21? You make plans?

Can God step in, redirect those plans, cancel those plans, expand those plans, overrule those plans, amplify those plans?

Of course! That�s Proverbs 19 .21, �Many are the plans in a man�s heart, but the counsel of the

Lord it will stand.� Why? Because He can interject, He can intervene, He can contradict,

He can reroute, He can, you know, it�s like when they�re making Hoover Dam. They had to take that river and they had to make it go around the sides, both sides, while they were building the dam.

Can God do that to a human heart, to a human will? You know the answer to that. The king�s heart is like channels,

Proverbs 21, speaking of Hoover Dams, �Channels of water in the hand of the Lord.

He turns it wherever He wishes.� And be thankful for that, because if you�ve got unbelieving friends, God is sovereign over their will.

Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God�s Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

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