Wrong Views On The Sovereignty Of God (part 2)

Okay, do they want to be saved? Do unsaved people want to be saved? Yes, but not from their sin. What do they want to be saved from then? The consequences of their sin, right? I think that's right. I want to be able to sin, they might say, but I don't want the consequences.

I don't want their, you know, I mean, what's the main thing that atheists, so-called atheists... By the way, why do I say so-called atheists? Everybody knows there is a God, and where would I find that?

Natural Revelation and Human Denial of God

Romans 1. Everyone knows there's a God by virtue of natural creation. They look around, and they don't think to themselves, I mean, they might think this to themselves. Aren't we lucky? Isn't it wonderful how chance created...

Oh, wait a minute, created... problem. Isn't it wonderful how by chance everything just popped into existence? I mean, that's what I often think when I walk into my house. I look around and go, whoo! Isn't chance grand, right?

But when we're talking about total inability, talking about the impact of sin, you might hear Pastor Mike or some more intellectual person than me say the noetic effect of sin. If we say the noetic effect of sin, or we say something like that.

What do we mean? Again, talking about total inability, when we talk about sin, let's just look at Romans chapter 5 for a moment. Since we're talking about this, we might as well look at the Bible. Hey, there's a crazy thought.

He said Bible. Romans chapter 5, familiar verse, verse 12. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and that man is Adam, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.

What does that verse tell us about the consequences of Adam's fall? That we're all affected, that he was our representative, and it says right there in the Word of God, all sinned. So when we think about him being our federal head, and it says then that all sinned.

In effect, when Adam fell, we all fell. Just as we were talking with the men yesterday morning, Adam and Eve went from a state of innocence, meaning they had no concept of what sin was. None. Because everything around them was perfect, and right, and holy, and good, and without fault.

And what happens when they sin? They're suddenly aware of the fact, well, they have shame. Why would they have shame? Because they know they've done something wrong, right? The excitement, maybe, of interacting with the serpent, Satan, and thinking, oh, you know, maybe God is wrong, and all these things now have been replaced by what?

Shame, but what is that really? I mean, what are they really thinking? They've gone from a place of complete innocence to a place of guilt, and what does that guilt make them think? What do you think?

What did God tell them? In the day you eat of it, you will, and then what happens? Here come the footsteps of the pre-incarnate Christ walking into the garden. What do they do? Hide. Why? Because death is coming.

Death is coming. It's like in the Old West, you know, here comes the gunslinger down. You know, all the men and women are running for their lives. Why? Because death is coming. They know that they deserve death.

They're ashamed. They're afraid. They're hiding. So we go, you know, when babies are born, what happens? They're born with that sin nature because they're in Adam. As he fell, he introduced all of humanity, the entire human race, into depravity, into sinfulness.

Men and women are born sinners. They're sinners by nature, and then they're sinners by desire. Total inability absolutely does not mean that men want to be saved. They don't want to be saved. Apart from an inworking of God, they hate God.

How would we know that? We would know that from, I mean, among others, Romans 5 again. You know, while we were enemies, Christ died for us. I mean, enemies don't like the person they're at war with, right?

Total inability means that nobody really wants to be saved apart from the grace of God. Okay, number five. True or false, Calvinists or fatalists? Good answer. Definition of fatalism wasn't really very helpful.

Calvinists think that, here's the myth, Calvinists think that nothing that we do really ultimately matters, right? We're the Freddie Mercury of theologians. Nothing really matters. Anyone can see nothing really matters to me, right?

What's wrong with that thinking? Why are we not fatalists? Why are we like, you know, it doesn't really matter what we do. God's going to do it anyway, right? If God's so sovereign in salvation, we don't have to worry about anything.

Yeah. Okay, because God uses means. It's really not confusing. Well, it is confusing for some people, especially unbelievers. If God's so sovereign, the unbeliever says, then nothing you do matters because he's already determined all the ends anyway, right?

But as Josh says, God has also appointed the means. So the unbeliever or the Arminian will look at that and say, but, you know, there's a contradiction there. Because if God has appointed the means then, or appointed the ends, then the means don't matter.

Do the means matter? Why do the means matter? How does it, does it matter how God accomplishes his purposes? Yes, but why? Why does it matter? Okay. Yeah, let's look at that for a moment. Ephesians 2, and we know, you know, that we'd say, I mean, what a great passage Ephesians 2 is.

You know, it starts with us dead in our sins and trespasses, which means utterly incapable of doing anything good, right? Spiritually good, absolutely useless. And then, you know, the best two verses or words in the Bible, but God.

And it talks about how, you know, we're saved by grace, et cetera. And then listen in verse 8, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is your not, is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not as a result of work so that no one may boast.

And verse 10, what Joni was just talking about, for we are his workmanship. We are the workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

This is in essence. I mean, that verse right there is the very definition of compatibilism. That is to say, God is sovereign. Man is responsible. How do those two things work together? Well, it's right there.

God appointed the means, God appointed the ends. And he, he's like, this is what I have designed. I've saved you that you might walk in these good works. Why? So that my ends might be accomplished. Is that a contradiction?

The answer is no. You know, for us and our finite minds, it might seem really difficult to resolve. But as I've said before, you know, like Spurgeon said, I don't, I don't. What's the word he said? I don't reconcile friends, right?

The sovereignty of God, the responsibility of man. I don't reconcile the two because they are friends in the minds of God or in the mind of God. Sorry. This makes perfect sense. And we have to, even if we can't fully comprehend it, we have to accept it because it is the word of God.

Fatalists, you know, shrug. We don't, you know, nothing we do matters wrong. Okay, let's move on. If there are no questions. Number six. True or false? Calvinists believe the elect will be saved no matter what they, what we or they do.

Well, we just talked about that. That's false. But we absolutely believe that we have a response. Do we ever? Well, I'll just say it. You know, we have a responsibility to evangelize. Again, why? Why do we evangelize?

Why do we preach the gospel? Why do we talk to our neighbors and our friends and our family about Christ to save souls? Right. We want to see people come to Christ, don't we? And because it's commanded.

I mean, it is our desire as regenerate people, I say people to see other people come to faith in Christ. But it's also commanded by virtue of the Great Commission. Right. It's also exemplified for us over and over and over again in the scriptures.

The 1689 says this. God is neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein, nor is violence offered to the will of the creature. Nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.

What in the world does that mean? It means that God doesn't violate the will of unsaved people. He uses secondary causes to bring about his purpose. But when you say God doesn't violate the will of unsaved people, does that mean he can't change the will?

You know, we hear this idea sometimes of, you know, Calvinism. Here's a caricature of Calvinism that God drags people kicking and screaming to faith in Christ. Right. Is that wrong or right? I mean, what was your own experience?

Did you think to yourself? I mean, we hear this all the time of the baptismal font, right? I didn't want anything to do with Jesus. But somebody dragged me kicking and screaming to faith in Christ. Is that how it goes?

I mean, even if we think about what's potentially, if you want to argue that, you know, God violates free will, which I don't because that would be sin for me to argue that. But if there's an example in the Bible of somebody who seems like they had their free will violated, can you think of who that was?

I mean, I think Paul, right? Because he, in his own way, he thinks he's zealous for the things of God. He's running around persecuting Christians. And then the resurrected Christ shows up and says, you know, why are you persecuting me, meaning the church?

And he transforms them right there. Now, does do we ever see Saul say or Paul, do we ever hear him say, I didn't want to be saved, but God saved me? And the answer is no, because in an instant, what does he what does Saul realize?

What we all realize, which is what? Before the holy God, I am undone. All my righteousness, Paul says, was what? Everything I did, everything I thought was so great was actually filthy rags is Isaiah's semi nicety.

They're cleaned up for us because the dung. He says it was all waste. It was all worthy of being flushed. We could say in light. Of the surpassing glory of knowing Christ, everything else is rubbish. So does God violate their wills?

No. He takes, as we were just talking about in Ephesians chapter two. He takes spiritually dead people and brings them to what life. Right. He brings spiritual corpses up and makes them alive. Alive. New, new affections, new desires.

A new heart. Seeing no questions, we'll move on to number seven. And no flares. Number seven. True or false. Calvinists steal assurance of salvation from God's people. I'm not even sure I understand that one because somebody explained that to me.

Why would we steal assurance of salvation from God's people? Yeah. John. Okay. If I didn't choose to be saved, how do I know I am? Okay. Other thoughts on that one? Because I'm like, I've never thought about it that way.

I have decided to follow Jesus. Don't tell me I didn't. Waldron says, you know, Calvinists steal assurance of salvation from God's people. Wrong. This assertion is exactly and precisely the opposite of the truth.

It is Arminians who make assurance of salvation impossible. Now, on the sheet that I gave out, and I don't know if anybody wants it. I mean, this is pretty, if you're familiar with these terms, it's pretty basic.

But if anyone wants one, I still have a few more. But if we look at Calvinism, we say it's known by, you know, these five points. Five points of Calvinism. Tulip, right? Total depravity. Unconditional election.

Limited atonement. Irresistible grace. And perseverance or preservation of the saints. Okay. Sovereignty of God is the mark of the tulip. Well, has anybody heard of the daisy of Arminianism? I'm sure some of you have.

What is it? I'll just let somebody do it. What's the daisy of Arminianism? He loves me, he loves me not. Right? It's just... Because a true Arminian, I mean, there are fake, I'm going to just say it this way.

There are false Arminians out there in the world today. I would call them one-point Calvinists. Right? They don't believe in anything except for the preservation or perseverance of the saints. Here's what they say.

They say once you make that profession, once you walk the aisle, once you say, you know, whatever. Whatever magic incantation you say, God is basically stuck with you. Right? It doesn't matter what you do after that.

I mean, there are people that go that far, you know, this easy believism or, you know, easy grace. You know, that Christ loves you just as you are. And then guess what? He leaves you exactly as you were, and that's fine.

Or you can even go downhill, and it's fine. It doesn't matter. But a true Arminian will say you can lose your salvation because that's what he believed. Yeah. He talks about John Wesley, who was, Wesley was the founder of Methodism.

And he says whatever Wesley believed, since he believed in falling from grace, he did not and could not consistently believe in genuine assurance of salvation. How can you? If your salvation ultimately depends on your performance, you're hurt.

Real assurance of salvation is only possible if the genuine Christian cannot fall from grace. If a genuine Christian can fall from grace, then you can have assurance that you are a Christian today, but you can have no assurance that you will be a Christian tomorrow.

That is not assurance at all. Arminians probably make this assertion that Calvinists steal assurance because they think connecting all salvation with election makes it a mysterious matter. I've heard people actually say that or ask that question.

Well, Pastor, if my salvation depends on my election, how can I make sure that I'm elect? Yeah. I mean, there's a logical fallacy in that supposition there, in that premise. You know, that how do I know I'm saved?

Well, I know that I'm saved by my election, which was in eternity past. How can I know that God chose me? And that's really the wrong question. Charlie gave the right answer to the question because the question is, is this all wrong?

Here's the question. How do I know that I'm elect? And the answer is because I believe. Right. Because the Holy Spirit worked through me to give me faith. Because otherwise, would the Holy Spirit have worked through me?

Does he go to the non-elect? Would we ever see that anywhere in Scripture? And the answer is no. All those who are appointed to eternal life. Right. Luke says in Acts. OK. Calvinists could wrongly rest in election, which I find interesting anyway.

But talking about the rocky soil, parable of the soils. What about a rocky soil Christian, as Charlie calls them? Because I would not call them a rocky soil Christian. Unless they're in Colorado or something.

They could be. What about that? What about the rocky soil? What about them? No answer. Yeah, they're not actually Christians. The answer to all such questions. What about this? What about that? What are the other thing is what?

Keep believing. You know, is it possible even for a true Christian to have a period of unbelief or to, you know, fall back in their performance to, you know, have a lack of faith for a time to give the appearance of not believing?

I hope so. And, you know, I don't like to take, you know, I hope so, because I think about Thursday. No, no, no. I hope so. I mean, even if we just look at the life of Peter, if we look at the life of the disciples, I mean, it's amazing.

You know, an atheist will often say something like. If there were evidence of God, I would believe in him. What's the problem with that? I mean, outside of the Romans, one thing, you know, if we were to just study the gospels, what would we see?

We'd see plenty of evidence. The Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, is with the disciples every single day. And do they say, wow, we are really blessed to be walking and talking and, you know, breaking bread and listening to God in the flesh every single day.

Is that what they say? I mean, it's kind of it's kind of. Pathetic, really, to, you know, watch the disciples and see how they struggle and everything and go, how could those guys be so dopey until we realize what?

We're pretty dopey, too, you know, because we have the word of God from beginning to end. We can read it every single day. And do we ever struggle like the disciples? Well, speak for yourselves. You know, evidence by itself doesn't demand a verdict.

Judas Iscariot, nobody had more evidence that Jesus was the Christ and Judas Iscariot. Not only did he not believe he betrayed Jesus, like I said before, and like I will say again and again and again, it takes a work of God for somebody to believe.

Evidence alone will not work. So if election isn't the issue, you know, if election isn't enough to steal assurance. And again, I just say, you know what, if if you're concerned that you're elect, do you believe?

Yes. OK, then you're elect. How do I know that I'll stay elect? Well, because you'll continue to believe and God's election doesn't change. That's set from all eternity. A Calvinist, in contrast to an Armenian, says God so sovereign that what he chose to do from before the world began, from before time existed, what he chose to do continues on.

There's no deviation. If he set his affections upon you, if he determined to save you in Christ before anything existed. Then that's going to be the end result. Let's look at First Thessalonians chapter one for a moment.

Versus three to five. First Thessalonians one versus three to five. And would somebody read that, please? When he talks about. Your work of faith, your labor of love, your steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

These are evidences of what? These are evidences of God's choice. He has chosen you, he says there. How does he know that? Because the gospel came to them. The Holy Spirit descended upon them and they continue to show fruit.

The evidence is. You know, it's baked in the cake. It's in their lives. The canons of Dort on this subject. Canons of Dort, by the way. Canons of Dort. Just written in response to Arminianism. These are so-called five points of Calvinism.

But this is part of that. The elect in due time, though in various degrees and in different measures. Attain the assurance of this, their eternal and unchangeable election. Not by inquisitively prying into the secret and deep things of God.

But by observing in themselves with a spiritual joy and holy pleasure. The infallible fruits of election pointed out in the word of God. Such as a true faith in Christ. Filial fear. A godly sorrow for sin.

A hungering and thirsting after righteousness, etc. Now are those things infallible? In other words, can you look at the fruit in your life and infallibly know that you are saved? Here's what I do know.

Is if I look at my life now and I look at it before I knew Christ. Can I see a change in my life? And do I think I'm really doing well? Or do I think the Lord is really powerful and he's really working in me?

I hope it's the latter that I'm thinking. But that's exactly right. We see the work of God in us. We don't all become super saints or whatever. But we see God just driving us forward. Changing us slowly but surely and some of us rapidly.

But he's producing fruit. Can the Holy Spirit. I mean it's interesting if you look at Galatians chapter 5. And you see the fruits of the flesh. What is the flesh manifest? And it's this list of sins. And then you see the work of the Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit. And what does he do? He does the opposite. So you can look at those two things and go. Okay, which one is more prevalent in my life? What is the Holy Spirit doing in my life? That's a good indicator.

But if I'm believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. If I'm trusting in him. That's the ultimate work of the Spirit. Because I can't do it on my own. Questions, comments? Or number eight? Number eight. True or false?

Calvinists teach the damnation of infants. Well, we know it's false because all of them are false. What does this mean? Babies who are born and then die. Or children who die early. Before they could really understand, apprehend, comprehend the gospel.

What about them? I mean, is this a logical question to ask? Absolutely it is. Most of us know somebody who has lost a baby. Even maybe before the baby was delivered. What do we tell them? Can we tell them, you know, you'll see your child in the future?

Or do we just say, you know, don't know? What do you say? Yeah, what David said. You know, when his son with Bathsheba died, what did he say? He said, I cannot go to him. Or he can't. What did he say?

Okay, there you go. In other words, his son was beyond his reach. But he knew that one day he would be with him. And some people say, well, that's just a special case or whatever. Well, I don't know. Waldron notes this.

He says, many famous Calvinists believe in the salvation of all infants dying in infancy. Some do not. But I know MacArthur does, Spurgeon did. Others think that God has shrouded this whole matter in mystery and says little or nothing directly about it in scripture.

They adopt an optimistic agnosticism about the matter. But he says, no Calvinist of whom I'm aware affirmed the damnation of infants. My own personal conviction, not scripture, but I think, first of all, we know from Revelation that there are going to be people from all nations, tribes, kindreds, and tongues in heaven, right?

And I think some of that is going to be because of the death of infants. I think it's just more in keeping with the nature, the character of God. Okay, yes, thoughts, Charlie. And it might. But then the question would be about does that then his people, his elect, he didn't judge Nineveh so that those who didn't know their left from their right might grow up so that they could know their left from their right.

See what I'm saying? So he just preserved them from dying before they could know him. So, you know, in other words, bring them to salvation later. Right, but I mean, if he just wiped out the city, then everybody who didn't know their right from their left would go to heaven.

So, yeah, right, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, if somebody has to, I mean, you know, Romans 10 says, believe in your heart, confess with your mouth that Jesus, you know, what if you don't do that? Then what? Well, if you're elect from the foundation of the world, then, you know, it's God will save whom he saves, right?

We can trust him to do the right thing. Number nine, Calvinists teach double predestination. What is double predestination, Josh? Okay, so if election is God chooses to save some people, that's predestination or election.

Double predestination is God chooses to save some people and he chooses other people to go to hell. That seems pretty harsh. What about that? Okay, I mean, if God chooses some people to save and it takes a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to bring them to spiritual life so that they love the Lord Jesus Christ, what happens to everybody else?

What happens to those that the Holy Spirit never visits? And is God unaware of that, Josh? Okay, they're condemned already, right? I mean, essentially, when a baby comes into the world, he or she is under a sentence of condemnation, right?

From their sin. So they either believe and get saved and that now they're no longer under condemnation or they don't in which they just remain under the kind of condemnation of John 3. Charlie, asymmetrical election, which sounds pretty dangerous, like if you plug in the wrong plug or something like that.

Asymmetrical, it also sounds kind of sneaky, doesn't it? I'm going to be asymmetrical about this. Let's look at Romans 9 for a moment. And I do think there's certainly an aspect of a parent's favorite verse in this whole discussion.

What's a parent's favorite verse? Yes, secret things belong to the Lord or, you know, as I used to say, the secret things belong to dad. There are things you children are not meant to know, right? And, you know, they'll stay hidden between your mom and I and that's where it's going to end.

But in Romans chapter 9, Paul really, I think, addresses this. And I'll read through this and then we'll pick it up again next time. Beginning in verse 10. And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had not done either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, in other words, not because of what they do in life, but because of him who calls.

She, Rebecca, was told the older will serve the younger, which was wrong, you know, culturally. That's not what happens. As it is written, Jacob, the younger I loved, but Esau, the older I hated. What shall we say then?

Is there injustice on God's part? In other words, is God unfair? What does he say? He says in Greek, it's meganitoi, which is the strongest negation. By no means, absolutely not. No way, no chance. 100 false.

For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. In other words, God's not obligated to have mercy on anyone. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, not on what we do or what we think or how we try, but on God who has mercy.

For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose, I have raised you up that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth so that he has mercy on whomever he wills.

And the implication is he did not have mercy on Pharaoh and he hardens whomever he wills. In other words, he actively hardened Pharaoh's heart. And listen, here's the key. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault?

For who can resist his will? In other words, if God's that sovereign, if he only has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy on, how can he judge anyone? It's not fair. If he's chosen from the foundations of the world to only save some and to leave others in their sin, that's not fair.

Everybody deserves a fair chance, which leads to Arminianism. But verse 20 kind of blows Arminianism out of the water. Paul says, but who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, why have you made me like this?

Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? And we'll close with this. This is God's world. Everything in it. The entire universe.

And we are part of that universe and part of that world. If God says, out of Steve, I will make something honorable. And out of, you know, my imaginary brother, Stan, I will make something dishonorable.

Can Stan then say, well, that's not fair. You didn't treat me like you did Steve. And the answer is no. Of the natural order of things. Yeah, I mean, and that's 100 correct. And we would understand that even not just here in Romans 9, but we really do have to close.

But if I were to just say, let's read Ephesians chapter one. And we see the great work of the triune God, father, son and spirit in saving some. And we go, that is wonderful. That is marvelous. Just like Paul did when he sort of exploded with this praise.

Right. And then it's almost as if when he gets done with Ephesians chapter one, he thinks to himself, OK. Maybe I need to go back to the beginning. I mean, I'm just making this up. But if you read Ephesians one and then Ephesians two, why is it that Ephesians two starts out with.

And you talking to these believers where he's just talked about this magnificent work of the triune God says you were dead in your sins and trespasses. Right. You walked according to the power of Satan.

You did. You were his children. You followed him. You were a child of wrath. You were in the procession as it were on your way to hell. Then verse four, but God. Right. He intercepts. He changes. He changes everything.

Why? Because he's a God of love and mercy and compassion. And he saves us, adopts us, makes us his children, and then gives us good works to do. Why? So that he might receive all the glory. That's it.

I mean, that's Ephesians one and two. That's Romans nine. That's what all this is. We need a close father. We thank you for this time that we've had this morning to look at your word, to see how you work in salvation.

We thank you that you would take us, transform us, make us your own, adopt us as your children. And we praise you for that. In Jesus name. Amen.