pt3
4. God's sovereignty in salvation.
a. Matthew 11:25, 26. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
By these words Jesus teaches clearly the sovereignty of God in salvation. God hides the things of the kingdom of heaven from certain men, with the result that they are not saved. God reveals the things of the kingdom to other men, with the result that they are saved. Both the hiding and the revealing take place according to the sovereign will of God: "... for so it seemed good in thy sight."
b. Acts 16:14. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Lydia was saved. Although she was saved by means of the preaching of the apostle Paul, it was not Paul who saved her. Although Lydia believed Paul's preaching, Lydia did not save herself by the power of her own free will. Lydia's salvation was due to this, that the Lord opened her heart, as He does the heart of every sinner who is saved.
c. Romans 9:18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
The apostle Paul teaches here that God shows mercy to those men and women to whom He wills to show mercy. Since God's mercy is the cause of our salvation, we may understand Paul to be teaching here that God saves whom He wills to save. Not only that, but those who are not saved, are not saved because God hardens them in their sin and unbelief: "... and whom he will he hardeneth."
God's sovereignty in salvation is also clearly taught in a multitude of Scripture passages that speak of God efficaciously saving sinners. God does not just try to save sinners, all the while depending on their willingness to be saved. He does not attempt to save them but stand helplessly when they do not cooperate with Him by using their free will to be saved. He does not do His best to save sinners, always facing the real possibility that His best is not good enough and that the sinner may effectively resist His efforts to save him. No, God saves sinners, sovereignly, efficaciously, irresistibly. This is always how the Scriptures describe salvation.
d. Matthew 1:21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
e. I Corinthians 1:21. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
f. Ephesians 2:4, 5. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).
g. II Timothy 1:9. Who saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
h. II Timothy 1:12. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
That which Paul has committed to God is his soul's salvation. He is confident that God is able to keep that which he has committed to Him. What explains the confidence of Paul? How can he be sure that he will be kept in salvation notwithstanding the devil, the wicked world, and his own sinful flesh? He can have that confidence only because of his belief in God's sovereignty. Because God sovereignly brought him to salvation, he can be sure that God will also sovereignly preserve him in salvation.
5. God's sovereignty over the evils and adversities of earthly life.
There is a popular misconception today that only that which is good comes from the hand of God and is under the control of God. The bad things, the trouble, and earthly distresses, it is supposed, are the work of the devil. Health and prosperity come from God, while the sudden death of a young mother or the disaster caused by an earthquake are from the devil. The Bible teaches quite differently.
a. Genesis 50:20. But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Great calamity had befallen Joseph. He had been thrown into a pit, sold as a slave to Egypt, separated from family and friends, and even in Egypt imprisoned for a time. In his afflictions, Joseph never lost sight of the truth of the sovereignty of God. God, he says, was the One Who brought all those calamities to pass. And God did it for good. Not only did Joseph confess God's sovereignty, but it is plain that he enjoyed the comfort of the sovereignty of God.
b. Job 1:21. And Job said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Job 2:10. But he (Job) said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job spoke these words at a time in his life when he was enduring extreme suffering. He had lost all his earthly possessions, his cattle, his servants, and even his ten children. Satan and Job's enemies had been the instruments to bring this suffering into his life. But Job understood the truth of the sovereignty of God. Behind Satan and the wicked Sabeans and Chaldeans, Job saw the mighty hand of God. He does not say: "The Lord gave, and the devil and my enemies have now taken it all away." Oh no! "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away." Not only had Job received good at the hand of God (riches, cattle, servants, and children), but he had also received evil (the loss of all these things) from the hand of God.
6. God's sovereignty over sin and the sinner.
a. Genesis 45:7, 8. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Not only was it great suffering for Joseph that he was sold as a slave into Egypt, but his being sold was due to the sinfulness of his brothers. Yet, Joseph was able to see the sovereignty of God ruling even over the sinful deed of his brothers. Very really it was the brothers who had sent Joseph down into Egypt. But Joseph, because he understood the truth of God's sovereignty, teaches that it was God Who had sent him down to Egypt.
b. II Samuel 16:10. And the king (David) said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? So let him (Shimei) curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
At the time David spoke these words, he was fleeing from his own son Absalom who had usurped the throne. Added to his suffering of having to flee for his life from his own son, he was also made to suffer the reproach and blasphemy of wicked Shimei. Two of David's faithful captains, the brothers Joab and Abishai, wanted to kill Shimei for his wicked reproach of David. But David forbade them because "... the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David." Behind the sinful deed of Shimei, David saw the sovereign hand of God. David was content that the sovereign God would avenge the sin of Shimei in His own time and in His own way.
c. Isaiah 45:7. I form the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
In this passage the Lord Himself is speaking. He affirms His sovereignty over evil: "I ... create evil." If the Lord creates evil, certainly He is sovereign over the evil.
d. Amos 3:6. Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it?
As certainly as the blowing of the warning trumpet made the inhabitants of a city afraid of the attack of the enemy; so certainly when there is evil in a city, that evil is brought by the Lord. The Lord appoints the evil, brings the evil, and controls the evil.
e. Luke 22:22. And truly the Son of Man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed.
Acts 2:23. Him (Christ) being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.
Both of these texts teach the sovereignty of God over the very worst sin ever committed - the crucifying of Jesus Christ. Wicked men crucified Him and were to blame, to be sure, for their sinful deed. But even Christ's crucifixion took place according to the sovereign appointment and under the almighty control of God. If God was sovereign over the worst sin, certainly He is sovereign over all sin.
Rev. Ronald Cammenga and Rev. Ronald Hanko
This extract from “Saved by Grace” is posted with permission from its publisher, Reformed Free Publishing Association, Grandville, Michigan.
Next: Chapter I Sovereignty of God - C. Objections