Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
A very interesting post by Andy Underhile on God’s sovereignty:
John 11:49-52 tells us, “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.”
This is an amazing text. It demonstrates, quite emphatically the sovereignty of God over men’s wills – even over the wicked. Even enemies of God, who hate Him and wish to rebel against His will, are still under His sovereign power and cannot so much as move apart from Him. Moreover, they are often used, unwittingly and unwillingly, as instruments for the very plans of God they wish to frustrate. …Read More!
To deny the Sovereignty of God, people always first come up with this question-“If God is Sovereign, why do anything?” But what does the Bible say regarding God’s Sovereignty and human responsibility?
Fatalism
God’s sovereignty, as I am convinced the Bible teaches it, means that God has fore-ordained everything that happens. Before creation, God planned and decided (‘ordained’) the entire course of human history down to the smallest details. All circumstances in time are therefore the outworking of God’s plan which He decreed in eternity.
In light of this, a common objection is ‘If God has already decided what will happen, then why should I do anything? We don’t control history anyway. Therefore, we can just sit back and do nothing.’ The objector is saying that the logical outcome of belief in the absolute sovereignty of God is what we will call ‘indifferent fatalism’–the view that we should do nothing since God controls everything.
How are we to answer the objection of the indifferent fatalist? Why doesn’t belief in God’s absolute sovereignty lead to indifferent fatalism? And if God is absolutely sovereign, how can our choices have real meaning? These are very good questions that a proper understanding of God’s sovereignty will answer. Read More…
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 