This
question of divine sovereignty and human responsibility so often
comes up in the life of a Christian. It seems Christians are always
trying to figure out where human responsibility begins and where does
sovereignty end. Let's remember sovereignty never ends. But if you
had to pick one which one takes priority?
The
common objection to God's sovereignty is the argument of man's free
will. The argument usually transpires into: Man has to have a free
will otherwise he would just be a robot.
I
believe this issue is really important because if we do not take the
time to think through this issue we will just throw things out that
may or may not be biblical. This issue is very complex you have to
examine the whole counsel of God's word. It takes more than a word,
it takes more than one single verse , it takes more than pop culture
Christianity evangelicalism nomenclature. It just takes more. This is
why systematic theology is good. In other words, what does the Bible
teach from Genesis to Revelation in a systematized way of how both
the sovereignty of God and human responsibility coexist within God's
Word. Mankind is responsible yet God reigns or rules over all. Psalm
103.
Whosoever believes....
Romans
10
9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved. 10 For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture
says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the
same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13
For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be
saved.”
Whosoever
is not in the original text. Literally it is "those believing"
but it is true that whoever it might be, whether you're a Jew or
Gentile, whether your slave or free, whether you're male or female,
if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, if you do believe, you will be
saved. This is true.
In
the early 1700s if you did not believe in the five points of
Calvinism you were on the outside. Unlike today where pretty much
everybody is three and a half or four point Calvinist and that would
be the mainstream. There is however, a resurgence today of Reformed
doctrine thanks to theologians like James Boyce, RC Sproul, John
MacArthur, John Piper.
So
today, within the evangelical church in America, the views of five
point Calvinism has flipped. The majority of the Evangelical church
does not believe in the five points of Calvinism.
So
this blog is not to say that if you are a three and three-and-a-half
point or four point Calvinist that you're not regenerate. In fact you
can believe all five points or none of the 5 points and be
unregenerate but that is another point. This is why we train our kids
so they can grow up believing all the right stuff, but God still has
to sovereignly regenerate them.
I
think after you dwell on this subject and you look at the body of
Scripture on this subject, at the end of the day, you will have to
tip your hat to the sovereignty of God. So let us wrestle with the
issue of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Are they both
true? What does the Bible say about this?
First of all no one disagrees on either side of the issue that there is tension within God's Word. This is not the only area of issue that has tension. Take for instance the God-Man. There is tension there. We are finite creatures and we're trying to comprehend the infinite. The only way we can think about the infinite, in particular, is when God reveals himself, his thinking, his work and his person within the pages of scripture. Even though there is tension this tension is reconcilable in the mind of God even if in our minds they are not reconcilable.
I
really believe as a person matures in the Christian faith, I think
they come to the point where they will allow for two truths that seem
irreconcilable to our finite minds. A believer who understands both
of these biblical truths lie side by side within scripture, and does
not not have to have complete mental closure on the issue. In the
words of the Beatles you, “let it be”.
So
this blog will attempt to help you understand that both of these
truths are to be embraced and both of these truths within scripture
are undeniable. We will also see, as we go through this blog, that
God does not attempt to explain these truths fully. There is no
formal explanation.
You'll
see as we dissect this issue, the responsibility of man is to
believe, to repent, to follow, to trust, to forsake. The unbelieving
man must do those things. But we're also going to see within the same
context that no one can come to the Father unless He draws
them John
6:44.
There
is no embarrassment about the tension that lies within Scripture.
There is no reason to hide the truths that lie side by side. Instead
we should embrace these truths even with the tension.
We
will also try to show how these truths do not contradict each other.
There are no contradictions in the Bible. If in our finite minds we
can't figure something out, there seems to be a contradictions, but
these truths complement one another. Again, if you're tired of me
saying it, too bad!! God's sovereignty and human responsibility are
both truths. Hopefully after going through this blog you will not be
bothered by the tension any longer.
Charles
Spurgeon said: “I don't reconcile friends”. Speaking of this
issue of God's sovereignty and human responsibility.
Arthur
Pink said: “many have foolishly said it is quite impossible to show
where divine sovereignty ends and creature accountability begins.
Here is where creature accountability begins: in the sovereign
ordination of the creator. As to his sovereignty there is not and
never will be an end to it.”
I
do not deny responsibility and I certainly do not deny sovereignty.
The Bible will show us and give weight to the sovereignty of God and
elevates God the Creator infinitely. We will also see that the
creature, the sinful creature, the sinful finite creature, is going
to be responsible. This subject is humbling intellectually and
morally because it drives us away from ourselves. It is prideful to
elevate man's responsibility to the same sphere of God's sovereignty.
It is prideful to demand an answer. It is prideful to insist on
mental reconciliation. It is prideful to insist anything like it.
This should drive us to worship. This should make us think; how can
God be so great? Who is like him? Can you accept both truths? Can you
accept the priority of God over man?
Human Responsibility
What
is human responsibility? I will do something... I won't do something.
As humans we have wills. I would never say we don't have a wills. We
do have a will. But the fall has made that will fallen. The Bible
uses words that describe “the bondage of the will”. Adam and Eve
were created with a capacity or an ability to say yes or to say no.
They could say, “I will” or they could say “I won't”. Then
sin enters the picture. It effects their nature and therefore it
effects the will. The will however is not abolished in the fall. The
will still wills, but the will wills sinfully.
An Attempt to Define Human Responsibility, Synonyms for Responsibility:
Accountability
Everyone,
every creature, is accountable to God... Is answerable to God. We
will all give an account to God one day.
Obligation
We
have a duty. God gives us commands and as His creatures we are under
those commands and are accountable to divine law. If we obey there is
a reward. If we disobey there is punishment. Conclusion to this is to
fear God and keep His commandments.
Oughtness
We
ought to obey God. We ought to love God. We ought to love our
neighbor.
The
standard for this responsibility as outlined in the three part
definition of Responsibility.... Accountability.... Obligation and
Oughtness is God's
revealed will which is found in the Bible alone.
There
are two wills of God:
His Sovereign Will: Whatever is revealed in the universe is God's Sovereign Will.
And
His Revealed Will is found in Scripture.
An
unregenerate person can say Yes or No to decision/questions but when
we start talking about man's will, the real question begins... is
man's will free?
Most
discussions take this issue a one or two ways. Either man is free
fully or man is a robot. These are the only two options most of the
church gives for man's will. It is either one or the other. You have
a totally free will or you're an automaton robot.
The
real question should be... How free is man's will?
The
world limits man free will... Habits limit man's free will... Your
education limits man's free will... Your customs limit mans free
will... Ambitions limit man's free will…You get approval or
disapproval if you do something right or wrong, so this is a limiting
factor in man's free will as well.
Is
there such a thing as moral neutrality? Is fallen man is predisposed to
choose righteousness… choose goodness... choose Christ?
“Both good and evil men, though by their actions they fulfill the decrees and appointments of God, yet are not forcibly constrained to do anything, but act willingly.” Martin Luther
We
will start dissecting this issue in Part Two of this series...Stay
tuned
The Systematic Maniac
0 comments:
Post a Comment