Doubly Dead
Tonight is going to be a little different from most nights. Instead of a sermon, I’d like this to be more of a Bible study. Instead of bouncing all over Scripture we will be primarily going over the epistle of Jude. Jude is a small epistle consisting of only 1 chapter. However, in that 1 chapter is a very important lesson that we all need to learn. It is the subject of apostates and false teachers within the Church.
Read Jude 1-13
Jude 1
Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
First of all, we see that it was Jude who wrote this epistle. As it is written in verse 1, we can see that Jude is the brother of James. However, James was not his only brother.
Matthew 13:55
Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
As we can clearly see, Jude was also the brother of Jesus. Some doubt Jude’s family ties by saying he would have mentioned Jesus instead of James in this verse. However, it is commonly held to that James was simply practicing humility. He could have clearly bragged about his relations with Christ but instead, he lowered himself to nothing more than a bond servant. If we look at James 1:1, we can see James describes himself in the exact same way.
Knowing who it is written by is equally as important as knowing who it is written to. Verse 1 tells us it is written to believers. This was not a message for anybody who had ears. It had an intended audience. Jude had a word for believers and, by God’s grace, we are able to read it tonight. Notice how it describes believers. It does not simply give an Arminian tag such as “one who chose Christ” or “one who sticks around.” It goes much deeper than that. Anybody who has ever had the chance to speak with me knows that I am a 5 Point Calvinist through and through. This is because I firmly believe this to be the Truth of Scripture. In fact, even Jude 1 appears to stand in favor. It says he is writing to those who are called and those who are kept for Jesus Christ. What exactly is meant by these words?
1 Corinthians 1:1a
Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
John 10:3
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Revelation 17:14
"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."
Romans 8:30
and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
We can see those who are called are much more than just publicly invited to something. As per Revelation, they are also chosen. As per Romans, they are predestined. Jesus is the Shepherd. He knows his sheep by name. He chose us before the foundation of the world to be His. We have been called by God.
John 17:11
I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
John 10:28
and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
1 Peter 1:5
who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
John 6:37 & 39
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out…This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
Not only are all believers called by God before they come to Him, once called, they are also kept by God in Christ. No one can snatch us out of God’s hand. It is His will that, if we are given to Christ by the Father, we will also be raised up on the last day. Our salvation begins and ends with God.
Jude 2
May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.
This is a very common opening that we see in many of the other epistles. However, it is not merely an introduction. They are all promises of God. It is only by His mercy and grace that we, as wretched sinners who were bound for Hell, are saved at all.
Ephesians 2:13-14a
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace,
Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
1 Peter 5:7
casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
We can clearly see that Scripture calls God our peace. We are called to be anxious for nothing. If we have any concerns at all, we are to cast them on God. He cares so much for us that He wants to take every bit of anxiety away from us so that He can be our complete peace.
Jude 3
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Here, we can see Jude is urging his fellow believers to contend earnestly for their faith. Paul used similar wording in his epistles.
1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of faith;
1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
Though we are contending for our faith, it is not something that we are striving to obtain.
Hebrews 10:10
By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Romans 8:30
and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Notice that it speaks of sanctification, justification, and glorification in the past tense. Saving faith is something that has already been completed in us through Christ once and for all. The faith for which we are contending is simply our walk with God. Paul urges us in 1 Corinthians to not continue in sin for the sake of abounding in grace. We are to increase in our love for God, walk with God, and knowledge of God. This is only accomplished by continually staying in the Word as well as being in fellowship with other mature believers.
Jude 4
For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
False teachers were all over the place. In fact, they are still all over the place. We see numerous places in Scripture where they are spoken of as having infiltrated the Church in a silent manner.
Galatians 2:4
But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.
2 Peter 2:1
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
Their goal was to learn about our ways so that they could pretend to be like us while pulling others astray. They introduce destructive heresies and teach things that take glory away from God and place it elsewhere. These people were getting to know their enemy so to speak even if they may not have thought about it in that way.
1 Peter 2:8
and,
"A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE";
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
Romans 9:22
What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
John 17:12
While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
These men were not here by accident. They were appointed by God’s sovereign will to be the foul apostates that they were. Even Judas Iscariot is described as the son of perdition. His whole purpose was to be destroyed. The Greek for “of perdition” is apōleia (ä-pō'-lā-ä). It literally means annihilation. He was created to betray Jesus and then be completely and thoroughly destroyed. It goes so far as to say he was a child of utter annihilation. He was born to it. In all of this, God’s glory is made known through his power and wrath.
Jude 5
Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.
Jude speaks of the future of unbelievers. This goes hand in hand with my lesson last week on God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Though all things are set in motion and held in place by God, the unbeliever destroys himself in his rejection of God and constant state of sin. We don’t hear about Hell very often in the Church today. Jonathan Edwards gave a sermon in 1741 called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Over the years, while being acknowledged as one of the most powerful sermons of all times, it has been the subject of backlash among bitter Christians who desire a feel good Gospel. Not only is this a doctrine that we should know but it is also a doctrine that needs repeating.
2 Peter 1:12
Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.
A pattern you might notice in my lessons is that I quote many verses over and over again over a period of time. I also touch on many core doctrines repeatedly. There is nothing wrong with this. Both Peter and Jude were under the impression that despite already knowing a teaching, it is important to repeat them and remind fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jude 6
And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
Here, Jude refers to another group who rebelled against God and will one day be destroyed for it. It is the fallen angels who followed after Satan.
Isaiah 14:12-15
How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
But you said in your heart,
'I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.'
Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit.
Revelation 12:4a
And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth
2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;
Most of us know the story of the fall of the angels. Lucifer was an angel who rebelled against God and, in fact, wanted to be God. As a result of his disobedience and rebellion, he was cast out of heaven and 1/3 of the angels were cast out with him because they chose to follow Satan instead of God.
Jude 7
just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
Jude continues with his theme of the relationship of rebellion and destruction. Just as God will destroy the fallen angels, He also destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah by fire for their perverted lists, homosexuality, etc. We will be held accountable for our actions. While sin can be satisfying to the flesh at the time, we will reap nothing but death from it.
Jude 8
Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.
The “these men” that Jude speaks of are the same men he spoke of in verse 4. They are the apostates who are in the Church posing as brothers and sisters in Christ. Jude just finished speaking poorly of the fallen angels as well as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Note that he now refers to these men as performing many of the same acts. Yet somehow these men are within the Church! It may seem hard to believe that someone like this could possibly blend in among us but it happens all the time. This is why we need to know how to spot them. We need to stay grounded in the Word so that we can know what the Truth really is.
Jude 10
But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.
Verse 8 said these men speak harshly of angelic majesties and of God. Verse 10 goes on to say that, despite being in the Church and acting like a Christian, these men do not understand the ways of the Church. If they truly understood, they wouldn’t have been acting the way they were.
1 Corinthians 2:14
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
All they know is the evil of their unregenerate nature and that is the very thing that destroys them. In the end, they will be held accountable. This man sins abundantly so that grace may abound. Paul tells us this is the exact opposite of how a Christian is to live his life.
Jude 12-13
These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
There is a lot to be said in these 2 verses. On the surface, a lot of it can be confusing due to all the metaphors. Because of this, we are going to break it all down.
Jude 12a
These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves;
Ezekiel 34:2b
'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
These men care only for themselves. They don’t care about the Christians within the Church nor do they help them when in a time of need. They blend in with us but only take for themselves. They look out for #1 so to speak.
Jude 12b
clouds without water,
Proverbs 25:14
Like clouds and wind without rain
Is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.
Just like clouds without rain, these men are empty on the inside and serve no purpose. They revile the things of God yet often claim to be holier than thou.
Jude 12c
carried along by winds;
Ephesians 4:14
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
They are not rooted in the Word but go with many new doctrines and blow every which way. Look out at the overgrown grass in a field on a windy day. The grass will sway in one direction for a little while but, before you know it, it begins swaying in a different direction. As the wind changes direction, so the grass changes with it. The same is said of the men Jude is referring to. There is no absolute truth to these men. There is only what tickles their fancy at the time. There is no root. We are not to be like these men. We are to be rooted in the Word.
Jude 12d
autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
Now picture the trees toward the end of autumn. The leaves begin to fall off. In fact, most trees can even look as if they are dead. If you didn’t know any better, you would guess it was never going to be green again. However, in time, leaves begin to sprout and flowers begin to blossom. It is not so with these men. Not only do they appear to be dead on the outside, they are truly dead on the inside. They have no root in Christ at all. This should not come as any surprise.
Matthew 15:13
But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.
If we remember earlier, Scripture plainly told us that these men are not here by accident. They may be responsible for their current status but they were appointed by God long beforehand to bring God glory through His wrath. They may be silently wreaking havoc within the Church for now but there will come a day when God will uproot every one of them and destroy them. Though they may not be physically uprooted, spiritually speaking, they are already dead. In fact, Scripture refers to them as doubly dead; dead on the outside and dead on the inside. There is no fruit on a plant that has no root. These men are the ones Christ refers to when he speaks of the unforgivable sin in Matthew 12. They have no hope. They have seen the grace of God in the Church. They have broken bread with Christians. They have enjoyed the blessings of the Church. Despite all of this, they do not understand the things of the Spirit, do not have faith in Christ, and revile the things of God. There is no hope whatsoever of them ever coming to repentance and there is no other way to deal with them but to cast them out of the Church as one would pull a weed from a garden. The problem is spotting them.
I am reminded of the garden my wife was trying to grow. She had planted a few different types of seeds and flowers. Over time, the seeds sprouted and things started to grow. She was particularly proud of one of them that seemed to grow more than the rest. She didn’t remember planting it but she thought it was a wild plant that happened to land there somehow. She looked it up and came to the conclusion that it was a certain type. This thing grew to be as tall as our children. One day we had a neighbor over. He asked us why on earth we had a weed that was as tall as that one. My wife was shocked and slightly embarrassed. Neither of us knew what it was. In fact, we thought it was something it wasn’t. Yet somehow, this friend was able spot it for what it really was; a weed. Sometimes things are able to blend in and seem like the real deal while, in reality, they are doing nothing more than killing what is around it while thriving on its own.
Jude 13a
wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam;
Isaiah 57:20-21
But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
"There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."
These men are not at peace. Jude calls them wild waves of the sea. They have no control or order to them. They crash about randomly on their own with no guidance.
Romans 1:22
Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Philippians 3:19
whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.
Proverbs 15:21
Folly is joy to him who lacks sense,
But a man of understanding walks straight.
They boast in their own folly. They profess to be wise as if it will make them look prominent. However, it is this same “wisdom” that brings them shame and destroys them.
Jude 13b
wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
As we covered in the beginning:
1 Peter 2:8
and,
"A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE";
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
John 17:12
"While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
Romans 9:22
What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
Not only are these false teachers/apostates bound for Hell but, in God’s sovereignty, it is actually reserved for them!
Do not be like these men. We are called to live for God and serve Him with everything we have. If we say we love God, truly act it out in our every day lives. Be careful in the things you teach to another and always check yourself to make sure that you are God-oriented and not self-oriented. Learn to spot those whom Jude was speaking of so that you can accomplish what he so strongly urges.
Jude 3
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
#33) Choose Responsibly
Choose Responsibly
Tonight’s lesson is going to cover quite a bit regarding the sovereignty of God. In particular, we are going to go over man’s role in regards to the sovereignty of God. There are 3 basic positions on the subject.
1) If man has free will, God cannot truly be sovereign
2) If God is sovereign, man cannot be held accountable for his actions as he has no free will
3) God is sovereign yet man is still accountable for his actions
I cling to the 3rd option. By the end of this lesson, it is my hope that all of you will as well. Before we get into man, we must begin with God. We know God is sovereign because the Scriptures tell us so. Before we go into the Scriptural backing, let’s define sovereign. Dictionary.com defines sovereign as “having supreme rank, power, or authority.”
Psalm 103:19
The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.
Ephesians 1:11
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
Job 42:2
I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
2 Chronicles 20:6
and he said, "O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.
We can clearly see that God is in control at all times. All things work after the counsel of His will according to His purpose and His purpose can never be thwarted.
John Piper
It is not merely that God has the power and right to govern all things but that He does so always and without exception.
This sovereignty flows into all areas. Nothing escapes it. Psalm 103:19 said His sovereignty rules over all.
Proverbs 16:33
The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the LORD.
Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
Psalm 135:6-7
Whatever the LORD pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who makes lightnings for the rain,
Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
Galatians 1:15-16a
But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles
Most people don’t take issue with the teaching of God’s sovereignty so long as it is spoken of in these terms. Up until now, all the verses have been describing God and leaving man out of the picture. Man naturally likes to live a guilt free life. Nobody likes a buzz kill. It is unfortunate that, even in the Church, God is viewed as sovereign so long He does not interfere with our own free will. This concept is unbiblical. Not only does heaven and earth fall under the sovereignty of God but so do we as people. The Lord rules over all things; even mankind.
Acts 2:23
this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
Even the crucifixion was ordained by God. Notice what is taking place in the verse above. It says that godless men will put him to death. Godless men will nail him to a cross. Both of these things imply man will make the choice to perform a wicked act. However, take note that it only takes place because of the predetermined plan of God. It also speaks of His foreknowledge. Don’t be confused. God didn’t ordain His plan based on choices He knew man would make. Rather, He knew the choices man would make because He foreordained it to be so.
Acts 4:27-28
For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
This just drives home the previous point. Both Herod and Pontius Pilate had gathered together to go against Christ. In fact, they were not alone. It says the Gentiles and people of Israel had gathered as well. There were countless people rising up against Christ. This was of their own doing and their own choices. They had made the decision to put Jesus to death for his claims. Again, however, notice that it says they were only doing whatever God’s hand and purpose had predestined to occur. While they were making their own choices in life, there was only one way it would play out. God had decreed it to be so and that was the end of it.
Another example in Scripture of God’s sovereignty mixing with man’s choices is in the story of Joseph.
Genesis 37:18-22
When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer! "Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, 'A wild beast devoured him.' Then let us see what will become of his dreams!" But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, "Let us not take his life." Reuben further said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him"--that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.
This entire discussion is between Joseph’s brothers. There discussion is not being coerced or pushed in any direction. It is not being moderated. They are freely coming up with a plan to murder Joseph. At the same time, Reuben takes it upon himself to talk them into sparing his life and throwing him into a dry ditch instead. On the surface, it appears they are free to do as they wished with nothing else to lean on other than their own desires. While it is true that they were coming up with this plan on their own, there is more to the story.
Genesis 50:20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
Joseph was rescued, sold into slavery, and eventually took on a prestigious position under the pharaoh. None of this was by accident. Scripture is clear that God had a plan and that plan was good.
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
While Joseph’s brothers were free in the choices they made and the actions they took, they only made these choices because God had decreed it to be so. God is always in charge. Sometimes he actively takes part in an event such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah whereas most times, He allows man to freely make decisions and choices. However, even when left to freely make decisions, they are always within the constraints of God’s sovereign plan and purpose.
Ask congregation if they believe God’s sovereignty is limited in any way.
Ask congregation if they believe God’s sovereignty is limited in salvation.
A.W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God
To argue that God is "trying His best" to save all mankind, but that the vast majority of men will not let Him save them, is to imply that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the creature is omnipotent.
Acts 13:48b
and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
While I firmly believe salvation falls under the sovereign decrees of God, I don’t intend on getting into a lesson on God’s Election tonight. While it is true that only those whom God has called unto Himself will respond to the call of Christ, I want to focus on those whom He does not call unto Himself. Are these men condemned because of God? Should they be given a free pass? Can they possibly be guilty if they were never given a fair chance or opportunity? No, no, and yes!
While they are indeed condemned, it is certainly not because of God. These men will never choose Christ because God has ordained that they will not but this does not mean God is responsible. Each man is still held accountable for his actions as we saw earlier in the cases of the crucifixion as well as Joseph. There is no free pass to be given because each man is guilty to begin with. The term used to describe man’s responsibility despite God’s sovereignty is compatibilism.
Ezekiel 18:20
The person who sins will die The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
Matthew 12:37
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
John 9:41
Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.
James 1:13
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
We can see a clear distinction being taught between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. While there is no doubt that God is sovereign and all things only come to pass because He ordained it to be so, it is equally as true that man makes his own choices without being forced. His choice will always be the outcome that God decreed but man will gladly make it. This is because man is bound by his nature and that nature is wretched and fallen.
Genesis 8:21b
for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth;
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
John 3:19
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
John 3:20a
For everyone who does evil hates the Light
We simply follow our nature. Before salvation, Romans tells us we were slaves to sin. We had to choice but to give our all to sin. However, this was not a grudging state as we did it with pleasure. Our hearts were evil. Our hearts were deceitful. Our deeds were evil and we hated the Light. We hid from the Light lest our evil deeds should be exposed (John 3:20). Our natural inclination was to sin. We were in bondage to sin but we enjoyed every minute of it. This is why we are still found guilty for our sins despite following God’s sovereignly decreed plan.
Romans 6:22-23a
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death,
While once enslaved to sin, we are now enslaved to God. The unregenerate man, despite being in full accord with God’s sovereign decrees, is still found guilty and deserves death. He works as a slave to sin and, as a result, he will be paid death for wages. It is what we all deserved as we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Thankfully, God chose us and called us unto Himself. This does not make us perfect but it does make us His own. When we sin, we are covered by the blood of Christ.
Romans 5:9
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Romans 8:30
and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
We still sin daily in our battle with the flesh but we will not see Hell for it. We have been justified by the blood of Christ. His blood alone has fully atoned for our sins. There is no more debt. The blood was substitutionary.
Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
Just because we are covered by the blood does not mean we are to abuse our justification. Paul makes it very clear that we are not to sin so that the grace we fall under may increase. We are free from sinning. This is where we differ from the unregenerate man. We have a new nature in Christ whereas he does not.
Ask congregation if they love God.
Ask congregation if they feel they are being forced to love Him unwillingly.
Just as we love God and desire to serve Him with all we have so does the unregenerate man hate God and desires to hide from the Light. Even if an unsaved individual says he is not at war with anyone, his refusal to submit to the authority of God proves otherwise. A man cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). He is either for God or he is against God (Matthew 12:30). Both sides serve their masters willingly yet both sides do so only because God has declared and ordained it to be so. God is sovereign yet we are responsible.
John Calvin, Bondage and Liberation of the Will
…we allow that man has choice and that it is self-determined, so that if he does anything evil, it should be imputed to him and to his own voluntary choosing. We do away with coercion and force, because this contradicts the nature of the will and cannot coexist with it. We deny that choice is free, because through man’s innate wickedness it is of necessity driven to what is evil and cannot seek anything but evil. And from this it is possible to deduce what a great difference there is between necessity and coercion. For we do not say that man is dragged unwillingly into sinning, but that because his will is corrupt he is held captive under the yoke of sin and therefore of necessity will in an evil way. For where there is bondage, there is necessity. But it makes a great difference whether the bondage is voluntary or coerced. We locate the necessity to sin precisely in corruption of the will, from which follows that it is self-determined.
Tonight’s lesson is going to cover quite a bit regarding the sovereignty of God. In particular, we are going to go over man’s role in regards to the sovereignty of God. There are 3 basic positions on the subject.
1) If man has free will, God cannot truly be sovereign
2) If God is sovereign, man cannot be held accountable for his actions as he has no free will
3) God is sovereign yet man is still accountable for his actions
I cling to the 3rd option. By the end of this lesson, it is my hope that all of you will as well. Before we get into man, we must begin with God. We know God is sovereign because the Scriptures tell us so. Before we go into the Scriptural backing, let’s define sovereign. Dictionary.com defines sovereign as “having supreme rank, power, or authority.”
Psalm 103:19
The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.
Ephesians 1:11
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
Job 42:2
I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
2 Chronicles 20:6
and he said, "O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.
We can clearly see that God is in control at all times. All things work after the counsel of His will according to His purpose and His purpose can never be thwarted.
John Piper
It is not merely that God has the power and right to govern all things but that He does so always and without exception.
This sovereignty flows into all areas. Nothing escapes it. Psalm 103:19 said His sovereignty rules over all.
Proverbs 16:33
The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the LORD.
Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
Psalm 135:6-7
Whatever the LORD pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who makes lightnings for the rain,
Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
Galatians 1:15-16a
But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles
Most people don’t take issue with the teaching of God’s sovereignty so long as it is spoken of in these terms. Up until now, all the verses have been describing God and leaving man out of the picture. Man naturally likes to live a guilt free life. Nobody likes a buzz kill. It is unfortunate that, even in the Church, God is viewed as sovereign so long He does not interfere with our own free will. This concept is unbiblical. Not only does heaven and earth fall under the sovereignty of God but so do we as people. The Lord rules over all things; even mankind.
Acts 2:23
this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
Even the crucifixion was ordained by God. Notice what is taking place in the verse above. It says that godless men will put him to death. Godless men will nail him to a cross. Both of these things imply man will make the choice to perform a wicked act. However, take note that it only takes place because of the predetermined plan of God. It also speaks of His foreknowledge. Don’t be confused. God didn’t ordain His plan based on choices He knew man would make. Rather, He knew the choices man would make because He foreordained it to be so.
Acts 4:27-28
For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
This just drives home the previous point. Both Herod and Pontius Pilate had gathered together to go against Christ. In fact, they were not alone. It says the Gentiles and people of Israel had gathered as well. There were countless people rising up against Christ. This was of their own doing and their own choices. They had made the decision to put Jesus to death for his claims. Again, however, notice that it says they were only doing whatever God’s hand and purpose had predestined to occur. While they were making their own choices in life, there was only one way it would play out. God had decreed it to be so and that was the end of it.
Another example in Scripture of God’s sovereignty mixing with man’s choices is in the story of Joseph.
Genesis 37:18-22
When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer! "Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, 'A wild beast devoured him.' Then let us see what will become of his dreams!" But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, "Let us not take his life." Reuben further said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him"--that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.
This entire discussion is between Joseph’s brothers. There discussion is not being coerced or pushed in any direction. It is not being moderated. They are freely coming up with a plan to murder Joseph. At the same time, Reuben takes it upon himself to talk them into sparing his life and throwing him into a dry ditch instead. On the surface, it appears they are free to do as they wished with nothing else to lean on other than their own desires. While it is true that they were coming up with this plan on their own, there is more to the story.
Genesis 50:20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
Joseph was rescued, sold into slavery, and eventually took on a prestigious position under the pharaoh. None of this was by accident. Scripture is clear that God had a plan and that plan was good.
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
While Joseph’s brothers were free in the choices they made and the actions they took, they only made these choices because God had decreed it to be so. God is always in charge. Sometimes he actively takes part in an event such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah whereas most times, He allows man to freely make decisions and choices. However, even when left to freely make decisions, they are always within the constraints of God’s sovereign plan and purpose.
Ask congregation if they believe God’s sovereignty is limited in any way.
Ask congregation if they believe God’s sovereignty is limited in salvation.
A.W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God
To argue that God is "trying His best" to save all mankind, but that the vast majority of men will not let Him save them, is to imply that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the creature is omnipotent.
Acts 13:48b
and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
While I firmly believe salvation falls under the sovereign decrees of God, I don’t intend on getting into a lesson on God’s Election tonight. While it is true that only those whom God has called unto Himself will respond to the call of Christ, I want to focus on those whom He does not call unto Himself. Are these men condemned because of God? Should they be given a free pass? Can they possibly be guilty if they were never given a fair chance or opportunity? No, no, and yes!
While they are indeed condemned, it is certainly not because of God. These men will never choose Christ because God has ordained that they will not but this does not mean God is responsible. Each man is still held accountable for his actions as we saw earlier in the cases of the crucifixion as well as Joseph. There is no free pass to be given because each man is guilty to begin with. The term used to describe man’s responsibility despite God’s sovereignty is compatibilism.
Ezekiel 18:20
The person who sins will die The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
Matthew 12:37
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
John 9:41
Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.
James 1:13
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
We can see a clear distinction being taught between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. While there is no doubt that God is sovereign and all things only come to pass because He ordained it to be so, it is equally as true that man makes his own choices without being forced. His choice will always be the outcome that God decreed but man will gladly make it. This is because man is bound by his nature and that nature is wretched and fallen.
Genesis 8:21b
for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth;
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
John 3:19
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
John 3:20a
For everyone who does evil hates the Light
We simply follow our nature. Before salvation, Romans tells us we were slaves to sin. We had to choice but to give our all to sin. However, this was not a grudging state as we did it with pleasure. Our hearts were evil. Our hearts were deceitful. Our deeds were evil and we hated the Light. We hid from the Light lest our evil deeds should be exposed (John 3:20). Our natural inclination was to sin. We were in bondage to sin but we enjoyed every minute of it. This is why we are still found guilty for our sins despite following God’s sovereignly decreed plan.
Romans 6:22-23a
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death,
While once enslaved to sin, we are now enslaved to God. The unregenerate man, despite being in full accord with God’s sovereign decrees, is still found guilty and deserves death. He works as a slave to sin and, as a result, he will be paid death for wages. It is what we all deserved as we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Thankfully, God chose us and called us unto Himself. This does not make us perfect but it does make us His own. When we sin, we are covered by the blood of Christ.
Romans 5:9
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Romans 8:30
and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
We still sin daily in our battle with the flesh but we will not see Hell for it. We have been justified by the blood of Christ. His blood alone has fully atoned for our sins. There is no more debt. The blood was substitutionary.
Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
Just because we are covered by the blood does not mean we are to abuse our justification. Paul makes it very clear that we are not to sin so that the grace we fall under may increase. We are free from sinning. This is where we differ from the unregenerate man. We have a new nature in Christ whereas he does not.
Ask congregation if they love God.
Ask congregation if they feel they are being forced to love Him unwillingly.
Just as we love God and desire to serve Him with all we have so does the unregenerate man hate God and desires to hide from the Light. Even if an unsaved individual says he is not at war with anyone, his refusal to submit to the authority of God proves otherwise. A man cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). He is either for God or he is against God (Matthew 12:30). Both sides serve their masters willingly yet both sides do so only because God has declared and ordained it to be so. God is sovereign yet we are responsible.
John Calvin, Bondage and Liberation of the Will
…we allow that man has choice and that it is self-determined, so that if he does anything evil, it should be imputed to him and to his own voluntary choosing. We do away with coercion and force, because this contradicts the nature of the will and cannot coexist with it. We deny that choice is free, because through man’s innate wickedness it is of necessity driven to what is evil and cannot seek anything but evil. And from this it is possible to deduce what a great difference there is between necessity and coercion. For we do not say that man is dragged unwillingly into sinning, but that because his will is corrupt he is held captive under the yoke of sin and therefore of necessity will in an evil way. For where there is bondage, there is necessity. But it makes a great difference whether the bondage is voluntary or coerced. We locate the necessity to sin precisely in corruption of the will, from which follows that it is self-determined.
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