Revisiting the Biblical tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility – thoughts from D. A. Carson

Heard a sermon today that left me pondering, among other things, the long-felt tension between God’s sovereignty (and the extent of his sovereignty, but we’ll leave that one alone) and man’s responsibility, primarily in the sphere of salvation.  A book on the subject that I’ve turned to over the years is D. A. Carson’s Divine Sovereignty & Human Responsibility: Biblical perspectives in tension.  For my sake, and perhaps yours, I’ve decided that it’s my responsibility today to record here in this blog several sections from this book.

And lest you, the reader, think that this is one very dry topic and you’ll now turn elsewhere to find something more refreshing, Carson’s handling of the topic is really good, his writing really is interesting, and the topic really is relevant to every moment of your life and mine.

The first quotation comes from the introduction:

Sermon recommendation: John MacArthur on “A True Knowledge of the True God”

I made a quick trip to Rapid City this evening to pick up some materials for a basement finish job that we’re doing (as Sundberg Builders), and took the opportunity to listen to a 2-part sermon by John MacArthur that I received in the mail this past week.  He started in Acts 17 with Paul in Athens addressing the Athenians about their worship of “the unknown god,” and he drew some excellent parallels with the world and the Church today, which makes sense since we as human beings are and always have been the same in our depravity, our desires, our capacity for good and evil, and our religious tendencies to need to worship something or someone.

Anyway, I highly recommend giving these sermons a listen, and they are available on the Grace to You website at these links (to watch, listen, read, download, etc.):

A True Knowledge of the True God, Part 1

A True Knowledge of the True God, Part 2

By the way, MacArthur, being the “theological watchdog” that he is, names names of modern preachers who knowingly or unknowingly align themselves with the pantheistic Athenians of the first century, and pass themselves off as “Christian” preachers and teachers.  Hey, someone has to have the courage to call a spade a spade!

The rich man, Lazarus…and Abraham – reflections on a parable

It occurred to me this morning that there are three main characters in the parable found in Luke 16:19-31 that we usually refer to as “The rich man and Lazarus,” and they are the rich man, Lazarus…and Abraham.

In verse 25 Abraham responds to the rich man’s plea for mercy from Hades and says, “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.”  What’s his point?  This rich man had a life of great ease in this world, and Lazarus didn’t, and now their roles are reversed for the balance of eternity.

But what also occurred to me was that while we tend to focus (probably rightly) on the rich man’s wealth, Abraham was also a man of great wealth (check out Genesis 13:3; 14:14; 24:1, for example), perhaps even greater than the rich man in this parable.  The difference, I think, is what each man did with his wealth.  The issue is not the wealth (or the poverty), for both come from God and are by his decision (see, for example, Job 1:20-21 and 2:9-10).  The issue is what they (and we) do with the wealth that comes from God’s hand.  If we keep it for ourselves and spend it on ourselves to ensure that we have a life of ease, then this parable has a direct application to our lives now and into eternity.

Granted, what we do with our wealth is not the only thing that God evaluates us on, but it is an accurate litmus test of where our loyalty lies and whom or what we are trusting in.  And speaking of whom we should be trusting in, Jesus thought it was important enough to tell this parable in the first place, and the Holy Spirit made sure that it was recorded for all time in the gospel according to Luke.

Where will it end? Jettison the truth of God’s election of sinners by his grace and you step onto a very slippery slope.

It’s been a while, but I started reading The Pleasures of God by John Piper again this morning.  In the chapter “The Pleasure of God in Election” he quotes Iain Murray’s biography of Jonathan Edwards and gives a historical reason for why it’s important to believe in, and continue to believe in, the “truth of God’s free, sovereign, unconditional, individual election by grace of who will be saved.”  He writes that:

this truth tends to preserve the church from slipping toward false philosophies of life.  History seems to show that this is so.

John MacArthur on hearing God’s voice, the dangers of this way of thinking, and the sufficiency of Scripture

I’m going to guess that you either think you’ve heard God’s voice, or you know someone who says that they have heard God speak to them.  This post, then, is for you and hopefully will help you filter through these ideas and/or experiences.  I’m going to quote John MacArthur in a letter that we received a few days ago from Grace to You.  Unless otherwise noted, all underlined emphases are MacArthur’s, though I added the section headings.

God told me…

There’s a phrase that has taken hold in Christian conversation — one you’re probably familiar with.  Whether you heard it from a preacher on television, from your own pastor, a believing friend, or during a religious radio broadcast, I’m sure you’ve heard someone, somewhere say the words, “God told me ______.”

Hearing the voice of the Lord is not a new idea.  I’m sure you could cite several biblical examples of God’s speaking to His chosen people to communicate to them His will.  On a few extraordinary occasions in Scripture, whether through His Spirit or in an audible voice, God provided specific, practical instructions directly to individuals.

Many believers today want to have that same kind of experience.  They want personal, spiritual direction from the Lord.  Attempting to receive guidance from God, they listen longingly for His audible voice or wait for some intuitive, emotional prompting or impression that will unveil His will for their lives.

But that kind of communication, whether it’s audible or intuitive, is not trustworthy.  In fact, it’s useless — and can even be dangerous.

Why isn’t it trustworthy?  To begin with, there’s no valid way to discern divine truth in what a person hears or feels.  Experience is unreliable because it’s always subjective.  There are no means set forth in the Bible to test or prove or discern the meaning of some inner voice or prompting you may think you heard or felt.  In fact, Scripture never gives believers even the slightest encouragement to listen for private revelations from God.  [I think that last sentence is a great and valid point.]