God is Sovereign While Man is Accountable.

This article is part of a series on the Love of God by D.A. Carson. He originally presented these papers in a lecture series at Dallas Theological Seminary. Part 1 can be found here, and part 2 can be found here.

I recently read an article by D. A. Carson titled “God's Love and God's Sovereignty.” I strongly commend the article to you, especially to those who overemphasize God's sovereignty or overemphasize man's responsibility. You can find Carson’s full article here (pdf). I’ve provided a summary below, followed by my response. You can also find Carson’s book The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God here for free (pdf).  

Carson, D. A.  “God’s Love and God’s Sovereignty.”  Bibliotheca Sacra 156 (July-September 1999): 259-271.

Summary of Main Points

 

This third address in this series on God’s love will focus on God’s love for humans, but especially in relation to His own transcendence and sovereignty. Helpful to our study of God’s love is to note some specific texts where the vibrant, affective element in the love of God is almost overpowering. One of the most striking is Hosea 11. God revealed His love for Israel, His son, by calling them out of Egypt. Yet, Israel rebelled, often choosing idolatry instead of obedience.  God speaks of their impending judgment (Hosea 11:1-7), but then it seems that God cannot endure the thought (Hosea 11:8-11). God will judge Israel through exile, but He will also redeem them due to His own compassion.   Continue at Jared Moore

True Repentance and Its Counterfeits — William S. Plumer

True repentance is a special mercy from God. He gives it. It comes from none other. It is impossible for poor fallen nature so far to recover herself by her own strength, as truly to repent. The heart is wedded to its own ways, and justifies its own sinful courses with incurable obstinacy, until divine grace makes the change. No motives to good, are strong enough to overcome depravity in the natural heart of man. If ever we attain this grace, it must be through the great love of God to perishing men. . .

 

But what is true repentance? This is a question of the highest importance. It deserves our closest attention. The following is probably as good a definition as has yet been given. “Repentance unto life is an evangelical grace, whereby a sinner, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, as contrary to the holy nature and righteous law of God, and upon the apprehension of his mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for and hates his sins as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavoring to walk with him in all the ways of his commandments.”. . .

True repentance is sorrow for sin, ending in reformation. Mere regret is not repentance neither is mere outward reformation. It is not an imitation of virtue, it is virtue itself. Hooker says, “Is it not clear that as an inordinate delight did first begin sin, so repentance must begin with a just sorrow, a sorrow of heart, and such a sorrow as rends the heart; neither a feigned ¹ nor a slight sorrow; not feigned ¹, lest it increase sin; nor slight, lest the pleasures of sin overmatch it.”  Continue at Eric T. Young

The Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment of Spiritual Dehydration

Let me begin this post by asking you four direct questions about the condition of your soul right now:

• Do you sense that your affections for the Savior have diminished recently?
• Has your appetite for Scripture weakened?
• Does your soul seem dry?
• Does God seem distant from you?
  

If so, you are not alone. These struggles are common to even the most mature Christians—so common that Scripture anticipates them. But these are serious problems and must be addressed and not ignored. They don’t just go away over time.

So how should we respond?

Tucked away in the short (and often neglected) letter of Jude we find help and hope:

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 1:20–21)

In these verses we find a command and three practical ways to obey the command. Continue reading>>>