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

Doctrine in Focus: Sovereign Election

Courtesy of Dr Steven Lawson, from his excellent book Foundations of Grace.

Consistent with the other authors of Scripture, Nehemiah wrote about the doctrine of sovereign election. He recognized that, out of the mass of lost humanity, God had determined whom He would save. Since men are totally depraved and will not seek God, it is necessary that God make a distinguishing choice to save. It is obvious, then, that the reason some are saved and others are lost lies entirely with God. All of mankind would remain lost if left to themselves. But God chose His people from among those who were not seeking Him. Never was this truth more clearly seen than in the case of Abraham:

"You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram....." - Nehemiah 9:7a

From among the unconverted multitudes in the land of Ur, God chose Abraham. He did not make this choice on the basis of any good works within Abraham, whether actual or potential. Neither did He make it on the basis of foreseen faith in Abraham. Rather, this sovereign choice originated exclusively within God. Regarding this lofty truth, James Montgomery Boice writes, "Notice that God is the subject of every action: (1) 'You ....chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham,' (2) 'You found his heart faithful to You,' (3) 'You made a covenant with him,' and (4) 'You have kept Your promise.'....The emphasis is entirely upon God." Boice is right. According to God's inscrutable wisdom, He chooses whom He will for reasons known only to Himself. As it was with Abraham, so it is with all God's elect.  Continue at Vince and Lori

Sovereign Election in John

If you are a believer, have you ever stopped to think about the fact that, before you came to Christ, he was praying for you? Do you know that he still does?

Even before their conversion, all believers already belong to God by virtue of eternal election. They are considered to be the possession of God because He has chosen them to be His own:

“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” —John 17:9

Jesus made a careful distinction between those for whom He prayed—the elect of God—and those for whom He did not pray—unbelievers. The Lord focused His priestly intercession upon those the Father chose as His own possession before time began, then gave to the Son. Standing behind this verse is the monumental doctrine of sovereign election. MacArthur writes, “‘They were Yours’ (cf. v. 9) is a potent assertion that before conversion, they belonged to God (cf. 6:37). That is true because of God’s election. They were chosen before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), when their names were written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 17:8).”

—Steve Lawson, Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2006), 281.

 HT: Thirsty Theologian

For Those Perplexed by Sovereign Election

“You are perplexed by the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and election. I wonder that any man believing in a God should be perplexed by these. For if there be a God, a ‘King, eternal, immortal, and invisible,’ he cannot but be sovereign,—and he cannot but do according to his own will, and choose according to his own purpose. You may dislike these doctrines, but you can only get rid of them by denying altogether the existence of an infinitely wise, glorious, and powerful Being. God would not be God were he not thus absolutely sovereign in his present doings and his eternal prearrangements.

But how would it rid you of your perplexities to get quit of sovereignty and election? Suppose these were set aside, you still remain the same depraved and helpless being as before. The truth is, that the sinner’s real difficulty lies neither in sovereignty nor election, but in his own depravity. If the removal of these ‘hard doctrines’ (as some call them) would lessen his own sinfulness, or make him more able to believe and repent, the hardship would be at their door; but if not, then these doctrines are no hindrance at all. If it be God’s sovereignty that is keeping him from coming to Christ, the sinner has serious matter of complaint against the doctrine. But if it be his own depravity, is it not foolish to be objecting to a truth that has never thrown one single straw of a hindrance in the way of his return to God? Election has helped many a soul to heaven; but never yet hindered one. Depravity is the hindrance; election is God’s way of overcoming that hindrance. And if that hindrance is not overcome in all, but only in some, who shall find fault? Was God bound to overcome it in all? Was he bound to bring every man to Christ, and to pluck every brand from the burning? Do not blame God for that which belongs solely to yourself; nor be troubled about His sovereignty when the real cause of trouble is your own desperately wicked heart.”

- Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
taken from: God’s Way of Peace, 1878.

HT:  Eric T. Young