Did God have to save anyone? Is God obligated to show mercy? Could He have sent everyone to hell? And would it have been right and just? These questions bring up the issue of God’s justice. Being that God is holy, pure, sinless, just, and good, when sin enters reality as it has, God cannot be in its presence and He must render payment for all wrong done against Him and His glory in order to be just. So the question arises: Would it be just for God to render judgment to His creation that rebelled against Him? Absolutely. He could send everyone to hell and be totally right in doing that. This is a very important point to understand when approaching God in the Scriptures because many will assume that God is indeed obligated to show mercy. But this goes against the very meaning of mercy: not receiving what you deserve. We earned wrath. And He’s in no way obligated or contrained by anything within His creation, including us humans. He didn’t have to show mercy. God could have provided no chance for anyone to have been saved, we would have all stood before the judgment seat of God, and rightfully be sent to hell for our wickedness against Him. And we would know that it was right. Remember here that God must render payment for sin commited. So how is it that God can declare an unjust, unrighteous, wicked sinner like me to be just? How is it that God can now be in the presence of sinners at all? In order for God to be just in declaring sinners righteous, He Himself had to come in the flesh and live perfectly and die a sinners death and take the punishment for sin on Himself. Who was it that came in the flesh? Jesus Christ. He came in order that 1) God would be declared just and 2) that He would be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:26). So God, pre-Christ, had passed over former sins, not rendering due payment for wrong done in declaring sinners righteous (Romans 3:21-26). If God passes over sins with no rendering of payment, then God is unjust. But in Christ, God is declared just because Jesus (the Son of God, equal with the Father) lived a perfect life, fulfilling the law of God, and by dying on a cross showed God to be righteous by taking the judgment of God within Himself on the cross. So first and foremost, God was declared to be just on the cross, and this is the single most important thing that occurred there, mainly because if God is unjust He ceases to be God and this cannot be. And of only secondary importance (though amazing and wonderful for us!), God declares sinners to be just by faith in Christ and is thus merciful in doing so. How is this so? He took the punishment, the just wrath of God, for the person who has faith in His blood. What is mercy though? It is not receiving what you do deserve. We deserve wrath, but in Christ, by belief in Him, we are made just. How amazing and incredible! So in summing up, God indeed does render all accounts paid in full in the end, either in the sinner or in Christ for the sinner who has faith in Him. He is just and does render due payment for sin done against Him. But it happens in one of two ways: it is either paid in the sinner for eternity in hell, or it is paid in Christ’s death and resurrection, for the one who has faith in Him. God is “just, and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” So the question is not, “Why doesn’t God save everyone for all time?” but rather, “Why does God save anyone at all? Why doesn’t He just wipe us out right now and be done with it?” This magnifies the mercy and grace of God when you see that God could indeed have sent you and everyone else to hell (and will if you reject Christ) but made a way for salvation from hell in Christ, by placing your faith and trust in Him and His work, not your own. How wonderful!
Category: Theology Page 64 of 67
The term Double-Predestination is somewhat misleading in my estimation. Though I do in fact believe this doctrine and all it entails (mainly based on the texts within Exodus of God hardening Pharoah’s heart and Paul reiterating the point of that story in Romans 9), and because of the logical outcome that if God chooses some He inherently chooses to pass over others, the term seems to imply to many adamantly opposed to this doctrine that God, by His sheer decree, forces people into hell, and thus God would be unloving for doing so. This understanding of this doctrine is wrong and misses the point. God is sovereign, and yet man is responsible. This is a paradox. Both are true and yet they seem to contradict each other, but they don’t. How you ask? Well, Scripture is silent, and thus, so are we. It is indeed a mystery. However, Scripture is very clear that apart from an inward change initiated and carried out by the Holy Spirit, all men would always exercise their will and choose to rebel against God, thus being deserving of eternal torment. We must remember that our will’s, in addition to every facet of our existence is tainted and corrupted by sin. Therefore, if this is true, that man will always turn from God apart from His grace intervening in our wicked hearts, that means God must make an active decision to save some of the human race. But in saving some, God does not force the rest into hell. They choose to go there of their own volition, being “by nature objects of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3). With these unbelievers though, God sovereignly doesn’t intervene to change their hearts and allows them to continue in their rebellion against Him, deservingly perishing. God cannot successfully and truthfully be blamed for their sin and their wicked disposition. So in one sense God is not active in forcing them into hell, but in another sense He is sovereign over all things and can do as He pleases with His own creation and is therefore active in that He always accomplishes His good purposes, as difficult as that is for us to swallow. So to sum up, God is active in saving the elect, passive in regard to the non-elect, lifting His restraint and allowing the wicked to continue in their natural state, in sin, rebellion, and unbelief, and yet God is sovereign over all of it and is active in all of it. As Tommy Nelson from Denton Bible Church puts it, to the unbeliever God says, “Thy Will Shall Be Done, ” but to the believer God says, “Thy Will Shall Not Be Done, ” and then intervenes with free, unmerited, grace provided through the cross of Christ, made effectual by the Holy Spirit, in order that the elect will repent and believe in Christ of their own, newly regenerated will.
Christ is our only hope in life and death. There is no satisfaction, no joy, no true everlasting happiness apart from Christ. God has spoken to us through creation. But more specifically, He has spoken to us in His Son, Jesus Christ, through His word, the Scriptures. What may be known about God, His eternal nature and His divine attributes, are clearly displayed to all in His creation (Romans 1:19-20). But we must know more in order to be saved because of our plight in sin. And God has spoken to us, loud and clear, in His word, the Scriptures, loudly proclaiming that through faith alone in Christ, His death and resurrection for your sins, you can be justified before the Father, that Christ’s perfect account is imputed to us when we believe in Him. We then stand justified because of Christ’s cross, His atonement for our sins. God has spoken to us in His Son (Hebrews 1:1-4). And not only does He save us for all eternity through faith in Him from sin, death, and hell, but He also is our comforter, our intercessor, our great High Priest while we are still in this world of sin. When trials, temptations, and pain come our way, our first inclination is to turn to people first for hope and comfort. And though it is necessary to obtain comfort from friends and family, the comfort they can provide is finite and limited. So our first response to pain and trials must be to turn to Christ and then secondarily, turn to people. He is the great Physician, the great Care-giver, the great Counselor (Hebrews 4:15). There is no one that satisfies like Christ satisfies. During the past several days, I have found my hope and comfort in Him alone. Christ has strengthened me through fellowship with believers for sure. But they cannot provide the true fellowship I need from Christ alone. Though I desperately need fellowship with other believers, I need Christ 10,000 times more than I need them. And He gives me fellowship with Himself through their fellowship. But if I go to them alone and not to Christ, I will be left dry. I must fly to Christ first and then to believers fellowship. I could be stripped of all earthly things and Christ would satisfy me because He is my Rock, the great King of kings and Lord of lords. There is no one like Him. The point of trials is that we may turn from our sin and turn to Christ, for the unbeliever and the believer. For the unbeliever it’s a call to repent from sin and believe in the name of the Son of God, that you cast your all upon Him and His sufficiency. For the believer it’s a call to trust Christ all the more with every facet of your life, that in everything you set aside all idols, hope, and trust in anything that’s finite and contingent, and cast yourself upon the free grace and infinite mercy of Christ. As strange as it is to the natural mind, both blessings and trials are mercy from God. Yes even trials are mercy, and given in order that we may turn from sin, and trust in Christ alone. Where else can we go in seasons of suffering? What other hope is there? What other name under heaven is given to men by which we must be saved but by the name of Christ? I have found nothing in this world, not even relationships, not even marriage, to satisfy my soul as Christ does. He has been just astoundingly faithful and proven Himself true over and over again, in order that I must throw myself upon Him. He is lovely, holy, righteous, beautiful, trustworthy, all-encompassing in His glory.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Written in 1873 by Horatio Spafford. Music added in 1876 by Philip Bliss.
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This hymn was written after two major traumas in Spafford’s life. The first was the great Chicago Fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially (he had been a wealthy businessman). Shortly after, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of Spafford’s daughters died in a collision with another ship. Spafford’s wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Several weeks later, as Spafford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daughters died, the Holy Spirit inspired these words. They speak to the eternal hope that all believers have, no matter what pain and grief befall them on earth. – Taken from http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/t/i/itiswell.htm
Many Christians hear the phrase limited atonement and just cringe. “What a repulsive idea! How could you even propose such an idea?” The term “limited atonement” within Calvinism is very misleading though. I instead prefer the term definite redemption, or definite atonement. First of all, many against Calvinism imply we are stating Christ’s death couldn’t have saved everyone, that we are “limiting” it’s power by making this assertion. This is just wrong. Christ’s blood possesses infinite value because He is God and He is infinite, eternal. His blood has infinite worth, able to cleanse trillions upon trillions, infinite numbers of sins and sinners. Could His death and resurrection have saved everyone? Absolutely! What are we talking about though in terms of the limit? It’s very simple. It’s not talking about the worth of Christ’s blood, but the scope of who it’s applied to. What was the intention of the cross? To make everyone savable (a possible salvation if the hearer adds a response of faith to the call of the Gospel (a faith produced by their unregenerated human nature)), or to render certain the salvation of specific people, namely His children, the chosen, the elect? Was it to cover all sins except unbelief or to cover all sins including unbelief (i.e. rendering certain faith and repentance)? IF our doctrine of Unconditional Election is true, stating that God, from eternity, from before the foundation of the world, chose specific individuals without regard to their future works, faith, repentance, looks, smartness, or any other thing (hence the word unconditional), but that He chose them simply because of His eternal love (to which we humbly, undeservingly, and contritely answer, “Praise God!”), then what was the intention of the death of Christ? To make salvation merely possible or to make it certain? That is what this doctrine is about. I believe John Piper is very helpful on this …
“The term ‘limited atonement’ addresses the question, ‘For whom did Christ die?’ But behind the question of the extent of the atonement lies the equally important question about the nature of the atonement. What did Christ actually achieve on the cross for those for whom he died? …
… Which of these statements is true?
1. Christ died for some of the sins of all men.
2. Christ died for all the sins of some men.
3. Christ died for all the sins of all men.
No one says that the first is true, for then all would be lost because of the sins that Christ did not die for. The only way to be saved from sin is for Christ to cover it with his blood.
The third statement is what the Arminians would say. Christ died for all the sins of all men. But then why are not all saved? They answer, Because some do not believe. But is this unbelief not one of the sins for which Christ died? If they say yes, then why is it not covered by the blood of Jesus and all unbelievers saved? If they say no (unbelief is not a sin that Christ has died for) then they must say that men can be saved without having all their sins atoned for by Jesus, or they must join us in affirming statement number two: Christ died for all the sins of some men. That is, he died for the unbelief of the elect so that God’s punitive wrath is appeased toward them and his grace is free to draw them irresistibly out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
(Taken from “What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism” – John Piper and Bethlehem Baptist Church Staff – This sums up what I believe pertaining to Calvinism as well)
11-Part MP3 Audio Series on Calvinism by John Piper
READ THIS FIRST:
Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
Monergism.com subsection on the Emerging Church:
Monergism.com – Emerging Church
I particularly like this quote on the site …
“Emerging Churches are those (1.) who take the life of Jesus as a model way to live, and
(2.) who transform the secular realm, (3.) as they live highly communal lives.
Because of these three activities, emerging churches
(4.) welcome those who are outside, (5.) share generously, (6.) participate, (7.) create, (8.) lead without control, and (9.) function together in spiritual activities.
Boiling it down to one sentence: Emerging Churches are …
communities who practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures.
But critics often find the following characteristics of emergents: no place for formal convention; indifferent to biblical truth, Spiritual but not confessional; a strong distaste for definitions, sound doctrine or confessional Christianity; constant state of rebellion; often argumentative and often finding things to disagree with other believers rather than looking for the good. Rarely genuinely repenting or saying sorry for their offending with those who differ but expect it and accuse their opponents of being unloving. Amazing that those who thrive in lacking certainty themselves are so certain about their uncertainty and judge harshly those who claim that God has actually revealed something we can apprehend. How is it that they claim to have such a birds’ eye view that all the rest of us are all so wrong when they already deny having this kind of authoritative knowledge. Many emergents are making authoritative announcements that there is no authority. These firm assertions themselves must derive their source and dogma from some authority. In other words, the movement is hopelessly self-contradictory, doing the very things it despises in its opponents. A blow that is certainly fatal.”
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I just thought this was funny, I know it’s a caricture, but it’s still funny, though not really beneficial as an argument against the movement …
Another good entry by Phil Johnson on the hopeless contradiction of the movement …
Excellent audio interview with Pastor Ron Gleason and Chris Pajack speaking on the Emergent church … EXCELLENT
The Emergent Church (Windows Media)
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Okay. So I’ve given several articles and discussions as an argument against the Emerging Church and their principles of adopting the culture in order to win the culture, bringing post-modern thinking into a divine, eternal, absolute context. So how exactly are we to preach the Gospel to the post-modern thinker? I believe this sums it up:
Keller on Preaching in a Post-Modern City – Tim Keller
I don’t claim to have in any way arrived in my understanding of things, and I still have a long way to go. I’m just writing what I’m observing within the church.
It seems many Christians in America only seem to know John 3:16 as a defense of the Gospel, but then don’t even know really what all that entails (sure they may know the very basic premise of the Gospel, but don’t know it in its fullness). While this is an excellent verse (and God-inspired, infallible Scripture), almost everyone and their dog, including unbelievers, already know this verse in our culture, and it does very little to convey the entire message of the Gospel. It does in a general sense convey it, but that’s it. This verse, by itself, doesn’t communicate the entire message, and can mislead people immensely (i.e., well God loves me so I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing without any regard to Him as the source for my entire existence and experience). Which leads me to my point: The American evangelical church is making the message of the Gospel so simplistic now that the message doesn’t communicate the essence of the entire Gospel, with all its peaks and valley’s. The church is also watering down the Gospel even when preached in its fullness, but that’s another issue I’ll talk about some other time. We must preach the Gospel in its fullness, with all of it’s rough edges, and amazing grace, or we may not be preaching the Gospel at all. We must preach the Gospel as it is conveyed in Scripture, or we may be falling in to grievous error. God has given us a whole big book that conveys God’s redemptive plan throughout history, specifically wrought in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Quote some other verses that show the whole message. People know John 3:16, but does anyone know what it says right before and right after that verse? There are some really hard things Jesus says! For instance, right before John 3:16 is the whole section where Jesus is speaking of the new birth, that we must be regenerated in order to be saved. (Now here I would argue for the monergistic view of the new birth, that regeneration precedes faith, but I’ll leave that alone too and stay on topic). Also, in John 3:36 Jesus says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” Whoa. The wrath of God remains on a person if they reject the Son of God? And what is the wrath of God? It is the everlasting torment of God for the unrighteous. This is not temporal … it’s eternal. But who are the unrighteous? I claim to be unrighteous all the time if you read my blogs; I am indeed a sinner, an awful sinner! So how is it that I think I’ll escape this wrath of God? Am I claiming that I’m righteous? No way! I’m a wicked man. We’re all unrighteous though. The only reason I am righteous at all is because of Jesus, His death of resurrection of my sins. It is because I possess a righteousness that is not my own, paid for in the Son of God on the cross, that He has freely given me, His own righteousness, like a robe that covers me, not owing to anything within me. So here is the message we need to preach, even if it makes people uncomfortable, annoyed, and possibly persecute us:
1) God is the Lord of heaven and earth, the great Creator of all things (Genesis 1-2).
2) God has spoken to us in His creation, showing His divine nature and eternal power (Romans 1:20). But more specifically, He has inspired His word, the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, infallible and without error, as a means of knowing Him better and coming to see and believe in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:16).
3) All mankind has sinned (Romans 3:10-18). There is no one that doesn’t sin and there is no one that escapes the wrath of God as a result of that sin, apart from Christ (Romans 3:23, 3:19). We are by nature slaves to unrighteousness (Romans 8:7-8). We are born into sin (Psalm 51:5), sinful even from birth. Naturally, we rest under the condemnation of God because of our sin (Ephesians 2:3b). Our sin separates us from God, and not only that, the wrath of God abides on us even while we’re alive, apart from faith in Christ. And how many sins have we all accumulated over the course of our lives? Makes me sick to even think about. Both the self-righteous (those who think that just being good and obeying the law of God will earn them salvation) and those who totally reject the law of God altogether, living in lawlessness even, are all under the condemnation of God. Every mouth is silenced before the great judgment seat of the Lord God almighty. There is absolutely no one righteous. We are ruined before Him in our sin. Doing good works to try and justify yourself before an almighty, holy, perfect God is pointless. And those of you by living your life in rebellion to God you are simply storing up wrath for yourself when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed with fire. God hates sin. And those without Christ will be consumed by His wrath for all eternity (Revelation 20:11-15). He is just, and cannot be in the presence of sin. He will punish it. Our offense is against the infinite, eternal God, and therefore the punishment will be so. And there is no hope to escape His wrath, except in …
4) Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-26, one of the most important sections of the Bible in my estimation). God exists in Trinity, or God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons. Jesus became a human, both fully man and fully God. He lived a life of perfect submission and righteousness before the Father, something we could never do. Because of this, He became fully qualified to become a sin sacrifice, blameless and spotless, on behalf of anyone who believes in Him. He allowed Himself to be subjected to death and gave Himself up by dying on the cross. He shed His blood, becoming an atonement (or propitiation, i.e. wrath bearer or deflector) for any who would believe in Him. Just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the desert, that any who looked to the snake would survive their snake bites and be healed (Numbers 21:4-9), so also Jesus was lifted up on the cross, that whosoever believes in Him by faith should not perish (eternally) but have eternal life (John 3:16). However, if you reject Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior, you will be eternally condemned and in fact stand condemned already (John 3:18)! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Romans 10:13).
We must use Scripture as our source for preaching the Gospel. And we must use Scripture in preaching the Gospel. These are the very words of God breathed out. John 3:16 is an amazing verse, and I even used it above. But don’t just tell someone that without giving them whole story. It’s indeed a difficult thing to do because the message of the cross is offensive to the world and there is a high chance you will be persecuted for preaching it. In giving people a very very simplistic message though, you are doing them a disservice by not giving them all of the truth. And this is highly dangerous.
Biblical Reflections on Hebrews 6 – John Hendryx
This is a really great Scriptural refutation of those who claim this passage speaks that the truly regenerate believer can lose his/her salvation. Much like everything within Scripture, context is so vitally important. It is said of real estate there are three rules which determine the value of your property: location, location, location. And I believe with Scripture there are three rules (amongst many) when studying Scripture: context, context, context. Part of this contextual analyzation is done by referring to other passages of Scripture that echo your understanding of a passage as well as (and especially) referring to surrounding text to put it in its proper environment of thought. Many passages of Scripture can be unlocked when put in their proper context and many false doctrines can be snuffed out when the Scriptures are properly understood within their respective context. This passage is no exception and a very clear example of this. People will take this one passage and make it say something it isn’t saying at all by taking it out of context and disregarding some, if not all of the surrounding text. No Scripture contradicts itself because it is all the inerrant, authoritative word of God, and I believe the result of John Hendryx’s blog entry shows what the result is when Scripture is properly exegeted.
NBC Offends Christians Again – CNSNEWS.com
It’s really not all that surprising this is happening. Jesus in fact said in Matthew 10:22, “and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake,” and in Matthew 24:9, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake,” and Luke 6:22, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!” and Luke 21:17, “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake,” and John 15:18, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you,” and John 15:19, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you,” and praying to His Father in John 17:14, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
It is very clear from this that persecution, whatever the form, is nothing new and has been the case for a long time. And not only this, it should be expected! The world utterly hates Christ, and if you’re associated with Him, you will be persecuted, to one degree or another. We should not be surprised this is happening. It happened to Christ, He was reviled, and we should expect the same if we are to follow Christ. Yes, it is highly offensive what is happening; they are spurning the Son of God, but it is not surprising. The world hates believers’ because it hates Christ. Christ is in believers’ therefore it hates us as as well. Listen what Jesus says though concerning persecution in Matthew 5:10-11, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” When enduring through persecution and showing the love of Christ to these people who hate us, it may be that by God’s grace many of them can be saved. I pray that’s the case. I believe our response should be one of sorrow and love toward these people who constantly slam Christ, because Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us on the tree, having become a curse for us. How can we not but do the same to people who revile us for Christ’s sake?
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
I’ve constructed a page with MP3 downloads of John Piper sermons on Romans 9. I cannot begin to explain or tell you what is at stake in the verses of Romans 9, and really Romans 9 through 11. Many people falsely interpret Romans 9 to be spoken of in a temporal context, meaning they assume it’s speaking of the election of groups of people and the temporal blessings that result, not individual people and their eternal destinies. I believe that after listening to these sermons it will be unmistakably clear from Piper’s preaching that it is speaking of the latter, respectively. The main point of Romans 9 itself is not election. Election is simply the substantiating of the primary point. And this is the main point: if the vast majority of Israel has rejected their Messiah, Jesus Christ, and yet God made promises to bless them in the past, has God’s word failed? And if God’s word has failed for the Jews (hypothetically speaking), what hope do we have as Gentiles that the verses of Romans 8 will hold true, namely, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose,” and “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The answer is in verse Romans 9:6, namely, “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.” The rest of Romans 9 through the end of Romans 11 is an argument for this statement. And how do we answer these things, the unfathomable, deep things of the Lord? “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” – Romans 11:33-36. I urge you to take the time for this, set aside what you feel about God’s sovereignty, and consider these things. As Piper says in one of his sermons (my paraphrase), Paul doesn’t deal with controversial, mind-bending doctrine because it seems to be intellectually intriguing or stimulating. He wouldn’t give it to us unless it could do something for us practically speaking. So again, please give heed to this and listen intently because being grounded in God in His great divine sovereignty through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection gives me so much hope, everyday.