More Thoughts on Human Responsibility & Divine Sovereignty

Do you read the "comments" of life together? Do you know how to read "comments?" At the bottom of each post is a comments counter, which if you click it, will let you read the comments of others. Also, whenever someone leaves a comment, I get an email that includes the comment. Its really quite nifty!

A guy named Kevin left what I thought was a very insightful comment about last week's message on an earlier post. I thought it was so valuable that I wanted to make sure all who are reading along saw it.

I really enjoyed the sermon yesterday -- I liked how the mystery was left intact while still focusing each group in on what should be their focus and application. I think that's so important because all too often we get caught up in focusing on "the other person's" message and that's where the problems come in. It's kind of like with the marriage stuff in Ephesians. It's probably best if husbands never read the section written to wives and vice versa!

I thnk Kevin is right, we need to read our own mail. Fascination and exploration of the EXPLANATION can sometimes distract us from the APPLICATION of a Biblical text.

One more thing I mentioned in the message, but I've been thinking more about. . . . if our belief in the sovereignty of God in salvation kills, squelches, or in anyway diminishes our passion and commitment to evangelism, then we don't yet understand the Gospel of God's grace. Those who have experienced God's grace should be most eager to share it. The Apostle Paul is our great example here, who was willing to endure all things because he was certain of God's sovereign and saving grace. . . .

For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. --2 Timothy 10

Finally, here's an additional thought from J.I. Packer. . . .

The sovereignty of God in grace gives us our only hope of success in evangelism. Some fear that belief in the sovereign grace of God leads to the conclusion that evangelism is pointless, since God will save His elect anyway, whether they hear the gospel or not. . . . .the truth is just the opposite. So far from making evangelism pointless, the sovereignty of God in grace is the one thing that prevents evangelism from being pointless. For it creates the possibility -- indeed the certainty -- that evangelism will be fruitful. Apart from it, there is not even the possibility of evangelism being fruitful. Were it not for the sovereign grace of God, evangelism would be the most futile and useless enterprise that the world has ever seen, and there would be no more complete waste of time under the sun than to preach the Christian gospel. (Packer, Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God, p. 106)