Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea. And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. taken...: Or, cut the ankers, they left them in the sea, &c And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land. - Acts 27:21-44

    God is totally sovereign and man is totally responsible. Both of these truths are plainly revealed in Holy Scripture and must be believed by all who acknowledge the authority of the Word of God. God's sovereignty does not relieve man of responsibility. And man's responsibility does not negate God's sovereignty. Both of these blessed gospel truths are illustrated in the passage before us.

    In verse 24, the angel of the Lord spoke to Paul, 'saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.' Paul, believing God, said, 'There shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship' (27:22). That is God's sovereign decree, immutable, unalterable and certain. God purposed it, and it must come to pass. Not all the power of hell could prevent it. God says, 'I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it' (Isa. 46:11). Did that sovereign decree relieve the men on board the ship of all responsibility? Did God's decree mean that they would be saved no matter what they might do? Did God's sure and certain purpose mean that these 276 men were no longer obliged to obey him? Not on your life! In verse 31, Paul shows us the place of human responsibility. Some of the sailors panicked in the storm and were about to abandon the ship. Paul said, 'Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.' God had ordained their safety and deliverance from the storm. So their safety and deliverance were matters of absolute certainty. Yet they could only be saved if they remained in the ship, and they were responsible to do so. If they abandoned the ship, they would all have been lost. If they stayed in the ship, they would all be saved. The burden of responsibility lay squarely upon their shoulders. If they were saved, it would be God's

    work, and God's work alone. If they were lost, it would be their work, and their work alone.

    In the end, God's purpose was accomplished. The ship was lost and the cargo was lost, but every man on board the ship was saved, according to God's unalterable purpose. When the ship was wrecked, 'The soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But' God graciously intervened and 'the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: and the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass' (exactly as God had ordained!) 'that they escaped all safe to land' (27:42-44).

    The events recorded in Acts 27:21-44 clearly illustrate God's absolute sovereignty and man's complete responsibility in the matter of salvation. Salvation is accomplished entirely by the sovereign, eternal purpose and work of the triune God (Eph. 1:3-14). Yet every sinner is responsible to repent and believe the gospel, to trust the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 17:30; 1John 3:23). All who do so will be saved, and all who refuse to do so will justly be damned for ever (Mark 16:16). Here are eight irrefutable facts, plainly revealed in the Word of God. Study them carefully and ask God the Holy Spirit to give you an understanding of them.

    1. God the Father has a people in this world whom he has sovereignly chosen and determined to save in eternal, electing love (Eph. 1:3-6; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; Rom. 9:11-18).

    2. The Lord God eternally predestinated all things that come to pass in time to secure the salvation of his elect, for the glory of his own great name (Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:5,11).

    3. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for and effectually redeemed all whom God the Father chose and purposed to save in eternity (Isa. 53:8; Matt. 1:21; Gal. 3:13; Heb. 9:12).

    4. God the Holy Spirit regenerates all who were chosen in eternity and redeemed at Calvary, by the power of his irresistible grace, and causes them to trust Christ (Eph. 2: 1-6; John 3:3-8; Ps. 65:4; 110:3).

    5. God sovereignly rules all things in providence with the absolute power of omnipotence and the total wisdom of omniscience, according to his eternal purpose of grace, for the salvation of his elect (Rom. 8:28; John 17:2).

    6. All God's elect, all true believers, are eternally and infallibly secure in Christ, preserved and kept in him by the power and grace of God (John 10:27-30; Phil. 1:6; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24-25).

    7. Every sinner who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved (John 3:14-16; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9-13).

    8. All who despise God's free grace in Christ and refuse to trust him will justly be damned for ever (Prov. 1:23-33).

    These are matters of divine revelation. They are things clearly stated in the Word of God. All who are saved are saved by God's work alone. All who are damned are damned by their own work alone. Read Acts 27:21-44 again and see how it illustrates these truths of Holy Scripture.

    1. It was the purpose of God to save every person in the ship (27:21-25)

    God said he would save them. Therefore, he was honour-bound to do so. If even one were to be lost, God's word would be broken, his honour would be lost and the Almighty would be found to be a liar! So it is with his elect!

    2. In order for those whom God purposed to save actually to be saved, they had to obey his word (27:29-34)

    God required them to stay in the ship. Had they not done so, they would have perished. But once they committed themselves to the Lord God, they were given the cheering assurance of his saving purpose (27:34-35). In the same way, God requires us to trust Christ alone for salvation. All who trust him are assured of God's grace (1 John 5:10-13). All who refuse to obey the gospel will perish by their unbelief (John 3:18).

    3. God graciously overrules all obstacles to accomplish his purpose of grace towards his elect (27:41-44).

    Carefully read Psalm 76:10 and Proverbs 16:1,4,9,33, and under stand that nothing is a hindrance to God. All things are his servants, sovereignly used by him to accomplish his purpose of grace towards his elect.

    4. All whom God purposed to save were saved (27:44)

    God said, 'There shall be no loss of any man's life among you... So it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land' (27:22,44). So also in the end all God's elect will be saved (Rom. 11:26,33-36). Believe God, and be of good cheer. His purpose is sure (Rom. 8:28-39).