Sovereignty & Responsibility

Q: What does the Bible say about the sovereignty of God?

The Bible teaches that God is absolutely sovereign and His purposes cannot be thwarted. The sovereignty of God means that He has control over all things and that nothing happens outside of His divine plan. Scripture affirms that God's decrees are unchangeable, as seen in Isaiah 46:10-11, where God declares, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.' This sovereignty extends to salvation, as Ephesians 1:4-5 emphasizes that God chose His people before the foundation of the world. Thus, everything is orchestrated by Him according to His purpose, including the means by which salvation is achieved through faith in Christ.

Q: How do we know that salvation depends on God's sovereignty?

Salvation depends on God's sovereignty because He elects, redeems, and calls His people according to His will. Salvation is rooted in God's sovereignty because it is God who elects His people for salvation, as stated in Ephesians 1:4-5. He redeems them through the blood of Christ, as highlighted in Isaiah 53:5, where it says that Jesus was wounded for our transgressions. Furthermore, John 6:37 assures that all whom the Father gives to Christ will come to Him, establishing that salvation is a work of God from start to finish. The confidence in salvation rests not in human effort but in God’s unchanging purpose to save His chosen ones.

Q: Why is human responsibility important in the context of salvation?

Human responsibility is crucial because individuals are commanded to believe in Christ for salvation. Human responsibility articulates that while God is sovereign in salvation, He has commanded all people to actively respond to the Gospel. Isaiah 45:22 records God's call to 'look unto Me, and be ye saved,' indicating that belief in God is not optional. By emphasizing personal responsibility, Scripture teaches that rejection of faith leads to condemnation. Mark 16:16 reinforces this by stating, 'He that believeth not shall be damned.' Therefore, each person is accountable for their response to God's call, underscoring the need for individuals to act upon their faith.

Q: What does it mean to 'abide in Christ'?

Abiding in Christ means to maintain a continuous, loving relationship with Him through faith and obedience. To abide in Christ is to remain steadfast in faith and relation to Him, as described in John 15:4-5. Jesus states, 'Abide in Me, and I in you,' highlighting the mutual indwelling that characterizes the believer's life. This means that as branches of the vine, we draw strength, nourishment, and life from Christ. Abiding also involves obedience to His commands and faithfulness to His teachings, ensuring that true believers persevere until the end. Salvation is assured for those who truly abide, as it reflects the authenticity of their faith and relationship with Christ.

Q: How do sovereignty and responsibility work together in salvation?

Sovereignty and responsibility work together by showing that God controls salvation while still holding individuals accountable to believe. The interplay of sovereignty and responsibility is a profound mystery in Christian theology. While God's sovereignty ensures that He will accomplish His purpose of salvation (Isaiah 46:10-11), human responsibility emphasizes that individuals must believe and respond to the Gospel. Acts 27 illustrates this well, as God had purposed the safety of those on the ship, but they were commanded to remain onboard. This dual truth underscores both God’s authority in determining the outcome of salvation and the real responsibility of individuals to respond to His call with faith. Ultimately, salvation brings glory to God while affirming that human beings are called to engage actively with the Gospel.

Acts chapter 27. This morning
we'll be looking at verses 21-24, and 30-32, and then the last
couple of verses in the chapter verses 42-44. We'll be looking
at several portions of Scripture this morning from this passage.
The title of the message this morning is, The Sovereignty of
God and the Responsibility of Man. the sovereignty of God and
the responsibility of man. Look at this reading here in
verse 21. The scripture says, but after
a long absence, Paul stood up in the midst of them and said,
Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me and not have loosed from Crete
and to have gained this harm and loss. But 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 the Lord, 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
he told me, howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island."
And last week, if you remember, we saw that we as believers,
how we as believers are to be safe in the midst of storms in
this life. We saw that we must be faithful
to God's Word from God's man. The Apostle Paul, you remember,
he said, don't sail, and they sailed, and they came into trouble. We should be faithful to hear
God's Word and to obey it. We should give up our plans if
they are contrary to God's Word. And when the storms of life come,
we must surrender ourselves, confess our sins, and surrender
ourselves to the providence of God. And we must see His Word,
we must put our face in the book, we must put our head and heart
and soul to study His Word in the midst of our storms, and
to be faithful to His worship and for His glory. And lastly,
we saw last week that when we're in the midst of storms, the important
thing is to stay in the ship. To stay in the ship and to believe
Christ no matter what the storms bring us. And it's this last
point that I want us to springboard from concerning this matter of
sovereignty and responsibility. We just read in verses 23-26
that Paul gave these men comfort that he had received a message
from the Lord Jesus Christ. The angel of the Lord is none
other than Christ, whom He is and whom He serves. And Jesus
told them that all those in the ship would be safe. This was the purpose of Jesus
Christ. This was the purpose of God to
save everyone in that ship. It was God's sovereign purpose
that the boat be destroyed and every life on that ship be saved
and they be cast on a certain island. Friends, this purpose
was unchangeable, unalterable, and could not be thwarted by
any man, it would come to pass as does all God's decrees. You
remember the Lord in Isaiah chapter 46, how He spoke of Cyrus that
was to come. He called Cyrus His king even
before he was born. And God said, yea, I have spoken
it, I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will also
do it. Friends, there is nothing, nothing
that God does not purpose, there's nothing that happens that God
has not purposed to happen. Everything that God has decreed
from all eternity shall come to pass without any interference
of man. Nothing shall stop God from doing
what He purposes to do. This is the sovereign decree
of God, revealed by the Apostle Paul
and declared to give comfort to these men. But I tell you
that this sovereign decree did in no way, in no wise, relieve
these men of the responsibility to stay in the ship. They were
still responsible to stay in the ship even though God had
sovereignly decreed that they would all be saved. Now friends,
there are many enemies of the gospel of Jesus Christ who would
claim that we believe that because God has purposed salvation for
an elect people, because God has purposed all things to be
after the counsel of His own will and to do with men as He
pleases, they say that we believe that a man may sin as he pleases. If God has saved him, if God
has purposed to save him, that a man can do what he wants to,
that he doesn't have to hear the gospel, that he doesn't have
to believe on Christ, that he doesn't have to repent of his
sins and believe the gospel. That's not what we believe. I
do not preach that, nor does any other man I know preach any
such thing as that. And yet, that's what the enemies
of God would claim that we believe. We do not believe that. Yes,
we do believe the absolute sovereignty of God, that He has purpose to
save some of Adam's race by Jesus Christ. But the God that purposed
salvation has also purposed and planned the means by which He
will save His people from their sins. He is a God of means. A God of means. And man is absolutely
and equally, as God is equally sovereign, man is absolutely
and utterly responsible to believe the gospel. Responsible. Pastor, I can't understand that. God didn't ask you to. God just
tells you to believe that, because that's what the Scriptures teach.
Friends, I'm not here to pawn off some doctrine to you. I'm
here to tell you what God says. And we believe what God says.
We don't follow after men. We follow after God, what God's
Word teaches. That's what we believe. We believe
that. God's sovereign purpose in election
to save those who are in Christ, He has purpose to do that. and
gives no man any excuse not to obey his gospel." Look at verse
31. The Scripture says, Paul said
to the centurion and to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship,
you cannot be saved. Now, Paul gave them comfort and
said, don't worry, everybody on the ship will be saved. And
then these sailors, they got scared, and so they ran up to
the front as though they were release anchors, but Paul knew
what they were doing. They were going to lower the
lifeboats and try to escape. And Paul says to the soldiers,
he says, if they leave, we all die. Except they abide in the
ship, we're all going to perish. Even though He had just said
God had purpose to save everybody, He told them of their responsibility
to stay in the ship. God had purpose to save everyone,
all 276 sailors and prisoners. And friends, their safety was
sure. It was sure as though it were
already done. And nothing could stop them from
being safe on that island. But it was just as sure that
if anyone left that ship, they'd all be lost. If these men were to be saved,
it was because God had done it, but if they were to be lost,
it was because they disobeyed Him. And in verse 42 through 44, we
have these Roman guards. When that ship broke up, they
looked at these prisoners whom they were responsible for, and
they said, let's kill them lest they escape and we have to be
punished for it. And what did the Lord do? He
moved that centurion who wanted to save Paul. He says, don't
kill any of them. And they all swam to safety. And they were all saved, just
like God decreed. But equally was true, they all
stayed in the ship. Isn't that right? They all stayed
in the ship. Believers in Christ, we may clearly
see from this picture that both sovereignty and responsibility
are taught in the Scriptures, that God has purposed to save
us, and we who are saved must remain in Christ by faith until
we are brought to His presence. I want us to see this in the
Scriptures. We're going to go through several
Scriptures this morning, so I pray the Lord will be gracious to
give us wisdom to see this. First, I want us to see the absolute
sovereignty of God in salvation. Absolute sovereignty. First of
all, it is God that chose us. It is God that chose a people. Go to Ephesians 1. You know it
well. Ephesians 1. In verse 3, "...Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him." In love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved." Friends, hear me. There is no salvation apart from
election. There is no salvation apart from
election. Now, I didn't say anything about
faith in election. You can believe in election and
go to hell. But friends, it is true that
if God had not purposed to save a people, there would be no salvation. There would be no salvation.
The Scriptures are clear that the natural man receiveth not
the things of God. That he is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be. Because he's spiritually
discerned. Because of our nature being so
corrupt and so vile and so at enmity against God, we would
have never chose Him had He not chosen us. Had He not chosen
a people, there would have been no salvation at all. Now friends,
when I mention election, it should give every sinner hope. It should
give every sinner hope. People say, I don't like that.
If you don't like that, you don't like salvation. Because friends,
if God had not chosen a people, none of us would be saved. But
because He has, there's hope. There's hope for salvation. God has chosen a people. And
friends, just as sure as God has purposed salvation for a
people, their salvation is absolutely, completely sure. Just as sure
as those sailors were to make it to that shore, everyone that
God has chosen to save, He will save. He will save. 2 Thessalonians
2 verse 13, Beloved, we are bound to give thanks to God always
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. For God hath from the
beginning chosen you, to what? To salvation. to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Now,
second of all, we know that salvation is of the sovereignty of God
because He sovereignly redeemed us. All that the Father chose to
save, He has given to the Son to be the surety, the representative
from all eternity. Go to Isaiah 53. In verse 4. I like this first word, surely.
Surely. Surely He hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. But, that wasn't true. That wasn't
true. He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." Let me ask you,
when was that printed? When was that given to Isaiah? Was it not before the Lord came? Was it not before Christ had
come and suffered for our sins? Do you not see that God who elected
a people also has purposed the means by which He would save
them? And that is by the blood of Jesus
Christ alone. It is only by the blood of Christ.
He has given all of His elect to Christ. And Christ, as their
representative, provided their righteousness, and by His death,
He has provided their atonement for sin. He has redeemed us.
He has bought all of God's elect by His blood. Jesus said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And I should lose how many? Nothing. I should lose nothing. It is sure. that all the Father
gave the Son, the Son has redeemed and made an end of sin." You
remember what was prophesied in Daniel 9, verse 24? He says
after 70 weeks, He will make an end of sin. And friends, 70
weeks has already come and gone, and He already has made an end
of sin even before we were born. Even before we committed our
first sin. He had already put them away
in Christ. He had already redeemed that. And God willing to prove it.
God willing to show us this. He raised His Son from the dead
and set Him on the throne of heaven and gave witnesses to
it. Stephen saw it and testified
of it. John saw it and testified of
it. Paul saw him and testified of
it. Friends, God has given us witness
that Christ was a successful Savior. Hebrews chapter 6 tells us that
God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise,
that by the immutability of His counsel and His oath, He swore
by Himself so that we might have a sure anchor for our souls. What's the anchor for your soul? Is it not that He has entered
into the veil with His own blood and God has accepted His blood,
atonement for our sins, and the veil has been rent? Is that not
our hope? Is that not our anchor? It is. Friends, my salvation is absolutely
sure because God chose me and Christ redeemed me. Christ redeemed
me. from all my sins." Number three,
He called us. He called us. All that the Father
chose and gave to Christ, whom He redeemed and paid their sin
debt, even so it is sure of this, they shall be called by the Spirit
of God. through the preaching of the
Word. All that the Father giveth me, Christ said, they shall come
to me. How shall they come to me? By
the means that God has provided, by the preaching of the Gospel.
The Spirit of God will come and take the Gospel of God's grace
and He'll apply it to the heart of the sinner and give him life
and faith in Christ. so that Christ would lose nothing. Go to Psalm 110. Psalm 110, verse
3. Psalm 110, verse 3. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness. from the womb of the morning.
Thou hast the due of Thy youth." Friends, was it not the beauties
of holiness that made us willing? Was it not that we were walking
around content in our sin, content in our religion, but when the
Spirit of God came, what did He do? He gave us life to see
the beauty of holiness. You see, I had no interest in
holiness before. I had no interest in righteousness
before. But when the Spirit of God came,
I had an interest. I knew that I had no righteousness
and needed it. And I also knew that Christ provided
it, and the only way for me to have it was to believe in Him. And I was willing to believe
in Him. When a man sees the beauty of
Christ's holiness, he can do nothing but believe. He can do
nothing but believe. Like Lazarus, when he heard the
voice of Christ, he could do nothing but live. And friends,
the same way with us. When God the Holy Spirit sovereignly
called us, we could do nothing but see His beauty and His holiness. And we willingly came to Christ. Irresistibly came to Christ. Number five, salvation is of
the sovereignty of God in that He has purposed all things by
His providence to call His elect. In other words, everything is
moving according to God's sovereign purpose to call out His people
and save them. That's what God is doing all
the time in every action of man. All of the evil things that are
going on in this world, friends, God will use them for the furtherance
of His Gospel. And they won't even know it.
They won't even have an idea what they're doing. But they
will. The Scripture says, "...Surely
the wrath of man shall praise Thee, and the remainder of wrath
Thou shalt restrain." Did those mariners want to get in those
boats? Did they want to? You bet they did. What happened? God in providence moved Paul
to tell the soldiers, so they cut the ropes. They couldn't.
They couldn't. Those soldiers, did they not
want to kill those prisoners? You bet they did. But it was
God's holy will for everyone to be saved, so in providence,
He moved the only soldier that really mattered to save Paul
and the prisoners. Believer, nothing shall move
God from His purpose of salvation. And all He purposes to save will
come to Christ at their appointed time. You think of that thief
on the cross. What a wasted life, everybody
said. Look at that man, he's a wasted
life. All he's done is steal and murder. And now then, here he is, he's
crucified. And we're done away with him. You see, that whole man's life
was being moving all the way to the appointed time of the
cross. And it was at the cross that God would save him. That
woman at the well, she'd spent all her life in adultery, trying
to please herself, trying to find peace and happiness. And
it wasn't until that appointed trip to the well that Christ
saved her. at her appointed time." Friends,
God's moving all things to save His people. Number five, He will
keep His people. The Scripture says, "...he that
hath begun a good work in you shall perform it unto the day
of Jesus Christ." All who truly believe shall believe until Christ
comes. That is a sure thing. Why? Because
God chose us, God redeemed us, God called us, and God keeps
us. Salvation is of the sovereignty of God. and none of us. Well,
secondly, this is also true, that faith and obedience to Christ
and His gospel is absolutely the responsibility of every man. It is unmistakably clear that
in all of the Scripture, salvation is of the sovereignty of God.
But it is equally true that the Scripture teaches the responsibility
of men to believe in Christ. Isaiah chapter 45. Isaiah chapter
45 and verse 22. How is it the responsibility
of all men when God has sovereignly chose His people. Isaiah 45,
verse 22. God says, "...Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all
the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none
else." Friend, God as the Creator of
all men has commanded everyone everywhere to repent. To look
unto Him. And because God has decreed this,
because God has stated this and commanded that everyone should
look unto Him, everyone is responsible to obey the command of God. Well, you say, I can't. Well, let me ask you this, can
you obey the law? And yet you're responsible too, aren't you?
It is still your responsibility to be holy. Ability has nothing to do with
responsibility, does it? Nothing. Every man is responsible. Mark chapter 16 and verse 16,
"...he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that
believeth not shall be damned." He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. Is that not clear? He that believeth
not shall be damned. God commands us to believe. Friends, salvation is not an
invitation, it's a command. Faith in Christ is a command.
John 3, verse 18, it says, "...he that believeth is not condemned,
but he that believeth not is condemned already." Why? Because
he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. Sinner beware. God will not be the cause of
your condemnation. You will be. If you will not
believe in Christ, you will not go to hell because of election.
Men go to hell because they will not believe the Son of God. You are responsible for your
sin and failure to believe. And friends, if you claim to
believe, If you claim to be a son of God, if you claim to be a
chosen, elect vessel of God, if you claim that Christ has
died for your sins, it is our responsibility to remain faithful
to Christ, believing in Christ, loving Christ, and loving each
other. It is our responsibility to stay
in the ship. To stay in Christ. Matthew 10, verse 22. He that endureth to the end,
the same shall be saved. Only those that endure in faith
in Christ will be saved. Friends, people make professions
in faith all the time. But not all of them endure, do
they? God's people will endure. Go to John 15. John chapter 15, verse 4, Jesus says, abide in me. Is that
an option? Is that an option? Is it possible for you to be
saved and not abide in Christ? Is that possible? Is it possible
for you to be chosen, redeemed, called, and kept if you are not
abiding in Christ? Is that possible? Friends, if you believe that,
I'm sorry for you. My Lord says, abide in Me. And I in you. As the branch cannot
bear forth fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more
can ye except ye abide in Me. I am the vine and you are the
branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth
forth much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing.
If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and
is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire,
and they are burned." All who trust in Christ alone
shall be saved, but all who do not abide in Christ continually
shall be damned." That is God's Word. Therefore, God says to men, how
long will you simple ones love simplicity? How long will men
love ignorance? How long will men love darkness
rather than light? God says, turn you at My reproof. Turn to Christ and believe Christ
and trust in Christ. That's God speaking. And behold, I will pour out My
Spirit upon you and I shall make known to you in My words. Friends,
God says He will save all those in the ship and everyone that
remains in the ship shall be saved. Yet everyone on the ship will obey His commands. God purposed that all on the
ship lived, and all on the ship obeyed, and guess what? All on
the ship obeyed, and all on the ship lived. Jesus says to the weary, laden
sinner, come unto Me, and you shall find rest for your souls. And I tell you, when I heard
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I came to Christ, and I've not stopped
coming to Christ. I believed in Christ, and I've
not stopped believing in Christ. I've trusted Christ, I hold to
Christ, I cling to Christ, I abide in Christ, and I'll abide there
until I die. If I'm one of His, I will. The other day I was swinging
my daughter around. I grab her by the hands and she
hangs on to me. She holds on tight. And I swing
her around. And she won't let go. But friends,
it's not her holding me, it's me holding her. And friends,
I'm holding on to Christ's hands as tight as I can, but I know
this, it's not me. It's His strength that holds
me. But you know what? I'm not going to let go. I'm
not going to let go. Why? Because He said, don't let go. And friends, if I fall off, it's
because of my disobedience and not because of Christ. If a man
ends up in hell, it'd be because of his own disobedience. If a
man ends up in heaven, it'll be because God sovereignly purposed
it, planned it, and accomplished it. You see, all the glory goes
to God. All the glory goes to God. I
pray that God blesses to your hearts. We're dismissed.

Sovereignty & Responsibility

What does the Bible say about the sovereignty of God?

How do we know that salvation depends on God's sovereignty?

Why is human responsibility important in the context of salvation?

What does it mean to 'abide in Christ'?

How do sovereignty and responsibility work together in salvation?

Sermon Transcript

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Sovereignty & Responsibility

What does the Bible say about the sovereignty of God?

How do we know that salvation depends on God's sovereignty?

Why is human responsibility important in the context of salvation?

What does it mean to 'abide in Christ'?

How do sovereignty and responsibility work together in salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Fred Evans

Comments

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