P2 - Introducing What Southern Baptists Teach On God's Sovereignty And Human Responsibility In Salvation

John 1:12-13 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

Introduction:

In our last post we began considering article V of the Baptist Faith and Message on the subject of God's Sovereignty and human responsibility in salvation. Today we plan to conclude what is an introduction to the Southern Baptist position on these two subjects. God's Sovereign Election should not be cause for pain, but rather praise of God. Studying the nearly 100 Biblical passages that speak on the subject of Sovereign election should be cause for humility, rather than haughtiness. In like manner, we must also include man's free-moral agency, or human responsibility in the realm of human salvation. As true as it is that no one wills to be saved apart from God's willingness to save; yet we also equally affirm that none can be saved unless they exercise faith and repentance in response to the Gospel. This tension is with us and mustn't be erased nor relieved, since scripture affirms both without erasing one on account of the other nor attempting to harmonize both. The above opening text in John 1:12-13 puts side by side these two realities of human responsibility in salvation (verse 12) and God's Sovereign purposes in such salvation (verse 13). With those opening thoughts, lets continue on in our introduction to these subjects. 

Some further reflections on what Southern Baptists teach regarding God's Sovereignty and human responsibility in salvation

Southern Baptists have historically held to both the so-called "God-side" of salvation (election, foreknowledge, predestination) and the "man-ward" side of the same subject (believe, repent, response). Like a pair of tennis shoes with shoe laces running through them, tying the shoes requires me taking two strings in my hands to tie them. Yet, it is ultimately one lace that runs through eyelets of the shoe. 

The one lace of course is God's Sovereign will in salvation, which runs from beginning to end. God is to be credited for our salvation and the ultimate reasons why any Christian perseveres in their sanctification. The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 notes in the same article quoted above: 

"All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end." 

Viewing Biblical Salvation Through Both Lenses Of God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

So does the Southern Baptist statement above match with what we find in scripture? Short answer: yes. We can only do a thumbnail sketch, since over 100 passages speak on God's elective purposes of grace and the human responsibility to believe and be saved. Both truths are needed in order for us to have the proper perception of Biblical salvation, much like a good pair of 3-D glasses.  

The first lens is that of human responsibility. We know that the Bible teaches the necessity to believe and repent in order to be saved. 
God plainly says in Ezekiel 33:11 that He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but actually urges them to turn from their choice of rejecting Him. This first lens of human responsibility steers us from committing the error of thinking that God sends people to Hell. God does not send anyone to hell. Man does. This insight matches with what we read in 2 Peter 3:9, namely that God is not desiring or willing that anyone would perish, but all come to repentance. 

So what about that second lens: God's Sovereignty? Whenever you turn to 1 Peter 1:1-2, you are still looking at the same Biblical salvation. If we were to ask the question: "who is to be credited for anyone believing the Gospel freely and willingly?" Answer: God. Peter opens His epistle by noting how his readers were those who, being scattered throughout the Roman world, were "chosen according to the foreknowledge of God" (1 Peter 1:1-2). 1 Peter 1:1-2 views our salvation through the lens of Sovereignty by the appearance of such words as "foreknowledge", "chosen" and "caused" (1 Peter 1:2,3). 

In as much as the Apostles Peter and Paul taught that God is Sovereign in salvation and that no salvation could begin without His election, foreknowledge and predestination, Peter is quick to make sure we are also using that other lens of human responsibility. Peter presents this same salvation through that second lens - the lens of human responsibility to salvation by such words as "to obtain" (1:4) and "faith" (1:5, 7 and 9). 

Peter reminds us that our salvation from beginning to end is bounded by God's Sovereign purposes of grace (1:2, 20). As noted already, Peter also affirms that salvation is received by the gifting of faith and lived out by believers who obey the truths of scripture (1 Peter 1:10-17).  

Closing Thoughts: A Voice Of Southern Baptist History Weighs in on Biblical Salvation

As the late pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Dr. W.A Criswell stated about these two truths in a sermon  he preached, "God Hath Chosen You":

"Truth is a big, great, mighty mountain, and you can’t see to the top of it.  The highest-most pinnacle is shrouded in mists and in clouds and in thick darkness.  No man can see all of it.  The most a man can see in the great mountain of truth is just one side – one side at a time.  A man is so limited in his mind that he cannot even see two great truths together and make them fit."

Dr. Criswell was a champion of Biblical preaching and was a voice for his generation. He goes on further in his remarks:

"For example, there is no man that has ever lived that could make fit together these two truths, though you can talk about them one at a time: the sovereignty of God, and the free moral agency of the man.  You can look at one at a time, one side at a time, but you can’t see them both together.  You can’t even see all the truth if you were in an airplane and had an air view of it." 

Criswell then closes:

"So when we come to look at the mountain of truth – at God’s work and God Himself, who is light and life and truth – it behooves us to be very humble."

Humility and awe are the twin pillars that must be in the heart whenever we approach the Bible's teaching on salvation. 

P1 - Introducing What Southern Baptists Teach On God's Sovereignty And Human Responsibility In Salvation

1 Peter 1:1-2 "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure."

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."

Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?"

Two lenses needed to grasp the one truth of Biblical salvation: God's Sovereignty to save and man's responsibility to be saved 

Two lenses are necessary in a good pair of glasses. Why? Because in order for us to see clearly, we need two eyes to process depth perception. Depth perception is a vital component of our experience of the external world. Many people pay extra money to see "3-D" movies because of the perceived "depth-perception" in the film. Without depth perception, our world would look pretty "flat" and featureless". In like manner, without the Biblical twin-emphasis on God's Sovereignty and human responsibility, any teaching on salvation will be "flat" and "incomplete".

What Do Southern Baptists Teach On God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility in Salvation?

The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Article V, notes concerning Sovereignty and human responsibility in salvation - "Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. 

This first sentence of "Article V" in the Baptist Faith and Message affirms God's Sovereign elective purpose of grace in human salvation. The next sentence of the same article then states these words about election: 

It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility."


In both of the above quotations, we observe what the Bible already declares: there is no need to reconcile what are truly friends. Only God could design a salvation wherein there is no conflict between God's Sovereign intention to save and whosoever believes as being saved. Both of these truths: God's Sovereign elective purpose of grace and free-moral human agency in responding to such grace are the two lenses needed to grasp the totality of the Bible's teaching on salvation. 

In the next post, we will consider some further thoughts on this article in the Baptist Faith and Message regarding God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility in salvation. 

P2 - Principles Of Effective Prayer - Romans 8:26-28

Romans 8:26-28 "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Introduction:

In our last post we began considering some principles for effective prayer. Romans 8:23-28 is our target text. As a Christian and a pastor, I desire to be more effective in my prayer-life. There are some 600 prayers recorded in the Old and New Testaments. Author Richard Foster captures the importance of effective prayer in the opening of his book: "Prayer, Finding The Heart's True Home":

"We do not need to be shy. He invites us into the living room of his heart, where we can put on old slippers and share freely. He invites us into the kitchen of his friendship, where chatter and batter mix in good fun. He invites us into the dining room of his strength, where we can feast to our heart's delight. He invites us into the study of his wisdom, where we can learn, and grow and stretch...and ask all the questions we want. 

As Foster continues on with this metaphor of God's relationship with us as that of a home, he later writes:

"The key to this home, this heart of God, is prayer."

In the last post we looked at the first two principles for effective prayer: persistent expectancy of God to act on our behalf and reliance upon the Holy Spirit. Today we will close out this short study by considering two other principles. 


Acknowledging Your Weakness. Rom 8:26b-27a

This may be the most difficult of the principles to follow. No one that I know of (including myself) likes to admit they're weak. Weakness of any sort is viewed as a great liability in our world and sadly, a greater liability in the church. Only when we are acknowledging our weakness will the Spirit lend His aid.  

If there is one thing missing in our American church world, it is the sense of dependency on God. We like to come off like we have it all together: showing of strength, human ingenuity, professionalism, cleverness, no problems, personality and the like. The American church has by-and-large pursued such "shows of strength" to appeal to what it perceives the public desires. Such an environment can never foster the type of atmosphere wherein the Spirit of God will show up in supernatural power. 

Only when we are broken by God will we then be fit candidates for His deeper and healing work. I ran across this quote by Vance Havner:

“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.”

Consider again what we learn in prayer, and apply it in your Christian life or the church world: "His power is made perfect in weakness". We must approach our Heavenly Father as a little wee child comes to their daddy with upheld arms, moistened eyes and quivering voice saying: Daddy, please help me! Would any decent father reject such a plea? Hardly! How much more our Heavenly Father will grant the co-equal, co-eternal Spirit in powerful aid to those crying out in prayer (Luke 18:1-8). Our strength lies in our weakness. This message of "finding His strength in our weakness" is so alien to our culture. Nonetheless, this is what is called for in praying with power: namely praying in our weakness or dependence upon God.

Yearning by faith to do God's Will. Rom. 8:27b-28

Roman 8:27-28 contains two phrases that indicate the need to yearn for God's will as a pre-condition to effective prayer. Paul writes in Romans 8:27-28 "and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." 

The first underlined phrase could be literally rendered: "according to God". God is the standard that everything moral, spiritual, physical and human relies upon for its existence. God's will is His desire and determination from which everything proceeds and by which He governs our world. Praying according to the will of God is prerequisite to having any assurance in prayer (see Matthew 6; Luke 11; 1 John 5:14-15).

Some aspects of His will He has chosen to not reveal and others He has chosen to reveal in His Word (see Deuteronomy 29:29). There are other matters that God permits by way of secondary causes such as historic events and free-moral agents - whether they be human beings or angelic hosts. God's revealed will is the domain of human responsibility and is found within the pages of scripture. 

As we pray according to God's revealed will - we meet one of the preconditions for God acting on our behalf, since we are aligning our will with His own (see 1 John 5:14-15). As the late preacher Adrian Rogers wrote in his book: "What Every Christian Ought To Know", page 212:

"As Christians we must realize that nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God. Prayer can do anything that God can do, and God can do anything!" 

The second underlined term is found in Romans 8:28 and deals with the realm of faith - or what the Christian can know to be the case in terms of God's will. Romans 8:28 is a flagship passage for bolstering faith, since it affirms God's Sovereignty in matters of spiritual life and life in general. Sovereignty is defined in Psalm 103:19 "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all."

The sphere of "all things working together for the good" includes all the details of our world: human sin and righteousness, working to their Divinely appointed ends to achieve God's Divine purposes in Christ. Faith, according to Hebrews 11:1, is the substance of things hoped for and the certainty of things not yet seen. Thus, when we put these two underlined concepts together - we arrive at our final point of yearning by faith to do God's will. 

Closing thoughts

Today's post aimed to lay-out the remaining principles of effective prayer that we find in Romans 8:23-28. It is hoped that this study has encouraged readers. The following principles were uncovered in our study of Romans 8:23-28 -

Persistent Expectation
Reliance upon the Holy Spirit
Acknowledging your weakness
Yearning by faith to do God's will

P1 - Principles Of Effective Prayer - Romans 8:23-26a

Romans 8:26-27 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Introduction:

Paul's main theme in Romans 8 has to do with unfolding the Christian's new inheritance in Jesus Christ (compare Romans 8:16-17). As one explores Romans 8:1-25, we find that those who are in Christ by faith have the following "new" heritage as His people:

1. New Position - Romans 8:1-4

2. New Guest - the Holy Spirit - Romans     8:5-11

3. New Relationship with God - Romans     8:12-17

4. New Hope Because of God - Romans     8:18-25

In today's post, we are going to consider principles for effective prayer as spelled out in Romans 8:23-27. What is a principle? Authors Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter in their book, "The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever", page 214, note:

"A principle is an eternal rule that governs the conditions God will bless and the ways He will respond in all revivals, such as prayer, repentance, seeking God, and being filled with the Holy Spirit." 

Although their primary discussion is on the subject of revival, the inclusion of prayer and the overall idea of principles still apply. I include 8:23-25 along with Paul's main discussion of prayer in Romans 8:26-27 due to the fact that Paul begins Romans 8:26 with the phrase: "in the same way". Since Paul is dealing with the particulars of effective pray, we want to explore what it takes to have an effective prayer-life - since every person that trusts in Christ by faith has access to effective prayer. I know for my own sake, I all the time want to know how to be better and more effective in prayer. So with those thoughts in mind, let's consider for now the four particulars of effective prayer as we find them in Romans 8:23-28. 

Persistent Expectation. Rom 8:23-25

Romans 8:23-25 emphasizes persistent eager expectation of what God can and will do. Note the underlined words: "And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it."

This eagerness of which Paul speaks flows over into Romans 8:26-28. Do we expect God to move in prayer? Whenever we observe Jesus praying in the Gospels, we find Him ever expecting the Father to both hear His prayers and to move in accordance to what He prays. Oftentimes I find my lack of asking God for specific requests stems from my lack of expectation that God will move on my behalf. James 4:2b reminds us: "You do not have because you do not ask." 

Reliance on the Holy Spirit. Rom 8:26a

The Holy Spirit is our Helper, our Encourager, in prayer (see John 14:26-28; 15:26). Four times we find reference to the Spirit in Romans 8:26-27 "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." I'll admit that there are more times than not that I find myself not knowing how to pray. We have the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, Who is by nature God Himself. How we need Him! Praying in the Spirit means to pray in dependence upon Him. Jude 1:20 reminds us: "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit." Praying in the Spirit involves praying with the Word. Before we close our eyes in prayer, we must make sure we have opened our eyes to read the words of scripture. 

More next time.....

P3: A Great Question: Did God Know Adam And Eve Were Going To Sin? If So, Why Did He Create Them? - Conclusions

Romans 8:18-21 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God."

Introduction:

In our last post, we covered five key Biblical concepts that can aid greatly in answering why it was that God created a world, wherein He knew about the fall? Those five concepts were:

1. God is good
2. God is Sovereign
3. God's Permissive Will
4. Man's free-will or responsibility
5. God's Morally Sufficient Reasons

In today's post, we are going to attempt to put everything discussed in the last two posts into a final summary. 

Putting it all together

We began this short series by asking the question: "Did God know Adam and Eve were going to sin? If so why did He create them?" If we utilize the five above terms that we introduced in the last post, we can offer the following response to this question. God is good, as plainly seen from the above passages and the fact He declared all that He had made "good" or "very good" some seven times in the Bible's opening chapter. The goodness of God is the basis for how He carries out that second concept, His Sovereignty. 

Passages such as Romans 8:28 tell us that God works together all things for the "good". The idea of "all things" in terms of the believer's Christian life includes blessings, trails, triumphs and testings. If this be true of the Christian life, then on a much broader scale we can include this understanding of life in general (see Genesis 50:20; Job 42:1-2; Romans 11:36). We then see the third concept, "God's permissive will", included in this scenario of Adam and Eve. God created them with the ability to choose, which is our fourth idea mentioned above. God did not create people to be machines, but persons endowed with freedom of the will. Adam and Eve concluded in their minds that the serpent's deception represented a "greater-good" than God's revelation. God permitted this to happen in order for Him to bring about His purposes for reconciling creation and redeemed human beings and His glory. Such purposes can be fleshed out in the fifth concept of God's morally sufficient reasons. Thus we return back to Romans 8:21 "that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God."
I close with a quote from Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll: "Although God's Sovereignty may not answer all of my questions, yet, God's Sovereignty calms all my fears." 

P2: A Great Question: Did God Know Adam And Eve Were Going To Sin? If So, Why Did He Create Them? Key Ideas To Consider

Romans 8:22-25 "For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it."

Introduction:

In the last post we considered the following question: "Did God Know That Adam And Eve Were Going To Sin? If So, Why Did He Create Them?" After considering some scriptures and briefly expounding Romans 8:18-25, we arrived at the following answer: God did know that the fall was going to happen, and yet remained Sovereign. 

In today's post we want to flesh out further a response to this question by noting five Biblical concepts that can aid us in navigating through what can be deep waters on this subject.

Key Ideas Can Aid In Understanding How God Could Create The World While Knowing The Fall Would Occur

Both scripture and the history of Christian thought aids us in fleshing out how God could include the fall in His ultimate purposes and plans for creation. The following terms and ideas help us discuss these matters. 

a. God is Good

Throughout the centuries, theologians have rightly noted that God is not the author of evil and sin. Habakkuk 1:13 states - "Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up
Those more righteous than they?" God is a Holy God - meaning that He is by nature good in all He does and is (Exodus 33:17-18; 34:6-7; Psalm 136; Matthew 7:11; 19:17; James 1:17). God's goodness is necessarily good, meaning that God cannot be anything else other than the Good God. 

b. God is Sovereign

Psalm 103:19 states most plainly the fact of God's Sovereignty, as well as the definition of the term "sovereignty": "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all." 1 Timothy 6:15 sets God's Sovereignty in the center of a redounding series of praises: "which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords." God's sovereignty has to do with His will and declaration of whatsoever will come to pass as informed by His omniscience and fore-ordination. Included in God's Sovereign plan are the activities of free-moral agents, whether good or sinful (see Isaiah 45:7; Acts 2:23-24; 4:27-28); the rising and falling of godly and ungodly nations and kings (2 Samuel 7:13-16; Psalm 110; Daniel 4:35; John 19:10-11) and the overall guidance of the course of history (Acts 14:17; Acts 17:24-25).  The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 reminds us: 

"God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures."

And once more:

"God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise."

c. God's Permissive Will

Whenever Christian thinkers discuss God's will, they are referring to God's overall decision-making and decreeing process for how He will carry-out His intentions, plans and desires. Ephesians 1:11 states - "also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will". Within God's will there are important distinctions. There is what we call God's unrevealed will and revealed will (Deuteronomy 29:29), which respectively refer to what God has chosen to not reveal to us and what He has chosen to make know to us by His Word and the Lord Jesus Christ. The third distinction is that of God's permissive will. James 4:15 states on this topic of God's permissive will: "Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

This important sub-heading of God's "permissive-will" includes God's choice to use secondary causes (like physical laws, historical events) and free-will agents (such as angels, demons, human beings) that carry out His purposes. God's permissive will is an important concept to keep in mind when discussing matters of salvation or the problem of evil and suffering. Theologian Michael Horton notes:

"Thus, God only permissively decrees evil in such a way that the same decree simultaneously determines the triumph of God's just and gracious purposes in Jesus Christ."

This concept of "permissive will" is vital to grasping what God "wills to permit" in terms of the choices made by free-moral agents, since such choices and actions done by human beings are part-and-parcel of His overall purpose. 

d. Human Responsibility Or Free-will

We have looked at God's Goodness, Sovereignty and God's Permissive Will as key concepts in navigating through this question about His creation of the world despite the fact He knew that the fall would occur. Human free-will or responsibility is taught in the scripture along with the notion of God's Sovereignty. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 notes:

"....and His (God's) perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures."

and once more:

"By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race."

The idea of God decreeing history and man being a free-moral agent are not contradictory notions. The Bible teaches both and both are presented in scripture. Various models drawn up by theologians and Christian philosophers attempt to explain "how God's Sovereignty and man's free will and both function in the same world without cancelling out one another. 

We know for example that God is the one who works in bringing the sinner to their senses with the result of a genuine response to the Gospel - or what is called regeneration in saving faith (see John 3:3-5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23). Yet we find in these chapters that unless the sinner trusts in Christ with genuine faith and repentance, there can be no application of His saving benefits won for them on the cross (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9). 

We do know one thing for sure: man's free will operates upon that person's greatest desire and their nature. The will of a person is not neutral. Whatever a person deems to be the greatest good in their mind and in accords to their nature, the human-will follows suit. Thus, human beings freely reject God and knowingly so, since by nature, the sinner freely chooses to prefer sin over Christ and the Gospel, resulting in their blameworthiness (Acts 13:46; 18:6; 1 John 2:19). 

Conversely, for those sinners responding to the Gospel do so as a result of God's grace, the Spirit's working in their hearts and their efforts of resisting the Spirit's promptings stopped by their own accord, with the full credit going to God for their salvation (Acts 16:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Titus 3:4-5). 

Therefore when it comes to the matter of evil, all evil is chosen by the creature, whether Satan (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28; John 8:56); demons or Adam and his descendants. The matter of evil coming into our world is due to the creature concluding that creation, even good and unspoiled creation (including themselves) is preferable to God. God's will, with respect to His free-will creatures choosing to sin, is His permissive will. As theologian A.A Hodge notes: 

"In the case of every free act of a moral agent, the act shall be perfectly spontaneous and free on the part of the agent."

e. God's Morally Sufficient Reasons

When we consider God's goodness, sovereignty and permissive will, we find that in discussion about these attributes, the notion of God's morally sufficient reasons comes into view. This concept of God's "morally-sufficient reasons" is crucial when discussing how it could be that He permits evil and suffering while being Sovereign. In scripture we can note four such morally-sufficient reasons:

a. The greater good for His glory. John 9:5; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

b. Character development. James 1:3-4

c. Opportunities where people can respond to the Gospel. Acts 8:1ff

d. Development of faith. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Helpful illustrations, such as cardiologist performing open-heart surgery by "breaking" the ribs to access a diseased heart or the case in which parents allow little-ones learning to walk to fall on their bottoms to encourage them to get up and try to walk can show the plausibility of "morally sufficient reasons" in real-life.

Conclusions for today 

We introduced the reader to five key theological ideas that are derived from scripture and careful reflection on how to discuss God's creation of a world that included the fall, evil and human responsibility. Those five concepts were:

1. God is good
2. God is Sovereign
3. God's Permissive Will
4. Man's free-will or responsibility
5. God's Morally Sufficient Reasons

In the next post, we are going to attempt to put everything discussed in today's post and last post into a proposed model that summarizes this important but difficult discussion.

P1: A Great Question: Did God Know Adam And Eve Were Going To Sin? If So, Why Did He Create Them?

Romans 8:18-20 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope."

Introduction:
It always amazes me the range of questions people ask me from time to time. Some of the most penetrating questions derive from children. One young lady in our church recently asked me the question about whether God knew about the fall of Adam and Eve before He created them. Her concern was that if God knew such a fact, why then did He create Adam and Eve? Such questions touch upon a much discussed topic among thinkers that we call “the problem of pain” or “the problem of evil and suffering”. In today’s post, we want to see what scripture has to say to us about this question and the relationship between God’s plans and purposes for creating a world that included free-will beings such as ourselves, His allowance for evil in our world and His plan for bring about a solution to it.

God did know that the fall was going to happen, and yet remained Sovereign

In Romans 8:18-25, we find what is perhaps the clearest statement in scripture regarding the relationship between God's Sovereignty, the reality of evil in our world and His purposes for allowing such. Romans 8:18 begins with a blanket statement from Paul regarding his approach to this issue: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." 

Paul does not skirt the issue of evil and suffering, but rather indicates that it is included in God's purposes. We then see this statement in Romans 8:19-20 "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope."

The reader can note the underlined portion of Romans 8:20. When I first read what Paul writes in Romans 8:20 (namely: "because of Him who subjected it, in hope"), I found the clause to be quite startling. God is depicted as somehow including not just the possibility, but the actuality of the intrusion and entrance of sin into our world. With that fact acknowledged, God's willing of our world and His choice to permit evil and suffering as so perpetrated by free-moral agents takes nothing away from the fact that God is Sovereign. Psalm 103:19 defines for us God's Sovereignty: "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all."

In the next post, we will introduce the reader to some terms that can aid us in walking through the Bible's revelation of God's Sovereignty, the reality of evil and the reality of human responsibility. 

The Bible never dodges this subject of the fall, pain and suffering and God's Sovereignty in the midst of it all. Romans 8:22-23 describes the presence of evil and suffering in our world as "groaning" and "pain": "For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body." 

Conclusions for today:

In short, God did know that in His purposes and plans for creating our world, the realities of evil, suffering and human responsibility would be included.1 


Endnotes:

1. To deny God's omniscience and decision to permit such details leads to a disastrous alternative: that evil and suffering were accidents, and that the cross of Christ was God's "plan-b" as it were. Thus, God's choice (or decree) to create this version of history included the fall, the cross of Christ and those persons who would choose Him by grace and those who would freely reject Him by by-passing God's overtures of grace to them. 

God's omniscience is defined as His knowledge of all the information contents of true statements and sentences that describe a given version of reality (also called "propositions"). For example, if I would choose to eat cereal for breakfast or a pop-tart, either choice could be freely made by me. God in His omniscience, and particularly His natural knowledge, knew before-hand every possible history, including those in which I eat cereal or a pop-tart. If I eat the cereal, then God already knew I would do so, and thus I would be the one eating it. 

However, if I decide on a pop-tart instead, again God knew what I would do, since my eating a pop-tart can be true or my eating cereal can be true. Either way, God knew all the possibilities, brought into being the particular version of history He wanted to before it happened, and included my ability to choose in the carrying forth of His ultimate ends. 

This aspect of God's omniscience, whereby He knew of every possible version of history or "world" is what theologians call God's "natural knowledge" (see Psalm 139:1-6; Psalm 145; Romans 11:33-36). God's "knowledge" of the future can be best described as part of the concepts He possessed in His mind from all eternity. As God knew of the future before it happened, He then made a decision or a decree to bring about that version of history that was most feasible and suitable in accomplishing His most-wise ends (what theologians call God's "free-knowledge"). God's free-knowledge, whereby He freely-chose to create this version of history, including the detail of human beings endowed with freedom of the will, means that His Sovereign decree does in no-way eliminate what are genuine human choices.

Happy Pentecost Sunday 2017 - Nine Reasons Why Pentecost Is Important

Leviticus 23:15-16 "And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord

Acts 2:1-2 "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting."

Introduction: What Is Pentecost?

Happy Pentecost Sunday! Christians the world over celebrate today in commemoration of the event of the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. The New Testament records that the Holy Spirit came in power and presence, birthing forth the early church some 50 days after Jesus Christ's resurrection. Pentecost Sunday occurs 50 days after Easter (hence the reason for the name "pentecost", "penta" = "50"), and is the focus of today's blog.  

Let the reader note that Pentecost, though pointing primarily to the day in which the Holy Spirit came in power and glory to empower Christ's church, was not originally a New Testament holiday. Back in the Old Testament, during the days of Moses, God revealed to the Jews seven "festivals" or "feasts".  The middle festival on the Jewish Calendar was referred to by various names: "Shavu'ot", "Feast of Weeks",  and of course "Pentecost".  As you will see in a moment, Pentecost has great significance for the Christian in understanding the wider scope of redemption revealed in the Bible.  

Nine Reasons Why Pentecost Is Important

Below I am going to list reasons why Pentecost is so important for Christian's as we see in both the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

1. Pentecost's Purpose: Harvest

It was to occur 50 days after the bringing forth of the first fruit of the barley harvest, the day which would become Jesus' resurrection of the dead. The Jews had two harvest seasons: spring harvest for Barley and Summer Harvest for the Wheat crop.  Among other images, wheat symbolizes the harvest of souls in salvation.  (Matthew 3, 12 and 13)  We know from Acts 2 that 3,000 souls were saved on the day the Holy Spirit came - a mighty harvest indeed! (Acts 2:41)

2. Priority of God's Word

The very first festival revealed to the Jews was that of Passover, commemorating God's deliverance of them out of Egypt. (Exodus 12-15) Fifty days after their crossing the Red Sea, God delivered the Law or Torah on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19-20.  Through the centuries the Jews came to connect their celebration of that fiftieth day not only for the purpose of God's revealed festival of Pentecost, but also the revelation of His Law or Torah to them. A significant parallel connects the very first Pentecost with the one in Acts: namely at the time of the Law's revelation, 3,000 souls died (compare Exodus 32:28).  However in the New Testament Pentecost in Acts 2, 3,000 souls were saved!

3. Prophecy is fulfilled

Peter preached on the day of Pentecost the explanation behind the Spirit's arrival.  In Acts 2:17-21 Peter quotes verbatim Joel 2:28-31, a prophecy written almost 800 years before the events in Acts.

4. Promise fulfilled

Jesus had promised His disciples in John 14 and 16 that He would not leave them comfortless.  Once He ascended in to Heaven, the promise was made that the Father and He would send the Holy Spirit in His name.  Jesus kept His promise to both His disciples and us, thus another significant truth about Pentecost.

5. Person of the Holy Spirit

Let's not forget of course the chief purpose and goal of Pentecost: The coming of the Holy Spirit as a Permanent and Abiding Person in Christ's church Who is at work in this world.  He is God the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity.  In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit worked on the outside and would come upon people at periodic times.  In this New Covenant age, the Holy Spirit works from the inside-out in Christians and is the Permanent Resident of the church and individual saints (1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:6).  In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit pointed saints forward to God's Promise of salvation yet to come.  In this present age the Holy Spirit since Pentecost points people back to the Person of salvation - Jesus Christ, and by the scriptures explains and applies Christ's finished work to all who convicted by Him believes.

6. Proof that Jesus raised from the dead and is Ascended

Pentecost, as John Piper notes, is the reason we know anything about Easter. The fact that the Holy Spirit came is proof that Jesus did indeed raise from the dead and that He made it to heaven to be at the Father's right hand. Pentecost and it's outcome is proof positive that Christ is ascended and that the Gospel is undoubtedly true.

7. Preview of things to come

The seventh significant purpose or reason for Pentecost in the scripture lies in the fact that the Spirit came to give His people a preview.  Throughout the 224 prophecies that pertain to Christ's return and the coming Kingdom, we are told about a New Heavens and new Earth where there will be no curse.  In Acts 2, we see evidence of God reversing, on a local level, the curse of the languages He pronounced originally in Genesis 11:1-10 at Babel. 
Throughout Acts 10 and 19, this miracle would be repeated.  Pentecost tongues was a miracle insofar as 17 different language groups got to hear the Gospel all at once from men who had never been trained in them.1

For a brief span of hours, the Spirit so gifted the Apostles to share Christ with nationalities gathered at Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost.  Another curse that was reversed and gave a foretaste of things to come is the fact that the Spirit returned to the Lord's temple. Ezekiel the Prophet saw the Spirit of God leave the temple in Ezekiel 9-10. However the Spirit came back to inhabit a new temple of flesh and blood, the church.  

We know that when Christ comes back, Israel will be restored and she will be indwelt by the Spirit of God. (Zechariah 12-14; Romans 11:25-26) Previews such as these are granted to us as a result of Pentecost.

8. Person of Christ

Jesus Christ in His pre-Pentecost state concerning His humanity was limited to being in one place and at one time. Whenever the Spirit came, though Christ was in Heaven, still retaining a glorified humanity, yet by His Divine nature shared together with the Spirit, we can on an experiential level be ministered to by Jesus through the Holy Spirit.  

To illustrate, I can watch and experience events half-way around the world by way of television.  Though those events and people are localized from the origin of the signal, yet by way of the signal beamed to my satellite dish, I can experience them.  Likewise the Holy Spirit, sharing in the same Divine nature with the Divine Son of God, brings the Person of Christ to us, Who touching His humanity is localized in Heaven at the Father's right hand.  This post-Pentecost Jesus is thus able to minister globally and universally to each of his people by the Holy Spirit's ministry.

9. Partition between Old and New Testaments

When did the Old Testament or Covenant come to an end, and when did the New Testament era or Covenant begin?  Acts 2 is the international dateline of the Bible.  Though from a literary standpoint our New Testaments begin at Matthew, yet from a chronological standpoint, Pentecost in Acts 2 is the official beginning of the church age.  Now mind you, it would take 30 years on either side of Pentecost before the transition from Old to New Covenant was complete.  Jesus' entry into time by His virgin birth 30 years before Pentecost signaled the beginning of the end of the Old Testament economy.  Likewise by the end of Acts 2, some 30 years after Pentecost, the New Testament church age was well underway and in full swing.

Closing thoughts:

May you dear friend have a wonderful Lord's day and remember: fifty days after Easter is Pentecost Sunday.  My hope is that through these thoughts from scripture, we can gain an ever richer view of all the Lord has done for us by the sending of His Holy Spirit, Who points us to Jesus.  

Endnotes________________________

1. I don't believe the gift of tongues spoken of in the Bible has anything to do with a private prayer language or ecstatic utterance.  Rather the gift of tongues was given at Pentecost for the purpose of evangelizing people groups whose language had not been previously learned, rather than for private edification.  

I have some dear friends who will advocate the prayer language position from passages such as 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.  However the context of those two chapters actually undercuts the private prayer language position, since the Apostle Paul is urging his readers to seek the greater gifts that will "edify the body".  

Oftentimes, modern tongue speakers will claim that their abilities bring personal edification, an outcome that is opposite of what Paul was teaching in the Corinthian letters.  Whatever may be claimed about the modern day phenomenon called tongues, I don't personally think the phenomena called "tongues" matches the gift of tongues recorded here in the New Testament.

God's Necessary Existence And Christian Apologetics & Evangelism

Isaiah 44:6-9 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

‘I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.
7 ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. 8 ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’”

Introduction:

The last few posts have been dedicated to unpacking the Biblical, theological and life-practical applications of God's necessary existence. God's necessary existence describes in what way God exists. To be a necessarily existing being means that it is impossible for such a being not to exist. The closest illustrations we may have of necessarily existing things are ententies such as numbers, laws of logic and moral standards. Such things might exist in God's mind as part of His Divine character. All other beings and things in our universe exist contingently, meaning that their existence is based upon something or someone outside of themselves. A contingent being or thing could had been different or could not had existed at all; whereas with God, He cannot be different than what He already is and as already noted, He must exist. For further reflection on these ideas, I invite the reader to review back through the last couple of postings. 

In today's post I want to close out our series on God's necessary existence by seeing how this truth of God factors into how one does Christian apologetics and evangelism. Christian apologetics refers to the defense and communication of the Christian faith to opponents and curious questioners. With respect to evangelism, apologetics functions as a plow in turning-up the evangelistic soil so that the evangelistic endeavor can plant the seeds of the Gospel. God's necessary existence has factored into one of the most profound arguments for His existence ever devised. 

Why is there something rather than nothing? Introducing the Theistic Argument from God's Necessity

The seventeenth century genius G.W. Leibnitz raised a question that represents one of the oldest question in the history of human thought: "why is there something rather than nothing?" In raising this question, Leibnitz crafted the following argument that serves to explain the type of cause behind the existence of the universe:

Premise #1: Anything that exists is an explanation for its existence whether by necessity of its nature or external cause. 

Premise #2: The universe has an explanation for its existence, which is God

Premise #3: The universe exists

Premise #4: Therefore the universe has an explanation for its existence

Premise #5: Therefore, the explanation for the universe’s existence is God

Thankfully there is a video available online that visualizes and explains this argument here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPCzEP0oD7I&t=6s

Considering some questions about this argument and possible responses raised by critics

Now when we look over this argument, some questions might be raised which can in turn be given satisfactory responses. 

1. Why is the first premise not susceptible to the objection that some truths may have no explanation for their truth? 

To say that the universe is all there is begs the question: Why does the universe exist? As the first premise states, anything that exists has an explanation for its existence, whether it is necessary or contingent (that is, dependent on something or someone outside of itself).

2. Explain why the typical atheist is himself committed to the truth of the second premise. 

Premise #2 is logically equivalent to the Atheistic assertion that: if the universe has an explanation for its existence, then atheism is not true, and thus theism is true. 

3. Why is the second premise quite plausible in its own right? 

The cause must be greater than the effect, and other than its effect. Hence, A timeless, spaceless, non-physical mind that is eternal and necessary chose to create a time-bound, space-time reality that is physical, non-animate and contingent. 

4. What response can be made to someone who claims that perhaps the universe exists by a necessity of its own nature? 

A necessarily existing object cannot be differently configured or exist otherwise than what it is. A contingent object could be otherwise than what it is. Our universe could be different, since the constants for instance operate regardless of the universe’s physical properties. Hence the universe cannot be necessarily existing.

Why is this argument important for Christian apologetics and evangelism?

The argument from God's necessary existence does something that no other theistic argument can do: provide an explanation for why the particular cause of the universe must be a necessarily existing, all-powerful, timeless, spaceless, un-embodied mind (i.e God). This argument also explains why the universe cannot be eternal or necessary, but instead finite and contingent or dependent upon God for its existence. The eternality of the universe or even other proposed scenarios for the cause of the universe, such as the so-called "multiverse" or the universe simply being its own cause are shown quite implausible, since none of those causes are "necessarily existing causes". 

Closing thoughts:

I know these notions can get us deep in the weeds, but they are worth considering, since in our apologetics and evangelism, we are proclaiming the One true living God worthy of worship who has been decisively revealed through Jesus Christ. Consequently, Jesus himself as God in human flesh is the One Person who both exists necessarily by virtue of His deity (Colossians 1:13-16; Hebrews 1:1-14; 13:8) and contingently by virtue of His humanity (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:35; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 2:18). As a final thought, I would encourage readers to visit the website: reasonablefaith.org and check out the apologetic resources that explain further what we have looked at this post.