The Word Unleashed - Radio

The doctrine of divine election is often misunderstood and caricatured, so much so that its true teaching is often obscured or disregarded. If we aren’t careful, we can allow inaccurate and inadequate explanations of this doctrine to cloud our understanding to the point that we outright reject it altogether.

In Romans 9, the apostle Paul sets out to explain why the nation of Israel had largely rejected the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though they are the people of God through the line or seed of Abraham, many of them had not embraced Jesus Christ for salvation but rather rejected Him.

In Romans 9, the apostle Paul addresses a crucial question: If God is a saving and justifying God, why have His covenantal people, the nation of Israel, largely rejected Jesus as the Messiah? That’s what Paul answers in Romans 9—and he sets out to explain that they haven’t believed in Jesus because of a divine, sovereign election.

James 4 warns believers to never forget or doubt God’s sovereignty because such acts are sin against a holy God. As we conclude this series in James 4, let us never forget that our King sits on His throne, ruling over all things, and as His people, we can trust that He is working out His good and perfect plan.

James writes so that Christians of all ages will embrace the sovereignty of God in their lives. But James isn’t writing only to establish several theological truths. He also writes so Christians will know how to practically respond to the great truth of God’s sovereignty. This first and foremost begins with a humble acceptance of God’s mighty power and His providential workings.

As Christians, we must acknowledge that God is sovereign and in control of all things, because the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, teaches such a profound truth. This means there is no such thing as accidents or coincidences, but all things are under the sovereign control of our good and gracious God.

There are many unbelievers in the world today who overtly deny the rule of God over all things in heaven and on earth. Although most Christians wouldn’t overtly deny such a reality, it is possible to subtly deny God’s sovereignty by the way we live.

The Bible teaches that God is sovereign, which simply means that He exercises absolute control over all things. For us as Christians, this means that God controls every aspect of our lives. He is said to be our King and our Lord. The Bible also teaches about God and His providence; that is, He works out His sovereignty in every moment of our individual lives.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we must recognize that God is not only sovereign over all of human history but also over the details of our individual lives. The philosophies of the world teach that things happen by chance, fate, or coincidence. But the Bible teaches otherwise.

At its heart, Daniel 11 is a powerful reminder and great reassurance for us, as Christians, that God is on His throne and that one day all the kingdoms and nations will be handed over to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Until then, rulers, empires, and governments will rise and fall; they will be here one day and then gone another. But for God and His plan and purposes, they will never be shaken.