Author: Administrador

ROMANS 10:16–21 But I ask, Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Romans 10:18). When Paul asks, “Did they not hear?” he is asking about Israel. The context of his question is verse 16, which says that … Continue reading “ISRAEL DESPISED HER HERITAGE”

1 SAMUEL 6:8–9 Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, … Continue reading “GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY OR CHANCE?”

DEUTERONOMY 29:29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29). A few days ago we considered man’s free will. We saw that men are free to do what they want … Continue reading “THE ORIGIN OF OUR FALLENESS”

JOHN 6:35–40 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). In John 6, Jesus sets out the doctrine of predestination to His disciples. He tells them in verse 44 that “no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent … Continue reading “THE REASON FOR SALVATION”

JOHN 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). The Reformed or Augustinian doctrine of predestination is grounded in the fact that man is so depraved in his fallenness that apart from the irresistible grace of … Continue reading “THE TOTAL INABILITY OF MAN”

ROMANS 9:11–12 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger” (Romans 9:11–12). The emphasis in this passage is on God’s purpose. The reason why the decision … Continue reading “THE BASIS FOR PREDESTINATION”

MATTHEW 28:16–20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). If God in His absolute sovereignty predestines a fixed number of people to be saved, why should we be involved in evangelism? The chief reason is … Continue reading “THE PRIVILEGE OF EVANGELISM”

EPHESIANS 1:4–6 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will (Ephesians 1:4–5). During the next two weeks we will systematically consider the … Continue reading “PREDESTINATION: A “MYSTERY””

JOB 38:1–7 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (Job 38:4). All Christians agree that God is absolutely sovereign. A good statement of God’s sovereignty is found in the Westminster Confession of Faith (3:1), which begins, “God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely … Continue reading “GOD’S ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY”

JOHN 1:6–13 Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God (John 1:13). What does it mean to have a free will? The great American theologian Jonathan Edwards said that free will is the mind choosing. What he is saying is that while there is a … Continue reading “WHAT IS MAN’S FREE WILL?”