Today, most professing Christians, without realizing it, consider God as defeated and frustrated. They believe God wills and promises to do all sorts of things that will not be accomplished either because of circumstances beyond God's control, or things that God has decided not to control, or because men and women refuse to cooperate. We must see that if there is anything beyond God's control, He is not God, because He is not sovereign and omnipotent. If there is anything He has decided not to control, then He is not God because He is mutable, unfaithful, and foolish. Can you imagine this universe or anything in it left to chaos and anarchy? If there is anything that God has left in the hands of sinful, ungodly men and women, then He is not God, because He is unfaithful and unjust. God promised to redeem mankind through a remnant according to the election of grace, and He conditioned the whole of this salvation upon His beloved Son. If redemption is ultimately determined by the wills of sinful, ungodly men, then there will be no redemption.

This is why the false notion of universal atonement denies God's sovereignty and God's sovereign will. It makes salvation conditioned on man's will not God's will. But the Bible tells us that salvation is conditioned on God's sovereign will -

• Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will ... Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself ... In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. [Ephesians 1:5,9,11]

Is this teaching that man does not have a will, or that man does not have to respond to the gospel in faith and repentance? NO! Man has a will just as he has a mind and the ability to reason and to understand things intellectually. But by nature man's mind and will are depraved and under the powers of darkness. This issue strikes at the very heart of the main argument between true Christianity (grace) and religious humanism (works) that comes in the name of Christianity. It has to do with: How sovereign is God? How sinful is man? What is the only ground of salvation? What really makes the difference between eternal life in heaven or eternal condemnation in hell?

I. THE NECESSITY OF GOD'S SOVEREIGN WILL IN SALVATION - The Bible reveals that salvation and everything it includes comes by the sovereign will of God, and that if sinners respond willingly in faith and repentance, it is due to God's sovereign will.

By nature we are all unwilling to come to God for salvation because by nature "there is no fear of God before our eyes" (Romans 3:18). This means we have no regard or respect for the honor of God's character revealed in salvation conditioned on Christ and based on His righteousness alone. Because we are born in Adam, in a corrupt state, and because we have inherited Adam's sinful nature, we will not submit to God's way of salvation totally by grace. Our wills are in bondage to self-love, religious pride, and self-righteousness. Someone said, "Well, we can choose what we want." Yes, but the problem is that we do not want salvation based solely upon a righteousness imputed, one freely given. We want salvation or some part of it conditioned on ourselves. We think too much of our righteousness and too little of Christ and His righteousness. This is why God's Word defines lostness as it relates to an ignorance or being not submitted to Christ's righteousness as the only ground of salvation, the only difference between lost and saved (Romans 10:1-3).

• And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [John 3:19]

• And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. [John 5:40]



• No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. [John 6:44]



• There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. [Romans 3:11]



• The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. [Romans 8:7]



• But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. [1 Corinthians 2:14]

All of this shows the necessity of salvation being by God's sovereign grace conditioned on the Lord Jesus Christ. God justifies the ungodly based on the imputed righteousness of Christ. And when God saves us, we cannot take any credit for our choosing God. If we choose God, it is because He first chose us and drew us to Himself. As Jeremiah said, the heart of natural man is so desperately wicked and deceitful that if he is left to himself he will never come to Christ (Jeremiah 17:9). The wickedness to which he refers includes any thoughts of salvation based on anything other than the imputed righteousness of Christ.

Think about this. Are sinners by nature willing to admit that before hearing and believing this specific truth that they were lost and their deeds were evil? NO! But sinners are ready and willing to think that their faith, repentance, perseverance, or obedience makes the difference or some part of the difference between saved and lost. Nowhere can we see the bondage of man's will and the power of sin over man's will than in his willingness to believe a universal atonement and a conditional salvation. Sinners love to make Christ and His blood a mere pedestal upon which they can stand and boast of their free-will choice, their free-will exercise of faith. This is wicked.

II. THE OPERATION OF GOD'S SOVEREIGN WILL IN SALVATION

• 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 dew of thy youth. [Psalms 110:3]

How does God make His people willing. "The day of [God's] power" here refers to the day when God the Holy Spirit regenerates God's elect and brings them to saving faith and true repentance through the preaching of the Gospel. It is said of all who believe the Gospel -

• But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. [John 1:12-13]



• For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. [Romans 9:15-16]

God makes them willing to receive His sovereign mercy in Christ. He does this by sending His Holy Spirit to convince them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8-11). By the preaching of the gospel - God's promise of salvation conditioned on Christ alone, wherein His righteousness is revealed as the only ground of salvation, He convinces them:

(1) OF SIN - God is so holy it is impossible for a sinner to be saved if salvation is conditioned on the sinner's will, faith, repentance, or anything other than Christ. He convinces them that everything (works, experiences, reformations, dedications) before saving faith (believing in Christ and submitting to His righteousness) was sinful (dead works and fruit unto death).

(2) OF RIGHTEOUSNESS - The only ground of salvation is the imputed righteousness of Christ and that God will save every sinner who comes trusting in Christ alone and pleading His righteousness as the only ground of salvation.

(3) OF JUDGMENT - All who are either ignorant of or not submitted to Christ's righteousness are lost and that we cannot speak peace to them.

This convincing comes through the mind and understanding as God the Holy Spirit applies God's truth to us (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Romans 6:17-18). God the Holy Spirit enlightens our minds, removes the darkness that held us in bondage, and changes our affections and our wills to bring us to God in faith and repentance. Read 1 Thessalonians 1:4-9 --

• (4) Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. (5) For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. (6) And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: (7) So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. (8) For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. (9) For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;

III. GOD'S SECRET WILL AND GOD'S REVEALED WILL - We must also make a distinction in God's will in order to have honorable views of God's character and right views of man's responsibility.

• The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law. [Deuteronomy 29:29]

This verse makes a distinction between God's will in His eternal purpose (the secret things) and God's will in His declarations and commandments (revealed things). This distinction is made throughout the Bible. God's will in His eternal purposes refer to what God will definitely do or cause to be done. These are things God has predestinated from the beginning. They will come to pass. They will not fail (Isaiah 46:9-11). God's will will be done. God's will in His declarations and commandments refers to the things that God has revealed as our rule of duty and obedience. These are all God's commands for which all of His subjects are responsible and accountable.

God's will of eternal purpose (His counsels and decrees) cannot be broken or frustrated. His will in this sense is immutable, infallible, and effectual in the accomplishment of all that God has willed or purposed. Whatever God has willed within Himself must be done. God's will revealed in His commandments, His law, His threats, His promises, are holy, just, and good. They are for our good and the good of others. Yet, all men disobey and ignore God's commandments. All are sinners and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

God's sovereign will is revealed in His counsels and purposes. For example, God purpose is to glorify Himself in the full, free, eternal salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ. In order to accomplish this purpose God has chosen a definite number of sinners out of Adam's fallen race, and He conditioned all of their salvation upon His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He sent Christ as the Representative and Surety of His elect to become incarnate, obey the law, die for their sins, and satisfy all the conditions for their salvation. Christ was sent to establish a righteousness that would enable God to be just and justifier of the elect and, therefore, to insure their whole salvation.

We know all of God's elect are going to be saved. Who are they? This is God's secret will. He has not revealed who all of His elect ones are. He has revealed that all of His elect will be saved based on the righteousness of Christ and through faith. God has revealed that all whom He elected before time, will hear the Gospel and believe it and repent in time. So that we know and recognize God's elect only as they hear and respond in faith and repentance to the Gospel. Sinners who hear the Gospel are commanded and fully responsible to believe that Gospel.

• And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. [Mark 16:15-16]



• The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. [Mark 1:15]



• But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference. [Romans 3:21-22]



• The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. [2 Peter 3:9]

This refers to God's secret will, His sovereign purpose to save His elect. God is not willing that any of them should perish. They will not perish. They will all come to repentance. Repentance is a change of mind concerning God's character and His way of salvation through Christ. They way God's elect come to repentance is through faith in Christ. How will we know if we or anyone are the elect of God? They will all come to repentance.

• And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent. [Acts 17:30]

When a sinner hears the Gospel, it is not that sinner's responsibility to try to find out if he is one of God's elect or not. It is his responsibility to believe the Gospel and repent. Why? Because God commands it. Because it honors God and exalts Christ. Because it is the only way of salvation for any sinner. Why would any sinner refuse? Because of self-love, self-righteousness, and religious pride. Sinners are not bound to discover God's eternal purpose concerning them in order to qualify them to believe God's Gospel of salvation based on the righteousness of Christ. They are bound only to obey God's commandment to flee to Christ to escape from the wrath to come.

• Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. [Acts 7:51]

Did these unbelievers resist God's eternal, sovereign will? Did they, by their free will, prevent the irresistible power of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing the will of God who is trying to save everyone if only they will cooperate? NO! They did resist and oppose and refuse God's revealed command to believe the Gospel. All sinners will do this until God's sovereign power arrests them and makes them willing to come to Christ. But all are responsible to believe (Romans 10:9-13).

Do not be afraid of the "whosoevers" of the Bible. "Whosoever believeth" -- Believe what? "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord" -- Who is the Lord? What is His name? When these questions are answered properly from God's word, then we see that by nature man is unwilling to believe and unwilling to call upon His name.

• And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. [Revelation 22:17]