“In light of what we have considered, we see that it is inaccurate to talk about free will, as though there were an autonomous thing inside of us, capable of acting in any direction, regardless of the motives of our hearts. If such a thing existed — a creature who made choices apart from the …
Gold or Gravel
“Our words and actions, therefore, are determined not by an autonomous will, but rather by our nature — whether good or bad . . . because our choices proceed from our hearts, our responsibility before God is not limited in the slightest. Our words are determined by our hearts, and we will be judged on …
The Deepest Will
“Christ teaches that choices come from the heart. The will does not command the heart; the heart commands the will” (Back to Basics, p. 20).
The Calvinist Beachhead in Every Christian Heart
“Scripture itself is a testimony that divine sovereignty does not destroy human responsibility. The sovereignty of God pervades every page of the Bible — in fact, every word. And yet, who wrote the book of Romans? Whose words are they? Whose personality stands out on every page? The answer, of course, is Paul (Rom. 1:1). …
No Tension Whatever
“When I was first struggling with this issue, Acts 4:27-28 was my undoing. ‘For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Piliate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.’ The most heinous …
Supersized Is Not Sovereignty
“God is not Zeus. He is not an oversized creature. He inhabits eternity; from everlasting to everlasting, He is God (Ps. 90:2). He is over all, in all, and through all. Nothing happens apart from His full knowledge and presence (Heb. 4:13). Nevertheless, God does not live in the same environment as we do, which …
No Need to Reconcile Friends
“From cover to cover, the Bible teaches that divine sovereignty and human responsibility are compatible with one another; nowhere does the Bible even suggest that the affirmation of divine sovereignty leads to a denial of human liberty. Yet, those who oppose the doctrine of divine sovereignty constantly appeal to the court of human reason and, …
Although Sometimes They Do
“When the apostle Paul, with great wonder, asks, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become his counselor?’ (Rom. 11:34), he is not expecting an upstart in the back row to raise his hand” (Back to Basics, p. 8).
Conflicted Feminism
“Our feminist culture today hates women, despises them . . . The sexual revolution was a revolution of promiscuous males, for promiscuous males, and by promiscuous males” (Beyond Stateliest Marble, p. 237).
A Different Debate Entirely
“The debate between the forces of egalitarianism and those who embrace the biblical order is not a debate between those who want to paint something blue and those who want to paint it red. Rather it is a debate between those who want to let water run downhill and those who want to sweep it …