Beth-El Baptist Church

12/23/2007

Greg Tomlinson


Open: Reconciling freewill and God's sovereign power


Various questions from those in attendance.


  1. How do you reconcile man's freewill with God's sovereign power?

Deuteronomy 30:19 Ephesians 2:1-5

Ezekiel 37:1-10 John 12:32; 1:12-13; 6:44


The scriptures are clear, the choice of life and death are before each of us. From that standpoint we are to choose how to life. Do we live in obedience to God and His commands or are we to live according to our own natural, fleshly desires. But man has a severe problem, he is spiritually dead. It is impossible for man to believe what God says and what God desires without His divine intervention. Note that the scriptures tell us that no one can see Jesus unless the man is brought to Jesus by an act of the Father (John 6:44). Our salvation is not based upon our ability to do anything but it is based upon God choosing to birth us through His divine and Holy Spirit (John 1:12-13) according to His will.


Also note that the bones in Ezekiel 37 looked physically alive but there was no life in them until the Spirit of God entered into them by the breath of God. It is the same with us. We cannot understand out current position nor our inability to follow Him without the working of His Spirit.


  1. Why then does God make some men go to hell?

Romans 9:9-12; 19-23; 3:10-16 Deuteronomy 7:7-8

Judges 21:25


When the scriptures mention that “Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated”, it is important to ask which is the most surprising, God's love for Jacob or God's hatred for Esau. Most people question how God could possibly hate Esau given that God is love. This is where most start off wrong. The most difficult question to answer is how could God possibly love Jacob. Jacob was a supplanter (so his name means) or deceiver. He was not perfect in his ways as God is perfect in his. Jacob is a sinner and he justly and righteously deserves God's judgment and wrath (hatred) to be poured out upon him for the reality of his sins. It is easy therefore to see how God could hate Esau. Esau is a sinner and his sins must be atoned or paid for. The penalty of his sins against God is death or eternity in hell.


How then could God love Jacob? Simply because God chose to love Jacob (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Since the nature of man is to define and to follow after their own rules and regulations, their own righteousness, it is necessary for God to intervene in man's nature and bring about a change in the heart of man so that man to understand the great love of God and then begin to love God out of a heart of gratitude.


This is only a beginning look at this issue. Next time this issue will be covered in more detail.