God’s Absolute Sovereignty - by John MacArthur

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Dr. MacArthur is a Calvinist. Calvinism is a theological system promulgated by John Calvin in the 1500s, a collection of odd doctrines that have gained wide acceptance and are fiercely defended by its adherents. Calvinism is roughly represented by the acronym TULIP:

• Total depravity - people do not have the ability to participate in the salvation process in any way.
• Unconditional election - those who God chose to be saved are the elect.
• Limited atonement - Jesus died only for the elect.
• Irresistible grace - the elect cannot resist salvation.
• Perseverance of the saints - the elect cannot lose or forfeit their salvation.

Notice that none of these doctrines have anything to do with Christian living, generosity, worship, growing in faith, or living a holy life. They simply aren't relevant. But they are endlessly explained by the likes of Dr. MacArthur, which is really the purpose of his article. He's not explaining Christianity or even God's sovereignty, he's explaining Calvinism.

He wrestles with the conflicts created by his Calvinistic doctrine. Recognizing that he backs himself into theological corners, Dr. MacArthur declares that the reasons are unknowable and simply moves on. Now, we should say that we are not suggesting that everything about God is explainable, but rather that Calvinism makes it harder.

The main issue here, however, is the idea of God's sovereignty. We think Dr. MacArthur misuses the term. Sovereignty is simply the power or authority to rule. But to Calvinists like Dr. MacArthur sovereignty means absolute control. That is, because God is sovereign He is required to control everything. We think, however, that God gets to define His own sovereignty, that He isn't required to exercise His power simply because He possesses it, and that free will does not come limit God's power or majesty in any way.

This means that the word must be misdefined to fit Calvinistic doctrine. The Bible doesn't really use the word in the manner Dr. MacArthur does. In the OT it is Yahweh Adonai [God the Lord; for example, in Ge. 15:2 where the NIV translates it "Sovereign Lord"]. The NT, also in the NIV, has several instances of "Sovereign Lord," but here we find single word, kurios [Lord or Master; for example, Matt 4:10] or despotés [ruler, for example, Luke 2:29]. "Sovereign" isn't in the Greek.

Lastly, we are thankful he quotes a good amount of Scripture, something surprisingly rare among some of these so-called Bible teachers. All of the verses are the standard ones Calvinists appeal to. 

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No doctrine is more despised by the natural mind than the truth that God is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. (This is a definition of absolute control, not absolute sovereignty.)

The carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal decrees. Most of all, the flesh hates the notion that salvation is entirely God’s work. (Calvinism.)

If God chose who would be saved, and if His choice was settled before the foundation of the world, then believers deserve no credit for their salvation. (Calvinism.)

But that is, after all, precisely what Scripture teaches. (We hope he will accurately teach us the Bible.)

Even faith is God’s gracious gift to His elect. (Calvinism.)

Jesus said, “No one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:65). “Nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27). Therefore no one who is saved has anything to boast about (cf Ephesians 2:8–9). “Salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). (Now we have Dr. MacArthur's first biblical defense. So in context, what does Jesus mean when John writes, "no one can come to me?" A careful Bible student would want to know who Jesus was talking to when He said this. 

We find He was teaching in a synagogue [Jn. 6:59] to Jews [Jn. 6:52]. Let's quote a bit more of the passage:

Jn. 6:64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no-one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”

John was obviously referring to a group of disciples and also the Twelve. These were all Jews in the first century. We are not them.

Neither the Matthew verse nor the Ephesians verse even teach election.)

The doctrine of divine election (Calvinism.)

is explicitly taught throughout Scripture. For example, in the New Testament epistles alone, we learn that all believers are “chosen of God” (Titus 1:1). (Well, no. This verse does not say that all believers are chosen of God. We shall quote the entire verse: 

Tit. 1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness...

We see specifically there is an elect. Once again, a careful Bible student would ask questions, like, who are the elect? Such a Bible student would begin researching Paul's use of the term in context. He would discover that the elect are the children of the promise [Ro. 9:8], the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were Jews:

Ro. 11:7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened...

We are not them.)

We were “predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11, emphasis added). “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. . . . He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Ephesians 1:4–5). (We have covered the Ephesians passage several times in our blog, but we will go ahead and restate the obvious: Predestination is not about us. Paul used the pronoun "we" several times in this passage, and then helpfully told his readers who "we" is: 

Ep. 1:11-12 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

"We" are those who were the first to hope in Christ. This is not you and I. Paul immediately changed the pronoun to "you," directly telling the Ephesian church about their status: 

Ep. 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth...

So we discover that the elect are those who were the first to hope in Christ, while the rest of us were included in predestination when we believed.)

We “are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son. . . and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:28–30). (Yet again we must appeal the the duty of a careful Bible student. Such a person would ask, "who did God foreknow and predestine? Again paying attention to the pronouns, who is "we?" Well, again, Paul told us a couple of verses before this: 

Ro. 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly...

You and I did not receive the firstfruits of the Spirit, only the early Christians did.)

When Peter wrote that we are “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:1-2), (Having learned that being chosen applies to a select group of people, when reading Peter's preamble we find he also is writing to a select group of people, and even names them: 

...scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia...

Again, this is not you and I.)

he was not using the word “foreknowledge” to mean that God was aware beforehand who would believe and therefore chose them because of their foreseen faith. Rather, Peter meant that God determined before time began to know and love and save them; and He chose them without regard to anything good or bad they might do. (Dr. MacArthur's documentation disappears.)

We’ll return to this point again, but for now, note that those verses explicitly state that God’s sovereign choice is made “according to the kind intention of His will” and “according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will”—that is, not for any reason external to Himself. Certainly He did not choose certain sinners to be saved because of something praiseworthy in them, or because He foresaw that they would choose Him. He chose them solely because it pleased Him to do so. God declares “the end from the beginning. . . saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:10). He is not subject to others’ decisions. His purposes for choosing some and rejecting others are hidden in the secret counsels of His own will. (Our first example of Dr. MacArthur painting himself into a theological corner and then punting.)

Moreover, everything that exists in the universe exists because God allowed it, decreed it, and called it into existence. “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3). “Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps” (Psalm 135:6). He “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). “From Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Romans 11:36). “For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him” (1 Corinthians 8:6). (All true, but none of these speak to the issue of election unless one enters them with predestination assumed.)

What about sin? God is not the author of sin, (??? Dr. MacArthur's documentation disappears again. He just told us that "everything that exists in the universe exists because God allowed it, decreed it, and called it into existence." Everything except sin, apparently. But he doesn't bother to explain how God could create everything and not create sin.)

but He certainly allowed it; it is integral to His eternal decree. God has a purpose for allowing it. He cannot be blamed for evil or tainted by its existence (1 Samuel 2:2: “There is no one holy like the Lord”). (We agree He can't be blamed for evil, but the verse snippet has nothing to do with this claim. We happen to believe that God isn't to blame for evil because He created everything with the ability to choose. His sovereignty doesn't require that He must control everything, so He has the ability to remain sovereign while granting choice to his creation. Properly understood therefore, there is no tension here.)

But He certainly wasn’t caught off-guard or standing helpless to stop it when sin entered the universe. We do not know His purposes for allowing sin. If nothing else, He permitted it in order to destroy evil forever. (??? God permitted evil in order to destroy evil? This makes no sense.)

And God sometimes uses evil to accomplish good (Genesis 45:7, 8; 50:20; Romans 8:28). How can these things be? Scripture does not answer all the questions for us. (But, but... Dr. MacArthur just finished making numerous assertions and claimed they were biblical. But the logical conflicts he just created are now mysteries we can never know? This man is supposed to be a Bible teacher, but his doctrines create problems that can't solved.)

But we know from His Word that God is utterly sovereign, He is perfectly holy, and He is absolutely just. (Dr. MacArthur has repeatedly made claims about God's sovereignty, but has never shown us from the Bible what he means by sovereignty. He simply presumes that it means absolute control.)

Admittedly, those truths are hard for the human mind to embrace, (This is now the third time he has admitted he cannot explain his doctrines.)

but Scripture is unequivocal. God controls all things, right down to choosing who will be saved. Paul states the doctrine in inescapable terms in the ninth chapter of Romans, by showing that God chose Jacob and rejected his twin brother Esau “though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, in order that God’s purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls” (Romans 9:11). (Sigh. Paul was continuing his discussion from Romans chapter 8 where he was describing the "children of the promise." Remember this concept? Paul directly restated this concept only a few verses before: 

Ro. 9:6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

Did Dr. MacArthur not read this? Does he not understand that Paul was explaining a very Jewish idea about very Jewish things?)

A few verses later, Paul adds this: “He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Romans 9:15–16).

Paul anticipated the argument against divine sovereignty: “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’” (Romans 9:19). In other words, doesn’t God’s sovereignty cancel out human responsibility? But rather than offering a philosophical answer or a deep metaphysical argument, Paul simply reprimanded the skeptic: “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use?” (Romans 9:20, 21).

Scripture affirms both divine sovereignty and human responsibility. We must accept both sides of the truth, though we may not understand how they correspond to one another. People are responsible for what they do with the gospel—or with whatever light they have (Romans 2:19, 20), so that punishment is just if they reject the light. (We shall not allow Dr. MacArthur to punt yet again. Tell us, sir, how are people responsible if God absolutely controls everything?)

And those who reject do so voluntarily. Jesus lamented, “You are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life” (John 5:40). He told unbelievers, “Unless you believe that I am [God], you shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). In John chapter 6, our Lord combined both divine sovereignty and human responsibility when He said, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37); “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life” (John 6:40); “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44); “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47); and, “No one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:65). How both of those two realities can be true simultaneously cannot be understood by the human mind—only by God. (Calvinism creates the conflict, then cannot resolve it. Each of these verses are misapplied and misunderstood by a supposedly great Bible teacher. 

We already have explored the idea that Jesus was preaching to a specific people, His fellow Jews. We must not insert ourselves into every Bible verse and assume it's all about us. In these cases we've been discussing, mostly it's all about the Jews. We must keep this clearly in mind.

But let's pause and deal with one of Dr. MacArthur's quoted texts, John 6:44:

No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him.

A predestination Scripture? Nope. "Draw" is helkó, which means to induce (draw in), focusing on the attraction-power involved with the drawing. Now certainly it's true the word can mean a forceful, compulsory action but it isn't required. Further, we can start to understand the nuances of the word, which is also used here:

Jn. 12:32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.

This creates a problem for Dr. MacArthur. If helkó describes a compulsory action, then all men must be saved. But we know that all men, while drawn, will not be saved. Thus to be drawn has nothing to do with predestination.)

Above all, we must not conclude that God is unjust because He chooses to bestow grace on some but not to everyone. (He bestows grace on everyone: 

Jn. 1:16 From the fulness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 

Ro. 5:15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

God is never to be measured by what seems fair to human judgment. Are we so foolish as to assume that we who are fallen, sinful creatures have a higher standard of what is right than an unfallen and infinitely, eternally holy God? What kind of pride is that? In Psalm 50:21 God says, “You thought that I was just like you.” But God is not like us, nor can He be held to human standards. “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We step out of bounds when we conclude that anything God does isn’t fair. In Romans 11:33 the apostle writes, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?” (Romans 11:33–34).