Daily Manna

Key Verse

“What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid” (Romans 9:14).

TEXT —Romans 9:14-18

Message

A.W. Tozer explores the concept of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will in his book, Knowledge of the Holy. He uses the analogy of an ocean liner traveling from New York to Liverpool to illustrate this idea. The ship’s destination is predetermined, symbolizing God’s sovereignty, but the passengers have the freedom to move about and engage in various activities on board. Despite the passengers’ freedom, the ship continues to steer them towards the set destination. Tozer suggests that both freedom and sovereignty can coexist without contradiction, similar to how man’s free will and God’s sovereignty can work together in harmony.

From today’s text, we learn that Christ’s atoning sacrifice was made for all people, but only those who believe in Christ are saved. Salvation is available to everyone, but it is not effective until accepted. While God extends His grace to all, individuals can choose to reject it because God’s grace can be resisted and rejected by human free will. Indeed, believers have the potential to fall from grace if they turn away from Christ. Perseverance in faith is necessary, and believers can lose their salvation if they abandon their faith (Hebrews 3:12,16; 6:4-6; 2 Corinthians 10:13).

Some theologians emphasise God’s sovereignty and the doctrine of predestination, which teaches that Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for all but intended only for the elect. They believe that the chosen and redeemed will persevere in faith and not fall away. This false doctrine leads people to believe that they are ultimately redeemed once they profess Christ, regardless of their actions. Others focus on human free will and believe that God’s predestination is based on His knowledge of who will believe. However, the Bible warns against such complacency, stating that God desires all to repent and warns against falling away. The false idea of predestination or “once saved, always saved” is not supported by the Scripture.

Besides, the Bible is replete with examples of people who turned to perdition, after being saved – Cain, Achan, Balaam, Judas Iscariot, Demas, etc. We, therefore, conclude that both divine sovereignty and human responsibility play roles in the process of salvation.

Thought for the day

God compels no man to go against His will.

• Bible
• in one year
• 1 KINGS 9 – 10 (Read By Alexander Scourby)