DEFINING GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY

I hope this will be short. Big subject. My small input. I have much to say about this whole matter, but one aspect keeps reappearing in my thinking. I'm going to try to put it down on "paper."

People who believe that God has predestined some to eternal life and the rest to eternal damnation often quote this verse to me: Our God is in the heavens...He has done whatsoever He has pleased. By this they mean that it is within God's sovereignty to decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.

But I say that God cannot arbitrarily decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell because that would go against His Word and we know He cannot do that. His Word repeatedly indicates that He wants all men to be saved and that salvation is open to all. The word "all" is everywhere on this subject. Further, the Bible says that God does not respect persons.

So, what is wrong? People who believe in limited atonement seem to lift themselves up to define sovereignty for Him, as though He needs help. Laying down the rules for salvation is just as sovereign as deciding who will have it and who won't...and it is in keeping with His character described for us throughout the Bible.

God is no respecter of persons. His gift of salvation is available to all. It is His sovereign right to extend an invitation which if heeded, will result in heaven and if rejected, will mean hell.

I think Jesus summed it all up when He used the story of the serpent in the wilderness to explain His impending death on the cross. God told Moses to raise the bronze serpent on a pole and to tell the people simply this: If you look at the serpent, you will be spared; if not, you won't. Those who look to Jesus on the cross and His payment for sin will be saved; those who do not, won't.

Whosoever will may come.