The Kingdom is the Lord’s #2195

27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. 28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations. (Psalm 22:27–28, NKJV)

King David looked beyond his rule over Israel to the kingdom over which his seed, the Messiah, would rule (Psa. 89:3-4, 34-36). The nations would turn to God and worship before Him (Matt. 8:11). Christ’s messengers, the apostles, called the nations to the Lord’s kingdom by preaching the gospel of the kingdom to the world (Isa. 2:2-3; Matt. 13:18-23; Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:1-7; 16:25-27). Preaching the same gospel continues to draw people of every nation to worship before the Lord and King, Jesus Christ (Acts 2:32-41). The church built by Jesus is the kingdom of prophecy (Matt. 16:18-19; Mk. 9:1; Col. 1:13-14). Christ the King adds lost souls to His church (His kingdom) when they believe and obey the gospel (Acts 2:40-41, 47). King David knew God rules over the nations of men (Psa. 22:28). We (and our rulers) do well to remember the Lord God is Sovereign of every nation, and He rules in the affairs of men (Dan. 4:25, 32, 35). History is a boneyard of kingdoms, weak and strong. God’s kingdom is the only one that endures (Dan. 2:44). The Son of God reigns today at God’s right hand in righteousness (Psa. 110:1-2; Acts 2:33; Heb. 1:8-9). The gospel calls us to bow our knee to Jesus to be blessed by Him with salvation. To fight against Him and His gospel brings inevitable, eternal defeat (Psa. 2:10-12; Rom. 2:4-11; 2 Thess. 1:6-10).

God’s Sovereignty #2023

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” 35 “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33–36, NKJV)

Humanity stands before the superlative majesty of God. His wisdom and knowledge are more profound than any human philosophy. Man’s wisdom is foolishness to Him (1 Cor. 1:25). His purposes, decisions, and ways do not originate in the human heart. God has revealed His mind, His judgments, and His conduct to us by His Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:6-11; Eph. 3:3-5). Paul’s use of Isaiah 40:13-14 calls our attention to this fundamental truth: We do not tell God how He should do things. God does not arrange His purposes based on our advice and counsel. He is sovereign over us. Many push back at this truth and refuse to yield to the supremacy of the Almighty. To do so invariably leads to foolishly following false gods (Rom. 1:21-23). May we humbly bow before God and bring ourselves into harmony with His will. He rules His world, including each of us, in the wisdom of truth and righteousness.

Glory to God for His Mercy and Truth #1747

1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth. 2 Why should the Gentiles say, “So where is their God?” 3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. (Psalm 115:1–3, NKJV)

The sovereignty of Yahweh (the “eternally-existing One,” Exo. 3:14-15) evokes, demands, and prompts us to praise and magnify His grandeur and power. In contrast to giving honor to God, the sin of idolatry is rooted in glorifying men instead (Psa. 115:4-8; Exo. 20:1-6). Idolatry is a lie that corrupts the nature of God and the lives of those exchange the truth of God for the lie (Rom. 1:21-25). We honor and praise the true and living God because of His mercy and truth. These are hallmarks of God’s sovereign dealings with humanity. Paul succinctly noted that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). Thus, the sovereignty of God is not arbitrary (saving and condemning on a divine whim). Neither does it rob humanity of freewill, for we must “come” to the knowledge of the truth (Matt. 11:28-30). We are responsible before God to seek His mercy according to His truth. In His mercy, God has given His Son to be our Savior. In His truth, He calls sinners to believe the gospel of His Son, repent, and be baptized to be saved (Mk. 16:15-16; Acts 2:37-38). God’s mercy and truth brings the sinners to salvation, saved by grace through faith. To Your name we give glory, O Lord, God of mercy and of truth.

Did Judas have a choice? #1615

3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3–5, NKJV)

Did Judas have a choice? Or, did God predetermine his betrayal because of His sovereign election and man’s corrupt nature? Being born totally corrupt (as Calvinists tell us), did Judas sin out of necessity? God indeed is sovereign (Psalm 66). But no, we are not born corrupted by original sin (Ezekiel 18:20; Matthew 18:3; Romans 7:9). God created man and woman with freewill, and it was not taken from humanity after Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:6; Romans 5:12). Judas chose to be a thief and a betrayer (John 12:6). He chose not to believe in Jesus, and he chose to let the devil into his heart (John 6:69-71; 13:2, 27). Yes, Judas had a choice – God’s foreknowledge did not eliminate Judas’ freewill. When we sin it is because we yield to temptation (Jas. 1:13-16). We do not sin because we must sin (due to a corrupt nature). Sin is committed, not inherited (Romans 5:12). God has chosen to save us (sinners) in Christ (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:4-7). We must choose to come to Christ (Matthew 11:28). God’s sovereignty and man’s freewill are not hostile to each other. Do not choose sin. Choose to honor God’s sovereignty by believing and obeying the gospel of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).

Spread it Before the Lord #1614

14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: 16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” (Isaiah 37:14–16, NKJV)

Jerusalem was besieged and it appeared the city would soon be captured by Assyria. God’s prophet assured king Hezekiah that God would overthrow the Assyrian king (Isaiah 37:1-7). Now, messengers from Assyria’s king delivered a letter of intimidation and reproach to the king of Judah (Isaiah 37:8-13). Hezekiah’s faith remained in the Lord, and he brought the threat before Him. In verse 16, Hezekiah honored three attributes of God that we do well to remember when we come to God in time of trouble. He honored 1) God’s holiness and mercy (“the One who dwells between the cherubim” referred to the mercy seat in the Most Holy Place of the Jerusalem temple), 2) God’s sovereignty as the One true God (“You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth,” and 3) God as Creator of all things (“You have made heaven and earth”). When the enemies of truth and righteousness press down upon Christians, we assure our hearts and our faith with these eternal truths. Let us follow Hezekiah’s good example of faith. God does not forsake the faithful (Hebrews 13:5-6).