God's Sovereignty In All Things

by Darrin Brooker

"I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

     These were the last written words of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City Bomber, before his death on June 11th, 2001. It should not surprise us that an unbeliever would utter such words. What should surprise us, and sadden us, is that many who profess Christ, view their own salvation in much the same way. They view the moment of their conversion as an independent act of human will performed by the creature and not as a sovereign act of God performed in the creature.

    Regrettably, the sovereignty of God is an issue little talked about in our day. The truth of the matter is that many people are selective in the areas they think and believe God to be sovereign. Oftentimes, these same people will boldly assert that their 'free choice' was the causal agent of their conversion and not the effectual calling of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling God's decree of election. It is essential that this error be pointed out as such because, simply put, if we do not regard God as the 'determining' cause of our salvation then we do not regard God as sovereign in all things. (Rom. 11:36) Jonathan Edwards once said that the sovereignty of God will be "the stumbling-block on which thousands fall and perish; and if we go on contending with God about his sovereignty, it will be our eternal ruin." If we do not exalt God as sovereign, and sovereign in all things including the salvation of His people, then we knowingly usurp the glory due His name.
    
     For the true believer, God's sovereignty is the greatest of all comforts and not some antiquated, theoretical doctrine, as many would have it portrayed. We should feel secure in the fact that God chose a people unto salvation before the creation of the world; that He sent His Son to secure that salvation through His death on the cross; and that He sent His Spirit to effectually call and eternally seal those for whom Christ died, in order that none of them should be lost. (Eph. 1:3-14) Dear friends, what greater comfort could there be than knowing our salvation, from beginning to end, rests fully in the hands of Almighty God?

     Let us resolve to acknowledge God as sovereign over all things and heed the warning of Paul when he said, "... be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men..." (Eph. 4:14) Let us safeguard our hearts and minds and insure that we worship the sovereign God of scripture in all His glorious attributes, rather than "the unknown god" (Acts 17: 23) of our own imaginations. And may we not go through the intellectual exercise of merely attaining a knowledge of God, but endeavour, with both heart and mind, to know God Himself.