(“God’s Sovereignty In Salvation”)

Acts 13:42-52(NASU)

“When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)

In Romans chapter one Paul said “the gospel … is the power of God for salvation” – literally, the “dynamite” (if you will) to transform “everyone who believes” in Jesus Christ, be they Jew or Gentile (c.f. Romans 1:16).¹ Paul Himself was an example of Christ’s “dynamic power” to change a person’s life.

Often times, however, the preaching of the Gospel can be “explosive” in another way – a negative way – in part because most people don’t like being told they are a sinner, even though Scripture says “all have sinned and fall(en) short of the glory of God” (c.f. Romans 3:23) – nor do they like being told God is angry with them on account of their sins, even though the Scripture says: “God is angry with the wicked every day” (c.f. Psalm 7:11b, NKJV) – nor do they like to hear there isn’t anything they can do to make themselves right with God, even though Scripture says: “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (c.f. Romans 3:20a).

We see examples of both reactions in today’s Scripture lesson, where, following Paul’s preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the city of Psidian Antioch (c.f. Acts 13:13-41), many of the Jews “exploded” with resentment and anger, while many of the Gentiles were wonderfully and “powerfully” saved! Indeed, the last part of our text assures us that “as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (c.f. Acts 13:48b) – thereby underscoring God’s Sovereignty in salvation!

Heavenly Father, “glorify Your name” (c.f. John 12:28a) this morning through the preaching of Your word. By Your enabling grace, help us understand the truth found in today’s text.¹ Then take that truth and use it to comfort our hearts, strengthen our souls, and bless our lives.² Use it to equip us to fulfill the mandate to be Christ’s witness (c.f. Acts 1:8). We ask these things in Jesus’ name – Amen.

(A) A BRIEF REVIEW OF WHERE WE HAVE BEEN AND WHERE WE ARE GOING

(1) This morning we are returning to our series on evangelism entitled, “You Shall Be My Witnesses”, based on the mandate Jesus gave His disciples in Acts chapter one verse eight, saying: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (c.f. Acts 1:8).

In addition to studying that passage, we have also devoted four messages to the question, “What Is A Christian?” – three messages on following Jesus’ example of building relationships and/or friendships with non-Christians – and most recently, two messages having to do with the importance of praying for “harvest workers,” and asking God to give us a Christ-like compassion for those who are still lost in their sins.

Building relationship and praying are the two things I have been encouraging all of us to do right now. So if you haven’t already started, I urge you to do so immediately.

(2) The next several messages in this series are going to focus on the theology of evangelism and/or how conversion takes place. For example, what does Scripture say about man’s spiritual condition prior to conversion? What does the Bible say our expectations should be as we strive, by Christ’s enabling grace, to be His witnesses? According to God’s infallible word, what are we, and what are we not responsible for when it comes to the matter of evangelism? Does the bible teach there are people Christ died to save, and/or who could be saved, who will end up being lost? Is it possible, according to Scripture, for a Christian to lose their salvation?

These are all important questions whose answers cannot be adequately explained or defended in one or two messages. Furthermore, they need to be answered carefully (not to mention correctly) because our theology – i.e. our view of Scripture, our understanding of God, and/or what we believe about things like what happened at the Fall, and what Jesus came to do – (what we believe about these and other things) will shape our whole approach to evangelism, including our motives for evangelizing, the content of our message, and even the methods we use to try and bring people into Christ’s kingdom.

(B) SOMEONE IS SOVEREIGN OVER SALVATION, THE QUESTION IS, WHO?”

(1) For many Christians, the basic principle that shapes their approach to evangelism is what I will call the sovereignty of man. I doubt if many actually use that term to describe what they believe, nor do I blame them for not using it – nevertheless, it does capture the essence of what many believe about evangelism and/or how conversion takes place.

(a) For example, many Christians believe that, despite the impact of the Fall, every unsaved person has a spark of spiritual life inside which gives them the ability and/or freedom to choose equally between accepting or rejecting God’s plan of salvation.

[1] To support this view, the word “dead” in Ephesians chapter two has to be used abnormally – as in, “you were dead in your trespasses and sins” (c.f. Ephesians 2:1) – and again: “even when we were dead in our transgressions, (God) made us alive together with Christ” (c.f. Ephesians 2:5) (note the contrast being made here between spiritual death and spiritual life).

Everyone knows (and agrees) physically “dead” people can’t do anything for themselves, because they are “dead”. This is a self-evident truth. And yet, many Christians believe spiritual “death” is different – that spiritually “dead” people have the ability to do something for themselves – namely, make a choice between accepting or rejecting Christ as their Savior.

[2] To further support this view, verses like the one found in Revelation 3:20 are quoted, where Jesus says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (c.f. Revelation 3:20).

Of course the question is, do unsaved sinners have the ability, in and of their dead fallen selves, to “hear” Christ’s voice and “open” the door of their heart (to use a common phrase)? Many say, “Yes” – arguing, in part, that such an invitation would be pointless and/or disingenuous if that were not the case. Hence they reason that in order for the invitation to be legitimate and/or sincere, people have to be able to respond – and if people are able to respond, then each man and woman is sovereign when it comes to their own salvation, because those who “hear and choose to open the door” are saved – while those who do not “hear”, and/or choose not to “open the door” are not saved.

(b) I can agree with some of these things – at least, in part – like, for example, the idea those who “hear and respond” to the message of the Gospel in repentance and faith are saved, while those who don’t aren’t. That is entirely and wholly true! The question is, where does this ability come from? If it comes from within man – if all men and women have the innate ability to make such a choice, then every person IS truly sovereign over their own salvation. In which case, the illustration is right on track that says: “When it comes to salvation, God always votes for a man, and the Devil always votes against him. Then the man votes, and that breaks the tie.”³

(2) Obviously I have only given the barest sketch of the “sovereignty of man” view – but I trust it is both fair and sufficient to help us compare it to the other view, which I will concede is the minority view among Christians – but the one I am nevertheless convinced Scripture teaches, and therefore the view I believe should shape our approach to evangelism and/or how conversion takes place. For our purposes this morning, I will call it the sovereignty of God view. Furthermore, one of the clearest statements regarding this truth⁴ is found in this morning’s text, where Luke tells us: “as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (c.f. Acts 13:48b).

(a) To say God is sovereign – whether it be over salvation, or as we saw last time, over all the nations of the earth (c.f. Acts 17:26) – (to say God is sovereign) is to acknowledge Him as supreme King of the Universe. Indeed, it is NOT an exaggeration or misrepresentation to say the attribute of sovereignty is what makes Him God!⁵ Remove all or even part of His sovereignty (if such a thing were possible, which it isn’t!), and God would no longer be the God of the Old and New Testaments. Hence, He told Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (c.f. Exodus 33:19; Romans 9:15) – from which Paul drew this conclusion: “So then it (i.e. salvation) does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (c.f. Romans 9:16).

(b) Just as there cannot be more than one President of the United States at the same time (at least not more than one who has the powers of the Presidency), so there cannot be more than one true sovereign at the same time, as King Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most powerful earthly rulers who ever lived, found out (c.f. Daniel 4:31).

Furthermore, Scripture says, “(God) is the blessed and ONLY Sovereign” (c.f. I Timothy 6:15b). Among other things, that means God and man cannot both be sovereign – nor can God be sovereign over some things, and man sovereign over other things – nor (as I’ve already alluded to) can God relinquish or delegate part of His sovereignty to someone else (like man) and still be “the blessed and ONLY Sovereign” (c.f. I Timothy 6:15b).

(c) Hence, God and man cannot both be sovereign over salvation. And, since they both can’t be sovereign – and since there’s no indication God has handed over any part of His sovereignty to man (in the sense of letting him be the ultimate authority and/or final decision-maker) – the only biblical conclusion we can come to is that God, not man, is sovereign over salvation! This is certainly part of what Jesus meant when He said: “You did not choose Me but I chose you” (c.f. John 15:16a) – and definitely part of what Paul meant when he broke forth into praise, saying (in part): “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world … (having) predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (c.f. Ephesians 1:3-6).

It’s on the basis of God’s sovereignty, then, not man’s, that Luke tells us in this morning’s text that as Paul preached the Gospel of salvation through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ, “as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (c.f. Acts 13:48b).

(C) GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY IN SALVATION

(1) What bearing, then, does the knowledge God is sovereign in salvation have on us as we go about the business of trying to fulfill Christ’s mandate to be His witnesses? There’s only enough time left to mention two things. First, it tells us the eternal destiny of men and women is not in our hands, but God’s.

(a) To think I might be responsible for even one person missing out on heaven and going to hell – let alone dozens, or perhaps even hundreds – is a burden far greater than any human being was ever meant to bear. And yet, this kind of guilt trip is often used to try and motivate people to tell others about Christ. Hence, it’s a great relief to know that “as many as (God has) appointed to eternal life (are going to believe and be saved)” (c.f. Acts 13:48b) – that none whom He has “appointed to eternal life” are going to be lost because of my sin, my frailty, or my mistakes.

Indeed, as far as evangelism is goes, it’s a liberating thing to remember Jesus said: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me” – and again: “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all … He has given Me I lose nothing” (c.f. John 6:37a, 39a) – which means none who have been “appointed to eternal life” are going to be lost!

(b) There is a difference, however, between being held responsible for the eternal destiny of someone else, and being held responsible for obeying my Lord’s mandate to be His witness. I may not be held accountable for the former – but I will most certainly have to answer for the latter, God’s grace not withstanding – which is what I think the passage in Ezekiel chapter thirty-three is about, where God says the blood of the wicked will be on the hands of the watchman if he doesn’t warn them of their danger (c.f. Ezekiel 33:1-9).⁶

In short, we always have a moral responsibility to obey our Savior’s commands, including those related to evangelism – which is why Paul was in Psidian Antioch preaching the Gospel (c.f. Acts 13:13-41). Indeed, obedience is one measure of our love, since Jesus once said: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (c.f. John 14:15).

(c) The fact none of us ever obeys our Savior’s commands perfectly is a cause for grief and repentance – but it also gives us a reason to be thankful for God’s grace to us in Christ, whereby He forgives us and cleanses us, preserves us and motivates us, encourages us and keeps working in us (c.f. Philippians 1:6). It’s only by His grace that we are even remotely able to fulfill the mandate to be Christ’s witnesses. Indeed, it’s only by His grace that our witness is part of the means He uses to bring about the salvation of those He has “appointed to eternal life” (c.f. Acts 13:48b).

(2) Second, since God is sovereign in salvation, you and I don’t have to water-down the Gospel to try and make it palatable to as many people as possible – we don’t have to modify the message to try and get more people saved – we don’t have to compromise the truth, or leave out important details (like how offensive our sin is to God, and/or the need for repentance) so people will listen to us – we don’t have to do these kinds of things because God has promised that “as many as (He has) appointed to eternal life (are going to believe)” (c.f. Acts 13:48b)!

(a) That means we can preach and teach the “plain old gospel” – the true Gospel – the same message Jesus proclaimed when he said, “repent and believe in the gospel” (c.f. Mark 1:15b) – the same message He committed to His disciples, saying: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (c.f. Mark 16:15).

We are to preach and teach the Gospel that says, all people without exception are sinners (c.f. Ecclesiastes 7:20) – the Gospel that says God is angry with all of us because we have sinned against Him (c.f. Psalm 7:11, NKJV) (as opposed to the approach that says, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”) – the Gospel that says God’s wrath abides on all of us on account of our sins (c.f. John 3:36) (instead of only telling people “God is love” – which He is (c.f. I John 4:8), but that’s not all He is!)

Of course, that’s not the whole story, because the true Gospel also says God has graciously provided a Savior for sinners, whose name is Jesus of Nazareth (c.f. Acts 4:12) –the Gospel also says salvation is a free gift of God’s grace (c.f. Romans 6:23b), rather than something we deserve, earn, or contribute to in the slightest degree (which means any gospel that adds some work of men, including baptism, is a false gospel) – the Gospel also says we are saved solely and only by God’s grace, through the gift of faith which He gives to us (c.f. Ephesians 2:8-9) – the Gospel also says no one is a Christian unless they have repented of their sins and professed faith in Jesus Christ (c.f. Acts 20:21), both of which He graciously enables us to do (c.f. John 15:5) – the Gospel also says those who are saved by God’s grace will give evidence of it by their good works (c.f. Ephesians 2:10) along with the changes that take place in their lives (c.f. Ephesians 4:22-24), both of which He graciously brings to pass in His redeemed people (thereby striking a death blow to the notion Jesus can be a person’s Savior without being their Lord).

(b) As we said at the beginning, most people don’t want to hear these kinds of things – indeed, many are highly offended by them. (Are you offended by them? If so, why do you suppose that is? Could it be you are not really a Christian?)

Most unsaved people want to hear what nice people they are, or what nice people they can become if they just make a few minor adjustments. Most unsaved people want a list of things they can do to improve their life – or, better yet, they want hear what God intends to do to make their life better. Most unsaved people want their “ears tickled” (c.f. II Timothy 4:3), their conscience eased, and/or their ego soothed – none of which preaching the true Gospel does. Most unsaved people want to be reassured everything is okay. But that’s not what they hear when the true Gospel is preached – which is why so many find it so offensive!

Because more and more people are finding the Gospel offensive, you and I are often tempted to water it down – to round off its alleged rough edges – to sugar-coat its difficult parts, in hopes more people will find it easier to embrace. But when we do that, what people end up embracing is not the Gospel – and if people aren’t embracing the Gospel they aren’t be saved, no matter how fervently they embrace the message they’ve heard.

Besides, we don’t have to do that, because God has promised that “as many as (He has) appointed to eternal life (are going to believe)” (c.f. Acts 13:48b). Which means, among other things, that by God’s grace the true Gospel will not go on being a “stumbling block” forever to those He has appointed to eternal life!

(c) I might add in closing that even though many unsaved people will find the Gospel offensive, we should not give them a justifiable reason to find us offensive. On the contrary, the Scripture says we are to give “no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited” (c.f. II Corinthians 6:3) – while in another place we’re told to “endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ” (c.f. I Corinthians 9:12b).

But what if we do speak or behave in a manner that offends those with whom we are trying to share the Gospel (which is inevitable in a fallen world)? When that happens we need to confess our sin and seek Christ’s forgiveness, which He has promised to give us (c.f. I John 1:9). Then we must determine whether we need to go to the unsaved person who has found our words or behavior offensive and ask them to forgive us.

BUT, one thing we do not have to worry about is whether we’ve done something that will keep that person from being saved – because our text says, “as many as (God has) appointed to eternal life (are going to believe)” (c.f. Acts 13:48b) – which means some people are going to be saved in spite of us, rather than because of us – because, thankfully, God is sovereign over salvation!

¹Pink: The Sovereignty of God; p. 6.

²IBID; p. 18.

³Tan: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations; p. 1207.

⁴MacArthur: Acts 13-28; p. 38.

⁵Pink: Ibid; p. 19.

⁶The New Geneva Study Bible: Footnote on Ezekiel 33:1-

20; p. 1305.