Verses Supporting God’s Sovereignty

The following verses support that God has the right to do with His creation as He desires:

Job: 37: 6-13
6 “For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’
7 “He seals the hand of every man,
That all men may know His work.
8 “Then the beast goes into its lair
And remains in its den.
9 “Out of the south comes the storm,
And out of the north the cold.
10 “From the breath of God ice is made,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.
11 “Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud;
He disperses the cloud of His lightning.
12 “It changes direction, turning around by His guidance,
That it may do whatever He commands it
On the face of the inhabited earth.
13 “Whether for correction, or for His world,
Or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen.

Psalm 135: 6
6 Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.

Proverbs 16:1
The plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Mark 4: 11-12
1 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12 so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.”

John 5:21
21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.

Acts 17:26
26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,

There are many more scriptures to support God’s sovereignty.

God Bless

Brian Mason

Support Verses for Predestination

Whenever a critic wants to suggest that God does not “predestine” individuals for salvation, you can defend the accusations by citing the following verses, and there are much more than these:

Act 2: 22-23; 22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

Acts 4: 27-28; 27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.

Romans 8: 29-30: 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Ephesians 1: 4-5; 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

God Bless

Brian Mason

Terminology Tuesday: Heidelberg Catechism

*A confession of faith written by the theology faculty of Heidelberg University at the request of Frederick III, a prince of Germany in the sixteenth century. The Catechism served to instruct young people in the essentials of the faith and was used to prepare them for confirmation. One unique feature of the Catechism is it’s ability to combine Reformed and Lutheran perspectives into a single document.

God Bless

Brian Mason

**Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki &, Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 58

Terminology Tuesday: Supralapsarianism

*Supralapsarianism is an issue within Reformed Theology (Calvinism) dealing with what may have happened in God’s mind regarding the logical order of his considering whom to elect into salvation before the foundation of the world. The word means “before the fall.” This position holds that God first decided that he would save some people and then second that he would allow sin into the world. By contrast, the infralapsarian (“after the fall”) position is the reverse in that it holds that God first decided he would allow sin into the world and second that he would then save people from it.

God Bless

Brian Mason

*www.carm.org

What is “Reformed Theology” and the “Five Scripturas”?

It is a movement that originated by Martin Luther in the 16th Century. Since that time it has perhaps been better known as Calvinism. Calvinism is a biblical focused Theological movement, that objectively states that God is Sovereign, God’s elects and redeems, they are secure in Christ’s work and the recognize the sovereignty of scripture.

Reformed Theology believers follow the Five Solas.

1. Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
2. Sola Christus – Christ Alone
3. Sola Gratia – Grace Alone
4. Sola Fide – Faith Alone
5. Soli Deo Gloria – Glory of God Alone

Calvinists will also call the Five Solas the “Five Points”, “TULIP”

1. T – Total Depravity
2. U – Unconditional Election
3. L – Limited Atonement
4. I – Irresistible Grace
5. P – Perseverance of the Saints

You may hear of the term “Hyper Calvinism” and it can be defined as; “the denial of the necessity of missionary work. It denies common Grace and any form of love that God might have for the unbeliever”. This is non-biblical. Not all Hyper Calvinists hold to this position.

God Bless

Brian Mason