I have a great appreciation for several Calvinists teachers. Men like Sproul, Frame, Grudem, and Packer have been helpful sources of theological learning and I value their writings. However, though there is much that I agree with them about, there are points of disagreement as well. For example, I don’t agree with them on matters of ecclesiology, as most of them hold to replacement theology. Nor do I think their eschatology is correct, as most have a faulty hermeneutic and deny the rapture of the church, the future tribulation, and literal millennial reign of Christ on the earth. Though there is much about their soteriology I like, their views concerning election are troubling. Below is a basic outline of the five points of Calvinism.
- Total Depravity – Because of sin, people are spiritually dead, not able to come to God or believe the gospel message itself. The strict Calvinists’ view of total depravity translates to total inability. They regard people as totally unable to respond to the things of God; like a corpse. John Frame states, “We can never come to God out of our own resources. We are helpless to do anything to save ourselves. This condition is sometimes called total inability” (italics his).[1] I. Packer states, “Total depravity entails total inability, that is, the state of not having it in oneself to respond to God and his Word in a sincere and wholehearted way (John 6:44; Rom 8:7–8).”[2] In other words, total inability suggests that humans, in their fallen state, lack the inherent ability or capacity to choose God, repent, or believe in Him without divine intervention. This perspective views human nature as spiritually dead or corrupt to the extent that individuals are entirely dependent on God’s grace and enabling for any positive response to the call of faith.
- Unconditional Election – Strict Calvinists believe that people, being totally depraved (i.e., totally unable), will never choose God. Therefore, God has chosen to save some persons, and leaves the majority to perish forever in the lake of fire. According to the doctrine of unconditional election, God’s choice of who will be saved is not based on any conditions or qualifications found within people. Instead, it is solely based on His own purposes, will, and grace. This means that God chooses some individuals for salvation purely out of His mercy and sovereign decision, not because of any inherent goodness or merit in those individuals. Wayne Grudem states, “Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.”[3] John Frame states, “Election simply means ‘choice.’ The doctrine of election is that, ultimately, it is God’s choice that determines whether someone will be saved or lost.”[4] Those whom God has elected to be saved will be called (through the preaching of the gospel), regenerated (i.e., made spiritually alive), and given a special kind of faith that enables them to believe in Christ. This is entirely a work of God and is referred to as monergism.
- Limited Atonement – This is the view that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was intentionally and specifically designed for the salvation of the elect—those individuals whom God has chosen for redemption. In other words, the atonement is considered available and effective only for a particular group of people chosen by God, and not for all of humanity universally. Many Reformed theologians prefer the phrase Particular Redemption, which, according to Wayne Grudem, is the teaching “that Christ died for particular people (specifically, those who would be saved and whom he came to redeem).”[5] They like the phrase Particular Redemption better than Limited Atonement because it communicates a positive statement that Christ’s atoning death is effective for the elect.
- Irresistible Grace – This is the teaching that God works in the hearts of His elect in a such a way that they will respond positively to the gospel message. The idea is that when God decides to extend His grace to an individual, He does so in a way that ensures the person will respond positively and be drawn into a saving relationship with Him. The grace of God is considered irresistible in the sense that it overcomes any resistance or opposition in the individual’s heart, bringing about their conversion and salvation. Wayne Grudem says that irresistible grace “refers to the fact that God effectively calls people and also gives them regeneration, and both actions guarantee that we will respond in saving faith.”[6] James Montgomery Boice says irresistible grace relates “only to the elect and inevitably draws them to faith in Christ. Because God is sovereign in their salvation, it is not possible for them permanently or effectively to reject this effectual calling. God’s grace is irresistible and invincible; the Spirit never fails to accomplish his saving purpose in the mind, the heart, and the will of God’s chosen people.”[7]
- Perseverance of the Saints – All God’s elect, after being born again, are kept eternally and will persevere in their Christian faith to the end of their lives. According to this doctrine, if an individual has truly experienced God’s saving grace, their salvation is secure, and they cannot lose it. This assurance is grounded in the belief that God’s work of salvation is both sovereign and effective. Proponents of perseverance of the saints argue that the grace of God not only initiates salvation but also ensures its continuation and completion. Wayne Grudem states, “The perseverance of the saints means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again.”[8] The perseverance of the saints lies at the heart of Lordship Salvation. John MacArthur says, “lordship salvation is nothing other than the doctrine of perseverance!”[9] John Frame affirms lordship salvation, saying, “you cannot accept Christ as Savior without accepting him as Lord. Jesus says that if we love him, we must keep his commandments (John 14:15). To receive Jesus as Lord is to make a commitment to keeping his commandments.”[10]
Summary of Strict Calvinism
According to strict Calvinism, every person—minus Jesus—has been corrupted by sin and, being spiritually dead, is totally unable to respond to God’s gospel call. But God, in His mercy, elected to save some persons and to leave the majority of humanity to perish forever in the lake of fire. God’s election is based on His unconditional choice and not on anything within the lost sinner. Furthermore, to bring about the salvation of the elect, God sent Christ into the world to die an atoning death only for those whom He elected to be saved. And, having called His elect, God regenerates them, gives them a special faith to believe, and then works in their hearts in such a way that His call is irresistible and effective to save. Lastly, those who are truly saved, though they may fall into occasional sin, will, nonetheless, persevere in their faith to the end of their lives, and thus prove they were truly one of God’s elect.
A Few Criticisms
First, Calvinism’s view of total depravity is questionable. Their view is that total depravity means total inability. Despite the profound impact of sin on human nature, the Bible does not portray people as entirely incapacitated. Yes, all mankind is “dead” in their sins (Eph 2:1); but death does not mean total inability, but total separation from God, for even those who were dead still “walked according to the course of this world” (Eph 2:2). Mankind is totally depraved in the sense that sin corrupts every part of our being, intellect, will, and sensibility. However, it does not mean that fallen people are unable to respond in faith to the gospel of grace.
The first example of spiritual death in the Bible is found in the Garden of Eden. God had warned Adam and Eve, saying, “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). The warning was that if they disobeyed God, on that very day, they would die. Adam and Eve experienced spiritual death at the moment they disobeyed God. Yet, immediately after the fall, in their state of spiritual death (and death means separation, not cessation), they could sense God’s presence in the Garden, as they “heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden” (Gen 3:8). Furthermore, Adam heard God’s voice when He “called to the man” (Gen 3:9), and Adam responded to Him, saying, “I heard the sound of You in the garden” (Gen 3:10a). Though they could not undo their newly fallen sinful state, it did not render them totally unable to perceive God or to respond to Him when He called out to them. And they did respond positively to the Lord when He promised to provide a descendant, a Seed of the woman, who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). They also responded positively by accepting God’s provision of clothing after He killed an animal, took its skin, and covered their nakedness (Gen 3:21).
The Genesis 3 passage addresses God’s sovereignty, for He did not have to interact with Adam and Eve. And it addresses His righteousness and justice, for Adam and Eve did experience spiritual death and punishment. And it reveals His grace and mercy, as God promised to provide a Savior through the woman, and He also provided animal skins as a covering for their nakedness. Furthermore, it reveals that Adam and Eve, though fallen and corrupted by sin, could still hear and respond to God, and by faith accept His provisions, which provisions resulted in their salvation. I think Norman Geisler gets it right when he states:
“Clearly a sick person is able to receive a cure, just as a dirty person can embrace cleansing and a person in the dark can accept light. In every case, the sinner is incapable of doing these things by himself (in his own strength); lacking spiritual life, he needs the aid of the grace of God. Total depravity, then, means “total inability to achieve/obtain the solution to our sin by ourselves,” not “total inability to accept it from God.’”[11]
Second, Calvinism’s view of unconditional election raises serious questions about God’s justice, mercy, and love toward fallen people who have no say over the eternal outcome of heaven or hell. If Calvinism is correct, then His elect will be saved and spend eternity forever in heaven, because God wills it, and the non-elect will be damned forever to suffer in the lake of fire, because God has foreordained it. Any rational thinking person will naturally ask: How is that just? How is that love?
Calvinism teaches that God, though able to save everyone, has sovereignly decided to save only a small portion of humanity, leaving the rest to perish forever in the lake of fire, where He sends them. But this raises the question, if all mankind is born in sin, through no fault of their own, and utterly helpless to save themselves or to respond to God’s offer of salvation (as Calvinists teach), and God has elected to save only a fraction of these lost persons (though He could save all), how then is He just to condemn people to the lake of fire for something over which they have absolutely no option for pardon? That’s like condemning a man with no legs for his failure to compete in a 100 meter race, and then punishing him for coming in last. In an attempt to protect their understanding of God, Calvinists will commonly argue that God is not required to save anyone, and that He is loving and merciful if He elects to save any at all. But again, the question arises, how is it fair to judge and condemn the vast majority of humanity to an eternal suffering when they personally did not choose to be born sinful and had no power to respond positively to God (as Calvinists teach)? That’s like berating a person born blind for not being able to appreciate a Rembrandt painting and then punishing him severely for not describing the artist’s colors accurately.
The Bible teaches that faith in Christ is the sole condition for securing God’s salvation and all attendant blessings (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Gal 2:16; 3:26). Faith does not save; Christ saves. Faith is merely the instrument by which lost sinners receive Christ as Savior. And once we believe in Christ as Savior, we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24), and “justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28). Salvation is free, and it is received freely by “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom 4:5). Our salvation was accomplished entirely by Jesus at the cross when He shed His blood at Calvary, for we are redeemed “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:19). And because our salvation was fully accomplished at the cross, there is nothing left for us to pay. Nothing at all. Salvation is a gift, given freely to us who don’t deserve it. That’s grace, which is unmerited favor, underserved kindness, unwarranted love, unearned generosity, and unprovoked goodness. Scripture reveals, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it’s what He’s done for us by sending His Son into the world to live a righteous life and die a penal substitutionary death on the cross in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18).
Our faith needs to be in Jesus alone. Scripture says of Jesus, “whoever believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 3:15), and “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and “He who believes in Him is not judged” (John 3:18), and “He who believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47), and “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25), and “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9), and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6), The apostle John wrote, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1 John 5:12). These passages emphasize that eternal life is obtained by believing in Jesus Christ. Those who reject Jesus as Savior will spend eternity away from God in the lake of fire, for “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Th 1:9; cf., Rev 20:15).
To be saved, we must turn to Christ alone for salvation and trust Him completely to rescue us from eternal damnation. We must believe the gospel message, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Knowing the good news of what God accomplished for us, we must then “Believe in the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:31), and trust exclusively in Him, for “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). We should not look to ourselves for salvation, for there is nothing in us that can save us. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Third, the Bible teaches unlimited atonement. This is the biblical view that Jesus died for everyone, and though His death is sufficient to save everyone, the benefits of the cross are applied only to those who believe in Him as Savior. Jesus’ atonement for sins is the basis for reconciliation, because God has judged our sins in the Person of Christ who died on the cross in our place. Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), and “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and “who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:6), and tasted “death for everyone” (Heb 2:9), and “is the Savior of all men, especially of believers” (1 Tim 4:10), “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Tit 2:11), and “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2; cf., 1 John 4:10), and “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). Peter wrote of “false prophets” and “false teachers” who “deny the Master who bought them” (2 Pet 2:1).
Because Christ died for everyone, everyone is savable. And though the death of Christ is sufficient to save everyone, only those who believe will benefit from His work on the cross. And when people believe in Jesus, accepting the fact the He died for their sins, was buried, and raised again on the third day (1 Cor 15:3-4), and trust solely in Him as Savior (Acts 4:12; 16:31), they receive “forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43; cf., Eph 1:7), and “eternal life” (10:28). Arnold Fruchtenbaum states, “Those who hold to limited atonement do not come to their conclusion based upon the exegesis of Scripture because the fact is that there is no passage anywhere in the Bible that says He died only for the elect…The defense for limited atonement is not based upon exegesis; it is based upon logic.”[12] According to David Allen:
“Limited atonement is a doctrine in search of a text. No one can point to any text in Scripture that states clearly and unequivocally that Christ died for the sins of a limited number of people to the exclusion of others. Most Calvinists admit this. Alternatively, a dozen clear texts in the New Testament explicitly affirm Christ died for the sins of all people, and another half dozen plus that indirectly suggest it.”[13]
Fourth, individuals are not coerced or irresistibly drawn against their will. Instead, God’s grace is universally available to all, inviting them to respond willingly. Jesus said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). God’s call to salvation is universal, and it means that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10:13). But God’s offer of salvation can be resisted. There are a number of passages that emphasize human volition. Concerning unbelieving Israel, Jesus said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling” (Matt 23:37). John said that one is judged eternally, “because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18b). And when speaking to unbelievers, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). If someone perishes eternally, it is because they failed to respond to God and His drawing them to Himself. Stephen, when about to be stoned to death, said to his unbelieving attackers, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did” (Acts 7:51). All who end up in the lake of fire are there by personal choice—not because God failed to love them or make provision for their eternal salvation.
Fifth, God gives eternal life to those who believe in Jesus as their Savior and preserves them forever. The apostle John wrote, “whoever believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 3:15), and “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And Jesus pointed others to Himself, saying, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40), and “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47; cf., John 10:28). Eternal life is what the believer possesses at the moment of faith in Christ. This eternal life is connected with being in a relationship with Jesus Christ. John wrote, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1 John 5:11-12). At the time of faith in Christ, all Christians are said to be “in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:30), and “Christ in you” (Col 1:27), and “your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3). According to Robert B. Thieme Jr., “When anyone believes in Christ, God the Father instantly imputes His own life to that person—‘He who has the Son has the life [God’s eternal life]’ (1 John 5:11–12).”[14] And Merrill F. Unger adds, “This life is nothing less than ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Col. 1:27). It is likened to a birth from above (John 3:3; 1:13) and is dependent upon receiving Christ as Savior. ‘He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life’ (1 John 5:12).”[15]
In summary, God is absolutely sovereign (Psa 10:16; 135:6; Dan 4:35; Isa 46:10; 1 Tim 6:15; Eph 1:11b), and in His sovereignty, He offers salvation to everyone, and saves those who place their faith in Christ (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Gal 3:26; Eph 1:4; 1 Pet 1:1-2). God is righteous and just (2 Ch 12:6; Psa 11:7; Psa 33:5), and judges everyone fairly, for “there is no partiality with God” (Rom 2:11), and He says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezek 33:11a). Peter said, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35). And Paul wrote, “For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality” (Col 3:25). Furthermore, God is loving and gracious (Ex 34:6; Psa 86:15), and is described as “the God of all grace” (1 Pet 5:10), who sits upon a “throne of grace” (Heb 4:16), who “gives grace to the afflicted” (Prov 3:34), and provides salvation “by grace” through faith in Jesus (Eph 2:8-9; cf., Acts 15:11; Rom 3:24). Jesus is said to be “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), and the Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of grace” (Heb 10:29). And God loves everyone and desires their salvation (John 3:16; 1 Tim 2:4; Tit 2:11; 2 Pet 3:9).
God will provide gospel information to all who are positive to Him and want to know Him. And when people believe in Christ as their Savior, they “receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43), God’s “gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17), His gift of “eternal life” (John 10:28), are “reconciled to God” (Rom 5:10), have “peace with God” (Rom 5:1), and are “rescued from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13). But if people go negative to God and “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), and do “not believe” (John 3:18) in Christ as their Savior, then, by their own choice, they reject His offer of salvation, and “the wrath of God abides on them” (John 3:36). Having rejected God’s offer of forgiveness of sins and eternal live, these will be “thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15), where they will spend all eternity, forever separated from God, because that’s what they chose. They are judged on the basis of their works (Rev 20:10-14), which do not measure up to the perfect righteousness of God; therefore, they are not eligible to spend eternity with Him, having rejected His gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). And God, from His sovereignty, permits this to happen.
Unlike Calvinism, this biblical view preserves the sovereignty of God as well as His righteousness, justice, love and mercy, and makes Him completely fair when He saves those who believe in Christ as their Savior, and condemns the lost for their willful rejection of His offer of eternal life.
Dr. Steven R. Cook
Related Articles:
- The Gospel Explained
- Free Grace Salvation
- Divine Election
- What is Free Grace Theology?
- Knowing and Doing the Will of God
- Total Depravity, Faith in Christ, and Regeneration
- The Cross & Crucifixion of Jesus
- Two Kinds of Forgiveness with God
- Jesus’ Substitutionary Atonement in Salvation
- Defining Salvation in the Bible
- Who is the One Who Saves?
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[1] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 112.
[2] J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1993), 84.
[3] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 670.
[4] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord, 177.
[5] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 596.
[6] Ibid., 700.
[7] James Montgomery Boice, Philip Graham Ryken, and R. C. Sproul, The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002), np.
[8] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 788.
[9] John MacArthur, Jr., “Perseverance of the Saints”, The Master’s Journal, 4 (1993), 9.
[10] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord, 197.
[11] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2004), 126.
[12] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, God’s Will & Man’s Will: Predestination, Election, & Free Will, ed. Christiane Jurik, 2nd Edition. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2014), 44.
[13] David L. Allen, “A Critique of Limited Atonement,” in Calvinism: A Biblical and Theological Critique, ed. David L. Allen and Steve W. Lemke (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2022), 71.
[14] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Eternal Life with God”, Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 89.
[15] Merrill F. Unger, “Eternal Life,” The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988).
When God the Son added perfect humanity to Himself, this enabled Him to experience suffering and death with, and on behalf of, humanity. The suffering of Christ may be viewed in at least two ways: 1) His suffering during His time on earth prior to the cross, and 2) the suffering of the cross. As the God-Man, Jesus was perfectly holy in all His thoughts, words, and actions. Such perfect holiness brought with it a special form of suffering in this world that the rest of us could never know, since we are capable of yielding to the pressures of sinful temptation. When the time of His death was nearing, Jesus told His disciples “that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day” (Matt 16:21; cf., Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). It’s noteworthy that Jesus said His suffering, dying, and resurrection were things that “must” happen to Him. The use of the Greek verb dei (δεῖ) here denotes divine necessity, which meant it was the will of God the Father that these things happen to Christ. Thomas Constable notes, “Jesus said that it was necessary (Gr. dei) for Him to go to Jerusalem. He had to do this because it was God’s will for Messiah to suffer, die, and rise from the dead. He had to do these things to fulfill prophecy (Isa 53; cf. Acts 2:22–36).”
Over the past few months I’ve overworked myself into a slight state of depression, which is something I’ve done several times over the past 30 + years. By depression I mean the mental and emotional exhaustion I bring on myself when I’m overloaded for too long with too many projects (maybe burnout is a better word). Being overworked for extended periods leads to chronic stress, fatigue, frustration, irritability, recurring migraines, and a strong desire to withdraw from social activities (i.e., isolate) to avoid added stress and potential conflict. Much of this is my own doing, and I’m still learning my limitations and when to say “no” to the requests of others (this can take a while to learn).
Those who are children of Satan are called “sons of disobedience” (Eph 2:2), are under “the dominion of Satan” (Acts 26:18), and reside in his “domain of darkness” (Col 1:13; cf., Rom 2:19). These walk “in the futility of their mind” (Eph 4:17b), and are “darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart” (Eph 4:18). Paul said that Satan “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:4). But these are not unwilling victims; for though they are born into Satan’s kingdom and “held captive by him to do his will” (2 Tim 2:26), they also enjoy what he offers and are said to “love the darkness rather than the Light” (John 3:19). The word love in this passage translates the Greek verb agapao (ἀγαπάω), which is in the active voice and means they willingly love the darkness of Satan’s world system and all their affections are tied to it. They continue as residents of his kingdom by choice and not by chance. Freedom awaits them if they want it. Freedom in Christ. But they don’t want freedom. And when given the opportunity to be liberated from their captor, they prefer to clutch their chains of familiar pleasures and practices than to step into the unknown freedom and responsibilities of liberty in Christ. Jesus said of them, “you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:40).
It is to our benefit to realize we live in a fallen world, and when we walk with God, in total devotion to Christ, the world will reject us. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). We understand that the gospel of grace and solid Bible teaching will, on occasion, threaten other people’s pride and power, and we should not be surprised when they react negatively and with hostility, either verbally or physically. If possible, we are to get along with others and pursue peace (Rom 12:18), but never at the price of neglecting our mission to preach the gospel (Mark 16:15), or gather together for Bible study (Acts 2:42; 2 Tim 2:15), fellowship (Heb 10:25), worship (Eph 5:19-20), and prayer (1 Th 5:17). Because we live in a fallen world, there will be times when we must choose whether we will serve God or man. Of course, the correct choice is, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29; cf. Dan 3:18). And though we may enjoy periods of peace and blessing, the world is currently under Satan’s control, which means it will only get worse, not better. As Christians, we are both realistic and optimistic about the world and the future. Realistic that we will not win the world to Christ during our time on earth (though not for want of effort by sharing the gospel and Bible teaching), and optimistic because we know Christ is coming back and will make everything right when He returns. Lastly, we must keep our focus on God and His Word (Isa 26:3; Col 3:2, 16), as it provides mental and emotional stability when trouble comes (and it will). Adversity is inevitable, and we must handle it by wisdom and faith.
This article is written primarily to the one who has recently been released from jail or prison. The intention of the article is to provide some helpful advice to be successful. I write to let you know that success is possible after a life in prison, as long as one measures success by the right metric. For the Christian, that metric is God and His Word, and success is measured primarily by it. People and societies have their own metrics for success, and Christians must be careful to abide by society’s norms, as long as they don’t conflict with God’s. This requires wisdom and discernment.
Study God’s Word: Learning God’s Word allows you to operate from a biblical worldview and to frame your life from the divine perspective. You are to “study to show yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). And “Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word, so that by it you may grow in respect to your salvation” (1 Pet 2:2). Your walk of faith is critical, and you will often face obstacles from a world that cares little about you; a world that also has satanic forces that are set against you. But God is with you and for you (Rom 8:31-39), to give wisdom, grace, and strength to advance in this world, and you must live moment by moment staying close to God and relying on Him for everything. Realize that adversity is inevitable, but stress is optional, as you can take up the shield of faith and protect yourself from the fiery darts of the enemy (Eph 6:16).
Be Devoted to Prayer: Paul said, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Col 4:2), and “pray without ceasing” (1 Th 5:17). Prayer is essential to spiritual success as you need to have upward communication with God to express yourself to Him. Prayer is the means by which you make requests to God, believing He has certain answers ready for you, and that you just need to ask (Jam 4:2). Life can be stressful, and developing the habit of prayer allows you to alleviate the pressures by “casting your cares upon the Lord, because He cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7).
Let Your Past Help Others: Learn to let your past help others who face similar struggles. For over fifteen years I’ve had the privilege of teaching God’s Word in jails and prisons. For me to go back into that environment has been a blessing for me and the inmates that come to Bible class. Many have come to faith in Christ, and others have been helped in their walk with the Lord. My past experience of being in jail half a dozen times (mainly for petty drug offenses) and then going to prison allowed me to speak to others and offer helpful guidance. I’ve published two books that are specifically written for inmates, shared the gospel many times, and explained how to live spiritually while incarcerated. In this way, my past experience has been a help to others.
Toward the end of Moses’ life, the Lord called Moses and Joshua to a special meeting (Deut 31:14), and appointed Joshua as Moses’ successor. It was at this meeting the Lord told Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them” (Deut 31:16). Here, the Lord informed Moses that those he’d led in the path of righteousness for forty years would begin a journey into apostasy after his death. Surely this was difficult news for Moses to hear.
The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of the Lord (Isa 6:1-7), which was followed by a call to ministry (Isa 6:8a). Isaiah answered the call, saying, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa 6:8b). But then Isaiah was told his ministry would be met with negative volition and his words would have a hardening effect upon those who were already committed to wickedness (Isa 6:9-10). When Isaiah asked, “how long” his difficult ministry would last (Isa 6:11a), the Lord answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, houses are without people and the land is utterly desolate, the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land” (Isa 6:11b-12). Isaiah was faithful to the Lord for many years, even though his audience rejected his message.
Of course, there’s no greater display of leadership than the Lord Jesus, Who spoke perfect truth all the time and called others to trust in Him (John 14:1) and to follow Him (Matt 4:19). During His time of ministry on the earth, as the God-Man, Jesus was the perfect leader. He repeatedly offered His kingdom to the nation (Matt 4:19; 10:7), was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), healed to sick (Matt 8:13; 12:15), raised the dead (Matt 27:52-53; Luke 7:14-15), fed the masses (Matt 14:19-20; 15:35-38), and perfectly executed the Father’s will. Near the end of His ministry, Jesus said to the Father, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). All that Jesus said and did was perfect; yet, the majority of those who heard His message and saw His miracles rejected Him (John 3:19; 12:37). Jesus was faithful to do His Father’s will, and though He was rejected at His first coming (Matt 12:24; John 19:15), He will be welcomed at His second coming, when all Israel will say, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matt 23:39). At that time, “all Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:26), and Messiah will begin His reign on the earth (Rev 20:1-6).
Third, place the matter in the Lord’s hands and let Him dispense justice in His time and way. The Bible teaches that God is the “Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25) and that He dispenses justice upon those whose who deserve it. Scripture reveals the Lord is a “God of vengeance” (Psa 94:1) and will punish the wicked. And Nahum tells us, “A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; the LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies” (Nah 1:2). God told the Israelites if they listen to His voice, “Then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries” (Ex 23:22). Paul, after instructing Christians not to seek their own revenge, explained that God will handle the matter, saying, “for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom 12:19b; cf. Deut 32:35; Heb 10:30). And again, “It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (2 Th 1:6). Even Paul did not seek his own revenge when hurt by Alexander the coppersmith, but said, “the Lord will repay him according to his deeds” (2 Tim 4:14). According to Warren Wiersbe, “The word vengeance must not be confused with revenge. The purpose of vengeance is to satisfy God’s holy law; the purpose of revenge is to pacify a personal grudge.”
In these verses, the writer uses the Greek word for an adult son (υἱός huios) and not that of a newborn (βρέφος brephos) or young child (παιδίον paidion). According to Warren Wiersbe, “A parent who would repeatedly chasten an infant child would be considered a monster. God deals with us as adult sons because we have been adopted and given an adult standing in His family (see Rom 8:14–18; Gal 4:1–7). The fact that the Father chastens us is proof that we are maturing, and it is the means by which we can mature even more.”
As growing believers, we must learn to operate by divine viewpoint and live above the daily grind of life with all its difficulties and hardships. When we operate by divine viewpoint and live by faith, we can be thankful for God’s loving work in our lives which, over time, yields godly fruit in the lives of His humble and obedient children. It is by divine viewpoint that we realize, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful” (Heb 12:11a). It is the natural proclivity of a person to maximize joy and minimize sorrow, and the Christian is no exception. We must never think the absence of joy means the absence of God, for though we often praise Him in the heights, He is with us in the valleys (Psa 23:4), and it is there His work is most impactful. And when God’s discipline has taken its course, when we “have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb 12:11b). It’s always the afterwards that matters most to God, for when the Pruner has done His work in cutting away useless branches that bear no fruit, the benefit is a harvest of right living.
It was a terrible sin when Aaron led the Israelites into idol worship (Ex 32:1-6), but God did not call for Aaron’s death. Samson slept with prostitutes (Judg 16:1-4), and though he was disciplined, the Lord did not kill him. When David had an affair with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah, it was a rotten sin that brought divine discipline. The Lord told David, “I will raise up evil against you from your own household” (2 Sam 12:11); however, the Lord also told David, “you shall not die” (2 Sam 12:13), but then disciplined him with the death of his son (2 Sam 12:14). Later, after David confessed his sin, he was restored to ministry (Psa 51:12-13). It was evil when Solomon worshipped idols (1 Ki 11:1-10), but even here the Lord did not pronounce death for Solomon’s sin. Peter argued with Jesus and tried to prevent Him from going to the cross (Matt 16:21-22), and later publicly denied the Lord three times (Matt 26:34-35; 69-75), but Peter was allowed to live. The apostle John twice worshiped an angel and was rebuked for it (Rev 19:10; 22:8-9), but the Lord let him live and used him in ministry. God’s grace and mercy is very prominent throughout the Bible, and He repeatedly gives us ample opportunity to confess our sin and turn back to him. We know from Scripture that “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (Psa 103:8). Because of this, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (Psa 103:10). Thank God for His great grace.
Sometimes, we’re the source of our own suffering, as we make bad choices that affect us physically, socially, financially, etc. The wise will learn from their bad choices—even choices done in ignorance—and be better. And sometimes our mental and emotional distress is the product of irrational fears in which we manufacture imaginary negative situations that upset us. These are the mental dramas we construct in our thinking in which we are under attack by someone or something and feel helpless to stop the assault. These self-produced mental plays can include family, friends, coworkers, or anyone we think has the power to hurt us. But we have the power to redirect our thoughts, shut the story down, change the characters, or rewrite the script any time we want. Of course, this requires introspection and the discipline to manage our thoughts. As I’ve shared in other lessons, the stability of the Christian is often predicated on the biblical content and continuity of our thinking. It’s not only what we think, but we keep on thinking that provides mental and emotional equilibrium.
In Paul’s second letter to the Christians at Corinth, he recorded an incident in which he’d been caught up to heaven and “heard inexpressible words” (2 Cor 12:4). But Paul’s heavenly experience came with a price. The Lord knew Paul would become prideful because of the experience, so the Lord gave him a “thorn in the flesh” that was intended to cause him suffering and humility (2 Cor 12:7). Though Paul did not like the suffering, he eventually came to understand it was divinely purposeful. Twice he declared it was given “to keep me from exalting myself” (2 Cor 12:7). The word “exalt” translates the Greek verb ὑπεραίρω huperairo, which means “to have an undue sense of one’s self-importance, rise up, [or] exalt oneself.”
As Christians, it’s legitimate that we ask God to remove our suffering; however, what He does not remove, He intends for us to deal with. This was true with Paul. God did not want to remove Paul’s discomfort because it served a purpose, and that was to keep him humble, to keep him close to the Lord. When Paul understood what God was accomplishing in him through the suffering, Paul chose to embrace it, knowing it came with divine help to shape him into a better person. Paul responded properly, saying, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Cor 12:9b). This was done by faith and not feelings. Furthermore, Paul said, “I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10). The word content translates the Greek verb εὐδοκέω eudokeo, which means “to take pleasure or find satisfaction in something, be well pleased, [to] take delight.”
Perspective is critical to how we approach life and the problems we face. Invariably, we will all face difficult situations that will influence us to feel fearful; and though difficulties are inevitable, how we handle them is optional. When problems and feelings rise high, faith must rise higher, for God expects us to live by faith and trust Him (Prov 3:5-6; Heb 10:38; 11:6). We must not allow fear to overrun the command center in our soul (i.e., our volition). Though our emotions are turbulent, we must choose to be governed by wisdom and not feelings. We must operate on the principle that Christian stability is predicated, to a large degree, on the biblical content and continuity of our thinking. This requires a discipline of the mind in which we “destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). This is not always easy; especially if we’re tired, or dealing with fatigue from the pressures of life. However, the alternative means we fall victim to the situation and that our soul is overrun with crippling fear.
Stable thinking occurs when we manage our thought processes and insert divine viewpoint into the stream of our consciousness (Isa 26:3; Jer 17:7-8; Nah 1:7). Having a strong sense of God’s sovereignty is helpful (Psa 10:16; 103:19; 135:6; Dan 4:35). As growing believers, we should learn to manage our own thoughts, as confidence is raised when we connect them to God and His Word. David provides a good example of a believer or managed his own thoughts during a time of conflict; when he faced his Goliath on a field of battle. Prior to facing Goliath, God had worked with David to train him for that conflict. We know King Saul doubted David’s ability to kill Goliath, telling him, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth” (1 Sam 17:33). Saul was operating purely from human viewpoint, and so his thinking was handicapped. But David, operating from divine viewpoint, said to the king, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him” (1 Sam 17:34-35). During those prior conflicts—when David was a shepherd boy—he had no idea that God was training him for a future victory. David further explained to the king, “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God…The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Sam 17:36-37).
In 1445 B.C., after the Israelite exodus from Egypt, Moses found himself standing at the edge of the Red Sea, watching as the Egyptian army approached with the intent of enslaving the Israelites (Ex 14:5). Moses wrote, “As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD” (Ex 14:10). Operating under divine orders, Moses inserted divine viewpoint into the minds of his fellow Israelites, saying, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent” (Ex 14:13-14). Fear is overcome when the solution is greater than the problem. In this situation, the problem was Pharoah and his army coming to re-enslave the Israelites. The solution was God Himself, who promised to protect His people and neutralize the threat. God kept His Word and killed Pharaoh and his soldiers (see Ex 14:22-31). The destruction of Pharaoh and his army caused Moses to rejoice, as he sang, “The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is His name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; and the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea” (Ex 15:3-4).
In 1405 B.C., just before Moses died, he sought to strengthen the souls of Israelites who were about to enter the land of Canaan and face their enemies. These Israelites needed courage for the battles they were about to face. Like before, Moses sought to offset their fears by framing their situation from the divine perspective. Moses told them, “Do not fear them, for the LORD your God is the one fighting for you” (Deut 3:22). Because fear tends to raise its head over and over, Moses wisely repeated these words several times. For a second time, Moses said, “You shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid” (Deut 7:18-19). And a third time, Moses said, “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you” (Deut 20:1). And a fourth time, saying, “The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deut 31:8). Fear was to be the mental attitude of God’s enemies, not God’s people. Faith in God was the antidote to fear. Moses’ repetition of this truth helped God’s people adjust to the reality of their situation, and this strengthened them within.
In 701 B.C., in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (2 Ki 18:13), he faced a stressful situation when “Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them for himself” (2 Ch 32:1). Here was an extremely stressful situation for the king and all the citizens of Judah. King Hezekiah could not control the attitude or actions of Sennacherib, but he had a choice to control his response. The king proved to be a wise leader who made good choices as he rallied his leadership team and took practical steps to fortify the city and its defenses (2 Ch 32:2-5). But Hezekiah knew external fortifications would not be enough. He needed his people to be fortified in their souls, strengthened within, so they might have the courage necessary to face the opposition. We learn that Hezekiah “appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them” (2 Ch 32:6). Here is wisdom. Here is good leadership. Operating from divine viewpoint—which strengthened his own soul—Hezekiah used his words to insert divine viewpoint into the minds of his hearers, saying, “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be discouraged because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the One with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles” (2 Ch 32:7-8a). If the people of God’s kingdom were to be strengthened within, they would need to place their focus on God rather than the overwhelming problem at hand. Apparently, the people had positive volition and received his words. And the result was, “Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people” (2 Ch 32:8b). Now they were ready to face the enemy. Now they were ready to win.
In this pericope, we observe that following Jesus did not preclude the disciples from experiencing a turbulent storm that they perceived as life-threating (Matt 8:23-24a). God, who controls meteorological conditions (Psa 135:7; Jonah 1:4), used this storm as a means of testing and developing the disciples’ faith. Jesus, who was on the boat with them, was relaxed about the storm and “was asleep” (Matt 8:24b). But the disciples, in a state of panic, woke the Lord and requested He save them, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” (Matt 8:25). To their credit, the disciples had enough faith to cry out to the Lord in their perceived crisis. But though the disciples were concerned about the storm on the sea, Jesus was not; and when He was awakened, He addressed the storm that was raging in their souls. Jesus, standing face to face with His disciples on the ship, with strong winds blowing and violent waves crashing all about, said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” (Matt 8:26a). Here was a contrast of perceived problems. The disciples thought the storm was the great issue at the moment, but Jesus thought their fear and little faith was the greater issue. Jesus’ perfect perception of the situation, which kept Him calm, was used to correct the disciples’ misperception, which caused them to fear. The implication of Jesus’ words was that if the disciples had possessed greater faith, they would not have experienced fear and panic. After Jesus addressed the true problem, “He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm” (Matt 8:26b). Just as Jesus could speak and calm the raging storm on the waters, so He could speak and calm the storm in the disciples’ souls, if they would heed His instruction. Being amazed at Jesus’ power over this great tempest, the disciples asked, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matt 8:27). Here, the disciples learn a deep Christological truth that Jesus, as the God-Man, has complete control over the universe He created.
The storm the disciples faced with Jesus on the sea would set a precedent for other problems they would face. Though the disciples failed the test at that moment—because of their little faith—they learned the lesson Jesus had for them as they witnessed His great power. Over time, the disciples would develop their faith and become some of the most courageous men in history. They would learn that faith in God and His Word produces a fortress within the soul that offers stability when life is upsetting. David understood this well and said, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid” (Psa 56:3-4a). And Isaiah said, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation” (Isa 12:2).
All that follows in this article is an exposition of Paul’s statement. The Lord (κύριος kurios) is none other than Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, who added humanity to Himself and became the God-Man (John 1:1, 14). Jesus was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary, and was “born of a woman, born under the Law (Gal 4:4). Throughout His life Jesus lived perfectly in the Father’s will (Matt 5:17-18). Scripture reveals Jesus lived His entire life “without sin” (Heb 4:15), that He “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21a), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). By the end of His life on earth, Jesus said to God the Father, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus then went to the cross and laid down His life as a substitutionary atoning sacrifice for us (Mark 10:45). Jesus “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). In this way, He was the “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). After His death, Jesus was placed in a grave where He remained for three days, but afterwards was resurrected (Luke 24:1-7), seen by hundreds of people (1 Cor 15:3-8), and afterwards ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9), from where He currently directs His children until the time of His return (1 Th 4:13-18). Those who trust in Christ as Savior become His servants here on earth. We are those who carry out His will, live honorably as He expects, preach the gospel to the lost, and teach fellow Christians to live righteously.
Having conducted ourselves as noble servants of the Lord, operating under His sovereignty, we then trust that He will work in the hearts of those who have heard His Word. We know it is God’s Word that transforms others from the inside out. We know His Word is “alive and powerful” (Heb 4:12) and accomplishes what He intends. The Lord said, “My word which goes forth from My mouth will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isa 55:11). As Christians, we simply communicate God’s Word accurately and in a loving way, and then let it do its work in the hearts of those who hear it. I believe it was Spurgeon who said, “the same sun that softens wax also hardens clay.” By this he meant that God’s Word, which gives light like the sun, has different effects depending on the material exposed to it. The reality is that some hearts are positive to God (wax) and these grow soft when exposed to the light of His Word, but other hearts are negative to God (clay) and exposure to His Word only make them harder. We control the output of our message, but never the outcome. What the hearers—or readers—do with God’s Word is between them and the Lord.
The gospel is the good news that follows the bad news. The bad news—from our perspective—is that God is holy (Psa 99:9; Isa 6:3) and demands absolute righteousness from us in order for us to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Being perfectly righteous, God can have nothing to do with sin except to condemn it (Hab 1:13; 1 John 1:5). God’s standard of righteousness is absolute moral perfection. This is bad news because we are egregious sinners in serious violation of God’s perfect standard. The Bible reveals we are sinners in Adam (Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22), sinners by nature (Rom 7:14-25; 13:12-14), and sinners by choice (Isa 59:2; Jam 1:14-15). To further complicate the problem, we are helpless to solve the sin problem and save ourselves (Rom 5:6-10; Eph 2:1-3). Good works have no saving merit before God (Isa 64:6; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). We cannot save ourselves any more than we can jump across the Grand Canyon or throw rocks and hit the moon. But God, because of His mercy and love toward us (John 3:16; Eph 2:3-7), did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He provided a solution to the problem of sin, and that solution is the cross of Christ (1 Cor 1:18). God the Son—the second Person of the Trinity—came into the world by human birth (Luke 1:26-35), lived a perfectly righteous life (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 John 3:5), and willingly died in our place—as our substitute—and bore the punishment for our sins. Jesus solved both problems: 1) He lived the righteous life that God demands and committed no sin (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 John 3:5), and 2) He died for us on the cross and paid the penalty for all our sins (Mark 10:45; Rom 5:6-10). The gospel message is that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Jesus died in our place, “the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). In order for us to be reconciled to God, we must simply trust in Jesus as our Savior (John 3:16; Acts 16:30-31). When we trust in Christ as our Savior, we are forgiven all our sins (Eph 1:7; Col. 1:14), given eternal life (John 3:16; 10:27-28), and receive the righteousness of God as a free gift (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). This is good news.
Knowing and doing the will of God starts with God. Biblically, there is only one God (Deut 32:39; Isa 45:5-7; 46:9), and He created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them (Gen 1:1; Ex 20:11; Neh 9:6; Acts 17:24). Furthermore, God is not silent. He has provided general revelation about Himself through nature (Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:20) and special revelation through His Word (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:20-21),
Of the one with positive volition it is said, “his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psa 1:2). The benefit of such a lifelong meditation is that “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers” (Psa 1:3). The godly person is positive to the Lord and welcomes His Word. David said, “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart” (Psa 40:8). The word delight (חָפֵץ chaphets) means, “to take pleasure in, desire…to delight in…to be willing…to feel inclined.”
When reading through the New Testament, God provides both general and specific directives to Christians. Examples of general directives include learning God’s Word (Rom 12:1-2; Col 3:16; 2 Tim 2:15; 1 Pet 2:2), applying God’s Word (Jam 1:22), loving others as Christ has loved us (John 13:34), being filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), and walking by means of the Spirit (Gal 5:16), submitting to governing authorities (Rom 13:1), paying taxes (Rom 13:6), stimulating one another to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24), and not forsaking our assembling together (Heb 10:25). Other examples include living by faith (Heb 10:38; 11:6), seeking godly wisdom (Jam 1:5), pursuing peace with others (Rom 12:18), being forgiving (Col 3:13), using gracious words (Col 4:6), being kind (Eph 4:32; cf. Prov 3:3-4), edifying others (Rom 14:19; 1 Th 5:11), serving (Gal 5:13), seeking the best interests of others (Phil 2:3-4), rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks (1 Th 5:16-18), and acting for God’s glory (1 Cor 10:31). Some specific commands include sharing the Gospel with others (Mark 16:15), and making disciples by teaching them Scripture (Matt 28:19-20). Pastors are to preach God’s Word (2 Tim 4:2), equip the saints for God’s work (Eph 4:11-12), and help lead them to spiritual maturity (Eph 4:13-16). The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church (Eph 5:25; cf. Mark 10:45), and the wife is to submit to her husband’s loving spiritual leadership (Eph 5:22). Christian children are to obey and honor their parents (Eph 6:1-4). Christian employees are to obey their supervisor (Eph 6:5-8; Col 3:23-24), and Christian supervisors are to treat their workers well (Eph 6:9; Col 4:1; Jam 5:4).
God is holy and never creates evil, however, He can and does control those who do. Satan, and those who follow him, are ultimately under God’s sovereign control, and even their evil plans and actions are used for His good purposes. For example, Joseph was mistreated by his brothers and sold into slavery and taken to Egypt where he suffered greatly. Yet, later in his life, Joseph interpreted their behavior from the divine perspective, telling his brothers, “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life” (Gen 45:5). And Joseph repeated himself a second time, saying, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Gen 45:7-8a). And later, he told them a third time, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Gen 50:20). It was God’s providence that drove Saul to chase after his father’s donkeys, and then be led to the prophet Samuel and anointed king of Israel (1 Sam 9-10). It was God’s providence that directed Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, so the baby Jesus would be born at the appointed time and place (Mic 5:2; Luke 2:4-6; Gal 4:4). Later, Joseph and Mary were compelled to go to Egypt, in order to preserve the baby Savior (Matt 2:13-15). It was God’s providence that forced Aquila and Priscilla out of Rome by the emperor Claudius’ decree, only to meet the apostle Paul in Corinth and join him in Christian ministry (Acts 18:1-3; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19). It was God’s providence that put the Lord Jesus on the cross to be crucified by the hands of godless men. Peter, charging Israelites in Jerusalem concerning Jesus’s death, said, “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 2:23). And after being persecuted by the leaders in Jerusalem, Peter and John, along with others, said to God, “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, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur” (Acts 4:27-28). In these verses we see people behaving sinfully, whether Joseph’s brothers, or human rulers who abuse their power; yet God used their sinful choices to bring about a greater good. Because God is righteous, all His actions are just (Psa 119:137). Because He is loving (1 John 4:8), He directs all things for the benefit of His people. Because He is good (Psa 34:8; 100:5), He “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28).
For the present time, Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2; 1 John 5:19). We are all born under “the dominion of Satan” (Act 26:18), into his “domain of darkness” (Col 1:13). Our spiritual state changes at the time we turn to Christ and trust Him as Savior (1 Cor 15:3-4). At the moment of faith in Christ, we become “children of God” (John 1:12), are transferred to the kingdom of His Son (Col 1:13), forgiven all our sins (Eph 1:7), given eternal life (John 10:28), the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9), and the power to live holy (Rom 6:11-14). And, it is God’s will that we advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1; Eph 4:11-13; 1 Pet 2:2), and serve as His ambassadors to others (2 Cor 5:20).
How should we respond to the world? The challenge for us as Christians is not to let the bullies of this world intimidate us into silence or inaction. And, of course, we must be careful not to become bitter, fearful, or hateful like those who attack us. The Bible teaches us to love those who hate us (Matt 5:44-45; Rom 12:14, 17-21), and we are to be kind, patient, and gentle (2 Tim 2:24-26; cf. Eph 4:1-2; Col 3:13-14). What we need is courage. Courage that is loving, kind, and faithful to share the gospel of grace and to speak biblical truth. The hope is that those who are positive to God can be rescued from Satan’s domain of darkness. We also live in the reality that God’s plans will advance. He will win. His future kingdom on earth will come to pass. Christ will return. Jesus will put down all forms of rebellion—both satanic and human—and will rule this world with perfect righteousness and justice. But until then, we must continue to learn and live God’s Word and fight the good fight. We are to live by faith (Heb 10:38; 11:6), share the gospel of grace (1 Cor 15:3-4), disciple others (Matt 28:19-20), be good and do good (Gal 6:9-10; Tit 2:11-14), and look forward to the return of Christ at the rapture (Tit 2:13; cf. John 14:1-3; 1 Th 4:13-18).
These commands are relatively easy to accomplish when life is good, and we should certainly praise God for His many blessings. But what about those times when life is difficult; such as when we’ve lost our health, work is overly stressful, or we’re experiencing unjust persecution? Are we to rejoice, pray, and give thanks even during those times? Yes! Especially during those times. It’s in difficult moments that we need to operate by faith, not feelings. In fact, feelings can work against us when we’re experiencing difficulty. When feelings rise up, faith must rise higher. As we commit to obeying the Word, our feelings will eventually get in line. It’s only when we understand and obey these commands by faith that we rise above our difficult circumstances. Though we aren’t physically removed from the hardship, mentally we’re lifted above it and experience a joy that is free from it. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:11-12). This is exactly what the apostles did when they were persecuted and flogged, for Luke tells us, “So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). And when Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrown into jail, we’re told they “were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Act 16:25). Elsewhere, Paul wrote, “we exult in our tribulations” (Rom 5:3a), and “I rejoice in my sufferings” (Col 1:24). And James wrote, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” (Jam 1:2). One of the reasons we can rejoice in suffering is because we know God is using it to develop our character in order to mature us spiritually (Rom 5:3-5; Jam 1:2-4). God sometimes uses the furnace of affliction to burn away the dross of weak character and to refine those golden qualities He wants to see in us. As Christians operating on divine viewpoint, it’s our responsibility to live by faith when the trials come. 
There is a place for laughter and joy and celebration, and there is a place for weeping and mourning. Wiersbe states, “Laughter can be like medicine that heals the broken heart, but sorrow can be like nourishing food that strengthens the inner person. It takes both for a balanced life, but few people realize this.”
Looking into Scripture, we find the greatest examples of suffering anywhere. Job and Jeremiah were two men who suffered greatly. Both were sensitive men who knew depression as a result of their suffering, and as we read about their lives we can cry with them. In the midst of his sadness Job said, “why then hast Thou brought me out of the womb? Would that I had died and no eye had seen me! I should have been as though I had not been, carried from womb to tomb” (Job 10:18-19). Because of his sorrow, Job saw his life as a “land of darkness and deep shadow; the land of utter gloom as darkness itself, of deep shadow without order” (Job 10:21-22a). During his time of sadness, the prophet Jeremiah wished that his “mother would have been [his] grave, and her womb ever pregnant” and in his great anguish went on to ask, “why did I ever come forth from the womb to look on trouble and sorrow, so that my days have been spent in shame?” (Jer. 20:17-18).