Lesson 5: Following Jesus with Reverence

God is the Sovereign King—nothing happens apart from his will. Every moment of the day, we make decisions believing that the choices are ours. How can we reconcile the ultimate authority of God with our own responsibilities?

To develop a mature understanding of both God's sovereignty and our responsibility that gives us confidence to live boldly for Jesus.

In high school, I attended a non-denominational church that was essentially a breakaway Anglican church. I participated in student fellowships that felt like Baptist churches. My Bible study was led by a Presbyterian physics teacher. Perhaps his mind's appreciation for the immutable laws of physics inclined him toward a Reformed understanding of Scripture—everything is predetermined by our Creator.

Though I was open to all these interpretations, the close friendship with my Bible study leader made me a very committed Calvinist. (One summer, while working as a cashier at a card shop, I read Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion between ringing up customers!)

However, at Rhodes College, I felt the religion department was loosey-goosey, so I focused on the more intellectually demanding challenges of philosophy. The chair of the department, Dr. Larry Lacy, exemplified a humble love for the Lord, a rigorous evaluation of any claim you made, and an empathetic reading of every philosopher we studied.

Under his tutelage, I found that my Reformed tendencies withered under his skeptical scrutiny. If God is the ultimate cause of all our decisions, then it logically follows that God would become the author of evil. Without libertarian free will, there was no way to break the causative chain (If God causes A to do X, then ultimately, God causes X to happen).

By the time I arrived at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I was a committed Arminian (not to be confused with Armenians!). Yet I still wondered how to reconcile the Scriptures that taught God was…. well, God. How can God know all that will happen if billions of humans are doing whatever they please?

A complex philosophical solution, known as middle knowledge, offered one way to combine these concepts. (In short, it suggests that God creates only the free agents he can predict will freely act in a way entirely compatible with his eternal purposes.) Yet nowhere in the Bible do we find a reference to 'middle knowledge'!

As I took systematic theology courses with a PCA pastor and attempted to help students at Harvard make decisions to follow Jesus, I became increasingly confused.

Do I teach them that God's will prevails? Then what's left for us to do?

Or do I encourage them to take responsibility for their lives? But won't this deny the grace of God and turn them into legalists?

How do we break through the tension of God's absolute sovereignty and our unavoidable responsibility to act?

How can God be the one who chooses us before the foundation of the world, foreknowing and predestining those who are adopted as his own (Ephesians 1:4-5, Romans 8:29-30), and also be the God who tells us through the Apostle Peter, "make every effort to confirm your calling and election" (see 2 Peter 1:10)?

And Jesus asks his disciples to make a decisive decision: "If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).

It's a tension that has divided theologians, split denominations, and generated uncountable pages of doctrinal disputations.

All orthodox Christians believe that we are saved by grace through faith, but in the second step after this commitment, we seem to diverge into two different paths.

Do you have a God-sized faith? Or do you see humans as divinely controlled robots? The arguments are often framed in pejorative terms.

I want to suggest a different way of navigating this paradox. Instead of seeking logical syllogisms that fully resolve or a comprehensive system that eliminates all tension, I suggest this paradox exists for an entirely different reason: to form us to be like Christ.

But you might be asking: How did I arrive at this position?

First, we see the tension in Jesus' own life. Clearly, he is God Incarnate. Yet we also see him wrestling with his own agency.

The most dramatic battles might be in his wilderness temptation and the Garden of Gethsemane. As he engages in pitched spiritual warfare, we see his faithful decisions to align himself with the will of God. But take some time to meditate on Luke 22:42: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).

Careful theologians of every stripe can reconcile this into their system. I'm more interested in this observation: The gospels present Jesus aligning his will with God's will.

Savoring God's Sovereignty

The Bible teaches that God is King. If he weren't in charge, he wouldn't be God. But… how do these truths help us to become like Christ?

**First,** when we know that God is working everything together for our good, it gives us peace.

**Second,** when we know that God can effectively secure our eternal future, it frees us from anxiety.

**Third,** when God is the author of our salvation, we don't worry about losing it.

**Fourth,** when we know God is in charge, we aren't afraid of Satan. Spiritual warfare is like a four-year-old playground bully trying to intimidate an Olympic gold medalist wrestler.

**Fifth,** we are empowered to participate in God's will for our lives. What could be a better purpose for our lives than to align ourselves with God's plan?

Taking Responsibility for Our Lives

If we begin to imagine ourselves as God's puppets, we get discouraged. Any kind of theological fatalism discourages us from wholeheartedly responding to God with faith—and faithfulness.

**First,** knowing that God has entrusted important decisions to us motivates us to respond to this gift with a careful stewardship of our lives. In general, when someone we respect invites us to take on new responsibilities, we are eager to fulfill the task in a way that would honor them.

**Second,** true love requires a free choice. By contrast, a coerced decision is the antithesis of love. If God's love is an invitation for us to choose — or not choose — to love him back, then our love for God can grow into a genuinely deep and meaningful relationship.

**Third,** the understanding that every choice is our own tends to lead us into a lifestyle of dependent, continual conversation with God. We recognize that to fulfill God's purposes for our lives, we need his nurturing, loving presence to guide us.

**Fourth,** when we see others as responsible moral agents, we take other people seriously. We cherish the relationships we choose to build together — and we want to invite others to make wise choices to respond to God's grace.

**Fifth,** knowing that God has delegated partial responsibility for his purposes into our hands, we feel the urgency of doing our part, for as long as he grants us breath. How will we live and speak in a way that points others to Jesus?

Putting It All Together…

Perhaps you tend to view the Bible in a more Reformed or Arminian manner—as a Presbyterian or a Methodist. That's one of the strengths of our community. Our brothers and sisters, who are sensitive to the sovereignty of God, will remind us of these vital truths; other participants will encourage us to take our choices seriously.

As we help each other follow Jesus, here are a few ways I think our theological diversity—and this paradox—will shape us to be like Christ.

**First,** it will humble us. Who can say they have mastered the questions of God's authority and the inner motivations of the human heart?

**Second,** it will teach us to pray with confidence. We will believe that our prayers matter to God—and we will believe that God can decisively answer any prayer however he pleases.

**Third,** it will press us to spiritual maturity, no matter our circumstances. Do you feel overwhelmed? God's got this. Are you spiritually drifting? Remember: God has invited you to play a critical role in his kingdom.

Most of all? It deepens our worship. These are mysteries beyond all human contemplation. How does God bring it all together? Perhaps we will see more clearly in heaven!

So let's close in worship. I love how the hymn "I Sought The Lord," written by Jean Ingelow in 1878, brings it together:

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew > He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me; > it was not I that found, O Savior true; > no, I was found of Thee. > > Thou didst reach forth Thy hand and mine enfold; > I walked and sank not on the storm-vexed sea; > 'twas not so much that I on Thee took hold, > as Thou, dear Lord, on me. > > I find, I walk, I love, but O, the whole > of love is but my answer, Lord, to Thee! > For Thou wert long beforehand with my soul, > always Thou lovedst me.

God, you are God—and I most certainly am not. How could anything happen without your approval? Yet in some mysterious way, I cannot escape the feeling that my choices are my own.

Teach me to worship you – for who you are, that I might be who you are calling me to be.