THOUGHTS ON REVIVAL--CHARLES SPURGEON

(TAKEN FROM THE TREASURY OF DAVID)

Ver. 6. Wilt thou not revive us again? Hope here grows almost confident. She feels sure that the
Lord will return in all his power to save. We are dead or dying, faint and feeble, God alone can
revive us, he has in other times refreshed his people, he is still the same, he will repeat his love.
Will he not? Why should he not? We appeal to him—Wilt thou not? That thy people may rejoice
in thee. Thou lovest to see thy children happy with that best of happiness which centres in
thyself, therefore revive us, for revival will bring us the utmost joy. The words before us teach us
that gratitude has an eye to the giver, even beyond the gift—

Thy people may rejoice in thee. Those who were revived would rejoice not only in the new life
but in the Lord who was the author of it. Joy in the Lord is the ripest fruit of grace, all revivals
and renewals lead up to it. By our possession of it we may estimate our spiritual condition, it is a
sure gauge of inward prosperity. A genuine revival without joy in the Lord is as impossible as
spring without flowers, or daydawn without light. If, either in our own souls or in the hearts of
others, we see declension, it becomes us to be much in the use of this prayer, and if on the other
hand we are enjoying visitations of the Spirit and bedewings of grace, let us abound in
holy joy and make it our constant delight to joy in God. (SPURGEON’S EXPOSITION)

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 6. Wilt thou not revive us again? The Hebrew is, Wilt thou not return and revive us? We
translate the verb return by the adverb again: Wilt thou not revive us again? Thou hast given us
many revives: when we were as dead men, and like carcases rotting in the grave, thou didst
revive us, wilt thou not revive us once more, and act over those powerfully merciful works and
strong salvations once more, or again? Joseph Caryl.

Ver. 6. That thy people may rejoice in thee. When God changeth the cheer of his people, their
joy should not be in the gift, but in the Giver. David Dickson.

Ver. 6. It is the most natural thing, the most delightful thing, for the people of God to rejoice in
God. God is the fountain of joy, and whom should he fill with it but his people? And whom
should his people breathe it into again but him? This posture God delights to have them in; this
posture they delight to be in; but this cannot be in that estate of death and captivity
wherein God for a long season shutteth them up. "The living, the living shall praise thee, "but
alas, the dead cannot. John Pennington, 1656.

Ver. 6. Truly sin kills. Men are dead in trespasses and sins, dead in law, dead in their affections,
dead in a loss of comfortable communion with God. Probably the greatest practical heresy of
each age is a low idea of our undone condition under the guilt and dominion of sin. While this
prevails we shall be slow to cry for reviving or quickening. What sinners and churches need is
quickening by the Holy Ghost. William S. Plumer.

A DAY OF MINISTRATION OF THE SPIRIT

A day of the ministration of the Spirit would bring many rare and rich blessings along with it;
such as discoveries of the Redeemer's glory, convictions of the evil and vileness of sin, many
crowns of victory and triumph to Christ, great additions to his friends and followers. Then
gospel-light would shine clear, saving knowledge increase, ignorance and error vanish, riches of
free grace would be displayed, and Satan be bound up. Then ministers and ordinances would be
lively, secure sinners would be awakened, dead souls would live, hard hearts would be melted,
strong lusts subdued, and many sons and daughters born to God. Such a day would heal
divisions, cement breaches, make us all of one heart and mind, and bring down heaven to earth.
This would redress our grievances, remove our com-plaints, and unite Christ's scattered flock. It
would make true religion and holy persons to be in esteem, vice to be in disgrace, and iniquity as
ashamed to hide its face. Then sabbaths and communions would be days of heaven. Prayer and
praise, spiritual converse, talking of Christ and redeeming love, would be our chiefest delight.
O then, pray for such a time.
JOHN WILLISON The Balm of Gilead, 1742; Quoted in The Cambuslang Revival by Arthur
Fawcett; 1971.

THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS

An old preacher once told me, many years ago, about a young man that went to see a Puritan
pastor. I do not know which one it was, as there were many. The most well-known perhaps being
John Owen, Richard Sibbes, Stephen Charnock, Thomas Watson, Thomas Goodwin, etc. The
young man said to the Puritan pastor, “Pray for me that I will get in the will of God.” The Puritan
replied “You ARE in the will of God!” Most of us will need a little time to ponder that. Think
about it! (Cw)

Did you know that Whitfield County, Georgia, which was created Dec. 30, 1851, was named for
Evangelist George Whitefield, and as you can see, they left off the”e”. Actually, a few years later
political folks thought removing it was a good idea. Whitefield preached in coastal Georgia,
about 200 miles away from the county seat, Dalton, and present day Whitfield County. He
started Bethesda orphanage near Savannah which remains ‘til this day, though there have been
changes. (Cw)

Published by Charles Woodruff- email: oursong2000@yahoo.com

THE GREATEST FIGHT IN THE WORLD-CHARLES SPURGEON

The year before his death in 1892 Charles Spurgeon delivered an address at the Pastor’s College Conference entitled: The Greatest Fight in the World. It was enthusiastically received by a great assembly of hearers and at the close of the meeting urgent requests were made for its publication. This received wide acclaim, being translated into other languages and passing through several editions in English. After Spurgeon's death a Christian friend arranged that a copy of the book should be sent to every minister in England. That particular edition was entitled, C. H. Spurgeon's Final Manifesto, an apt title for one of Spurgeon's last works, since it reflects the convictions of a lifetime concerning the great central issues of the Faith. The following are excerpts from the last chapter on Our Strength.

“Granted that we preach the Word alone; granted that we are surrounded by a model church, which, alas, is not always the case; but, granted that it is so, OUR STRENGTH is the next consideration. This must come from THE SPIRIT OF GOD. We believe in the Holy Ghost, and in our absolute dependence upon him. We believe; but do we believe practically? Brethren, as to ourselves and our own work, do we believe in the Holy Ghost? Do we believe because we habitually prove the truth of the doctrine? We must depend upon the Spirit in our preparations. Is this the fact with us all? Are you in the habit of working your way into the meaning of texts by the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Every man that goes to the land of heavenly knowledge must work his passage thither; but he must work out his passage in the strength of the Holy Spirit, or he will arrive at some island in the sea of fancy, and never set his foot upon the sacred shores of the truth.”

“We cannot succeed in supplication except the Holy Ghost helpeth our infirmities, for true prayer is “praying in the Holy Ghost.” The Spirit makes an atmosphere around every living prayer, and within that circle prayer lives and prevails; outside of it prayer is a dead formality. As to ourselves, then, in our study, in prayer, in thought, in word, and in deed, we must depend upon the Holy Ghost.”

“In the pulpit do we really and truly rest upon the aid of the Spirit. I do not censure any brother for his mode of preaching, but I must confess that it seems very odd to me when a brother prays that the Holy Ghost may help him in preaching, and then I see him put his hand behind him and draw a manuscript out of his pocket, so fashioned that he can place it in the middle of his Bible, and read from it without being suspected of doing so. These precautions for ensuring secrecy look as though the man was a little ashamed of his paper; but I think he should be far more ashamed of his precautions. Does he expect the Spirit of God to bless him while he is practicing a trick? And how can He help him when he reads out of a paper from which anyone else might read without the Spirit’s aid? What has the Holy Ghost to do with the business? Truly, he may have had something to do with the manuscript in the composing of it, but in the pulpit his aid is superfluous. The truer thing would be to thank the Holy Spirit for assistance rendered, and ask that what he has enabled us to get into our pockets may now enter the people’s hearts. Still, if the Holy Ghost should have anything to say to the person that is not in the paper how can he say it by us? He seems to me to be very effectually blocked as to freshness of utterance by that method of ministry. Still, it is not for me to censure, although I may quietly plead for liberty in prophesying, and room for the Lord to give us in the same hour what we shall speak.”

“Remember, again, that he will never encourage idleness. The Holy Ghost will not come to rescue us from the consequences of willful neglect of the Word of God and study. If we allow ourselves to go up and down all the week doing nothing, we may not climb the pulpit stairs and dream that the Lord will be there and then tell us what to speak. If help were promised to such, then the lazier the man the better the sermon. If the Holy Spirit worked only by impromptu speakers, the less we read our Bibles and the less we meditated on them the better. If it be wrong to quote from books, "attention to reading" should not have been commanded. All this is obviously absurd, and not one of you will fall into such a delusion. We are bound to be much in meditation, and give ourselves wholly to the Word of God and prayer, and when we have minded these things we may look for the Spirit's approbation and co-operation. We ought to prepare the sermon as if all depended upon us, and then we are to trust the Spirit of God knowing that all depends upon Him. The Holy Ghost sends no one into the harvest to sleep among the sheaves, but to bear the burden and heat of the day. We may well pray God to send more "labourers" into the vineyard; for the Spirit will be with the strength of labourers, but he will not be the friend of loiterers.”

“Recollect, again, that the Holy Ghost will not bless us in order to sustain our pride. Is it not possible that we may be wishing for a great blessing that we may be thought great men? This will hinder our success: the string of the bow is out of order and the arrow will turn aside. What does God do with men that are proud? Does he exalt them? I trow not (i.e., think not). Herod made an eloquent oration, and he put on a dazzling silver robe which glistened in the sun, and when the people saw his vestments and listened to his charming voice, they cried, "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man"; but the Lord smote him, and he was eaten of worms. Worms have a prescriptive right to proud flesh; and when we get very mighty and very big, the worms expect to make a meal of us. "Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." Keep humble if you would have the Spirit of God with you. The Holy Ghost takes no pleasure in the inflated oratory of the proud; how can he? Would you have him sanction bombast? "Walk humbly with thy God", O preacher! for thou canst not walk with him in any other fashion; and if thou walk not with him, thy walking will be vain.” (most emphasis mine, cw)

I have just finished reading The Greatest Fight in the World in the Evangelical Press edition from 1980 and I was greatly blessed as I so often am reading Spurgeon. I have quoted small excerpts, but the entire book is only 64 pages and may be ordered from Pilgrim Publications. There is a link to order it on the Spurgeon Archive. Should you desire just to read it online, here is the link to the Spurgeon Archive. Be blessed!  http://www.spurgeon.org/misc/gfw.htm 

 “It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one” (unknown author).

Civility or Grace

“Civility does but wash a man, grace changes him…Civility is but strewing flowers on a dead corpse. A man may be wonderfully moralised, yet but a tame devil.”

Thomas Watson, The Beatitudes

Gospel Warning

“This is a warning I hope we all take to heart. As people of The Word, we have to ask ourselves how we can really expect to improve on a perfect model?  Cautiously I will say that some new ways of applying the unchanging biblical principles are fine...we need to be able to communicate with 21st Century culture, but we must not abandon the heart of the Gospel and basics of authentic discipleship in the process.” Charles Woodruff

Repentance

“By it [Repentance] a sinner, out of a sight and sense, not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, as contrary to the holy nature and righteous law of God, and

upon the apprehension of his mercy in Christ to such as our penitent, so grieves for and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavoring to walk with him in all the ways of his commandments.” Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter XV Section II

Prayer

"When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; when we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do. But when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do." A. C. Dixon

You Must Be Made New Men

“They that are truly converted are new men, new creatures; new not only within, but without; they are sanctified throughout, in spirit, soul and body; old things are passed away, all things are become new; they have new hearts, and new eyes, new ears, new tongues, new hands, new feet…they walk in newness of life, and continue to do so to the end of life.”

Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections, pp. 313-14

Wooing Sinners

“Why does God woo and beseech you by his ambassadors, if he is not willing to be in covenant?”

Thomas Watson, Religion Our True Interest.

“A Million Voices — From the Universe, the earth, the atom, from numberless specialized organs and odd creatures on land, in the air and in the sea, and from the body and mind of man — all bear witness for God and Creation!” Fred John Meldau, Why We Believe in Creation, Not Evolution, originally published by Christian Victory Publishers; Denver, 1959. Out of print. Online edition available. A helpful book. Click link: http://www.present-truth.org/3-Nature/Creation/Creation-not-EvolutionTOC.htm

Brother Meldau was correct. But why can’t most people hear the millions of voices, i.e., see the evidence? Because they have not yet heard the one omnipotent voice -- the Voice of God! Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:27, 28)

The Testimony of The Holy Spirit

“Since for unbelieving men religion seems to stand by opinion alone, they, in order not to believe anything foolishly or lightly, both wish and demand rational proof that Moses and the prophets spoke divinely. But I reply: the testimony of the Spirit is more excellent than all reason. For as God alone is a fit witness of himself in his Word, so also the Word will not find acceptance in men's hearts before it is sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who has spoken through the mouths of the prophets must penetrate into our hearts to persuade us that they faithfully proclaimed what had been divinely commanded ...”

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 1.7.5.

Serving God

Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors.

The two basic rules of human enlightenment:

1. There is a God.

2. You're not Him!

                        -Mikey, via Charles Rosson, Springdale, Arkansas

Sensitive to Warning- Charles H. Spurgeon

“Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord” (2 Kings 22:19).

Many despise warning, and perish. Happy is he who trembles at the word of the Lord. Josiah did so, and he was spared the sight of the evil which the Lord determined to send upon Judah because of her great sins. Have you this tenderness? Do you practice this self-humiliation? Then you also shall be spared in the evil day. God sets a mark upon the men that sigh and cry because of the sin of the times. The destroying angel is commanded to keep his sword in its sheath till the elect of God are sheltered: these are best known by their godly fear, and their trembling at the Word of the Lord. Are the times threatening? Do Popery and Infidelity advance with great strides, and do you dread national chastisement upon this polluted nation? Well you may. Yet rest in this promise, “Thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace: and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place” (2Kings 22:20). Better still, the Lord Himself may come, and then the days of our mourning shall be ended.

(Very relevant, though written over 120 years ago! From Faith’s Checkbook for April 3^rd)

The True Christ is Still the Only Way- Charles Woodruff

Jesus warned us there would be false prophets and false Christs. “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:23, 24). Regardless of what new agers such as Oprah and Eckhart Tolle may say; regardless of what postmodern “organizer” preachers like Rick Warren and Bill Hybels may say; regardless of what hatemonger preachers like Jeremiah Wright and company may say; no matter how apparently successful. and extremely wealthy some of them are. As Chuck Norris, quoting from another, reminded us; “Christ is either who He claimed to be, or He is the most notorious liar who ever lived!” Remember Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease--John 3:30

I would far rather publish the good writings of my brothers and sisters than

to seek glory for myself by always being the one doing the writing, or the

preaching. Let Him who “ever lives to make intercession for us” (Hebrews

7:25), receive any glory that comes from these feeble publishing efforts. To

paraphrase George Whitefield “Let the name of Woodruff perish, but Christ

be glorified!” I only let you know who I am so that I may be of service to you

in Jesus Christ. (Cw)

As George Whitefield himself said:

“Unloose my stammering tongue to tell, Thy Love immense, unsearchable”.

Published by Charles Woodruff- email: oursong2000@yahoo.com

WHAT JESUS CHRIST SAID ABOUT THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

WORD OF TRUTH

                           Volume 9            Issue  1

What Jesus Christ Said About God's Sovereignty

Do you consider the Sovereignty of God important? Do you consider this a harsh doctrine? Many do, and it may surprise these to know that our Lord Jesus Christ taught the absolute Sovereignty of God! That’s right — Christ taught this doctrine. You may not believe that He did, for you may say that He was too meek and lowly, and just taught love to everybody, so therefore man’s total depravity and God’s election were not taught by Christ. But, has it ever occurred to you that your belief just might be wrong? Has it really? It is true that the “Jesus” of today’s popular songs, and the one taught about in the average church, evidently knew nothing about this teaching! But, the Christ of the Bible sure did! This is sufficient for me — what about you?

We will only examine one chapter of the Bible for our proof that Christ taught the Sovereignty of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. You are asked to look at the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. Here we find all the evidence we need for our case. In verse 37 Jesus Christ said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Notice please, the Sovereignty of the Father: “ALL THAT (meaning certain individuals) THE FATHER GIVETH ME (meaning by His election of them) SHALL COME (by effectual grace and power) TO ME.” This certainly does away with the modern terminology, “give your heart to Jesus.” The heart is not the sinner’s to give to Jesus! It belongs to the Father. If not, how could He give anyone to His Son?

The same 37th verse will be our verse for the Sovereignty of the Son Himself. He said, “And him that cometh to ME I will in no wise cast out.” How wonderful is this promise! So many have claimed this promise as their very own. Have you? You surely may, if you have come to Christ in TRUTH. Notice though, this verse implies that Christ Jesus has the power to cast one out. Otherwise, why should He even say, “I will in no wise cast out?” It is obviously not a lack of power to do so. He has ALL power! See Matthew 28:18. Christ has the power to cast the devil’s children into hell (Luke 12: 4-5). He could REFUSE to accept a vile sinner such as you and me, and be perfectly just and righteous in doing so! Why? For none of us deserve to be accepted by Christ, for He is Sovereign and we are sinners! But, He will NOT reject you if He has placed the desire in you to come to Him. Oh, praise His name! Christ has promised freely, in His sovereign mercy, NOT to cast you out — BUT YOU MUST COME TO HIM! Not come just to an altar, or to shake some preacher’s hand, but to Christ! He ALONE can save you! Men talk so much of free will and man being willing to be saved. But, it is God’s will that counts.

Hear these words of Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), from a sermon entitled God’s Will and Man’s Will:

“Salvation hinges upon the will of God, and not at all upon the will of man. So saith our text — “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16), by which is clearly meant that the reason why any man is saved is not because he wills it, but because GOD willed it, according to that other passage, ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you’ (John 15:16).”

“The whole scheme of salvation, we aver, from the first to the last, hinges and turns, and is dependent upon the absolute will of God, and not upon the will of the creature......Oh! How happy are we when we come back to the old-fashioned doctrines, and cast our anchor where it can get its grip in the eternal purpose and counsel of God, who worketh all things to the good pleasure of His will.”                                                    (I must say AMEN to Mr. Spurgeon, dear reader!)

Let us look now at the Sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. Notice that Christ said here in our verse, “ALL that the Father giveth me SHALL come to me.” How shall they come? Jesus has given us the answer in this same chapter, John 6:63: “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Naturally, men are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), totally unable to save themselves (see Romans 3:9-10 and Titus 3:5). If the Holy Spirit did not make a sinner alive (spiritually), the sinner COULD NOT come to Christ. No one CAN come unless he is drawn (John 6:44), and the sinner is drawn irresistibly by the Spirit’s power! Only God the Holy Spirit can bring life to a dead sinner. NO GIMMICK CAN DO IT!

There can be human pleading, human effort, human tricks, and yet, no matter how sincere these may be, NO MAN CAN TURN A SINNER TO JESUS CHRIST. When it is all analyzed the true “soul winner” is the Holy Spirit! Let’s don’t try to do His job. Let us that are saved, pray that we may be used by the Spirit, but not to try to use Him! Let each of us point men to the Savior, but let us trust the blessed Spirit to do the saving!

Yes, God is Sovereign. Jesus Christ said so. If you are not yet convinced, please, in Christ’s name, do further study on this vital subject. Read John 4 and tell me why Jesus “MUST needs go through Samaria?” Read John 10 and tell me why He spoke of “other sheep I have,” which He had long before the Gospel was carried to the Gentiles? Yes, just simply sit down and read anywhere in the word of God, and with an earnest open heart, seek to be taught of the Spirit concerning God’s Sovereignty!   

Hear these sobering words from A.W. Pink (1896-1952) “Before God saves a man, He convicts Him of his sinnership. By this I do not mean he says with everybody else ‘Oh yes, we are all sinners. I know that.’ Rather do I mean that the Holy Spirit makes me feel in my heart that I have been a lifelong rebel against God, and that my sins are so many, so great, so black, that I fear I have transgressed beyond the reach of divine mercy.”

“Have you ever had that experience? Have you seen yourself as totally unfit   for heaven? For the presence of a Holy God? Do you now perceive that there is no good thing in you, nothing good credited to your account, that all the way through you have loved the things God hates, and hated the things God loves?” (From a tract—The Way of Salvation.)

D. James Kennedy says in his excellent book, Truths That Transform:             

“There is no man, nor group of men, who could oppose, frustrate, or limit any purpose of God” (see Psalm 2:4). ---“God is God, and not man; and He doeth whatsoever He pleases in this earth, and there is none that can speak against Him.” “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:

John Wycliffe, the first man to translate the Bible into English, has given us some of these simple rules as follows:                                                                                         

“It shall greatly help you to understand scripture, if you mark not only what is  spoken or written, but of whom, and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, and to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goes before and what

Finally, I want to consider something that is a problem for many. They have such a high regard for “man’s free will”, that they are hindered from believing these great truths. They actually put more confidence in pitiful men than in God. I believe my dear friend, W.F.Bell had the answer to this in a writing he did several years ago.

Please read it and take heed to it. This is a very important consideration. Please don’t allow Satan to deceive you. Look at it clearly please.  May God bless you!

               FORGOTTEN THOUGHTS ON FREE WILL

Scattered across the countryside are scores of churches with “Free Will” in their names (or in their doctrines).  It is most amusing to see this, as the emphasis seems to be, “We admire and uphold man’s choices and freedom; that which God ‘offers’ in mercy, man can reject and lose in disobedience.” But, if possible, look for just a moment at this subject objectively.  Note four simple thoughts about “free will” that seemingly most people have forgotten about:

(1) If man’s will is truly free, this makes man himself a god.

No one denies God has given humans a will and no one denies that men and women can brush their teeth when they like, go to bed when they like, work where they like, etc. But even these things have “limitations.”No one has absolutely “free will” to do everything, for that is reserved to the Almighty alone, for only He can say, “I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10-11).  No one else can say this!  There cannot possibly be two absolutely “free wills” in the universe.  It is just impossible!

(2) If man’s will is truly free, Christ died in vain.

Think about it, please. Those who believe you must “accept Christ” of your own will, actually believe that Christ’s death secured the salvation of no one, and that, if Christ is “accepted,” still one can lose that “salvation” by backsliding.  So, Christ died in vain, for no one is assured of actually being saved!  Grace is only “needed,” man must “cooperate” with the Holy Spirit, and Jonah 2:9 should read, “Salvation is provided by God, but accomplished by man’s will.”

(3) If man’s will is truly free, there is no assurance that the gospel will be successful.

Think about this, for if Christ died in vain, preaching and witnessing for Him is also in vain, because “free will” may decide that no one will hold out and persevere to the end. In other words, what assurance does anyone have that there will be “believers” in Christ at all? If it is determined by man “freely deciding” and “freely persevering,” then logically no one is sure of heaven!  How totally different this is, however, from Christ’s prayer in John 17, where He prays for certain ones “given Him” by His Father (v. 2), but says, “I pray not for the world” (v. 9).  That makes no sense whatever if salvation is not “certain” and “secured” for many.  Does it?

(4) If man’s will is truly free, the wicked could not be punished.

If God cannot “violate” man’s will (as many tell us daily), how can He be the Judge of sinners, then “violate” their “free wills” by “casting” them into “the lake of fire”?  No one will “choose” to be punished, so they are simply not punished.  Correct?  Think about it.  But the Bible is plain when it declares, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).  Not one word is said about sinners being asked for their “permission.”  So much for this false doctrine of “free will.”

But there is good news! God has elected a people unconditionally, Christ died for them in sacrificial love, and the Holy Spirit sovereignly and effectually “calls” every single one of them to repent of sin and believe on Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).  Now, that’s assurance, and it’s all of grace!   (Wfb)

For more on The God who is Never Frustrated, see an excellent article by W.F. Bell at this link: www.eternallifeministries.org/wfb_neverfrus.htm

 What Jesus Christ Said About God’s Sovereignty was originally written about 1979 by Charles Woodruff.   Edited for this issue of cyberwordof truth.