God's Will and Man's Will, In Regards To Salvation

Do we choose faith? Don't we have to choose to believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, in order to be saved? It's biblical fact that faith in Jesus is a gift, something our finite intellects can't fully explain, aside from attributing it to Grace. But, through conversation, reading The Bible, and yes, sinning- through those things do we not arrive at a point in our lives where we feel in our hearts and minds that we are wretched and in need of a saviour? The actual scope of God's Will is beyond comprehension, but rationalizing it is part of our nature.

Charles Spurgeon (1834-92) was a highly influential English preacher, quoted by many of today's brightest Christian theologians. I am going to conclude this brief entry with an excerpt from one of his sermons entitled "God's Will and Man's Will" . Please take the time if you can to read the whole sermon.

"According to their theory—that salvation depends upon our own will— you have first of all this difficulty to meet, that you have made the purpose of God in the great plan of salvation entirely contingent. You have the put an "if" upon everything. Christ may die, but it is not certain according to that theory that he will redeem a great multitude; nay, not certain that he will redeem any, since the efficacy of the redemption according to that plan, rests not in its own intrinsic power, but in the will of man accepting that redemption. Hence if man be, as we aver he always is, if he be a bond-slave as to his will, and will not yield to the invitation of God's grace, then in such a case the atonement of Christ would be valueless, useless, and altogether in vain, for not a soul would be saved by it; and even when souls are saved by it, according to that theory, the efficacy, I say, lies not in the blood itself, but in the will of man which gives it efficacy. Redemption is therefore made contingent; the cross shakes, the blood falls powerless on the ground, and atonement is a matter of perhaps. There is a heaven provided, but there may no souls who will ever come there if their coming is to be of themselves. There is a fountain filled with blood, but there may be none who will ever wash in it unless divine purpose and power shall constrain them to come. You may look at any one promise of grace, but you cannot say over it, "This is the sure mercy of David;" for there is an "if," and a "but;" a "perhaps," and a "peradventure." In fact, the reigns are gone out of God's hands; the linch-pin is taken away from the wheels of the creation; you have left the whole economy of grace and mercy to be the gathering together of fortuitous atoms impelled by man's own will, and what may become of it at the end nobody can know."

Suffering Is The Gateway To Growth

It is not a sin to suffer, but in a lot of cases suffering is the consequence of sin. It's not always fair, but we go through it anyway. Whether we suffer by our own hands or someone else's, we still have to deal with it. It is inevitable.

From my viewpoint, suffering is an opportunity to seek Gods' strength. It is a valley we all must go through, and there's a clear choice put before us each time we enter it. We can make a choice to become embittered, or to humble ourselves and see that we are dependent upon something greater. Suffering is the gateway to growth. It magnifies our vulnerability, so that we can to turn to God and believe in His sovereignty.

Jesus Christ suffered. He took all the sins of the world when he was crucified, so that we could conquer death through Him. He died so that we don't have to. Through faith in His sacrifice and resurrection, life is ours. He is the peak at the end of the valley. Through faith we begin to see our sufferings in a different light, and we cultivate the wisdom of a victor, not a victim.

When you are suffering, think of what Jesus went through, and receive His hope. He did it out of unconditional love for you.