I taught Bible studies for six years at Bethel College before becoming pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in 1980. In virtually all classes, students raised the issue of God’s sovereignty. The question was inevitable, regardless of the subject of the lesson.
If you’re entering a new year of study, I hope you ask that question?This reality of God’s total sovereignty? You follow it to the end of your studies in all classes, it is a global reality that influences everything and permeates the Bible. .
- James 4.
- 13-17 shows how relevant the meaning of God’s sovereignty is to the lives of students who begin a year of rigorous academic study.
Answer, now, you who say: “Today or tomorrow, we will go to that city and spend a year there, and we will negotiate, and we will take advantage of it. ” what happens tomorrow What is your life? You are like a mist that appears for a moment and then dissipates. Instead, you should say: “If the Lord wants, we will not only live, we will also do this or that. ” Now, however, flaunt your arrogant pretensions. . Any such boasting is bad; therefore, he who knows that he must do good and does not sin.
Tiago had just confronted men and women with spiritual adultery (James 4. 1?10). They claim that God is the love of their lives, their husband, but they keep a prostitute next to what they really like. This prostitute’s name is the world? (James 4. 4). James sees this as a form of pride and says in verse 6, “God resists the proud, but give thanks to the humble,” and in verse 10, “Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord and he will rise. “
Then, in verses 11 and 12, he deals with another form of pride, namely judging his neighbor and the very law of God, and says in verse 12, “But who are you, who are you, who judges the next?In other words, again, it is arrogance that underlies this sin of self-exalted judgment.
After James 4. 13-17, he rebuked the wealthy landowners (Jacq 5. 1-6) to wither the wages of their workers (verse 4) and kill even the weak who did not resist them (verse 6). In other words, their wealth increased, to their heads and made them feel above the law like little tyrants.
Now in James 4: 13-17 we have another form of arrogance. With the arrogance that robs a naive divine husband of money to pay a prostitute, the arrogance that judges God’s law, and the arrogance that exploits the poor, there is now in 4. 13-17 the arrogance that lives in a world of everyday dreams. who deny God’s sovereignty. You can see this point in James 4:16: “Now, nevertheless, he boasts of his arrogant affirmations. Is it all bragging like this smart guy? Indeed, as verse 17 shows, once you know what is true about your life being like a fog and God’s rule in the world, your presumption of ignoring God is a sin.
So what is this sin, arrogance and ostentation?Almost 98% of the world’s population. Verse 13: “Answer now, you say, Today or tomorrow, we will go to a city like this, and we will spend a year there, and we will negotiate and enjoy. “
What’s the problem here? Verse 13 seems to be a very common way of speaking, doesn’t everyone talk like that?Here is James’ answer, first in verse 14: “You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Are you like a fog that appears for a moment and then dissipates?The first thing Tiago does is focus on the fact that they completely ignore everything they just said: “You don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. “
“Don’t you know what’s going to happen tomorrow?
And then Tiago tackles one of the reasons they don’t know what tomorrow can bring. Are you like a fog that appears for a moment and then dissipates?(Verse 14). They’re as weak and temporary as steam coming out of your mouth on a cold morning and can’t control it. And they can’t contain it, it’s not within their reach, and before they can try to shape or guide him, he’s gone.
So, behind the words in verse 13 (? Today or tomorrow, we will go to a city like this, and spend a year there, and negotiate, and make a profit?), There is an operational belief that life is controllable and sustainable, and future action is predictable. James says: these three beliefs are all false. Life is a steamer, tomorrow is unknown. And you don’t have decisive control over anything.
So does James say that the world and all this human action are simply random, the product of blind materialistic processes?Do you call it fate or chance? No, it isn’t. Verse 15 brings us to the heart of what he believes and what is lacking in the minds and mouths of these ordinary people.
Verse 15: “Instead of what you said in verse 13), you must say, “If the Lord wills, we will not only live, we will also do this or that. “
“If the Lord wills, we will live. ” So, what’s your life, this fragile, ephemeral steam?He is as strong, unwavering, and lasting as God wants; If you will, your heart keeps beating; if you want, your heart stops. You do not live a second beyond the time God wants you to live, and you do not die a second before God’s will.
Be sure to see this in verse 15 😕 I should say, “If the Lord wants it, we will live. “This deep and conscious awareness of our absolute dependence on God’s sovereign will was not part of the mindset of those who spoke in verse 13, and that is not part of the mindset. most people in the world. Is that part of your way of thinking? I wish.
James therefore reveals God’s absolute sovereignty not only over the duration of our lives, but in everything we do. Verse 15: “Instead, you must say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. “If the Lord wills, we will do this or that.
Therefore, we have to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that,” because God is absolutely sovereign over all the causes of life and death, and above all that each one does. Not living with that conviction and that mentality, Tiago says, is arrogance. Verse 16:? Now, however, he boasts of his arrogant claims. Is all bragging similar to this smart one?
Back at school, I encourage you to enter this reality of God’s absolute sovereignty with all your heart and mind, to believe that God finally decides whether you live, and if you do this or that, it is as convenient as your plans for tomorrow, this. semester and the rest of your life.
And to help you accept God’s sovereignty, I want to give you four ideas about the relevance of this in your life as you begin a year of rigorous academic study.
As you enter the new academic year, you will need the gospel every day; You will need a permanent assurance that your sins have been forgiven by Jesus and that God is with you and not against you because of Christ. anger, but eternal joy, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
In other words, you will need a deep and ever-renewed confidence that Jesus’ crucifixion under Pontius Pilate was not a coincidence, but the sovereign plan and work of God the Almighty to save his soul. And that’s exactly what Lucas reports in Acts. 4:27?28.
“Why did they really gather in this city against your holy Servant Jesus, whom you agiste, Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the heathen and people of Israel, to do all that your hand and plan had foretermined?
In other words, was God planned and predestined?all that Pilate and Herod did, the Jews and the soldiers to provoke the death of Jesus. Therefore, we must say, “As the Lord wanted, they lived and did this or that. “The death of my Jesus was not random. It was a sovereign plan to save your soul. You’ll need it this year. Their survival and joy will depend on the gospel, which depends on God’s sovereignty.
Will you be called this year to love someone?Family members, classmates, non-believers?And love will be expensive. It will require sacrifices. Time, disadvantage, effort, silver, reputational or life risk. And it may be for someone you don’t even like and abused about you.
On several occasions in the New Testament, especially in 1 Peter, are we told to do good to people who were not good to us?To love people even if that requires suffering, how are we going to do that?Peter’s answer – and he says it twice – is that we must remember God’s sovereignty over our suffering when we do good. Whatever suffering love may require, we accept it as the sovereign will of our faithful Creator.
Those who suffer according to God, give their soul to a faithful Creator by doing good (1P 4. 19).
It is better to suffer to do good, if it is God’s will, than to do evil. (1 Stone 3. 17)
Will suffering come, especially for those who commit to doing good?Loving your enemies. But be brave because God is sovereign over your suffering. No suffering happens to you outside of God’s will. He is your Father (1P1. 17) and your Creator (1Pe 4. 19). He’s loyal. In this school year, entrust your soul to a faithful and sovereign Creator to do good.
As you enter this year of study, things will happen and scare you. Some of these fears can be minimal, such as looking like a fool in the classroom. Can the others be huge? A malignant tumor, a city destroyed by racial hatred, kidnapped by terrorists.
In all this, Jesus calls them not to retreat safely, but to take a step forward in a courageous testimony, how do you support and motivate this?
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and cannot kill the soul; ?And neither of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s consent?Are you much more valuable than many birds?(Mt 10. 28-29, 31)
God’s absolute sovereignty, without which no bird falls dead on the forest floor, is the basis of his bravery. You are precious to him and he is sovereign over you. Whatever happens in the world, whatever happens in your family. Don’t be afraid.
One of the implications of being a student is that you’re planning something. Your plan may not be clear, but you haven’t come to study, so you could waste the rest of your life. You came because you think these studies will make you more fruitful. And when your fertile life project takes shape, would you rather say, “If I’m lucky, I’ll live and do this or that. “Fortunately, I can live and do this or that, how can this be fate, will I live and do this or that?Or would you rather say, “If the Lord wills, will I live and do this or that?”(Stg 4. 15).
Luck, chance and fate are nothing. They don’t form the basis of any plan. They can’t do anything because they’re nothing. They are simply words that describe emptiness and the absence of meaning. But when you make a plan and say, “I plan to do it, but only if the Lord wills,” you are building your life on an unwavering foundation—God’s sovereign will.
The sage says, “The heart of man traces his way, but the Lord guides his steps” (Pv 16. 9). “There are many purposes in man’s heart, but the Lord’s plan will remain” (Pv 19. 21). It’s fair to plan. Little lasting value is achieved without a plan. But the Christian plan, the humble plan, always includes: “If the Lord wills it. “That’s part of the plan.
If you trust in God’s wise and good sovereignty in all your plans, you will be a safe and peaceful person. You will know that all the details of your plans do not happen, but that God’s will is coming. And that should be, part of his plan. In fact, this is the most important part of any of your plans.
As you continue your studies, may God make you joyful in your gospel, sacrificed in your love, courageous in your testimony, and confident and peaceful in your planning, for you love your sovereignty and say, “If the Lord wills, I will live. and do this or that. ?”