Who is regulating affairs on this earth today—God, or the Devil? That God reigns supreme in Heaven, is generally conceded; that He does so over this world, is almost universally denied—if not directly, then indirectly. More and more are men in their philosophizing and theorizing, relegating God to the background. Take the material realm. Not only is it denied that God created everything, by personal and direct action, but few believe that… Read More

“Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as Head above all” 1 Chronicles 29:11 ________________________________________ The Sovereignty of God is an expression that once was generally understood. It was a phrase commonly used in religious literature. It was… Read More

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” Revelation 4:11 _________________________________________________ Having shown that sovereignty characterizes the whole Being of God, let us now observe how it marks all His ways and dealings. In the great expanse of eternity, which stretches behind Genesis 1:1, the universe was unborn and creation existed only in… Read More

“The Lord hath prepared His Throne in the heavens; and His Kingdom ruleth over all” Psalm 103:19 _________________________________________ First, a word concerning the need for God to govern the material world. Suppose the opposite for a moment. For the sake of argument, let us say that God created the world, designed and fixed certain laws (which men term “the laws of Nature”), and that He then withdrew, leaving the world to its… Read More

“O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out” Romans 11:33 __________________________________________________ “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9); but the Lord does not save all. Why not? He does save some; then if He saves some, why not others? Is it because they are too sinful and depraved? No; for the apostle wrote, “This is… Read More

“Behold therefore the goodness and the severity of God” (Romans 11:22) _______________________________________ In the last chapter when treating of the Sovereignty of God the Father in Salvation, we examined seven passages which represent Him as making a choice from among the children of men, and predestinating certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son. The thoughtful reader will naturally ask, And what of those who were not “ordained to… Read More

“For of Him, and thro’ Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans 11:36). _________________________________________________ Has God foreordained everything that comes to pass? Has He decreed that what is, was to have been? In the final analysis this is only another way of asking, Is God now governing the world and everyone and everything in it? If God is governing the world, then is He… Read More

“It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” Philippians 2:13 ___________________________________________ Concerning the nature and the power of fallen man s will, the greatest confusion prevails today, and the most erroneous views are held, even by many of God’s children. The popular idea now prevailing, and which is taught from the great majority of pulpits, is that man has a “free will”, and… Read More

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12) _________________________________________ In our last chapter we considered at some length the much debated and difficult question of the human will. We have shown that the will of the natural man is neither sovereign nor free but, instead, a servant and slave. We have argued that a right conception of the sinner’s will— its servitude— is essential to… Read More

“If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us” 1 John 5:14 ___________________________________________________ Throughout this book it has been our chief aim to exalt the Creator and abase the creature. The well-nigh universal tendency, now, is to magnify man and dishonor and degrade God. On every hand it will be found that, when spiritual things are under discussion, the human side and element is pressed and stressed, and the Divine… Read More

“Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight” (Matthew 11:26 __________________________________________________ In the present chapter we shall consider, somewhat briefly, the practical application to ourselves of the great truth which we have pondered in its various ramifications in earlier pages. In chapter twelve we shall deal more in detail with the value of this doctrine, but here we would confine ourselves to a definition of what ought to be… Read More

“Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not My way equal? are not your ways unequal?”Ezekiel 18:25 ___________________________________________________ A convenient point has been reached when we may now examine, more definitely, some of the difficulties encountered and the objections which might be advanced against what we have written in previous pages. The author deemed it better to reserve these for a… Read More

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, And is profitable for doctrine, For reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, Throughly furnished unto all good works” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 ___________________________________________________ “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto… Read More

“Halleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” – Revelation 19:6 ——————————————————————————– In our Foreword to the second edition we acknowledge the need for preserving the balance of Truth. Two things are beyond dispute: God is sovereign, man is responsible. In this book we have sought to expound the former; in our other works we have frequently pressed the latter. That there is real danger of over-emphasizing the one and ignoring the other,… Read More

In treating of the Will of God some theologians have differentiated between His decretive will and His permissive will, insisting that there are certain things which God has positively fore-ordained, but other things which He merely suffers to exist or happen. But such a distinction is really no distinction at all, inasmuch as God only permits that which is according to His will. No such distinction would have been invented had these… Read More

In our chapter on God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility we dealt only with the responsibility of man considered as a fallen creature, and at the close of the discussion it was pointed out how that the measure and extent of our responsibility varies in different individuals, according to the advantages they have received and the privileges they have enjoyed, which is a truth clearly established by the declaration of the Saviour recorded… Read More

It may appear to some of our readers that the exposition we have given of John 3:16 in the chapter on “Difficulties and Objections” is a forced and unnatural one, inasmuch as our definition of the term “world” seems to be out of harmony with the meaning and scope of this word in other passages, where, to supply the world of believers (God’s elect) as a definition of “world” would make no… Read More

There is one passage more than any other which is appealed to by those who believe in universal redemption, and which at first sight appears to teach that Christ died for the whole human race. We have therefore decided to give it a detailed examination and exposition. “And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2)…. Read More