THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE MADE PLAIN - PART 1

[This article originally published here: Wild Boar Issue #3 - January 1997 ]

Part One: Total Depravity

The best place to begin a discussion of what are called the "Doctrines of Grace" is with a discussion of total depravity. It is because man is totally depraved that grace is essential for salvation. Indeed, the evidence of man's total depravity is what led C. H. Spurgeon to preach the sermon titled "Sovereign Grace Hated by Modern Religionist." The two subjects are so entwined that the truth of one demands the other.
Two common misconceptions surround the notion of total depravity. First, total depravity does not mean absolute depravity. Man is not always as evil as he possibly could be. Man is not the epitome of Satan himself. While Satan is "intensely evil," natural man is "extensively evil." To be extensively evil means that man can do no thing perfectly.
Second, total depravity does not mean a complete absence of relative good! At this point the distinction between relative goodness and perfect, or true, goodness should be emphasized. The Heidelberg Catechism well describes this scriptural distinction in the question: What are good works? Only those which are done from true faith, according to the law of God, and to His glory. Jesus described the difference in Luke 6:33, "And if you do good to them that do good to you, what reward do you have? For even sinners do the same." The nonelect may happen to do what is according to the law of God, but not because it is the law of God, and certainly not from true faith and to His glory. They do relative good because of God's common grace and due to the remnant of the image in which they were created.
What total depravity does mean is that even though "natural" (unregenerate) man can do relative good, his actions are NEVER perfectly good from the eternal perspective, "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (II Tim. 3:5). Even the seemingly good choice of "coming" to Jesus is not good enough to save (consider Matthew 7:21-23). It is also important to remember that even though a regenerate heart is capable of doing what is truly good (a rare occurrence indeed!), it is still affected by the sinful nature. It is often that a Christian is amazed and repulsed at how selfish, hypocritical, and dreadfully evil his own heart is. This is evidenced by the words of the apostle Paul, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature" (Rom. 7:18).
What total depravity also means is that there is an inability of natural man to do, understand, or even desire the good. The Belgic Confession is biblical when it says natural man has an "incapacity to perform what is truly good." Also, the Canons of Dort statement, "all men are. . . incapable of saving good." Jesus stated this Himself in John 15:5-6 (see also I Cor. 1:18, and 2:14). Not only does natural man not desire good, he desires evil, hates God, and is not able to desire good (Rom. 8:7).
The doctrine of total depravity humbles the human heart to its proper place of total submission to the Sovereign God upon which our salvation rests. If we arrogantly attempt to elevate our moral nature, then we inevitably begin to diminish our dependence upon God. Only those regenerated by God may truly choose Christ, and even then the Christian struggles with his depraved nature to do that which is truly good.
Reconsider Matthew 7:21 and ask yourself this question: How many of those people who walk an aisle and "choose" God, do so (1) from true faith, and (2) for His glory because God first "made them a new creation"? How many do so because of their own selfish motives for "fire insurance" or emotional discomfort created by a skilled orator? Consider your heart. Do you need to fully submit to the "author and perfector" of your salvation (Heb. 12:2)?V

Recommended reading:
Luther, Martin. The Bondage of the Will.
Packer, J.I. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God.
Pink, A.W. The Sovereignty of God.
Spurgeon, C. H. Sermons on Sovereignty.

MORE VOICES FROM THE PAST

[This article originally published here: Wild Boar Issue #3 - January 1997 ]

[In his Introduction to John Owens'  The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, J.I. Packer states, "One of the most urgent tasks facing evangelical Christendom today is the recovery of the Gospel." We agree. Easy believism and the invitation system may make for large numbers of so-called Decisions, but how many of them are true conversions? In light of this, voices from the past may help us find our way home---Editors.]

Thomas Goodwin: "You see that salvation is no slight thing and that believing and turning to God is no slight matter. . . Can you appoint God the time when it shall be done? No. 'It pleased the Father,' saith the apostle 'to reveal his Son in me.' It is the Father draweth, and it is the Son that must take hold of you, and it is the Holy Ghost that must come down into your hearts. . . [T]hough the Gospel is preached, and sets forth Christ the great object of faith, yet all do not believe. What is the reason? 'No man can come to me unless the Father draw him.'"

Asahel Nettleton: "If every effect must have a cause, then this cause must be prior to the effect, then no sinner ever did, or ever will, put forth a holy choice until this ineffable tendency to sin be removed, and succeeded by an infallible tendency to holiness; unless an infallible tendency to sin can be the cause of a holy choice. . ."

Archival Malay: "In my ministry it has been my aim to keep back nothing profitable to my hearers, but to declare unto them 'all the counsel of God.' The leading theme of my preaching has been Christ crucified, as the only Savior of lost sinners. I have shown the universal and total depravity of man; that every unconverted sinner is under the dominion of a carnal mind, which is at enmity to God and not subject to his law; that a change of heart, a heavenly birth, is absolutely necessary to see the kingdom of God and enter therein; that the same power that created the world, and raised our Lord from the dead, must quicken the sinner dead in sins, and make him alive to God; that if saved from sin and hell, it must be by free, sovereign, efficacious grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; and that nothing can meet the necessities of a sinner awakened to a sense of his guilt of the teaching of the Holy Spirit, but what satisfied divine justice, the full atonement of Jesus Christ."

George Whitefield: "I see poor, trembling, Christless, wretches, standing before the bar of God, crying out, Lord, if we must be damned, let some angel, or some arch angel, pronounce the damnatory sentence: but all in vain. Christ himself will pronounce the irrevocable sentence. Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, let me persuade you to close with Christ, and never rest until you can say, 'The Lord our righteousness'." Who knows but the Lord may have mercy on, nay, abundantly pardon you? You need not fear the greatness or number of your sins. For are you sinners? So am I. Are you the chief of sinners? So am I. Are you backsliding sinners? So am I. And yet the Lord . . .is my righteousness."

Ezekiel Hopkins: "The preaching of the Word is the great means which God hath appointed for regeneration": 'Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' (Romans 10:17) When God first created man, it is said that he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, but when God new creates man, he breathes into his ears. This is the Word that raiseth the dead, calling them out of the grave; This is that Word that opens the eyes of the blind, that turns the hearts of the disobedient and rebellious. And though wicked and profane men scoff at preaching, and count all ministers' words, and God's words too, but so much wind, yet they are such wind, believe it, as is able to tear rocks and rend mountains; such wind as if ever they are saved, must shake and overturn the foundations of all their carnal confidence and presumptions. Be exhorted therefore more to prize and more to frequent the preaching of the Word."

EVANGELISM: MAN'S WAY OR GOD'S WAY?

[This article originally published here: Wild Boar Issue #3 - January 1997 ]

Evangelism: Man's Way or God's Way?

"God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!" So says a popular evangelistic tract. The problem is: it's not exactly true. At least not without some serious qualifications. Evangelistic practices in our day have departed from biblical standards. They have ceased to be God-centered and biblically grounded, and have instead become very man-centered. That is, evangelistic techniques today tend to be designed to appeal to the likes and tastes of unregenerate men and women, rather than exalt Christ and call men and women to cast themselves upon the mercy of God. This man-centered evangelism waters down both the Law and the Gospel, and allows human pride to enter the process of salvation. This issue of The Wild Boar focuses on a critique of this man-centered evangelism and calls for a return to God-centered evangelism.

Evangelism Man's Way
Man-centered evangelism has several characteristics that can easily be spotted if one looks for them. First of all, it appeals to "felt needs." One popular strategy today is to find out what unbelievers want and then to taylor the programs of the church and the gospel message to address that "felt need." I cannot tell you how many times I have heard or read about churches going out into their communities and polling their neighbors about what they want in a church. A few weeks later, fliers are distributed advertizing a service that reflects the answers given by those polled. But since when does the church look to unbelievers to learn what the church is supposed to do? And since when does the church look to the unregenerate to find out what needs the church and the Bible are supposed to address? Don't we already know what they need? Don't they need the justifying grace provided by the Lord Jesus Christ, without which they will perish in Hell forever?
What kind of "needs" do unbelievers feel they have, anyway? The Bible tells us that "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9). And Paul makes it abundantly clear that "the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1Cor. 2:14). Whatever felt needs an unbeliever has will not provide an inroad to the gospel because his felt needs are idolatrous! The biblical preaching of the Law and the Gospel cannot appeal to an unbelievers felt needs, because the Law and the Gospel will, by the very nature of the case, undermine and challenge his felt needs.
Another characteristic of man-centered evangelism is the manipulation of emotion. Now, of course, the Law and the Gospel can have a powerful emotional impact on the hearer. But, rather than letting the truth of God's Word enter the mind and having its proper affect on the emotions, modern techniques go "straight for the heart." Bypassing the mind, the emotions of the hearers are directly manipulated to result in a, seat-of-the-pants "decision" for Christ. Through cajoling, peer-pressure, sentimental music, the telling of emotionally-charged testimonies, or the promise of a powerful religious experience, unbelievers are dragged down the aisle to ask Jesus to "come into their hearts."

The Consequences of These Errors
Man-centered evangelism inevitably produces undesireable results. One such result has already been alluded to: the marketing of the "gospel." The gospel message is treated like any other consumer product, advertized and marketed to appeal to religious "consumers." It is no longer a message calling fallen men and women to faith and repentance in Christ as the only hope of salvation (unless "salvation" is redefined as the meeting of a "felt need").
Secondly, man-centered evangelism produces spurious conversions, which explains the high drop-out rates in evangelical churches and the luke-warmness of those who stay. People who aren't really saved cannot be expected to be fervently committed to Christ. When the "product" doesn't produce what was promised (health, wealth, happiness, etc.), they are ready to jump ship. Moreover, those who have "come to Christ" in pursuit of an idolatrous felt need surely can't be expected to be sacrificial in the giving of their time, money, and talents to church causes. After all, Jesus was supposed to meet their needs, not make demands on them. Man-centered evangelism doesn't ask people to count the cost of discipleship.

Assumptions of Man-Centered Evangelism
Man-centered evangelism is based on certain false assumptions. One such assumption is that unbelievers will want Jesus if the gospel message is packaged in the right way. But this is not the case. Romans 3:11 tells us that there are "none who seek after God," and we have already been reminded that unbelievers think that the things of God are foolish (1Cor. 2:14). Jesus will never be sweet to those with unregenerate hearts that desire to live in sinful autonomy from God.
Another false assumption, related to the first, is that the unregenerate have the spiritual ability to respond to the gospel. A pernicious error that exists in the church is what is called decisional regeneration. This is the belief that a person who hears the gospel can "decide" to accept Christ, and when he makes such a decision he is "born again." Not only does such a view imply salvation by works, but it is clearly contrary to certain Scriptural texts which teach that regeneration precedes faith, and that this regeneration is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 1:13; 3:3, 7-8; Eph. 2:1-3). Given that fallen human beings "cannot receive the things of the Spirit," a faith-response to Christ cannot come any other way. (For more on man's spiritual inability, see the article on Total Depravity).
Both of the above assumptions are part and parcel of Arminianism. Though much more needs to be said in describing Arminianism, the basic idea behind this view is simply this: God makes salvation possible through Christ, but it is up to us to accept it or reject it. The problems with this view are numerous and serious. But, since our topic in this issue is evangelism I will limit my discussion to two. First, as we have already seen, Arminianism falsely assumes the spiritual ability of the unregenerate to respond to the gospel on their own. Secondly, Arminianism cannot help but lead to the man-centered style of evangelism we have discussed above. Since man has the ability to come to Christ, he can be persuaded by the evangelist to do so. So, if the unbeliever resists, there must be something wrong with our presentation of the gospel. Perhaps we haven't made it as clear to him as we could. Or perhaps we haven't "packaged" the gospel just right so that he can see its "relevance." Once such conclusions are reached, the manipulation of emotion and the appeal to felt needs is not far behind.
Biblical evangelism---evangelism God's way---is never tempted to water down the message, or make it relevant to felt needs, or manipulate emotions. Biblical evangelism assumes man's spiritual inability, and sees the task of the evangelist as simply setting forth the Law (which condemns and shows the need of a savior, calling into question the relevance of all of the unbeliever's felt needs) and the Gospel (which for the regenerate is "the power of God unto salvation" [Rom. 1:16], and their only real need).

THE REMONSTRANCE REFUTED

[This article originally published here:  Wild Boar Issue #2 - July 1996 ]

A Book Review

The Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will.

Edited by Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce Ware. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995. 2 vols.

The purpose of this work is to offer a biblical and theological defense of Calvinism. It is a response to two recent books advocating Arminianism, Grace Unlimited (Minneapolis: Bethany, 1975) and The Grace of God, the Will of Man (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), both edited by Clark Pinnock. The contributors to the present work are convinced that Arminianism is unbiblical and "will work to weaken the church of Jesus Christ" (p.14). So, they have set out to make a biblical case for Calvinism, and to argue that the only reason people object to the latter is that they are unnecessarily held captive by certain logical problems that seem to arise from Calvinist theology.

In Part 1, the biblical case for Calvinism is given. R. C. Ortland examines several Old Testament passages which clearly teach that God is absolutely sovereign over his creation. As Isaiah records, "I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose'" (Is. 46:9-10). Other articles follow defending the doctrine of election in the New Testament. Of particular note here are the contributions of John Piper and Wayne Grudem. Piper marvelously defends the unpopular notion that there are "two wills" in God---one "will" that desires all to be saved, and another "will" that only some be effectively elected to salvation. Grudem makes a convincing case that the troublesome passage in Heb. 6:4-6 is not referring (as is usually supposed) to the truly saved, but to non-Christians who have become affiliated with the church.

Some Arminians have argued that there are no real differences in the practical consequences that Calvinism and Arminianism have for Christian living. Part 2 is concerned to show that this assumption is false. Jerry Bridges and others argue that divine sovereignty bolsters faith in God, especially during adverse circumstances, and that the Calvinist can engage in preaching, evangelism, and prayer, with the confidence that God will make these activities effective in accomplishing His purposes.

Part 3 deals with the history of the dispute. R.A. Muller contends that (despite modern revisionist tendencies) Arminius was not simply reacting to a rigid predestinarianism developed by second-generation Calvinism, but was attempting to replace Reformed Theology with a self-consciously semi-Pelagian system. Also of note is W. Travis' piece on the Modern Missions Movement. He reminds us that Calvinists have always been at the forefront of missions.

Part 4 addresses theological and philosophical concerns. Bruce Ware demonstrates that the Bible clearly teaches the effectual call and irresistible grace. Thomas Schreiner shows that the Wesleyan view of prevenient grace is nowhere to be found in Scripture. J.A. Crabtree critiques the notion of divine "Middle Knowledge," a view used by some Arminians to reconcile divine sovereignty with human freedom. John Feinberg goes on to present an account of human freedom that purports to be compatible with theological determinism. Though even few Calvinists will be totally satisfied with his account, Feinberg does show that human responsibility is not obviously incompatible with determinism.

The Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will ably accomplishes its objectives. It provides a thorough defense of the doctrines of grace, and will be a standard resource on this theological dispute for years to come.

SPURGEON ON GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY

[This article originally published here:  Wild Boar Issue #2 - July 1996 ]

There is no attribute of God more comforting to His children than the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, they believe that Sovereignty hath ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children of God ought more earnestly to contend than the dominion of their Master over all creation---the kingship of God over all the works of His own hands---the throne of God, and His right to sit upon that throne. Men will allow God to be everywhere except upon His throne.

On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of which they have made such a football, as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the Sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except upon His throne. They will allow Him to be in His workshop to fashion worlds and make stars. They will allow Him to be in His almonry to dispense His alms and bestow His bounties. They will allow Him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the lamps of Heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends His throne, His creatures then gnash their teeth; and when we proclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do as He wills with His own, to dispose of His creatures as He thinks well, without consulting them in the matter, then it is that we are hissed and execrated, and then it is that men turn a deaf ear to us, for God on His throne is not the God they love. . .

Note, again, the Divine Sovereignty, in that God chose the Israelitish race and left the Gentiles for years in darkness. Why was Israel instructed and saved, while Syria was left to perish in idolatry? Was the one race purer in its origin and better in its character than the other? Did not the Israelites take unto themselves false gods a thousand times, and provoke the true God to anger and loathing?. . .

So now, also, why is it that God hath sent His Word to us while a multitude of people are still without His Word? Why do we each come up to God's tabernacle, Sabbath after Sabbath, privileged to listen to the voice of the minister of Jesus, while other nations have not been visited thereby? Could not God have caused the light to shine in the darkness there as well as here? Could not He, if He had pleased, have sent forth messengers swift as the light to proclaim His gospel over the whole earth? He could have done it if He would. Since we know that He has not done it, we bow in meekness, confessing His right to do as He wills with His own.

But let me drive the doctrine home once more. Behold how God displays His sovereignty in this fact, that out of the same congregation, those who hear the same minister, and listen to the same truth, the one is taken and the other left. Why is it that one of my hearers shall sit in yonder pew, and her sister by her side, and yet that the effect of the preaching shall be different upon each? . . . We assert that God makes the difference---that the saved sister will not have to thank herself but her God. . .

And we say to all of you who gnash your teeth at this doctrine, whether you know it or not, you have a vast deal of enmity towards God in your hearts; for until you can be brought to know this doctrine, there is something which you have not yet discovered, which makes you opposed to the idea of God absolute, God unbounded, God unfettered, God unchanging, and God having a free will, which you are so fond of proving that the creature possesses. I am persuaded that the Sovereignty of God must be held by us if we would be in a healthy state of mind. "Salvation is of the Lord alone." Then give all the glory to His holy name, to whom all glory belongs.

1. Excerpts from Spurgeon's Sermons on Sovereignty (Ashland, KY: Economy Printers, 1959, 25-31.

RECOGNIZING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

[This article originally published here:  Wild Boar Issue #2 - July 1996 ]

Recognizing the sovereignty of God is indispensable to having the eternal perspective.

One simply cannot see life from a "God's-eye" point of view without knowing some things about God. And one of the most important things that one can know about God is that he is in control. God reigns over his creation with uncontested authority. And he exercises that authority to accomplish his sovereign will.

Why is this so important? For one thing, Christians believe in the doctrine of divine providence. That is, we believe that God works in our individual lives to care for us, to sanctify us, and to make sure that "all things work together for good to those whole love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom 8:28). But this belief in divine providence would be meaningless if God is not in sovereign control. We could have no confidence that God can pull off what he says he can in Romans 8:28. We could have no assurance that the evil and suffering we endure in this life is "working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2Cor 4:17). We could have no surety about the promises of God.

For another thing, a god who is not sovereign is not the God of the Scriptures, the God who has revealed himself to us. The God of holy writ is the one "who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Eph 1:11). He does not ask our permission to do what he desires to do. As God himself queries, "Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as his counselor has taught him?" (Is 40:13). Elsewhere, the psalmist declares, "But our God is in heaven; he does whatever he pleases" (Ps 115:3). Isaiah records an even bolder declaration, proclaiming God's sovereignty over the course of history: "I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not as yet done, saying 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure'" (Is 46:9b-10).

And let there be no mistake about the extent of God's sovereignty. It extends to everything, even to the actions and destinies of individual human beings. Daniel writes, "He does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'" (Dan 4:35). And Paul reminds us that God says, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion" and asks, "Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?" (Rom 9:15, 21).

These are hard truths for prideful men to swallow, but these are truths about God nonetheless. Yet these truths are not revealed to us for our hurt (except for hurting our pride), but for our comfort. As noted above, God's sovereignty guarantees the fulfillment of his promises to his people. So, if we would know the God who is, and have the eternal perspective, we must know that God is sovereign. Soli Deo Gloria!

HOW THE CHURCH DETHRONES GOD

[This article originally published here:  Wild Boar Issue #2 - July 1996 ]

This issue of The Wild Boar focuses on the sovereignty of God. Most Protestants have historically affirmed the words of the Westminster Confession: "God from all eternity did, by the most wise and Holy counsel of His own free will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass. This statement is a confession of belief in God's sovereign control of all things and all events. But this doctrine is much neglected in the contemporary church. Indeed, God's sovereignty is even denied by Christians today. In this issue of the newsletter, we will look briefly at a few of the ways in which God is "dethroned" in evangelical circles today.

First of all, the so-called the "Health and Wealth Gospel" clearly undermines the sovereignty of God. We are told by TV preachers that if we manipulate the spiritual power God has provided us, we will always be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Affliction and suffering are no part of the Christian life, we are told. The bad things in our lives are a result of sin or negligence. I wonder what these people would think if the United States were invaded by a military dictatorship. Would we believe, as Isaiah did, that it was by the hand of God? Would we believe that the terrible times brought by such a dictatorship could indeed be the answer to our prayers for reformation and revival? As God Himself declares, "I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD do all these things" (Is. 45:7). All affliction is not punishment. Job is a supreme example of this truth. Job's affliction was not punishment at all. It was an opportunity that a sovereign God gave to Job to bring glory to Him. Our Father sometimes teaches us though affliction, not because of wrong action, but because of a need for growth in Him. Job knew with certainty the depth of the truth of God's sovereignty in human suffering when he asked, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? (Job 2:10). To do otherwise is to deny the sovereignty of God.

Another way in which God is dethroned in the church is reflected in current trends in spiritual warfare. Encouraged by books like Frank Perretti's This Present Darkness, many Christians have fallen victim to the heresy of spiritual dualism, the view that good and evil, God and Satan, are two equal and opposite forces. But an important biblical truth is that God has a definite plan and purpose for the world (Job 23:13; Eph. 1:8-12; Psalm 115:3; Psalm 135:6; Isa. 46:10 and Acts 15:18), and He carries out that plan. God is always in total control of all things and is constantly at work in accomplishing His plan. (Hab. 1:1-11; Isa. 10:5,6). But, how often have you heard someone blame bad events on Satan and say that God had nothing to do with the event? How often have you heard people pray for Satan to be "bound" as if he had the power to thwart God's purposes? Everyone, even the devil, serves God's purposes. It is true that the servant may serve through gritted teeth and hate his servitude, but he is still a servant. The devil hates God and does every thing he can to work against God and still ends up serving His eternal purpose. The devil is the hardest working servant that God has! Yet to think of Satan as being able to hinder the plans and purposes of God is to deny God's sovereignty.

A third way God's sovereignty is denied today can be seen in the Church Growth Movement. Church leaders employ modern marketing techniques to "sell" the gospel as if it were a consumer product. An underlying assumption behind this practice is that bringing a person to salvation is just a matter of human skill and ingenuity. The Holy Spirit is unnecessary. It is no longer the case that God sovereignly has mercy on whom he has mercy, nor that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Rather, the marketing skills of the church are the power that brings people to Christ.

The church prays for revival today. But, unless we reaffirm the sovereignty of God both in word and practice, that revival will not come. True revival is preceded by reformation, and one of the things that needs reforming is how we understand the sovereignty of God.