God’s Sovereignty over Salvation & our Response

Written by Rodrigo Avila

Pastor Chris’s sermon last Sunday was entitled “God’s sovereignty over salvation.” It was based on Matthew 11:25-27. In the previous context of this passage, we read of Christ’s severe denunciation of the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Their unwillingness to repent and believe in Christ even though He performed many miracles in their midst is the reason he condemns them.

Notice then, that our Lord turns the situation from accusation to adoration. He now praises His Father for hiding the things concerning salvation from “the wise and intelligent.” This is a sarcastic reference to the people of Israel, and especially to its religious leaders, who did not believe in Him. He also praises God for revealing these things to infants, an allusion to those who did believe in Him with child-like faith. Jesus adds that all of this, the hiding and the revealing, was well-pleasing in His Father’s sight.

He finalizes this section with “a powerful affirmation of the sovereignty of God over all the affairs of men [and claiming] …that the task of executing the divine will had been committed to Him.”[1]

God is indeed sovereign over salvation. He has total control over those who are saved and those who are not. And He is not unjust in doing so. As Pastor Chris rightly puts it: “Concealing is justice, revealing is grace. And everybody gets one or the other. There is no injustice with God. There is only justice or grace.”

You may be thinking: Since God is sovereign over salvation, are there some ways in which I can refine or correct my thinking and actions? And the answer is: yes, there are! This passage has many applications for your life. There are at least three that stand out for me.

1.  Thankfulness
The fact that Christ, according to His sovereign will, has chosen to reveal the Father to us should produce in us a higher degree of thankfulness and a deeper understanding of His grace.

2. Dependence
We all have dear friends and/or close relatives that don’t know the Lord. It can be very discouraging to see a father, a mother, a husband, a wife, a sister, a brother, and especially a son or daughter be separated from Christ. But to know that God is in control of salvation should cause us to trust Him, to depend on Him, and to have peace. God loves our love ones more than we do. We must keep praying for them and never give up hope.

3. Witnessing
Besides praying for unbelievers, we must preach to unbelievers. Knowing that God controls salvation should motivate us to preach the gospel with hope and boldness. It is a great privilege and a reason to rejoice that our Lord wants to use us to advance His kingdom. God’s sovereignty should free us from the unnecessary burden of trying to convert people. Our duty is to share the message with faithfulness and leave the results to Him.

The essence of the message of the gospel is contained in the next section of the passage we reviewed today. And I am looking forward to see how Pastor Chris will expound its truths for us this coming Sunday.

[1] John MacArthur