One of the most prominent realities of the Bible is the simultaneous upholding of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. The Bible often speaks of these two truths in close proximity offering no explanation of how they coexist, but simply presenting them as biblical reality.
Readers of the Scripture feel the tension and often fall into error by trying to resolve it. Some readers embrace the texts that describe man’s responsibility to the neglect or even flat denial of the plain texts which uphold God’s sovereignty. On the other side, some readers grab on to the texts describing God’s sovereignty in such a way as to strip away man’s responsibility. The hardest road to walk is the biblical path of holding both and learning to live with the tension! However, to do otherwise is to misinterpret and misapply the Scripture.
For example, John 1:12 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Here is man’s responsibility. In order for one to become a child of God, he must receive Christ, that is, he must believe in Christ! When he does, whoever he is, God blesses faith in Christ’s name with adoption into His name! We must believe!
Then comes John 1:13, “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” Here is God’s sovereignty. The Bible makes it clear that the source of man’s willingness or choice or decision to embrace Christ is NOT man! That is as far back in the new birth as we tend to go. The Bible says that’s no far enough. The move to receive Christ did not spring from man’s will; it springs from God’s grace!
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