“AS MANY AS HAD BEEN APPOINTED…”
SELECTED SCRIPTURES

I. Introduction
“…and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” That’s Acts 13:48. It is, without a doubt, one of the strongest and clearest statements in all of Scripture about the sovereignty of God in the salvation of men. But it certainly isn’t the only one. We’re going to look at many others this morning, and we’ll see that salvation is not of man – salvation is of God. Those of us who recognize and believe in the sovereignty of God rejoice in such biblical truths as, “…and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

But if there is anything we’ve stressed here at LBC, it is that we are never to take verses, or even longer passages, out of the context in which they are found and try to build a theology (or an argument) from them. Here’s an extreme example of what can happen when you do so. I know you’ve heard this before, but bear with me because it so clearly illustrates the prob-lem. Both Psalm 10:4 and Psalm 14:1 say, and I quote them, “There is no God.”

But let’s return those statements to their original context. What are those psalms about? They are about the ungodliness of the lost and the corruption of the human race. Psalm 10:4 says, “The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him (the LORD). All his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’” And Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.”

As I said, those are extreme examples, but you get the point. The fact of the matter is that it’s not uncommon for people to try to make the Bible say, not what it says, but what they want it to say. Charlatans, false teachers, and yes, even untaught Christians do that all the time. But you and I should know better.

So having said that, one of the great truths of Christianity, the sovereignty of God in the sal-vation of men, must be understood, not based on one verse taken from Scripture, but on the whole counsel of God. Even Acts 13:48 – “…and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed,” which teaches God’s sovereignty, does not stand alone. Two verses before, in Acts 13:46, Paul and Barnabas rebuked the Jews in Pisidian Antioch who had rejected the gospel. They said, “…since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles.”

These people heard the gospel. They had the opportunity to believe it, but they chose not to believe it. They rejected it and condemned themselves. So in the space of just three verses in Acts 13 we see the responsibility of men in obtaining salvation and the sovereignty of God in bestowing it. We believe that Scripture interprets Scripture. Furthermore, we believe and are convinced that God has preserved the Scriptures inerrant and without contradiction.
So what are we to do when we come upon such apparent contradictions – and this one in particular? How are we to understand human responsibility and divine sovereignty in sal-vation? Well, what too often seems to happen is that we rush to one extreme or the other and try to find solace in the one we like. That’s been going on since the NT was written, but it came to full fruition as a result of the Protestant Reformation.

It was the Reformers – men like Martin Luther and John Calvin – who identified the core principles of the gospel. Those principles are that…
• Salvation is revealed in the Scriptures alone, not in the Scriptures and the Roman Catholic Church.
• Salvation is by God’s grace alone, not by God’s grace and obedience to a Pope.
• Salvation comes through faith alone, not through faith and human effort or so-called good works.
• Salvation is found in Christ alone, not in Christ and the Virgin Mary.
• Salvation is for the glory of God alone, not for the glory of God and anything or any-one else.

So… salvation is found in the Scriptures alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Today we’re going to keep all of that in mind, but we’re going to focus on faith as we look into how divine sovereignty and human responsibility go together in bringing about the salvation of the lost.

What is the point of this exercise? Is it for us to say that we have learned and now know things that only God knows? Is it for us to fully comprehend the incomprehensible? Is it for us to stand proudly before our Creator and say, “We’ve finally figured You out”? No, abso-lutely not! Rather, the point of this exercise is for us to look as deeply into divine truth as the Holy Spirit will allow us. At some point we come to the end of ourselves. When that happens – and it will – we will humbly fall at His feet and give our holy, all-knowing, all-powerful, and sovereign God the glory that is due Him. May that be the result of our time together this morning.
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II. Text
Let’s begin by turning to the third chapter of John’s gospel. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler, and a teacher of the Law, has come to Jesus. He’s trying to ascertain what Jesus is all about. Jesus tells him he must be born again. In the first ten verses of John 3 Jesus uses the term “born again” or “born from above” or “born of the Spirit” five times. This baffles Nicode-mus. So in v. 4 he asks, “How can a man be born again? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answers him…
*John 3:6-10
6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand these things?”

Nicodemus should know these things, but he does not. Physical birth and spiritual birth are obviously two different things. However, they do have one thing in common. They are both works of God. Since the second birth is being born of the Spirit, and the first birth is being born of the flesh, birth perfectly illustrates Jesus’ point. Just as you did not participate in your physical birth, neither did you participate in your spiritual birth. And just as physical
birth is a miraculous and divine work of God, so too is spiritual birth. Both are works of a sovereign God alone! You are not born “of you.” You are born of God.

Look once more at v. 8. Jesus is saying we can hear the wind and we can see the work that is done by the wind. But we do not know where it comes from, where it is going, or what it will do when it gets there. The point is that the Holy Spirit’s sovereign work in the salvation of men can neither be predicted nor controlled. It is all of God and none of man!

Well, that was easy. Now we understand that. So far, so good. However, Jesus does not leave it there. He takes Nicodemus further into the mysteries of God. Hasn’t the Lord just told him that salvation is all about God’s choosing and God’s work? But now Jesus is going to tell Nicodemus that salvation is all about faith, all about believing the gospel. In fact, in the next eight verses Jesus will use the word “believe” (as in you must believe – have faith) no less than seven times.
*John 3:11-18
11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and you do not receive our witness.
12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13 “And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man.
14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 (so) that whoever believes (has faith) may in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that who-ever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.
18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

In John 3:3-10 it’s all about God’s sovereignty in salvation. In John 3:11-18 it’s all about man’s responsibility to believe the gospel. It is God’s place to choose. He will save His elect, His chosen ones. It is man’s place to have faith in God. He must believe the gospel.
*Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by (God’s) grace you have been saved through faith; and that (faith is) not of yourselves, it (that faith) is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of (your) works, (so) that no one should boast.

The salvation you possess has come to you through the gift of saving faith that God, in His matchless grace, has chosen to give you. If you’re a Christian it’s because you’re one of God’s elect, predestined to salvation, and chosen in eternity past. It should go without say-ing, but I’ll say it anyway. Ephesians 2:8 makes it clear that before God gave you that sav-ing faith, you could not make use of it. You cannot use something you do not have. But God, knowing that you needed the gift of saving faith, chose to give you the gift of saving faith. And with it, you received Christ. By the way, have you seen Jesus? You haven’t?
Hebrews 11:1, 6a
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
6a And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe…

That faith is the very same faith that saved Abraham. His good works, just like yours and mine, were utterly useless.
Romans 4:2-5
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due.
5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungod-
ly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. (back to John 3)

The just (the righteous) shall live by faith. That’s what Jesus is telling Nicodemus.
• “…whoever believes may in Him have eternal life (v. 15).”
• “…whoever believes should not perish, but have eternal life (v. 16).”
• “He who believes in Him is not judged; (but) he who does not believe has been judged already (v. 18).”
It’s all about faith. It’s all about man’s responsibility to believe the gospel. That’s what the Apostle John is telling us. And just so we do not misunderstand, near the end of John’s gos-pel He says this…
John 20:31 (referring to the entire gospel)
31 …these (things) have been written (so) that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that (by) believing you may have life in His name.

That is exactly what Jesus has been telling Nicodemus in John 3:11-18. Anyone who be-lieves can be saved. And there you have, from Jesus’ own lips, the truth of human respon-sibility in the salvation of lost souls.

We read Jesus’ words and we say, “Yes, Lord, we know that if we are saved, we are saved by faith, faith alone. And we know that if we are saved, we are saved when we trust Christ, Christ alone. If we do not believe and trust Christ, we will be lost, condemned, and judged.”

So why are we belaboring the point? Because, in John 3:3-10 Jesus said what appears to be the exact opposite. There He said that salvation is a divine work of God. There He said that if we are not born again, born of the Spirit, born from above, we “…cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).” Just as, “The wind blows where it wishes… (v. 8),” so too does God save whom He wishes. Furthermore, Jesus made it clear that just as you could not participate in your physical birth, neither could you participate in your spiritual birth. And in that you have, from Jesus’ own lips, the truth of divine sovereignty in the salvation of lost souls.

We read Jesus’ words and we say, “Yes, Lord, we know the doctrine of election. We know that if we had not been chosen in eternity past, and predestined to receive the gift of salva-tion in Christ, we could never be saved and enter into the kingdom of God.”

Divine sovereignty and human responsibility in salvation! How can they be resolved? Well, in the finite mind of sinful man, they cannot be resolved. But wait just a minute. The reality of divine sovereignty and human responsibility in the salvation of lost souls did not come from the finite mind of sinful man. They came from the infinite mind of a holy God.

So will we humble ourselves before an infinite and holy God and say, “I do not understand how both of these things can be true. But that doesn’t matter Lord, because You do.”? Or will we get our backs up and minimize, or even try to reject one truth in favor of the other?

Sadly, that seems to be what most Christians do. But when they do, they run the risk of becoming mired in all sorts of theological error. For example, putting too much emphasis on human responsibility can lead you to think that you are in charge of your salvation. But this error, when taken to the extreme, cuts God completely out of the picture. And in the end, it kills evangelism. It says, “Who needs Jesus? I can save myself.” On the other hand, put-ting too much emphasis on divine sovereignty can lead you to think you are responsible for nothing. But this error, when taken to its extreme, cuts man completely out of the picture.
It says, “There’s no point in telling anyone about Jesus. God has already chosen those He will save.” And in the end, it kills evangelism. Both extremes kill evangelism! Do you see the problem? If you reject or minimize either human responsibility or divine sovereignty in the salvation of lost sinners, you are denying God’s eternal truth. Let me ask you one ques-tion. Who wins when God’s truth is denied; who wins when the whole counsel of God is not taught and held up as eternal truth? Who wins when people are deceived into believing a lie or into not believing the truth? Is it not Satan himself, whom 2 John 7 calls “…the deceiver and the antichrist”?

So we neither reject nor minimize the parallel truths of human responsibility and divine sov-ereignty. On the contrary, we lift them up and praise God for them. But we recognize that they cannot be harmonized or comprehended. They are of divine origin and are beyond us. I know that our human pride does not like to admit that there are things too great for us to understand. But can you humble yourself before God and accept the fact that He has not given us the capacity to know and understand all that He knows and understands? I hope so.

When Bible-believing Christians are faced with parallel truths that can never be harmonized, we are called to humbly and prayerfully delve into them as much as we can, believe them, stand in awe of the God who makes them both true, and find our peace and our comfort in His grace, knowing that even in those things we can’t understand, God is glorifying Himself.

Is that not what we’ve seen in John 3? But there’s more. Turn just a few pages to John 6.
*John 6:35-37
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hun-ger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
36 “But I said to you, that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
37 “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

Both truths are right there, aren’t they? In vv. 35-36 we see human responsibility. These two verses teach that whoever will may come, but some will not because they refuse to believe. In v. 37 we see divine sovereignty. It teaches that God the Father will give God the Son all who have been chosen… and they will never lose their salvation.
*John 6:44, 47
44 “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” (God must choose.)
47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.” (you must believe.)

In v. 44 it’s divine sovereignty; in v. 47 it’s human responsibility.
*John 6:63-66
63 “It is the (Holy) Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore.

In vv. 63 and 65 it’s divine sovereignty; in vv. 64 and 66 it’s human responsibility. Here’s one more example from the gospels. Turn back to Matthew. This may be one of the clearest examples of what we’ve been talking about to be found anywhere in the NT.
*Matthew 11:27-28 (Jesus speaking)
27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

In v. 27 it’s divine sovereignty; in v. 28 it’s human responsibility. Not only do these two truths fit together in ways we cannot comprehend, they are inseparable. These parallel truths come together and meet in the salvation that’s found in Christ.

There is one more illustration of these truths we need to see. And it will take us to the place where we can rightly respond to our awesome God. Turn with me to Romans. In Romans 1-8 the Apostle Paul introduces the gospel. He defines it, explains it, lays out fallen man’s desperate need for it, and closes with these words of comfort and assurance…
*Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities (demons), nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Romans 12-16 Paul goes on to instruct believers – those of us who cannot be separated from Christ – as to how we are to live their lives in this world. He speaks of our conduct as it relates to the society in which we live, the governments under which we live, and our brothers and sisters in Christ, with whom we live. He opens with a well-known passage.
*Romans 12:1-2
1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
So, Romans 1-8 is all about the gospel. Romans 12-16 is all about how those who believe the gospel are to live. But what about Romans 9-11? What are they about? They’re all about Israel – her past, her present, and her future. They’re about her past rejection of Christ and His gospel, her current condition because of her rejection of Christ and His gospel, and her future, when she will believe God and receive Christ and His gospel. And in all of it we see the parallel truths of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. In Romans 9 it’s divine sovereignty.
*Romans 9:6b-8
6b …they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel (Jacob);
7 neither are they all (spiritual) children because they are Abraham’s (physical) descendants, but: “Through Isaac your descendants will be named.”
8 That is, it is not (all) the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise (spiritual children) are regarded as (spiritual) descendants.

What does that mean? It simply means that even though all Jews are the physical children of Abraham, they are not all the spiritual children of Abraham. God has no more predestined, chosen, and saved every Jew, than He has predestined, chosen, and saved every Gentile. It means that God, in His divine sovereignty, chooses whom He will save. Does that mean that some are not predestined, have not been chosen, and will not be saved? Of course, it does! Is that not the right of a sovereign God?

But we don’t like that, do we? We may even say, “That’s just not fair.” So the Apostle Paul deals that in the next few verses.
*Romans 9:13-18
13 Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Jacob’s descendants, the Jews, were blessed, while Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, were judged.)
14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (God is saying, “I decide; I choose.”)
16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. (Here is an example.)
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed through-out the whole earth.”
18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

So once more I ask, “Is that not the right of a sovereign God?” Are you willing to stand before the throne of God in heaven and accuse Him of being unfair or unjust? Are you willing to answer back to God and say…
*Romans 9:19b
19b “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?

In other words, how can those who have not been chosen be blamed for not believing? In the next four verses we will have God’s response to those questions.
*Romans 9:20-23
20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? (Who are you to question Me, My holiness, My righteousness, or My decisions? But here is just a little more insight.)
21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump (of clay) one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use?
22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
23 And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand (predestined) for glory…

There is the answer. It is the only answer we’ll receive this side of heaven. Will we receive the answer when we get to heaven? I don’t know. But by then I don’t even know if we’ll care. But I do know that in this life we cannot comprehend it beyond Romans 9:23. It is the divine sovereignty of a holy God.

But what about human responsibility? What happened to that? Well, here it is…
*Romans 10:9-13
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek (non-Jew); for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him;
13 for “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Well, what about those who have not called upon the name of the Lord? What can we to do about it? Paul answers those questions with a few questions of his own.
*Romans 10:14
14 How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him (in) whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

Who is a preacher? You are a preacher! Within the context of these verses in Romans 10 you are as much a preacher as I am or any other Christian who has ever walked on this earth.
So when all is said and done, these two absolute and eternal truths remain…
1. The Bible clearly teaches divine sovereignty in salvation. No one will ever come to saving faith in Christ unless they were chosen by God in eternity past. No one!
2. The Bible clearly teaches human responsibility in salvation. No one will ever come to saving faith in Christ unless they believe the gospel and call upon the name of the Lord. No one!

Where does that leave us? It is my fervent prayer that it leaves us awed and humbled before Him. It is my fervent prayer that we will give Him the praise, the honor, and the glory He deserves. That’s what Paul did when he had finished writing Romans 9-11.

By the way, in Romans 11 Paul tells us that the nation of Israel will come to saving faith. They are still God’s chosen nation, and they will believe. At Jesus’ second coming God says, “…all Israel will be saved…when I take away their sins (Romans 11:26-27).”
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III. Conclusion
The Apostle Paul didn’t understand these parallel truths of divine sovereignty and human responsibility any more than you and I understand them. They brought him to the end of himself, and he did the only thing he could do. He gave God the glory!
*Romans 11:33-36
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?
35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?
36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

What more can we say? We’ve read it. Now let’s sing it. The Sunday Singers will lead us.