Matthew 22:14
Antinomy – An apparent contradiction of two principles
. Jesus – God or man?
. God – one or three?
. The Bible – written by God or written by man?
. Sanctification – God’s responsibility or your responsibility?
How do we handle antinomies? – J. I. Packer
. “Accept it for what it is and learn to live with it. Refuse to regard the apparent
. inconsistency as real. Put down the semblance of contradictions to the deficiency
. of your own understanding. Think of the two principles as, not rival alternatives
. but, in some way that at present you do not grasp, complimentary to one another.
. Be careful not to set them at loggerheads. Nor to make deductions from either
. that would cut across the other. Note what connections exist between the two
. truths and their two frames of reference. Teach yourself to think of reality in a
. way that provides for their peaceful coexistence, remembering that reality itself
. has proved actually to contain them both.”
God and God alone decides who is His – man is responsible to respond with faith & repentance
Two Truths That Help Us To Live Within The Tension Of God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility – Vs. 14
1. There is a general external gospel call that goes out to all people
. Many are called – Universal, general, external, ineffective
. . some respond positively, most reject
. A. General revelation – creation, conscience – Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20
. B. Proclamation of the gospel – Isaiah 45:22, Ezekiel 33:11, Matthew 11:28, John 7:37
. Always rejected by natural man (spiritually dead) – 1 Corinthians 2:14
. Those who reject will be condemned – the problem is not with the offer, but with the
. . human heart.
2. There is a specific, internal, effectual call that goes out only to the elect
. Matthew 7:13-14, 24:22-25, 31; Ephesians 1:4-5, Romans 8:29-30, Colossians 3:12,
. . 1 Thessalonians 1:4
. Guarantees salvation
. . Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 9, 23; Galatians 1:6, 15
. It is by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit
. . 2 Corinthians 4:4-6
How do I know if I have been called?
If you repent of your sin and place your faith and trust in Christ
you have been called