|
 From
"Systematic Theology," by Charles Finney; 1846-
Abridged and published in 1976 by Bethany Fellowship,
Minneapolis.
-------------------------
"Many
seem to represent the sovereignty of God as consisting in a
perfectly arbitrary disposal of events. They seem to conceive of
God as being wholly above and without any law or rule of action
guiding his will by his infinite reason and conscience- They
appear shocked at the idea of God himself being the subject of
moral law, and are ready to inquire, Who gives law to God? They
seem never to have considered that God is, and must be, a law
unto himself; that he is necessarily omniscient, and that the
divine reason must impose law on, or prescribe law to, the
divine will...
The
sovereignty of God consists in the independence of his will, in
consulting his own intelligence and discretion, in the selection
of his end, and the means of accomplishing it. In other words,
the sovereignty of God is nothing else than infinite benevolence
directed by infinite knowledge... God is a sovereign, not in the
sense that he is not under law, or that he is above all law, but
in the sense that he is a law to himself; that he knows no law
but what is given him by his own reason...
"He
works all things after the counsel of his own will," in the
sense that he formed and executes his own designs independently;
in the sense that he consults his own infinite discretion; that
is, he acts according to his own views of propriety and fitness.
This he does, be it distinctly understood, without at all
setting aside the
| |
freedom of moral agents. His infinite knowledge enabled
him to select the end and means, that should consist with and
include the perfect freedom of moral agents. The subjects of his
moral government are free to obey or disobey, and take the
consequences. But foreseeing precisely in all cases how they
would act, he has laid his plan accordingly, so as to bring out
the contemplated and desired results. In all his plans he
consulted none but himself."
-----------------------
Yes,
we are soon over our heads in such a discussion as this, but
current discussions of depravity, grace, and "enabling
work" of the Holy Spirit, are drawing brethren closer and
closer to the "free moral agent" issue — and that
will force them to consider the sovereignty of God.
When
brethren argue imputation of Christ's life to man they
usually do so on a legalistic basis — God must be JUST, and
demand PERFECT OBEDIENCE. The very nature of God demands
justice, we are told. Sometimes overlooked is the fact that
LOVE, MERCY, etc., are also "the very nature" of God.
Many a theologian has set up his idea of God, and the demands of
what he conceived as "God's nature;" only to become
hopelessly entangled in the system of his own making. We believe
God is revealed in Christ, via inspired scriptures. The safest
course is to accept what is clearly revealed (forgiveness, thru
Christ's death, to those who trust Him) rather than lose
ourselves in speculative theories.
[Previous
Article] [Next
Article]
|
