Divine Sovereignty, Human Responsibility and Prayers
--------------
A brother wrote and asked:
1. Why pray to God for the salvation of certain people especially family members knowing very well God in His good pleasure has predetermined His elect?
2. Would earnest prayer including prayer and fasting moves the heart of God to commute the death sentence to that of life eternal? Are we capable to move God's heart and change His mind?
3. If not, why should we pray for the salvation of many? We know only one thing: we are not deserving to be saved at all. His choosing some for Himself is the testimony of His grace. Oh! How we should be humble in the sight of His greatness.
----------------
Dear brother,
#
## Thanks for asking, and exercising my mind to search the Scriptures. Read patiently. Feel free to ask further if I am not clear or in error. Rightly dividing the word of truth will deliver us from inconsistency and contradiction.
Your questions deal with the issue of divine sovereignty and human responsibilities. The ‘standard reformed’ explanation of the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility is very inadequate and misses the whole point because it failed to make the crucial distinction between eternal salvation that is wholly monergistic and temporal salvation which is synergistic, thus ending up with much inconsistencies and contradictions. The human responsibility spoken of RELATES solely to God's children only, and NOT to the natural man in general. It is only God's children who are directed to fulfill those spiritual responsibilities. It is biblical and logical that God requires the SPIRITUAL responsibilities of His children only, and not of those natural men dead in sin. Of course, MORAL responsibilities is a duty of all moral creature made in the image of God, whether redeemed or not.
Anyway, read on. Though a bit long it is so that you may be grounded in the truth.
#1. Why pray to God for the salvation of certain people especially family members knowing very well God in His good pleasure has predetermined His elect?#
Let us first reiterate some basic biblical facts, before dealing with the question directly. It is no harm rehearsing or repeating the wonderful truth of salvation.
a. We know very well these things:
- God in His good pleasure has chosen a certain people for Himself, and has predestinated them to eternal salvation before the foundation of the world, Romans 8:29-30, Eph 1:3-6. No prayers can alter that.
- All their names have been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, Rev 13:8. No prayers and absolutely nothing else can alter that fixed number and persons.
- 1689.3.4 summarizes the matter this way: "These angels and men thus predestined and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished”(2Ti 2:19; Jn 13:18.)
Please note: the number is fixed by divine decree before the foundation of the world. No prayers and ABSOLUTELY nothing can add or reduce the number of names already written in the Book of Life from before the foundation of the world. Prayers in time cannot alter what God has already settled in eternity. No missionary endeavour or lack thereof will ever increase or decrease the number of elect entering eternal glory in heaven. Why?
It is plainly stated what God has decreed that He Himself will do ALL without fail for each of His elect: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
God decreed to do ALL these Divine and sovereign acts for each and every one of His elect... and He did ALL these acts absolutely without any external/human influence or aid or cooperation. ALL these acts for each and ALL elect shall come to pass in God's own appointed and approved time. No amount of prayers can change or alter any thing in all these eternal and sovereign acts stated here. O what comfort... sovereign grace and wisdom determine the certainty of the eternal salvation of each of all His elect.
1689.10.1 puts it this way: ". Those whom God hath predestined unto life, He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by His Word [Christ, the Life-giving Logos, sing] and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ [the sole basis and ground of the grace and eternal salvation bestowed]."
Please note the time of each elect's effectual calling - whether still in the womb or at death bed, or somewhere in between - from sin and death to grace and salvation is all in God's own appointed and accepted time. It is God's sole prerogative as to WHEN He applies eternal salvation to each of His elect personally in time. No amount of prayers will affect or change the time of an elect's effectual call to life. Not human acts can SPEED UP or SLOW DOWN the time when God will effectually call each elect to grace and eternal life. He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time to do so for each elect.
SO, there are certain things that are clearly BEYOND the realm and sphere of any human activity, including the prayer of God's children. You don't see any example of prayers on those things that concern the eternal aspect of the salvation of God's elect. You don't see any instruction to pray on such things either.
b. Why pray to God for the salvation of certain people, then?
What do people mean when they pray for the salvation of people? Go ask the Arminians and the RBs, and all others in between, what they mean? They probably mean that by their prayers the divine acts mentioned above are made to happen. They think their prayers and their witness and good works are the means God appointed to secure the divine acts mentioned above. They pray to God to regenerate those that are dead... but God, without fail, always effectually calls His elect, and only at His own appointed and accepted time WITHOUT any one's prayer. They pray that the dead may believe in order to receive eternal life... the condemned dead may believe that they may be justified by God. They believe that by means of their zeal and activities, they will get more people into heaven. How deceived and deluded!
- The Bible gives many instances where prayers are requested, and made, for the salvation of CERTAIN people. Who are those CERTAIN people, what’s their spiritual state?
- The 'salvation' where our prayers and activities are involved is not the eternal aspect of salvation; it is the temporal aspect of salvation...
- All these prayers HAVE TO DO with the gathering into the NT church and shepherding of God's children (the elect already effectually called... all by God's free grace alone).
- "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." Matt 9:38. The 'harvest' is those that God has already effectually called... these alone are able to be 'harvested,’ to be gathered by the laborers into the NT church, in order to be nurtured... "teaching them that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" Titus 2:12-13.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." In carrying out this work of making disciples we need to pray that the Lord will bless our effort to bring God's children to the gospel truth, and gospel living.
Disciples can only be made out of God's children... the elect whom God has effectually called to eternal life, i.e. bestowed with eternal salvation. Only children of God can be taught to observe all things whatsoever Christ their Lord and Saviour have commanded them. To all others, Christ and the gospel is utter foolishness. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Spiritual things are foolishness to them without eternal life.
This is the apostolic example set before us... "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you." (II Thessalonians 3:1)
c. There is salvation which can only come through the gospel ministry. This is distinct from the eternal salvation that is by God’s free and sovereign grace alone... through the effectual call.
This is a salvation that God's children must work out for themselves. The gospel ministry is the means. To be taught to observe all things that the Lord Jesus has commanded bring much salvation/deliverance from ignorance, ungodliness, timely consequences of sin, etc. To be taught to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and taught to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world is a salvation which we must pray and work for ourselves and God's children.
No amount of prayers will turn a non-elect into an elect, or make one dead in trespasses and sins to spiritual life Our prayers and gospel ministry can turn ignorant and untaught and uninformed children of God... into men of God that they may be thoroughly equipped for every good work God has appointed them.
We ought to pray to God to bless our labour to those around us whether among the family members or whoever that His children may be found and gathered in. We labour because we know there ARE God's children out there, NOT because God's children WILL BE made through our ministry, and they need to be gathered into the NT church.
Apostle Paul is very specific in his mind... his ministry is for the elect regenerate alone. As he labours for the temporal salvation (in contrast to eternal salvation which God bestows freely and sovereign without man's aid whatsoever) of God's children, he asks God to bless the labours of his hands... that there may be conversion. That's the apostolic model for us.
#2. Would earnest prayer including prayer and fasting moves the heart of God to commute the death sentence to that of life eternal? #
a. Some facts stated above in Q1 will give a definitive answer to question 2a above.
- Christ and His merits ALONE are the SOLITARY cause and instrument for the commutation of the condemnation of death to that of eternal life. And the MANNER/METHOD of this commutation is be FREE and sovereign grace alone... conditioned on absolutely nothing. If it is conditioned on anything, the man under the condemnation of death is ABSOLUTELY unable to meet that condition. It is Christ alone PLUS NOTHING - not prayers, not preaching, not believing, not repentance, not obedience, not works, etc.
- Christ Himself prayed for those whom God the Father has given Him... and none other. "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them." John 17:9-10.
- Remember too that God is eternal and immutable, working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will for His own glory. The Triune God has decreed and determined in eternity the exact people whom He has predestinated to eternal life, and God is immutable in His decree.
b. Are we capable to move God's heart and change His mind?
- In the eternal aspect of salvation, certainly not... see Romans 8:29-30. In this aspect, it is entirely MONERGISTIC, by His free and sovereign will and purpose...
- In temporal matters, certainly yes. There are ample examples in the Scriptures. In temporal matters, it is SYNERGISTIC... God's children working to observe and obey God through the grace working in them. They must work out their own salvation. In this sense, those who labour and work hard will enjoy more salvation.
- God hears the prayers of His children and intervenes in the temporal affairs in their lives.
c. Human involvement in whatever forms - whether prayers or gospel witness, etc. - is limited to the temporal aspect of salvation alone. In this temporal aspect alone, God's children have an ACTIVE role to play. If we don't pray and labour, not only our own spiritual well being is adversely affected, the well being of other children of God are also adversely affected. Leaving God's children to remain in ignorance and bondage to traditions and superstition and falsehood, and to be tossed about by every wind of doctrine and fables is heartbreaking. It is a temporal destruction… it is not entering into the rest here and now in this life. There is a rest that comes by taking the yoke of Christ upon ourselves. Mt 11:28-20.
- Every effort must be expanded to gather God’s children into the spiritual home... that each may be nourished and nurtured, and become thoroughly equipped for every good work that the Father has appointed for His children. God is most glorified by informed and obedient children.
#If not, why should we pray for the salvation of many?#
a. The
Sungai Dua Church has been praying for the salvation of God's children in the
community around us... that we may meet them in our daily life and teach them
the gospel. We pray for the salvation of the RBs folks too that they may be
delivered and saved from their ignorance and blindness to the gospel of eternal
salvation by pure and free grace. I labour and pray for their salvation - not
from eternal condemnation... God takes care of that all by Himself - but that
they may know the glorious gospel of free and sovereign grace of God in their
salvation from eternal condemnation
#We know only one thing: we are not deserving to be saved at all. His choosing some for Himself is the testimony of His grace. Oh! How we should be humble in the sight of His greatness.#
And
that one thing is enough to humble us to the dust. All glory and praise be to
Him alone. Amen.
your
brother and servant in Christ.
sing
