Divine sovereignty and divine freedom in Romans 9-11

On March 10, 2021February 12, 2021 By charlieIn Berkouwer, divine freedom, divine sovereignty, Romans1 Comment

Relating his understanding of divine sovereignty and divine freedom to the interpretation of Romans 9-11, Berkouwer wrote, "Words like 'sovereignty' ought not to be approached abstractly via a formal concept: this can only create the impression that we are capturing our own understanding or words in transparent definitions and then applying them directly to God …

Continue reading Divine sovereignty and divine freedom in Romans 9-11

A mighty victory over Satan, a great salvation for us

John 11:45-12:36 We thank You, Lord, for Jesus. He died on the Cross for us. Through His death, Satan is defeated. Through His death, we are saved. Thank You, Lord, for this mighty victory over Satan. Thank You for this great salvation for us.

Learning From God ‘s Word – Luke 14-16 — Christian Grandfather Magazine

Photo by Rod Long, Unsplash Photography Luke 14:1-35 – Let God’s love flow freely in your own heart. Let it flow, from there, into the lives of others. Receive Christ and share Him with others. When the Gospel says, ‘Come; for all is ready’, there must be no excuses (17-20). When you share Christ, let […] […]

Praying Through God’s Word: 1 Chronicles

1:1-54 Sometimes, Lord, we read, in your Word, things that make us wonder, “What’s this all about?” What are You saying to us in the parts of the Bible that don’t jump out at us? We ask, “Do we really need to read a long list of names?” You say to us, “All of these […]

Do you want to know what God is like? – Look at Jesus.

From Genesis to Revelation in a year: John 1-3 1:1-34 – Jesus Christ is the Word of God. He is the Beginning. He is also the End (1-3; Revelation 21:6). He is ‘the Word… made flesh’. ‘We have seen His glory’ (14). This is only the beginning. When He returns, we shall see His glory […]

Praying Through God’s Word: Zechariah

ZECHARIAH 1:1-2:13 We thank You, Lord, that You promise to bless Your faithful people: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My House will be rebuilt’ (Zechariah 1:16). You look upon Your House, and You see Your glory – ‘I will be the glory within it’ (Zechariah 2:5). You see the glory of […]

It shall be done!

Exodus 5:1-6:13 – In 4:29-31, we see Moses, the elders and the people worshipping God. Pharaoh opposes them – ‘Who is the Lord, that I should heed His voice…?’ (2) – , and ‘the foremen of the people of Israel’ start complaining (19-21). What does Moses do ? – He prays. Notice the honesty of […]

Praying Through God’s Word: Lamentations

Lamentations 1:1-22 Jerusalem had fallen into hard times – ‘she who once was great among the nations… has now become a slave’ (Lamentations 1:1). Lord, we wonder why this happened. The explanation for this sad situation was not hard to find – ‘Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean…’ (Lamentations 8-9). We wonder, […]

Jesus – crucified by men, raised by God.

Luke 23:1-25 – In Jesus’ trial, we see unity in evil (12). Politically, Pilate and Herod were at odds with each other. Spiritually, they were united in their opposition to Christ. Jesus was found guilty by neither Pilate nor Herod (13-16). They were Very Important People. Jesus was a threat to them. They held positions […]

Let us give ourselves to the Lord.

Luke 21:1-38 – The ‘poor widow’ gave her ‘all’ to the Lord (1-4). True giving is a response to ‘the grace of God’. Learning to appreciate ‘the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ’, we will learn to give with ‘abundance of joy’ and ‘wealth of liberality’ (2 Corinthians 8:1-2, 9). Let us give ourselves to […]

What about you? Does Jesus weep over you? He wants to rejoice over you.

Luke 19:1-48 – Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem (9:51; 13:22; 17:11), the place where He would be crucified for the world’s salvation. ‘Passing through’ Jericho, He brought ‘salvation’ to Zacchaeus (1, 9). ‘Near to Jerusalem’, He spoke about service (11-27). Jesus is our Saviour – He came ‘to save us’ (10). He is also our Lord […]

Learning From God ‘s Word – Luke 14-16 — Christian Grandfather Magazine

Nothing in my hand I bring…

Romans 11:1-36 ‘You stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe’ (20). In 9:32, Paul contrasted ‘faith’ and ‘works’. Here, he contrasts ‘grace’ and ‘works’ (6). Grace and faith belong together. ‘Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling’ (Church Hymnary, 83) – This is […]

For everyone

Romans 10:1-21 To ‘Jew and Gentile’, God says, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ (12-13). The Jews had praised the Lord Jesus: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’. Before long, they were shouting, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him!’ (John […]

God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 7:1-25 God’s purpose is not easily fulfilled in us. Our battle with sin is extremely intense. There is a great conflict going on within us. ‘The Spirit’ and ‘the flesh’ are at war with each other (Galatians 5:17). God has given us His Spirit – ‘we serve…in the new life of the Spirit’ (6). […]

Keep your eyes fixed on the Saviour and your obedience will be Gospel obedience, not legal obedience.

Romans 6:1-23 (a) ‘We know that our old self was crucified’ (6) – What a great thing God has done! He has made you ‘a new creation in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). (b) ‘Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus’ (11) – Believe it . This is what the Lord has done: ‘you are not in the […]

Having caught sight of the heavenly and eternal glory, we see our suffering in a new light. It’s the light of God’s love.

Romans 5:1-21 God has great things in store for His people! (a) ‘Much more‘ (9-10): ‘Justified by Christ’s blood’, ‘reconciled to God’, ‘We shall be saved by Christ from the wrath of God’, ‘saved by His life’. (b) ‘Much more‘ (15,17): ‘The grace of God’ has ‘abounded for many’. In Christ, we have ‘received the abundance of […]

We are sinners, but we have a Saviour. Let us rejoice in Him!

Romans 3:1-31 We are sinners – every single one of us. There are no exceptions – ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’. When we see ourselves as we really are – sinners – , we come to see that there is no way for us to earn God’s love. We will […]

Genesis 47:13-48:22; Matthew 16:21-17:13; Proverbs 3:1-10

In Genesis and Matthew, we see Jacob and Joseph looking to the future. It is to be a future of blessing. For both, death was near. the future, however, was life. In Jacob’s time, the expectation concerned an earthly land – “God will be with you and take you back to the land of your […]

More than ‘the golden rule’?

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). When […]

Jesus was a Jew. Jesus is for all nations.

Jesus was a Jew – “a descendant of David” (Romans 1:3). Jesus is for “all nations” (Romans 1:5). Jesus was a Jew. If we are to understand Jesus, we need to go back to the Old Testament Scriptures, We need to read about what God did for his people, Israel. This is not to say […]

Learning From God's Word

Category: divine freedom

Divine sovereignty and divine freedom in Romans 9-11