Trust in God's Predetermined Plan – Part 2
VBC Albuquerque · Sep 22, 2024
The sermon explores God's predetermined plan established before the foundation of the world for history and for each believer. The pastor explains that God, being omniscient and omnipotent, has established a perfect plan because of His love for us. The sermon also addresses the question about the relationship between God's foreordination and human free will, demonstrating that both are biblically true.
This sermon begins with the historical context of the Jewish exile in Babylon, in which Jeremiah writes a letter to the exiled people with the promise that after 70 years God will bring them back to Jerusalem. The pastor emphasizes that the One who determined the plan for God's people in ancient times is the One who determines the plan for all human history. Only the omniscient and omnipotent One can know completely from the beginning to the end of human history, and this infinite Being loved us so much that He came to earth, suffered, died, and shed His blood to redeem us for our sins.
The sermon presents five common worldviews about the meaning of life that conflict with Scripture: (1) life is meaningless like a passing shadow, (2) the purpose of living is to enjoy oneself because we only live once, (3) reincarnation so we must live well to avoid suffering in the next life, (4) everything is random resulting from evolutionary processes, and (5) determinism asserting that all events are determined by circumstances, environment, and genetics with no freedom. The pastor cites thinkers including the poet Cao Ba Quat, Shakespeare, Bertrand Russell, and neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky to illustrate these worldviews.
Scripture clearly teaches that God is sovereign over the course of human history with a plan and purpose for humanity through all ages. The pastor quotes Ephesians 1:9-11 about God's good purpose and many other biblical passages (Romans 8:28-30, Acts 17:26-27, Romans 9:11, Isaiah 46:10) to demonstrate that God has predetermined all things, from the election of His people to the plan of salvation.
The pastor addresses the difficult question about the relationship between God's predetermined plan and human free will. He points out that humans do not have absolute freedom because many factors lie beyond our control, such as when and where we are born, who our parents are, our genes, and our social circumstances. The pastor asks what life and society would be like if humans had complete freedom to decide everything. The history of humanity shows devastating consequences when people act solely according to their desires. The pastor thanks God because He refuses to answer many foolish prayers from us.
The sermon concludes that Scripture teaches both statements are true: God has a predetermined plan for us, but God also allows humans to choose and decide in many other matters. When God grants humans free will, He also explains to them the consequences of each choice. The pastor cites biblical passages (Leviticus 26:3-4, 15-16; Deuteronomy 11:26-28; Joshua 24:14-15) illustrating choices with clear consequences. Finally, the pastor emphasizes that we can fully trust the decisions of the One who loved us so much that He suffered death for our sins, and the example of Paul on the sea voyage demonstrates the perfect cooperation between God's purpose and human conscious action.