Who's Sovereign?

Joel and I get monthly teaching CDs from John MacArthur and R. C. Sproul, and as much as I enjoy listening to their sermons and lectures, I am excited when we get a CD marked "Questions and Answers." It's in these informal teaching sessions that both men speak candidly about various topics and often provide some extraordinary personal examples to clarify their points. This month, we received a Q & A session from MacArthur titled "The Sovereignty of God and Evil," a profound subject, for sure. Christians have wrestled with this topic for centuries, as they attempt to reconcile the goodness and power of God with the existence of evil. Contrary to biblical teaching, some Christians have fallen into dualism, believing that God and Satan are equally powerful and are constantly "duking it out" to see who will gain the upper hand in any given situation.

John MacArthur shared this illustration: His church had a large influx of people from a nearby large, well-established charismatic church, and, ironically, many were the adult children and families of that church's staff. MacArthur met with the group and asked why they left the charismatic church. They responded that they couldn't live any longer under the "sovereignty of Satan." That heretical teaching of the church was terrifying the people; they lived in constant fear of illness or other calamity. And it so happened, the charismatic church held a special service for a visiting "prophet," who proclaimed that the church's pastor would become a world renowned pastor with a huge following. As the "prophet" was delivering the "prophesy," the pastor died right on the stage. At the funeral, MacArthur asked, "What happened? The 'prophet' announced that he received word from God that the pastor would be a great preacher." The church's response was that the prophesy was true, but it was so threatening to Satan, that he killed their pastor. They actually believed that Satan had the power to override God's Word and His purposes.

Christians should take comfort in the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. Knowing that an all-together good and righteous God has absolute rule should provide us with great encouragement. Though God is not the author of evil, He ordains it, and works through it, for our sanctifying good and His glory.