How is God’s sovereignty compatible with man’s responsibility in salvation?

How should we understand the compatibility between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility in salvation? From one of our live events, Burk Parsons, Derek Thomas, and W. Robert Godfrey respond.

[nv]

What a blessing Burk Parsons, and all these men, are to the Church. While I miss RC, I am so joyful that the Lord saw fit to leave such great men and teachers in the wake of his passing and carry the torch forward. I continue to pray and support Ligonier Ministries, as they are a light on the hill in this time. Praise God the Father of our Lord Christ Jesus.

[jessyjonas]

“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
Psalm 115

[Jennifer-qokz]

Omgosh this question/answer is relevant.
Thank you for explaining this for me

[kevinclint]

NEVER EVER GIVE UP ON OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, ………WHY?, ………BECAUSE HE NEVER GAVE UP ON US, ……….. AMEN

[denonjoka]

Hawayu Ligonier Ministries *& I Say Thanks 🙏 2 Yu Together With Pst. Burk Parsons, Pst. Derek Thomas & Pst. W. Robert Geodfrey 4 Answering This Powerful, Blessful, Deep Question of "How Is God's Sovereignty Compatible With Man's Responsibility In Salvation ?" Where I Say That What Pst. Burk Parsons, Pst. Derek Thomas & Pst. W. Robert Geodfrey Have Answered That Question Rytly One 💯% & I Add That How God's Sovereignty Is Compatible With Man's Responsibility In Salvation Is Where We Read God's Word Which Says That God's Ways are Not Our Own Ways & Neither are God's Thoughts Our Own Thoughts, Saith The LORD 4 The Earth Is The Lords & The Fullness Thereof Where We've Been Saved By Grace Thru Faith & It's Not Our Own That We Should Boast 4 Salvation Is The Gift of God 4 God Commandeth His Love Towards Us That While We Were Yet Still Sinners, Christ Died 4 Us Written In Isaiah 55:8, 1st Corinthians 10:26, Ephesians 2:8 & Romans 5:8 Where Our Great Almighty God Is More Powerful, More Glorious & More Almighty That His Sovereignty Reigns Forever & Ever Where He Has Given Us a Choice of Free Will 2 Worship & Adore Him or Not Because Our Great Almighty God Is Not a Man That He Should Lie 4 God Is a Jealous God Because His Promises are YES & AMEN Written In Numbers **23:19**, Deuteronomy 6:15 & 2nd Corinthians 1:20 4 Our Great Almighty God Is Always Good Upon Us That His Mercies Upon Us Endure Forever & Ever* & God Bless Yu Pst. Burk Parsons, Pst. Derek Thomas, Pst. W. Robert Geodfrey & Ligonier Ministries So Much.🙏🙏🕊️🕊️

[georgegaiennie]

This is a fact: God is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and He has all of the other attributes that He has. Fact: We are sinners who are responsible to God. Through God’s grace, Jesus - who is God - saved the sinners who in fact repented and believed. How to reconcile these facts is the issue. This is in a sense paradoxical. I don’t know that this paradox of sorts can be resolved until God explains it to us in heaven. It just is.

God bless you for this wonderful ministry.

[robmarshall]

When I look at my own salvation it all makes sense to me, I was completely blind to the truth of Jesus Christ personally most of my life, people were like why didn’t you get it, I’m like I did get it, I believed it but nothing happened ) I didn’t get why people were jazzed at 16 that Jesus was there saviour, perhaps it was because they were indwelt and I wasn’t, I’d believed in my heart in Jesus as Lord at 6, 13, 17, 18, 21, 23, 31 but nothing happened in my heart, I wasn’t regenerate.

It wasn’t until I was saved at 43 that I knew what they were on about, hard to fathom those years of blindness after my journey, I was infant baptised, yes that’s right sprinkled and not dunked ), alleluia, confirmed at 16 and raised in a Christian home and had many Christian influences constantly around me.

There were many wayward years from my belief of Jesus Christ as Lord of my life and my affirmation to my regeneration. Of course I heard about Jesus along the course of my life inclusive of rehabs and jail and as a possibility at AA many many times but hey if the hound of heaven hasn’t come a knocking it’s not like you can cognitively get yourself awakened to the truth yourself. You are blind to it.

Salvation is on Gods timeline not mine, the truth is at 43 I was totally depraved and blind to who God was, I arrived at a AA meeting after some months of leading and poking by the Holy Spirit still blinded to the actual truth. It wasn’t until someone suggested Jesus Christ as God and that I needed to believe in his resurrection that I did just that, did i understand it all NO, I just took a leap of faith and believed and was indwelt the next day. Saved an utter wretch like me ) blessed beyond measure.

God knows who will be saved and God chooses who will be saved, and we must choose Christ in order to be saved. All I’m saying is I was blind to that very very close to my regeneration, but God lead me to a person that unequivocally asked me the right questions and used him as the starter at that time to my regeneration. What amazed me is Gods patience and understanding whilst I looked in that door and this door and how he just slowly orientated me to where I ultimately went for help. God uses all those experiences in your life when you witness to people and point to the cross as the ONLY solution. Gods not slow in saving his people ) his timings perfect, he chooses us, he calls us, he enables us and he frypans us in the back of the head so we can choose him, salvation is all of God though yes I chose him ) and then he keeps us and uses us, it’s staggering )

[lawrencestanley]

“For every event, God decided that it should happen, and that decision was the ultimate sufficient cause for that event.” (James Anderson, “Calvinism and the Problem of Evil, ” pg. 204)

In other words, necessary to the completion of His purpose, God who is all-powerful, decides all events that shall be, both good and evil. To that end, He creates causal agents who have the ability to act according to their will, whose actions are dependent upon God’s power either to act or not to act (cf. Genesis 20:6), and as to their will, are contingent upon God’s hardening, or sanctification resulting in their reprobation or salvation, thereby God maintains absolute control over the uncoerced actions of men, ordaining whatsoever comes to pass, and yet is free from the stain of their sin (cf. Acts 2:23).

[samdevasahayam]

Some time we try to Act God Amen Hallelujah

[meots]

I’m a Calvinist but I still wrestle with the fact that God commands us to believe but at the same time we’re not able to believe unless He enables us. I’ve never heard it adequately explained by anyone including RC Sproul rest his soul and yes I’ve read Chosen by God too. The only explanation I’ve heard was that by John MacArthur who said….”I don’t know. It’s a mystery”. At least he’s being honest. Now I think the Bible is clear that we’re responsible for our belief and also that we’re not able to believe apart from His grace. How you harmonize those two facts I can’t explain but at the same time I have to accept as truth because the Bible says it. I just accept that it’s one of those many truths that God for whatever reason doesn’t allow us to fully understand this side of heaven. “Lean not on your own understanding.”

[mrjim]

Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use? Romans 9: 21

[Solemn_Kaizoku]

I have a lot of respect for these men, but I wish they would've been honest and concise by saying, "Scripture teaches both of these elements, and we don't know how they fit together."

[samdevasahayam]

We have to work out our salvation. No doubt

[joeywampler]

did God ordain the confusion about this subject? if He ordains all that will come to pass as you state, then why did He foreordain believers to not get it? After you explained this, did God foreordain whether believers would understand or not? Did He foreordain me asking these questions?

[renierramirez]

Is Calvinism the default position concerning soteriology?
Is Calvinism the right view concerning soteriology?

[angloaust]

They preached that people should repent
The goodness of God leads thee to
Repentance
Bring forth fruits meet for repentance
Except ye repent ye will perish!

[terminat]

Man is not responsible for getting himself saved. The Bible is clear that God does all the work required to save someone. Salvation is of grace, and God chose whom He wished to save before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1). He is sovereign (Romans 9:15-16).

[kofi]

I think the problem is the word ordain, to most people which takes on the meaning of the context it find itself

[tomsmith]

Forgive me but I didn't hear a clear answer to the question. Perhaps we should chalk this up to "mystery"?

[kylie]

Calvinism makes it complicated.
Scripture is very simple and understandable. Calvinism makes it’s complicated.