This article was originally written in 1972. It was printed as a booklet for distribution at Chessington Evangelical Church where Harry was at that time the Pastor. To this day people fondly remember that booklet and how helpful and influential it was in their thinking. May it continue to be so through the reach of this website to the glory and praise of God.
DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY and HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY
by Harry Kilbride
INTRODUCTION
If one stands on a railway track one observes two lines. The track consists not of one but of both which stretch out into the distance meeting only at the point of infinity.
Similarly, there are two lines of truth running alongside one another through the Scriptures, namely Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility, and for a proper balanced view of God’s revealed truth neither must be ignored and certainly not denied.
Yet, from our ‘ground level’ point of view they are very difficult to reconcile. How can God hold men and women responsible for events which He has foreordained shall come to pass? How can the sinner be accountable for his/her unbelief and hostility to God when they are “DEAD in trespasses and sins” and when their will is captive and bound? Surely these are mysteries. We are told, for example, that Christ’s death was part of the Divine Plan; it was predestined and foreordained; nothing could thwart it for Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. But the very same verse that speaks of this plan (Acts 2:23) speaks also of the wickedness – and therefore, by implication, of the responsibility – of those who actually carried it out.
In this way these two truths are placed side by side in Scripture with no recognition given to the logical or moral difficulties which they might occasion. Only in Romans 9 do we have such a discussion and Paul’s comment in this instance is most salutary (Romans 9:6-24, especially v 20, “But who are you, a man, to answer back to God? Will what is moulded say to its moulder, ‘Why have you made me thus?’” (NIV)). ** See end note
We must remember that our view is limited by our finite minds. We cannot comprehend all the deep things of God, and since both these truths are taught by Scripture we must believe that, whilst to us they are parallel and irreconcilable, they meet – like the railway lines – in infinity, i.e. in the Mind of God.
An illustration is to be found in the realm of physics and concerns the nature of light. One set of experiments suggests that light consists of waves, whereas another set would suggest that it consists of particles. At present science would say that both cannot be true but since both are clearly demonstrable by experiment Scientists believe that there must be a higher law, at present unknown, which can combine these two, apparently irreconcilable, theories.
REFORMED TEACHING
The only system of Biblical theology which does adequate justice to BOTH these truths is that which is known as ‘REFORMED’ or ‘Calvinist’.
Personally I must say that I dislike the term ‘Calvinist’ though it is widely used. The reason I dislike it is not because I do not believe that the reformer John Calvin was a very great Bible teacher – he was! It is because the term suggests to some people the following of the teachings of a MAN rather than the PLAIN TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE!
Actually the great truths which come from a thorough belief in the sovereignty of God were believed and taught by ALL the great reformers and had been believed long before that (e.g. Augustine). In fact, this is the unique feature of Reformed Doctrine; it does accept ALL the plain teachings of the Bible. It teaches BOTH human responsibility AND divine sovereignty.
SALVATION and ‘THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE’
This is, briefly, how the two truths relate to the subject of ‘salvation’.
RESPONSIBILITY
Men and women are SINNERS before a holy God Who will rightly judge them for their sin. They are therefore commanded, in the Gospel, to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ Who alone can save them.
If they do not obey the command; if they spurn the offer of salvation in Christ, they are held accountable. They are ‘responsible agents’ – i.e. free to act according to their nature and to be held responsible for the way they act.
John 3:18-19, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever who does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
Acts 17:30, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”
Revelation 22:17, “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
See also: Romans 1:18-23; 32; 2:5-6; 14-16.
Jesus wept at the hardness of the people of His day who would not come to Him, and we read that “The Lord …is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance,” (2 Peter 3:9); and that He takes “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11).
MANKIND’S CONDITION
Along with this very clear teaching that men and women are responsible for their actions and choices, the Bible also clearly teaches that they universally act in such ways as to render themselves guilty before God. This is because of their corrupt nature. It is put in these terms:
a) They are SPIRITUALLY DEAD.This means – among other things – that they cannot respond to God or have any kind of fellowship with him
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you HE made alive, when you were DEAD through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…” (RSV)
b) They are SPIRITUALLY BLIND. This means that they do not understand and believe divine truth – not even that which describes their own condition and predicament.
1 Corinthians 2:14 “The man without the Spirit DOES NOT ACCEPT the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “And even if our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has BLINDED THE MINDS of unbelievers…”.
c) They are SPIRITUALLY BOUND. This means that not only has Satan veiled their minds and corrupted their hearts but he has enslaved their wills.
John 8:34 “…everyone who sins is a SLAVE to sin.”
Romans 8:7-8 “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, NOR CAN IT DO SO. Those controlled by the sinful nature CANNOT please God.”
Thus if left to themselves they will certainly choose against God.
THOUGH THE GOSPEL IS WHAT THEY NEED MOST IT IS WHAT THEY DESIRE LEAST. They may have a ‘form of religion’, for men and women are religious creatures, but THEY WILL NOT repent and believe. They PREFER darkness to light.
What about Free-will? It will be seen then that the term ‘free-will’ is misleading and is better avoided when describing the human condition. Men and women HAVE the power of choice but they will exercise that power only in accordance with their natures, and their natures (as we have seen) are hostile to God.
So men and women are in an awful state, and this is not true of SOME but of ALL. IN THIS STATE NO ONE WOULD BE SAVED BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS TO BE.
Question: Allow me to ask the Christian reader a personal question at this point. Was this not also true of you? Were you also not blind, bound, and spiritually dead? Or were you different somehow? A little better than most other men and women?
And let me ask you also, do you not also feel that you were GUILTY and under the righteous judgment of God, deserving His punishment for your sins? Or could you say to God, “I have no guilt, it was not my fault?
If you say, “Yes, I was blind, bound, and spiritually dead, and yes, I was guilty before God” then YOUR HEART testifies to the truth from the Bible which we have so far considered, however difficult it may be for YOUR MIND to understand it.
GOD’S GRACE
God is not only a God of holiness and righteousness but also a God of love and mercy and grace. He has not left men and women entirely to the awful consequences of their sin. He has not given them up. Had he done so He would have been quite just, but He has not. He constantly works in the world restraining evil and promoting good; He graciously provides for mankind’s needs giving sunshine and rain, seed-time and harvest.
He has also acted, in grace, to SAVE A PEOPLE FOR HIMSELF. Satan will not claim all. God WILL have a people who stand in a right relationship to Him, whose sins are pardoned and who are made His children and who will live with Him for ever.
a) This could only be done at TREMENDOUS COST. God’s own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, must come from Heaven and die for sinners bearing the punishment rightly due to them. This He willingly did.
1 Timothy 1:15 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
Matthew 1:21 “… you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
See also Isaiah 53; Titus 2:14; 2 Corinthians 5:21
b) Men and women must repent and believe in Christ, accepting the work He has done on the Cross. But they will not believe because their natures are dead, corrupt, and hostile to God; so their natures must be renewed. THEY MUST BE BORN AGAIN. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
HE brings alive the dead sinner – Ephesians 2:1 “And you HE made alive…” (RSV)
HE convicts them (humans) of their sin – John 16:8-11 “When he comes, HE will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin …”HE works in them repentance and faith which are described in the Bible as gifts from God – Acts 11:18 “…So then, GOD HAS EVEN GRANTED the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the GIFT OF GOD.”
Thus the Christian owes his salvation from FIRST (awakening) to LAST (complete glory) to God alone. ” For we are God’s workmanship…” Ephesians 2:10
‘Grace’ means ‘undeserved favour’. If God saved us in response to something in us, something we did by ourselves, then salvation would be REWARD for some MERIT, and that is not grace.
Further Question: Please allow me to ask the Christian reader another personal question at this point.
When you are on your knees thanking God for your salvation do you not freely acknowledge all this? Do you not confess to Him that you were indeed helpless and hopeless until He stepped in? Do you not agree that you were as bad as others, if not worse, yet God acted in grace and opened your blind eyes, renewed your heart and drew you to Himself? Do you not, on your knees, always give to God all the glory? Of course you do.
Which of us would ever dream of thanking God for His part in our salvation whilst quietly patting ourselves on the back for having the good sense to play our part in accepting God’s offer! We do not think that we were wiser or better than those who reject God for we say (on our knees) “There but for the grace of God go I.”
The trouble comes when we rise to our feet and begin to think and discuss these things. We sometimes forget the testimony of Scripture, confirmed by our own hearts, and we apply the question to what WE think is fair. Or is it human pride? Is it the remnants of that old nature that will yet retain for itself the credit for at least some part of our salvation? Is it “salvation by works” in disguise?
SOVEREIGN GRACE
Now, quite clearly not all are saved. Some repent and believe and some do not. One goes out of the evangelistic meeting quite unmoved and as rebellious as ever; another goes home and with tears of repentance trusts Christ and his life is transformed.
We have seen that the unrepentant sinner is responsible for that rebellion and unbelief. We have also seen, however, that the converted man or woman owes that conversion entirely to God’s grace. So it would seem that God chooses to save one but leaves another in his own sins. He regenerated one but not another. One is granted repentance and faith, another is not. This is not only shown by experience but it is clearly taught in Scripture:
Romans 9:15-18 “ ‘ I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 “But GOD CHOSE the foolish things of the world to shame the wise: GOD CHOSE the weak things of the world to shame the strong. HE CHOSE the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
James 1:18 “HE CHOSE to give us birth through the word of truth…”
James 2:5 “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not GOD CHOSEN those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
Thus the Bible teaches Christians that God“chose us in him (Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Ephesians 1:4.
The Christians to whom Peter writes were “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:” 1 Peter 1:2 – and Jesus said to His disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you…” John 15:6
Jesus also said, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it” John 5:21.
God’s people are thus always called ‘His CHOSEN ones’ or ‘the ELECT’. The doctrine of ‘election’ is that which speaks of this choice. ‘Predestination’ means that God fore-ordained whom He would save, how, and to what end – Romans 8:29-30.
The initiative is always with God. “We love him because he FIRST loved us – 1 John 4:19. God is SOVEREIGN in the dispensing of His saving grace as with everything else.
Remember, we must never charge God with injustice because something may not SEEM “fair” to us. He can NEVER be that. The problem lies with us.
Remember also, this ‘sovereign grace’ does not affect MEN AND WOMEN’S RESPONSIBILITY for their wilful hostility to God and their sinful unbelief.
These are mysteries. God calls us to believe them whether we can fully understand them or not – BOTH truths – human responsibility and sovereign grace.
TWO LINES OF TRUTH
We could put the truths in this way:
Those who go to Hell do so of their own volition. They did not want God and turned willfully away from the light offered to them. God is just in His judgment. The Judge of all the earth always does right.
Ah – but what of those in Heaven? How did they come there? Of their own free choice? No! NEVER! They also would have chosen that other way. They would tell you that they were born “not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but BORN OF GOD” John 1:13.
They give to God ALL the glory. They do not know why THEY should have been chosen – it was certainly not through any merit of their own. They are simply lost in wonder, love, and praise and cry ‘Amazing Grace’! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.’
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REMEMBER the truth lies, not in some impossible attempt to synthesize or harmonize these two truths. It cannot be done without denying one set of Scriptures.
The HYPER-Calvinist so stresses the sovereignty of God that he denies human responsibility and will not preach the Gospel to all and call upon all to repent and believe.
The ARMINIAN (after a teacher called Arminius) denies God’s sovereignty in grace explaining ‘election’ and ‘predestination’, which no Bible-believing Christian can deny, by saying that God elected those whom He foresaw would themselves choose to repent and believe. In other words God elected those who elected themselves!
This denies – among many other things – that repentance and faith are the gift of God (see Acts 11:18; 13:48; Ephesians 2:8).
FOREKNOWLEDGE: But what about Romans 8:29 someone may ask? Does not that speak of God “predestining” those whom He “foreknew”? Certainly!
But Paul means here “fore-loved” or “set his love upon beforehand”. It is not something ABOUT the persons that God knew beforehand, but the persons themselves. A study of the term “know” in Scripture, when applied to God’s “knowledge” of an individual or His people, Israel, indicates “an intimate knowledge”; “a saving, blessing relationship”; “a relationship of love and choice”, for example, Amos 3:2, “You only have I KNOWN (KJV) (Chosen – NIV) of all the families of the earth” refers to Israel and means, not that Israel was the only nation God knew about – for He knows about everyone – but that Israel was His ELECT PEOPLE WHOM HE HAD SET HIS LOVE UPON.
(See also: Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 7:22-23; John 10:14; 2 Timothy 1:9)
“FOREknowledge”, then refers to this saving love as being given beforehand – in other words, “election”. See Romans 11:2, “God did not reject His people whom he foreknew”. The New English Bible rightly renders this, “No. God has not rejected the people which He ACKNOWLEDGED OF OLD AS HIS OWN.”
To return to Romans 8:29, the New English Bible has, “For God KNEW HIS OWN BEFORE EVER THEY WERE and also ordained that they should be shaped to the likeness of His Son.” The capitals represent the words translating the original word “foreknew”. A correct understanding, then, of this verse, far from supporting the Arminian view of salvation, actually destroys it!!
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When we say that the two truths are to be held in balance, we must be clear what these two are.
They are NOT Divine Sovereignty and mankind’s ‘free-will’; but God’s Sovereignty and mankind’s RESPONSIBILITY. Responsibility and free-will are not the same thing. The Bible teaches the former but denies the latter.
Neither is Calvinism one ‘line’ and Arminianism the other. Calvinism believes BOTH sovereignty and responsibility. Arminianism DENIES that men and women’s wills are totally bound. Men and women cannot be dead and alive at the same time; bound and free at the same time. The Bible does not teach that. Calvin taught one set of truths and Arminius denied them. Arminius really denied God’s sovereignty in electing grace by explaining it away.
PRACTICAL RESULTS
These are not merely ‘academic matters’ of no practical consequence. In fact, a right understanding of ‘the doctrines of grace’ makes a good deal of difference to us in many areas. We can but briefly mention several.
Worship
What a new note comes into our praise and thanksgiving, as we comprehend the love of God for you and me. There we were, rebellious, dead and blind, and yet God did all that was needful to save us and make us eternally His children; and He elected to do this for us even before we were born. Why, if that does not HUMBLE us, THRILL us, and AMAZE us, then nothing will ! No truth so glorifies God as this. We are nothing, He is everything. We could do nothing, He has done everything.
Assurance
What right have we to imagine that we shall persevere to the end? If, as the Arminians teach, we responded to the Gospel of ‘our own free-will’ then at any time we might stop responding. If our saving faith was something of ourselves then we might cease having it. We had better pray to die today lest tomorrow we be lost!
Ah, but if the work from the start was the Lord’s then the Lord will surely finish it. God will not give us faith one day and take it away the next. Hence Paul could write, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” Philippians 1:6
Jesus stated quite definitely, “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day”; and (of His sheep), “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” John 6:39; 10:28.
Verse after verse, passage after passage, assert the eternal security of the saints. If we were given “grace…in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Tim 1:9); if we were “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:2); if “HE chose to give us birth” (James 1:18); then we have assurance indeed, for “we are GOD’S workmanship” (Eph 2:10).
Let it be said: this is no grounds for presumption and indifference to sin, for we may only be sure that we are elect if the marks of grace are shown in our lives. If we “do not the things that He says” we do well to question whether we are His.
Prayer
Someone may ask, “What is the point of praying if the number of the elect is fixed already? My prayers will not save a soul.”
Indeed they will not. No one’s eternal destiny rests ultimately on you or me. To imagine that any soul had gone to eternal torment because we forgot to pray or neglected to witness would be enough to drive us out of our minds (and what then of justice?)
It is not that God cannot save without our prayers but that He chooses to save THROUGH OUR PRAYERS. God uses INSTRUMENTS to accomplish His purposes – saving and otherwise – and the prevailing faithful prayers of His people are one of these instruments. God, Himself, gives us the burden to pray, “Lord, lay some soul upon my heart, and win that soul through me.”
Here is a mystery, I know. God is not dependent upon any one of us, but He has chosen in His grace to draw us into co-operation with Him in the saving of His elect people. If you have a soul laid upon your heart, pray earnestly and continually. Never flag. More than likely God put the burden there: HE WILL save them.
But at least we know He can. What of those who believe that God “has done everything possible to bring about every man’s salvation, and now it is up to us”? Why such people pray for sinners to be saved is beyond me. Surely on their belief they should be saying, “Well, I won’t bother God with that because He has done all He can anyway. I would be better occupied seeking by any means to persuade the sinner to accept Christ and believe the Gospel”.
I believe that all Christians pray for sinners to be saved, because we know in our hearts – even if some haven’t seen it in their heads – that because men and women are dead spiritually we need to come and plead before the only One who can make them alive; because their hearts are hard, we need to pray to the only One who can soften them; because their eyes are blind and their minds darkened, we need to cry to the only One who can open their eyes and enlighten their minds.
Here is our very hope in prayer – GOD SAVES SINNERS. No one is too dead, too hard, too blind, too dark, for Him.
Preaching to the Lost
Another of God’s instruments is preaching. God has chosen to save “through the foolishness of what was preached” (1 Corinthians 1:21); “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
So it is quite wrong to say there is no point in preaching and witnessing if God can save without these means. God has chosen to save THROUGH these means. We go forth to witness and to proclaim the Gospel, not because WE can save anybody, but because God has promised to do so. He has commanded us to go and preach (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15), and He will honour the proclamation for He has said of His Word: “It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
We must command all people to repent, and offer Christ freely to all. All people must be urged to believe while there is yet time. But for God’s grace none would heed; by God’s grace some will. We do not waste our time. Far from this stifling evangelism and missionary enterprise it should encourage it.
What more faithful missionary was there than William Carey? What more urgent evangelist than George Whitefield, or what greater soul-winner than Charles Haddon Spurgeon? All were ardent Calvinists. It was their theology that drove them on. Their hope was in God. HE WILL SAVE SINNERS: however hard the task. If God can open one hard heart He can open any number. We never despair.
Neither is there any need to resort to gimmicks or psychological techniques – we are not trying to persuade people to buy soap. Such things are dishonouring to God. Neither must we water down the Gospel to make it more ‘palatable’. Jesus is to be proclaimed as LORD as well as SAVIOUR. Our methods must be consistent with our message. It was not psychology and persuasion that raised dead Lazarus but God’s quickening spirit. Likewise only God can raise the spiritually dead. We will observe when He has done so for Christ’s commands to repent and believe will be obeyed.
No fish will escape the net just as no sheep will be lost. We seek not for man-made ‘decisions’ but God-made conversions. Though we should offer all the help to the seeker that he or she needs, and though we should stress the urgency of trusting Christ, we need not resort to invitations to ‘look up’ or ‘stand up’ or ‘come forward’ at the end of meetings. Speaking generally these could do more harm than good and are not necessary. Let God do the saving. He does it better. We assist, with trembling, as and when He directs us.
I testify that since I came to believe in God’s sovereignty in redemption I have had not a less burden for the lost but a greater. God puts it there. I have now not less of a desire to preach the Gospel to all men but a far, far greater.
Preaching to the Church
The preacher believes that God has chosen this instrument also to edify the church. Though the preacher be weak and his words faltering, if God has called him He will use him as a channel of light and grace to others.
His preaching should be balanced in the same proportion as Scripture is balanced. When he comes to a verse or passage which speaks of man’s responsibility he must preach that with all his heart, urging his hearers to heed the word. When he comes to a passage about God’s sovereignty he must preach that with equal fervor. He must not shrink from declaring “the whole will of God” Acts 20:27). He need no longer be afraid of words such as “ELECTION” or “PREDESTINATION”, hurrying over them with a mumbled apology about ‘mysteries’ and ‘causes of division’. No, let him revel in them and let the Lord’s people do likewise. They are GLORIOUS truths.
CONCLUSION
Let us hope, then, that these matters never be the cause of division but only of diligent inquiry and humble waiting upon God for light.
For those yet in difficulties do remember:
- Men and women are not robots. They have the power of choice and are called upon continually to exercise it. (Responsibility)
- No one is “shut out” except those who shut themselves out. (Responsibility)
- If ANYONE, ANYWHERE, will repent and believe they will be saved. (Free offer)
- Alas, unregenerate men and women universally choose to defy God and go their own ways.
- But God, in grace, saves a multitude by changing that rebellious will and granting repentance and faith.
- So, just as certain as no one is “shut out” but by their own folly and sin, no one is “brought in” but by God’s grace.
Two Lines of Truth
May God give us all understanding for the glory of His Name – in the church on earth as in the church in Heaven.
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Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a man who, under God, was instrumental in leading thousands to faith in Christ, both during his life and through his books and sermons published subsequent to his death in 1892.
No one preached the Gospel to dying sinners more urgently and earnestly than he. Yet no one believed more firmly in the doctrines of sovereign grace.
I do not hesitate to say, that next to the doctrine of the crucifixion and the resurrection of our blessed Lord – no doctrine had such prominence in the early Christian church as the doctrine of the election of grace. (CHS Sermons Vol 6, 302)
The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox’s Gospel is my Gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again. (CHS – The Early Years, 162.)
When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths in my own soul – when they were, as John Bunyan says, burnt into my heart as with a hot iron; and I can recollect how I felt that I had grown on a sudden from a babe into a man – that I had made progress in Scriptural knowledge, through having found, once for all, the clue to the truth of God. (CHS – The Early Years, 164.)
How can men be responsible when they perish in sin if grae alone can prevent such an end? Someone says, “But I do not understand this doctrine.” Perhaps not, but remember that, while we are bound to tell you the truth, we are not bound to give you the power to understand it; and besides, this is not a subject for understanding, it is a matter for believing because it is revealed in the Word of God. It is one of the axioms of theology that, if man be lost, God must not be blamed for it; and it is also an axiom of theology that, if man is saved, God must have all the glory of it. (CHS Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol 56, 294.)
Some recommended literature
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God J I Packer
Election C H Spurgeon
The Grace of God in the Gospel John Cheeseman
The Five Points of Calvinism Steele & Thomas
The Sovereignty of God A W Pink
The Baptist Confession of Faith 1689 W L Mills
All of the above titles are available through Amazon (January 2024) although Spurgeon on Election is only available to read online.
** Unless otherwise stated all Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (1984)
Other emphases, such as block capitals, have been added by the author