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God is sovereign, He is omniscient, and is omnipresent.  These are facts and my understanding of scripture only allows me these views.  Where I run into a roadblock is why would God create a being destined for destruction? How can God hold us accountable if He created us to be separated from Him?  Why in Noah’s time, were there only 8 people chosen by God, but now there are millions? I know God knows who is going to be saved, but what kind of role we play in the whole mix is a mystery to me.             

I read Chapter 9 and 10 and I see where Paul is going.  He is making a strong argument that there is nothing we can do to be saved.  God receives all the glory.  He is the reason He gives some mercy and not others. We are saved by an act of God through His son on the cross. We will never be able to earn our way to heaven. All of this is great, but where Paul makes me contemplate, is right after giving examples of Pharaoh and the Potter and the clay in Chapter 9. Paul then puts responsibility right back on man in Romans 10. We are to confess, and we are to believe.  We are to call on His name and we will be saved.  Os Guinness said, “God is sovereign, and people do matter.”  Which one is it? Is God responsible or are we responsible?  

Yes. But I do not know God’s plans, and I am ok with that.  I do not want a God that my tiny, finite brain can understand.  We get in trouble when we take one part of scripture and use it to make our argument, while totally ignoring another part of scripture.  I don’t care if you are a Calvinist or an Arminian, both do it, and both think they are right.  Guess what? God is right and scripture teaches some form of both.  I tend to lean toward the sovereignty of God, and nobody will convince me that God is not sovereign. However, where I run in to a problem is, how is love manifested if it is forced on us?  I can make my child say he loves me, but I cannot make him love me.              Y

Yes, we are predestined, but does that mean we don’t have a choice?  I am not 100 percent sure of the answer to this question, but when I look at it as a whole, I believe we have an obligation to believe and once we believe, we are not ashamed of that belief and proclaim it. It really is that simple; believing and confessing go hand in hand.  Believing without confessing is not really believing, and confessing without believing is who I once was, a hypocrite.    

I remember in my high school years, being ashamed to speak of Christ. I was not a believer. I was a liar. I caused harm to the kingdom of God that I can never get back. I can see such a difference in my life now. I distinctly remember being embarrassed of Christ. I chose to turn off my Jesus music and blast a little Tupac (aging myself) whenever somebody got in my car. Then again, when I became a true believer, I couldn’t help but tell somebody. It felt like somebody was making me do it. There I go, right back to the predestination! But it also feels like I can say no, because sometimes I do. Man, we worship a Big God.