Response to a Good Friend

I just want to thank my friend Jess, who had commented on a recent post. I am so grateful for her friendship and partnership in ministry for many years. She is important to me, and thus I hope to respond to her with love and a hope for further discussion on the theology of God's Sovereignty.

Jess said concerning the Firefighter:

I struggle with this. Because although the grace and the saving is 100% HIM, I believe that we do have a slightly bigger role than that of simply being the subject of grace.
Take this twist to the anology into consideration: When that firefighter calls, and the flustered and discombobulated woman heeds his or her call, does she not need to do a few things before taking the necessary steps towards them?

1. She must trust the firefighter through her panic and have the courage to move out of frozen fear (or whatever may inhibit her from doing the rational self-preserving thing)

2. She must not grab (and cling) to her treasured posessions but value only life. (related to 1st point) My point is that, bound to flesh and born in sin, mistakes are inevitable.

However, we are not inanimate and irrational objects but willing and living children of God. Our being saved by him is that much more of a wonderful thing when our will comes into play. Our will to deny our limitations and, in turn, trust and receive his grace.

Notice Jess, in your analogy, that even her "ability to trust" still gives some credit to the woman. The focus, then, is still partly on the woman. The firefighter analogy originally was only meant to point out which circumstance gives full "attention" to the one who is saving. You see, the point is to see which circumstance shows who is fully deserving of praise in comparison to someone who is partially deserving.

The truth is that we must first start with how we can fully praise God. Then we can truly relish and love the fact that because God is able we are able! Because of His sovereign control exercised through the blood of Christ, we are able to come to him. If this is translated into reality, then we can say that if God is deserving of FULL adoration and praise, then he must also be in FULL control.

So what about the woman? Is she some sort of "inanimate" object? No, she is very animate, but she is animated towards sin.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4

We chose to dismiss God. The woman chooses to cling to her worldly possessions as the fire rages around her. She may even fight off the firefighter to grab as many possessions as she can. You may ask, "would we really do that?" Well, unfortunately, the limit of the analogy has been reached, we would be stretching it too far. Now, you can only go and search your heart and recall those times when Christ brought you out of darkness. In those times of darkness and despair, did you not ask God: "Help me Father!" not "Help me get better animated or rational!" Also, were you not able to ask these things because it was God who revealed it to you (i.e. through His revealed word in the bible)?

Whatever your answer may be, it reveals what you heart truly possesses. If you truly want God's help, you ask for his full sustaining grace (available only to a sovereign God) and freedom from sin. Or if you want your own path to be fulfilled (through the hope of sovereign God "acting" as a non-controlling being), then you are really a slave to your own desire and autonomy.

I don't think we disagree about this, but I emphasize these points about salvation because we must glorify God in the fullest sense. This is only attainable by "de-emphasizing" (to the point of negation) ourselves as the participants of grace to emphasizing ourselves as only the objects of grace.

I know that you are saying that we are not puppets, and neither am I. You are right to say that we are "not inanimate objects." However, you are wrong to say that we are necessarily "rational." We are very "irrational" people in the eyes of God. Like the woman in the burning building, we are lost confused and have even chosen to stay longer, fighting off the firefighter to collect our worldly possessions. Very irrational is it not? Just as it is irrational to chose a temporary pleasure in the world over and above the most eternal pleasurable being that is God.

I hope that this is made clear that I am trying emphasize that ALL glory goes to God. All glory to God because He saved us from sin. All glory to God because He conformed us to His will.
All glory to God because He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Thank you so much for your insightful comment Jess, it has helped me think more deeply about these issues. I look forward to future conversations.