Freedom of Choice
The sermon emphasizes the importance of freedom of choice in redemption, highlighting that God's love and redemption are not limited, and man's choice is the key to redemption.
Major Ian Thomas emphasizes the concept of freedom of choice in relation to God's grace and the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice. He argues against the notion that God arbitrarily limits redemption, asserting that the reluctance to repent lies with humanity, not God. Thomas highlights that without the freedom to choose, accountability for obedience or disobedience becomes meaningless. He reinforces that Christ's atonement is available to all, and it is our inherent right to choose, which is central to understanding both godliness and iniquity.
Text
Never allow anyone to deceive you into believing that God has placed an arbitrary limitation upon the efficacy of the blood of Christ, or that there are those who cannot repent, even if they would, simply because God has deliberately placed them outside the scope of His redemptive purpose! This blasphemes the grace, the love and the integrity of God, and makes Him morally responsible for the unbelief of the unbeliever, for the impenitence of the impenitent, and saddles Him squarely with the guilt of the guilty as an aider and abettor of their sin.
Such is not the teaching of the Bible, for the Lord Jesus Christ made it abundantly clear that the reluctance is on man's part, not on God's!
Without freedom of choice it is equally impossible to obey or to disobey to be commended for the one or to be condemned for the other!
Some would have you believe that only those can obey the Gospel and accept Christ as their Saviour, to whom God has given the ability to obey as a purely arbitrary, mechanical act on His part, leaving no option in the matter to any individual either way! On the basis of this strange hypothesis, the fearful judgment of God is to fall upon those who have remained in their rebellious state of unbelief, only because they have been unable to exercise an ability to obey the Gospel, which only God can give, and which He has refused to give them! Needless to say, such an idea can only serve to bring the righteousness and judgment of God into contempt and disrepute.
The revelation that God has given to us by His Holy Spirit through the apostles is delightfully clear: "if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (I John 2:2); "Who gave himself a ransom for all" (I Timothy 2:6); "... that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).
It is your inherent right to choose which is at the very heart of the mystery, both of the mystery of godliness and of the mystery of iniquity.
From: The Mystery of Godliness. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House. ©1964.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Misconception of Limited Redemption
- A. God's love and redemption are not limited
- B. The blood of Christ is sufficient for all
- C. Unbelief is not due to God's limitation, but man's choice
- II. The Importance of Freedom of Choice
- A. Without choice, obedience or disobedience is impossible
- B. The ability to obey is not solely God's gift
- C. Man's choice is the key to redemption
- III. The Revelation of God's Love
- A. Jesus Christ is the propitiation for all sins
- B. God's love is for the whole world
- C. Man's choice is the heart of the mystery of redemption
Key Quotes
“Without freedom of choice it is equally impossible to obey or to disobey, to be commended for the one or to be condemned for the other!” — Major Ian Thomas
“It is your inherent right to choose which is at the very heart of the mystery, both of the mystery of godliness and of the mystery of iniquity.” — Major Ian Thomas
“Who gave himself a ransom for all” — Major Ian Thomas
Application Points
- Recognize that God's love and redemption are not limited, and the blood of Christ is sufficient for all.
- Understand that man's choice is the key to redemption, and it is not solely God's gift.
- Emphasize the importance of freedom of choice in making decisions about one's faith and relationship with God.