Quotes from Jerry Bridges

The third truth to keep before us is that the Bible consistently portrays people as making real choices of their own will.

First, we should never use the doctrine as an excuse for our own shortcomings.

no plan of God's can be thwarted. God does as He pleases, and only as He pleases, and no one can frustrate His plans or hinder His purposes.

the choices people make are moral choices; that is, people are held accountable by God for the choices they make. The actions of Judas, Herod, and Pilate were wicked acts even though done under the sovereign appointment of God.

Perhaps we have become self-righteous about our Christian lives because we look at society around us and see flagrant immorality, pervasive dishonesty, wholesale greed, and increasing violence. We see growing acceptance of abortion as a "right" and homosexuality as an acceptable alternate lifestyle. Because we are not guilty of these more gross forms of sin, we can begin to feel rather good about our Christian lives. When

Second, we should not allow the doctrine of God's sovereignty to cause us to respond passively to the actions of other people that affect us. We should take all reasonable steps within the will of God to protect and advance our situation.

God is not only sovereign, He is perfect in love and infinite in wisdom.

The Bible teaches both the sovereignty of God and the free moral choices of men with equal emphasis.

considered by itself, should never be used to promote passivity.

But in the light of Scripture, it is decisive that this creaturely freedom poses no threat or limitation to the sovereign and almighty Divine enterprise….

Third, we must never use the doctrine of God's sovereignty to excuse our own sinful actions or decisions that hurt another person.

Paul acknowledged what we must acknowledge if we are to trust God. God's plan and His ways of working out His plan are frequently beyond our ability to fathom and understand. We must learn to trust when we don't understand.

God does have a purpose and a plan for you, and God has the power to carry out that plan.

There is no authority except that which God has established.

The prayer of a Christian is not an attempt to force God's hand, but a humble acknowledgment of helplessness and dependence. When we are on our knees, we know that it is not we who control the world; it is not in our power, therefore, to supply our needs by our own independent efforts; every good thing that we desire for ourselves and for others must be sought from God, and will come, if it comes at all, as a gift from His hands.3

He (God) permits, for reasons known only to Himself, people to act contrary to and in defiance of His revealed will. But He never permits them to act contrary to His sovereign will.

Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

Because we know God is directing our lives to an ultimate end and because we know He is sovereignly able to orchestrate the events of our lives toward that end, we can trust Him. We can commit to Him not only the ultimate outcome of our lives, but also all the intermediate events and circumstances that will bring us to that outcome.

Our duty, then, is to obey the "things revealed," that is, the will of God as revealed in Scripture for every area of life. Scripture

He will direct it according to His sovereign purpose for His glory and our good.

Don't let anyone fool you. The chase after holiness is a tough race to run, especially when it comes to obedience. You have to have conviction (belief) in the necessity of obeying God's will as well as confidence (faith) in God's promises. If you don't have both of those, you can't persevere in this difficult chase.

God has no "if onlys." God never makes a mistake; God has no regrets. "As for God, his way is perfect" (Psalm 18:30). We can trust God. He is trustworthy.

one of the most frequent references to it concerns His sovereignty over nations and governments.

The primary purpose is for us to become so convinced of these truths that we appropriate them in our daily circumstances, that we learn to trust God in the midst of our pain, whatever form it may take.