One might ask such a question...why is it necessary to even wrestle with such issues? Why can't we simply leave such things to the egg-headed theologians and concentrate on more practical things? This is the attitude of many, sadly, perhaps most of the Christian world today when confronted with these kinds of difficult spiritual issues. Many feel that they "know" certain things and these concepts contradict them, and make them uncomfortable to think about. For many, the very process of thinking is laborious and unsavory, as they would rather place their minds on other, more desirable topics (often having little to do with the Bible, spirituality or theology).

To this we must give answer, or our cause is lost before it even begins. We will answer along several avenues so we ask that the reader bear with us and read along before passing judgement.

First and foremost such things are important because they spring from the most wondrous and profitable document the world has ever known, God's Holy Word, the Bible. We are all commanded to do our utmost to master the content of the Scriptures. This is not a task reserved for some select few who have some special dispensation from God to be able to understand what it says. The concept that such things are for the "clergy" is an idea that the Reformers strove to break away from. It was, indeed, a matter that virtually all of them were agreed on, that is, that God desires all men to read and understand the Scriptures for themselves. We Baptist have affirmed this, of course, for centuries. No believer is to allow themselves to be in the position of being "spoon-fed" the Bible’s content. Rather, we are exhorted to be "as the noble Bereans" and search the Scriptures to see if what they have been taught is, in fact, true. That is our commission as "average" believers. We must strive to fulfill it as faithfully as we are able.

Now, it is true that some are better suited to the kind of deep thinking and logic that these matters require. One might offer that they are simply not able to reason their way through these sometimes complex matters. In this, they might be at least partway correct. However, one must remember that, primarily, the ability to understand spiritual things is not a natural ability, but is given by God’s Holy Spirit by way of Illumination. We all have within us the same Spirit of God with the same teaching capability. Comparably, our abilities are negligible and can even be detrimental in those who are intelligent and know it! We are all responsible to grapple with these matters because they are a part of our heritage in the Word.

Secondly, we must grapple with them to obey the command of God to search the Scriptures and master them. It is disobedience to fail to study and search the Scripture. It is not an option for us to stick to the easy parts, or to the parts that bless us or please us the most. We are not the judges over the Scripture, rather they are to be the judge over us! It is not up to us to decide where, in regard to our study of His Word, we will go and where we will not go. In one sense, everyone has their pet topics and ideas in the Word, passages that they love to read again and again. Yet, in a very real sense, this is not to be! We are commanded to hear and to obey the whole counsel of God, and nothing less! Obedience to the command of God demands that, when we are confronted with these difficult issues, we embrace them and grapple with them as God gives us ability.

A third reason has to do with the wondrous and holy nature of the book we are entrusted with. The Bible is full of marvelous things that open up new vistas for us concerning the God we love and serve. God is as the Bible describes Him to be. The Bible does not tell us all that He is, but He is all that the Bible tells us! If we "bail out" on certain topics, then we are avoiding knowledge of our God and Master that we could otherwise have! One who truly loves the Lord Jesus Christ is anxious to know more and more about the Lord Who bought him. Remember when you were a new believer? You zeal was hot and fresh and it seemed like you couldn’t get enough of what the Bible taught about God and Salvation. Sadly, for many, that zeal cools and that hunger for knowledge fades in a contentedness that saps our strength and stunts our growth and vitality as believers.

Yet a fourth reason for taking up the study of these difficult matters has to do with the particular subject matter that Sovereignty deals with. Whether or not God is sovereign in is Salvation no small matter. It is decidedly NOT ok to treat this in a "you have your opinion and I have mine" fashion. This matter lies at the root of how a man gets redeemed. There is nothing more important or more essential to be right about than that is! We ought to involve ourselves in studying this matter because of the seriousness of the topics that this doctrine (sovereignty) touches on. It affects very nearly every single other doctrine in the Scripture and that is no exaggeration! The way we understand the rest of what the Bible teaches is dramatically affected by our understanding of this basic Bible doctrine. Surely that is a serious matter!