Page 69 - The Prophetic Word Newsletter Archive 2009

TTHHEE HHIIGGHHEESSTT VVIIEEWW OOFF GGOODD TTHHEE HHIIGGHHEESSTT VVIIEEWW OOFF GGOODD
AACCCCOORRDDIINNGG TTOO SSCCRRIIPPTTUURREE:: AACCCCOORRDDIINNGG TTOO CCAALLVVIINNIISSMM::

““GGOODD’’SS JJUUDDGGMMEENNTTSS AARREE RRIIGGHHTTEEOOUUSS”” ““GGOODD’’SS JJUUDDGGMMEENNTTSS AARREE SSOOVVEERREEIIGGNN””

“THE (what the Scriptures say) (what the Scriptures DO NOT say)
“RIGHTEOUSNESS
JUDGMENTS AND JUSTICE THE “SOVEREIGN”
OF ARE THE JUDGMENTS JUSTICE
THE LORD FOUNDATION OF IS THE
ARE TRUE OF YOUR THE LORD
AND THRONE…” ARE FOUNDATION
RIGHTEOUS Psalm 89:14 “SOVEREIGN” OF YOUR
ALTOGETHER THRONE

ALTOGETHER.”
Psalm 19:9

“THE LORD “HE HAS THE LORD HE HAS
IS RIGHTEOUS PREPARED IS “SOVEREIGN” PREPARED
IN ALL HIS THRONE IN ALL HIS THRONE
HIS WAYS, FOR JUDGMENT, HIS WAYS, FOR JUDGMENT,
GRACIOUS HE SHALL “SOVEREIGN” HE SHALL
IN ALL IN ALL
HIS WORKS…” JUDGE HIS WORKS JUDGE
THE WORLD IN THE WORLD IN
Psalm 145:17 RIGHTEOUSNESS…” “SOVEREIGNTY”

Psalm 9:7

Calvinism’s pivotal point is the supreme concept of the sovereignty of God. It is true that God is sovereign
for there is no higher authority. He is the “Supreme Court” personified. However, God’s sovereignty is
governed by His righteousness. Take a look in a concordance and see for yourself how many references
there are about His character trait of righteousness. There are many. Do you find verses where He
reminds His people that He is sovereign? The answer is not even one. The word “sovereignty” appears
once in the Bible and that verse speaks of the sovereignty of King Saul over Israel (1 Sam. 14:47 NKJ). The
point is simple; we need to exalt only what God says about Himself (see Jer. 9:24). Oh yes, there are
principles and examples of His sovereignty in the Word, but not of God speaking of Himself as being
sovereign such as He speaks of Himself being righteous. I believe that it is so simply because sovereignty
is not a character trait at all, but rather a statement of supreme authority. For example, Saddam Hussein
was a sovereign ruler over his kingdom. However his character traits were all evil. His sovereign rule,
therefore, stemmed out of his evil character traits! He did whatever he felt like doing to the people under
his domain. He would kill people for no reason at all. It is well documented that he killed one of his own
generals because he refused to let Saddam dance with his wife. Gang rapes of innocent women snatched
off the streets were common forms of entertainment. He was a ruler void of justice and immune to laws,
for he was a law unto himself. He was sovereign, evilly sovereign, and controlled by the multitude of evil
character traits he developed and nurtured. His evil character dictated his sovereign rule.

Let us apply the same example toward God. We know that God is not evil but is a righteous God who
rules by, and therefore is ruled by, His own character trait of righteousness. Any sovereign act that He
does must be based upon His righteousness because “righteousness and justice are the foundations
throne” as stated above. The foundation of His throne is not based on His sovereignty! Any judgment that
God administers either to the saved or the unsaved must be controlled by His claim to be “The Righteous
Judge.” He cannot make a judgment that is unrighteous. If He were to overrule righteousness by an act of
sovereignty, then He could not be The Righteous Judge who “judges the world in righteousness.” Clearly
stated is the fact that “The Lord is righteous in all His ways” (Psm. 145:17). Therefore, no unsaved person
will be able to stand before the Great White Throne Judgment and accuse God of condemning him or her
unrighteously. The Righteous Judge will make His judgment of the sinner based on righteousness, not on
His right of sovereignty. Herein lies the great error of Calvinism. Its tenets present God as foreordaining
some to heaven and some to hell based on His sovereign right to do so. If it were true, then God would
not qualify as a Righteous Judge, would He? Let us examine now the erroneous tenets of Calvinism that
take away the righteousness of God and replace it with an unbiblical emphasis upon God’s sovereignty.