If "believe" and "repent" and "come" don’t actually mean what those words mean, at least in some sense, it would be misleading and even heretical for Scripture itself to use them, which in fact it does. We should ask ourselves why. And we should not object to believers using the very words Scripture does.

Three weeks ago I did a 45-minute video chat with my friend Scott Lindsay of Faithlife, the makers of Logos Bible Software. We discussed suffering, God’s sovereignty, and the coronavirus crisis, and also talked about the good things that God is doing through this time.

In this video Randy Alcorn is interviewed by Scott Lindsey with Faithlife on the topic of suffering, God's sovereignty and the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Last year John Piper wrote an article titled “No Maverick Cells in Me: My Deepest Hope During Cancer.” Nanci and I first read this while she was undergoing cancer treatments, and it really encouraged us. It’s an apt reminder for us again, as we are in another season of waiting and uncertainty related to Nanci’s latest test results.

While I doubt anyone this side of Heaven will ever manage to fully “explain” how God’s sovereignty and human choice fully fit together, I believe Scripture provides us with many examples of how the two work symbiotically.

Im Jahr 1990 war ich Pastor einer großen Gemeinde, verdiente ein ordentliches Gehalt und bekam dazu noch Tantiemen, die sich aus den Verkaufszahlen meiner Bücher ergaben. Ich hatte diese Gemeinde 13 Jahre zuvor mit gegründet und war ihr Pastor mit Leib und Seele. Dann geschah etwas, was das Leben meiner Familie völlig auf den Kopf stellte. 

The hardening of the heart is essentially a sort of final judgment of God that takes place before someone dies. It’s as if God considers now fixed someone’s evil heart as it has become over a lifetime.

If you receive EPM’s prayer updates by email, you know that earlier this year, Nanci was diagnosed with colon cancer. We’re both in good spirits, talking often of God’s grace and sovereignty and that we can fully trust Him in whatever is ahead. 

In this audio clip, Randy answers a question about God's plan and our free will.