About the Author

Thomas Ray Floyd was born in 1953 in Simpson County, Mississippi, the son of Roy Thomas Floyd and Lina Sue Shows Floyd. Thomas Ray's mother was a member of a Primitive Baptist church, and he cut his teeth on the doctrines of distinguishing grace.

When he was a small boy, his father was converted to Christ and became a member of a Missionary Baptist Church. Thomas Ray joined the church of his father when he was 13 years old, and thought of himself as a Christian. The doctrines of grace that he had heard as a child continued to be precious to him and when he became an adult, he joined a Primitive Baptist Church. When he was 27, Thomas Ray made his first effort to preach the gospel in public and was ordained to the full functions of the ministry in 1985. In 1986 he was convinced under the preaching of Rolfe Barnard (by tapes from Mt. Olive Tape Library), the written sermons of Spurgeon, and the ministry of Elder Zack Guess that he had been a false professor and cried out in agony of soul to the Lord Jesus Christ to have mercy and truly save him. And He did! Floyd then began to preach the gospel as he had been taught of the Lord.

Floyd has pastored churches in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee and until recently was pastor of a church plant known as "Particular Baptist Fellowship." He and his wife Brenda presently attend Zion Baptist Church at Polkville, Mississippi, pastored by Elder Glen Hopkins. The pulpit ministry of Zion Baptist Church can be heard at Sermonaudio.com.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Delighting in the Sovereignty of God

(Article for publication week of 1-19-2011 AD)

“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight” (Matthew 11:25-26).

For several months now we have been writing on the Sovereignty of God because it is such a God-honoring doctrine and because it is such a neglected doctrine in our day. It is our goal in our little ministry to glorify God and abase man. Dear reader, what is your response to the Sovereignty of God? Some of you will reject it and rail against it, but in so doing you only rail against God and His word, for His word plainly teaches He is the Sovereign God. Some of you will accept it reluctantly, because you claim to be Bible believers and you would hate for it to get out on you that you reject Bible truth. Some of you will accept the Sovereignty of God and add it on to an empty profession. We have seen a few like this in our day. They came to an intellectual understanding of Calvinism, but they remain unconverted, and that often while being respectable little church members.

But notice our Lord’s response to the Sovereignty of God. “Even so Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight.” There was no reticence in our Lord regarding the Sovereignty of His Eternal Father. Our Lord Jesus Christ took great delight that His Father saves some and rejects others. It seemed good to the all wise and sovereign heavenly Father to reveal His Truth to some, and hide it from others. The Eternal Father and the Eternal Son are One (John 10: 30), and so they take delight in each Other and are in perfect agreement in all things, including whom They have united with the Holy Spirit in the everlasting covenant to save.

As our Lord Jesus Christ took delight in the sovereignty of God, so must believers. Well has the hymn writer concluded, “What was there in you that could merit esteem, or give the Creator delight? ‘Twas even so Father’ you ever must sing, ‘because it seemed good in Thy sight‘. Twas all of Thy grace we were brought to obey, while others were suffered to go, the road which by nature we chose as our way, which leads to the regions of woe “ (Spurgeon’s Hymnal #219).

In heaven there will be no praise for any creature. Our eternal praise will be to the Lord who exercised His absolute sovereignty in saving our poor souls. Why don’t you start imitating Christ and start delighting in the Sovereignty of God?
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