There is no broader way to apostasy than to reject God's sovereignty in all things concerning the revelation of himself and our obedience.
Interpretation
Rejecting God's sovereignty leads to a fundamental misinterpretation of our relationship with the divine.
This quote emphasizes the importance of acknowledging God's absolute authority in understanding His nature and in the way we live our lives. John Owen suggests that to deny this sovereignty is to fall into a significant spiritual error, which fundamentally alters our perception of both divine revelation and our moral responsibilities.
In practice
In a sermon discussing the importance of faith and obedience.
Because he is; that is, because he is an infinitely glorious, good, wise, holy, powerful, righteous, self-subsisting , self-sufficient , and all-sufficient being; the fountain and author of all being and good; the first cause, last end, and sovereign Lord of all; therefore, he is to be worshipped: therefore, are we to admire, adore, and love him; to praise, to trust and to fear him.
If I have observed anything by experience, it is this: a man may take the measure of his growth and decay in grace according to his thoughts and meditations upon the person of Christ, and the glory of Christ's Kingdom, and of His love.
Mortification is the soul's vigorous opposition to self, wherein sincerity is most evident.
The growth of trees and plants takes place so slowly that it is not easily seen. Daily we notice little change. But, in course of time, we see that a great change has taken place. So it is with grace. Sanctification is a progressive, lifelong work (Prov 4:18). It is an amazing work of God's grace and it is a work to be prayed for (Rom 8:27).
Free will is "corrupted nature's deformed darling, the Pallas or beloved self-conception of darkened minds"
A man may be carried on in a constant course of mortification all his days; and yet perhaps never enjoy a good day of peace and consolation.
Throughout history humans have inflicted countless violent, cruel, and hurtful acts on each other, and continue to do so. Are they all to be condemned; are they all guilty? Or are those acts simply expressions of unconsciousness, an evolutionary stage that we are now growing out of? Jesus’ words, “Forgive them for they do not know what they do,” also apply to yourself.
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature... It is this sudden confrontation with the depth and scope of ignorance that represents the most significant contribution of twentieth-century science to the human intellect.
In this breaking-through, I receive that God and I are one. Then I am what I was, and then I neither diminish nor increase, for I am then an immovable cause that moves all things.
Without uncertainty and the unknown, life is just a stale repetition of outworn memories. You become the victim of the past, and your tormentor today is yourself left over from yesterday. Relinquish your attachment to the known, step into the unknown, and you will step into the field of all possibilities.
Because I have work to care about, it is possible that I may be less difficult to get along with than other women when the double chins start to form.
There is but an inch of difference between a cushioned chamber and a padded cell.
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