God does not invite the world to come to Christ--He commands it as creation's King. Today, R.C. Sproul declares that God, rather than any prince or ruler in this world, is the ultimate Sovereign to whom we all must submit.
The thread that ties together the tapestry of the Old and the New Testament is ultimately a political thread—cosmically political. Because the central motif of sacred Scripture, I believe, is the concept of the kingdom of God. And what was at issue here in chapter 2 of the Psalms was the kingship of God—God’s right to rule the rulers of this world.
But those who were invested with earthly authority are taking counsel together with one another to plan away, to rid the universe of the authority of God. Notice the reaction of God to this earthly conspiracy. “Kings of the earth set themselves” (Ps. 2:2). You see, they agree with solemn pacts and treaties, and they affirm each other’s strong determination that they’re not going to waver from their resolve to overthrow the King of the universe.
God looks down at all these assembled powers and the nuclear armaments pointed in His direction, and it says the Lord sits in His heaven—and does what? Trembles in fear? No, it says that the Lord sits in His heaven and laughs (Ps. 2:4). But it’s not the laughter of amusement. The psalmist describes the laughter of God here as the laughter of derision. It ’s the laughter that one expresses when he holds his enemies in contempt.
God sits in heaven and sees the collective rebellion of the human race pointed towards His authority, and He looks and He says, “Ha, ha, ha, you people, ha.” Because all He has to do is, like a bartender with the ant on the bar, just put His thumb down and all of the missiles of this world are vaporized. You know, He doesn’t even have to move His thumb. He can just look in that direction and by a glance of His eye, the battle is over. Then His laughter ends.
It says He rebukes them in His anger. He terrifies them in His wrath saying—listen to this, ladies and gentlemen—“I have installed my King on Zion, on my holy hill” (Ps. 2:6). What God is saying is: “Here, hey, look, I rule the universe. I have installed My Son on this throne. I have given Him all authority on heaven and earth. You bow down to Him.” God never invites people to come to Jesus. He commands it with divine authority and convicts you of treason at a cosmic level if you refuse.
