I find no problem in telling people to “choose” Christ. The Bible says, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” But God’s sovereignty is the explanation for why people choose what they choose. So when this is the topic of discussion, Christ said, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”

I find no problem in preaching to people, “Believe in Jesus Christ, and save yourselves from hell.” Peter said, “Save yourselves from this evil generation.” I find no problem in saying that sickness comes from the devil, even saying that it is “not from God.” The Bible says that Jesus went about healing all who were oppressed by the devil. And God said to Israel, “They will surely gather against you, but not by me.” God’s sovereignty is always assumed, but there is freedom in expression when we are not talking about metaphysics, but about our regular interaction with creation.

Christians are very amateurish in theology when they become obsessed with the few ideas and terms that their traditions emphasize, to the point that even the Bible is not biblical enough for them. The Bible finds no need to obey our technical jargon. I don’t either.