The matter of man's free will versus God's sovereignty can be explained in
this way: God's sovereignty means that He is in control of everything,
that He planned everything from the beginning. Man's free will means that he
can, anytime he wants, make most any choice he pleases (within his human
limitations, of course). Man's free will can apparently defy the purposes of God
and will against the will of God. But how do we resolve this seeming
contradiction?
God's sovereignty means absolute freedom, doesn't it? God is absolutely
free to do anything He wants or wills to do -- anywhere, anytime, forever. And
man's free will means that man can make any choice he wants to make, even if he
makes a choice against the will of God.
But here is what we see in Scripture: God Almighty is absolutely sovereign,
free to do as He pleases (Psa 115:3). Among the things He is pleased to do is
give me freedom to do what I please. And when I do what I please, I am
fulfilling the will of God, not controverting it, for God in His sovereignty has
sovereignly given me freedom to make a "free" choice.
Even if the choice I make is NOT the one God would have made for me, His
sovereignty is fulfilled in my making the choice.
The sovereign God has put the decision in your lap and said, "This is
yours; you must make that choice." And when I make a choice, I'm fulfilling His
sovereignty, in that He sovereignly wills that I should be free to make a
choice. If I choose to go to hell, it's not what His love would have chosen, but
it does not controvert nor cancel out His sovereignty.
Yes, I believe in the sovereignty of God and in the freedom of man. So,
anytime I make a choice, I'm fulfilling the freedom God gave me and therefore
I'm fulfilling God's sovereignty and carrying it out.
Thoughts?
