January 3, 2010
-
"Free Will" vs the Sovereignty of God - does the debate even matter?
Sometimes people have asked me, regarding discussion of God's sovereignty vs 'free will', "Why does the whole argument even matter? Does it have any practical relevance to the way we live?"
That is an important question. If some doctrine is only theoretical and doesn't have any practical relevance, I agree that we shouldn't spend too much time discussing it. However, I think God's sovereignty is important to understand for several reasons, like assurance of salvation, praying properly, and dealing with tough circumstances in life.
Today I heard something in a sunday school class that shocked me and reminded me about this. One person was saying (paraphrased) -- "I'm not sure how to pray for [my relative]... on the one hand I want him to be saved, but on the other hand I know that he has free will and he has to make his own choice... God can't change his heart, he has to do that himself.... I guess all I can pray is for God to send really big signs into his life to try to get him to see the truth... but even that might be dangerous, because his heart might be hardened further or his life might be endangered."
On the contrary, (!) the God of the Bible is powerful and sovereign. He is "in control" of literally everything, although He sometimes uses ungodly agents to accomplish His ultimate purposes. I have not yet found any passages in the Bible that teach "free will", but I have found plenty of passages like this:
"The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes." Proverbs 21:1
"For I know that the Lord is great
And that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the LORD pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps." Psalm 135:5-6"In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:10b-12
"The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing well-being and creating calamity;
I am the Lord who does all these." Isaiah 45:7"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:44
"A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul." Acts 16:14
A wise man once said (I forget the source of the quote) -- "As long as someone is willing to pray for the salvation of his friend's soul, he's enough of a calvinist for me."
Right on. If we are praying to the God who is powerful enough to turn the hearts of men and women like channels of water flowing through one's hands, we are praying to the Biblical God. Otherwise, prayer is useless.
Comments (5)
That is a tough question. It is difficult for me to understand that while God is in complete control, man is still responsible. The closest I can come to reconciling these two concepts is a stupid quote from a stupid movie, “. . . you didn't come here to make the choice. You've already made it. You're here to try to understand why you made it.” Is life merely a replay of a choice God made for us at the beginning of creation? (Jeremiah 29:11) I try to grapple with this here, but I am not yet comfortable with any one conclusion.
@interstellarmachine - Thanks ISM! I wrote a few more thoughts at your post.
Could I suggest listening to Bill Arndt's message from Jan. 3rd? After reading the comment from our fellow believer above I felt like dualism should be addressed for every believer. He spoke during the 10:30 service. How clearly he addressed dualism (which it sounds as if your sunday school acquaintence is battling with) and God's supremacy. I trust this person will see God as the powerful, victorious, eye opening Savior that He is. But, for God's grace we all would still be battling with this...it is no light gift to have a clearer understanding of God's supremacy. Maybe more believers battle with this than we think and sometimes we ourselves are tempted to think as if God and Satan were on opposite ends of a teeter-totter going up and down...one winning in one situation and the other in another.
nice closing quote; I'm very comfortable with that metric for practical relevance.
@jfawn1 - Thanks Jfawn1! I agree... and many Christians think that God has relinquished to each human control over their own heart in the sense that He does not intevene... but the Bible teaches against this... I downloaded Bill's message yesterday and look forward to listening to it when I get the chance.
@mulletrooster - Yes, I think it came from Piper's biographical sermon on Charles Simeon, but I can't remember its original source. Piper quotes a fascinating dialog between Simeon (a 'gentle Calvinist') and Wesley (an Arminian).
Comments are closed.