God's Sovereignty Vs. Man's Will
By George Stroh
October 29, 2013
You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" (Romans 9:19)
One of the most difficult to understand and controversial biblical doctrines is how the sovereignty of God can be compatible with our free will. If God is sovereign over all things (meaning that He alone determines and controls all things), then why does He judge our willful decisions when it is impossible to resist His sovereign will?
First, we need to understand and accept that the reality of God's sovereignty does not deny the reality of man's will. Both are true. God is sovereign, but man does have the ability to make decisions. However, we do not have a free will in the sense that we can defy God's sovereign will. We have a responsible will that God will rightly judge; So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12) and; For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
Rather than resisting and lamenting the weakness of our free will, Christians should rejoice in the power of God's sovereignty. It is His sovereignty that guarantees that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) It is His sovereignty that guarantees our justification from our sins, our coming glorification and our eternal life. It is His sovereignty that guarantees that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ; For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 9:38, 39)
Use your God given will to make godly decisions. Now accept, thank and praise God for His sovereignty! Maranatha!
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