How to Believe In God's Sovereignty Without being a Fatalist
Jan Bagwell
God Bless !
There is a long-standing debate between those who
believe in man's free will and those who say that God's sovereignty
disposes of man's free will. The “free will” side rightly emphasizes
man's responsibility and accountability before God, yet often they tend
to reduce God to the role of bystander or observer who is “ready to
help” but in the end is really powerless against the real power—man.
On the other hand, the “sovereignty” side rightly
emphasizes God's sovereignty and power over His creation, yet often they
tend to use this to justify their sin by casting all responsibility
upon God for their actions. Another way this can affect people is to
paralyze them into doing nothing on the grounds that “God is doing it
all.”
Each side of the debate emphasizes different parts of
Scripture, and each side has its truth. The problem is that many have
too much truth on one side or the other of the issue, which makes their
view unbalanced. The solution is to believe both that God is sovereign
and that man has been given authority in the earth. These are not
mutually exclusive ideas. To be “sovereign” does NOT mean that God is
inherently all-powerful, but for some reason is not allowed to use that
power in the earth without man's “free-will” consent. On the other hand,
man's authority is NOT the same as “free will,” although many have
confused the two and have tried to prove “free will” by pointing to
Scriptures that establish man's authority. Only sovereignty has free
will. Authority is limited.
It is my hope and purpose to bring people to a closer
balance in understanding how God's sovereignty and man's authority
operate at the same time. This, in turn, could help resolve some of the
long-standing doctrinal disputes between the two sides, as well as help
people get a clearer perspective of God's ability to accomplish His
purposes for the earth—and for each person as an individual.
Scriptures Supporting Each Side
We do not propose to write an exhaustive study
listing all of the verses that affirm God's sovereignty or man's
authority to make choices. We intend only to give some examples that are
commonly quoted. Those who affirm God's sovereignty point to passages
such as Isaiah 45:5-7 (NASB),
Here we read that God creates evil, such as when God brings judgment upon a nation or a city for its sin. God takes full credit for it. Amos 3:6, says fur5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God; I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity [Heb. ra, “bad, evil”]; I am the Lord who does all these.
