Occasionally people ask my opinion on various personal or church issues. I recently received the following question which I have reprinted below, followed by my response.
QUESTION
Bob,
Could you comment on the Reformed Theology that is becoming a point of contention in many churches today? Does God predestine everything, or do we have free will? I f so, how much? Several in our church insist that God even predetermines some to be saved and some to be lost. This issue is creating no small stir in our church.
MY ANSWER
There are two extreme views of God’s sovereignty. One is referred to as hyper-Calvinism, which contends that God predestines everything. The opposite view is hyper-Arminianism, which insists God never intervenes in history or in our personal lives.
The hyper-Calvinist view leaves the impression that people are like puppets on a stage, and God pulls all the strings. Many Calvinists teach limited atonement – Jesus only died for the elect, which means God has predetermined some to be lost.
I think the Bible makes it clear people can choose to follow Christ or reject Him. Moses wrote, “I set before you life and death, blessings and curses – choose life that you and your family might live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Jesus promised, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)
The very last chapter of the Bible contains an invitation to respond to God’s grace. “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come, and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).
Professor Seth Wilson of Ozark Christian College used to say, “God is so much sovereign that He can program free will into us if He chooses.” I can’t completely comprehend how God can be totally in charge, know the future, and yet give us free will. But I understand that’s what the Bible teaches.
I tell my hyper-Calvinist, Christian friends, “You don’t really believe what you say you believe; you look both ways when you cross the street!” If they get irritated with me, I ask, “Why are you upset? According to your belief, God is making me say that!” They don’t see much humor in it, but I do! Although I disagree with them, they are still my brothers and sisters in Christ. This disagreement shouldn’t divide us.
The hyper-Arminianist view holds that God created the world, wound it up like a clock, hurled it into space, and sits back with folded arms and just observes what happens. A while back, Bette Midler sang, “God is watching us from a distance.”
But the Bible clearly teaches that God is a personal God who is involved in the lives of His people. He does intervene in history to accomplish His will. The prophet Daniel wrote, “Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others…” (Daniel 2:20-21).
The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
The Apostle Paul wrote, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
Let’s say you board a cruise ship in Miami. The ship is predetermined to stop at several Caribbean islands before returning home. While aboard the ship, you have the freedom to choose what to wear, what to eat, which recreational opportunities to participate in, what people you spend time with. But the captain still determines the ship’s ports-of-call. He is ultimately in control, not you.
Have you ever noticed how many times in the Bible “it just so happened” events were not coincidences but God-incidences? Many events that seemed accidental were actually providential.
An angel told a young virgin named Mary that her child was to be the Messiah. But Mary lived in Nazareth. The prophets had predicted the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. It just so happened that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census was to be taken, and each had to register in his hometown. It just so happened that Joseph, Mary’s fiancé, was from Bethlehem. So Mary and Joseph journeyed to the City of David, where it just so happened the time came for the Christ child to be born.
The Bible promises, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6 NASB). We each live under the providential hand of God. He’s the captain of our lives. If we trust in Him, He will get us to our intended destination.
Usually, we don’t see God’s providential care in the present…we see it only in retrospect. We won’t fully understand how much God has been guiding our paths until we look back from eternity. Then we’ll be like Jacob, who woke up after a vivid dream and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
In the meantime, we need to peacefully trust God’s promise, “…that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
– Bob
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