One of the most troubling question regarding Christian faith is that of God’s sovereignty vs. men’s free will. The Bible no doubt affirms God’s sovereignty. God is in control absolutely down to the number of hair every single individual on earth should have. That means that God predetermines that some will go to hell. (Rom 9:11)

But what about men’s free will? The Bible never really affirms that men have free will. But it does affirm that we are responsible for our sins. But how can that be? If God determines every detail of our lives, how can we be responsible for our actions since they had been determined by God? How can God blame us when He has determined our wrong doing???

This exact question Paul deals with in Romans 9:14-22. Basically the answer is, God is God and He will do what He wants and what we think doesn’t matter.

What a terrible answer! I want a more satisfactory answer that will tell me how it is that God is just and yet condemns some to hell from birth! (or does He?) I want it to make sense in my head and be able to explain to others how God ordained everything and yet we are still responsible! But I have not come across a satisfying answer yet. People have been trying for centuries and yet no one seems to have figured it out.

So, I have a choice to make. Am I going to follow God only if He makes sense to me and His actions are understandable to me or am I going to follow Him even though some of His attributes and actions don’t make sense to me. In other words, am I going to follow a God who fits in my box or am I going to follow a God who is bigger than my little box (or anyone else’s box for that matter).

Again, the question comes down to this: Am I in charge or is God? Am I the determiner of every truth or is God? Does the truth only lie in me or does it lie outside of me? If God is truly God and I’m not, shouldn’t certain things He does NOT make sense to me? (If everything I do makes sense to my child, she’s at the same level as me…)

This is terribly troubling or comforting depending on how you look at it. But I look to the cross. “He who did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32)

You do not control your own destiny. Isn’t that great?

PH