God’s absolute control includes our “free” choice, meaning that what God has willed, we will willingly  help it come true even if it is against us. In other words, God does not override our choice in order to make His will come true. Rather, His will includes our choice in fulfilling it, so that we have no one to blame but ourselves when we disobey Him although it was His will that we disobey.

For example, it was God’s will to take away the kingdom from Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, and give it to Jeroboam, another man not in the family (1 King 11).  And what unfolds is that Rehoboam, unwisely and willingly, decides to listen to the bad counsel of his friends, rather than the good counsel of older men. The consequence is that the people of Israel rebels, rejects Rehoboam as their king, and instates Jeroboam in his place, just like God said would happen. But in all of this, nothing was coerced or manipulated. Rehoboam willfully made the bad choice to lose the kingdom.

If we end up in hell, we will have no one to blame but ourselves. It will have been our choice to go there. God did not force us or override our will to send us there. It will be the fault of ours only.

Let us not blame the sovereignty of God for the consequences of our sins. Our dependence on Him is not passive, but active! Jesus said not to worry about what we are to eat since God feeds the birds of the air and the grass of the field. But that does not mean that we don’t go to work and loaf around the house, expecting God to feed us miraculously. God’s providing us INCLUDES our working for food.

Yes, I believe there is a point at which we are depending on ourselves to bring something about rather than on God. Exactly where that point is is difficult to discern. But one thing is for sure. We are to actively depend on God and strive to bring about what God desires whether privately or corporately. That means church attendance. Discipleship. Evangelism. Mission. Etc.

PH