Sermon: Free Will or God's Sovereignty?

#1796
David C. Grabbe
Given 21-Dec-24; 72 minutes 2024-12-21

Back in the 1980s—which, I admit, I remember—there was a novel style of books called gamebooks. There were different series that used this style, but the best known was “Choose Your Own Adventure.” You didn’t read these books from cover to cover, but instead the books presented you with options at intervals, and you had to choose what to do.

So, you would read a few pages, and then you were presented with two or three options, and the options would direct you to different pages, where the storyline would pick up again. You would read a few more pages, and then you had to choose again which way you wanted to go. Sometimes you inadvertently chose the same story section multiple times, like something out of Groundhog Day. And when you reached an ending, you could start the book over and make different choices, and perhaps finish with a different ending.

I say “perhaps” because, even with so many choices to be made, there were relatively few endings—maybe half a dozen or so ways your story could end. You might end up with fame and fortune, or perhaps die a very dramatic death. Maybe you get stranded on an island with no hope of escape or rescue. Maybe you end up with a life so drab and ordinary that you preferred the ending of being put to the sword by pirates—that was at least exciting.

But those books were written so the reader had a measure of control over the path that was followed, and thus, a measure of control over the ending. At the same time, though, both the options that were presented and all the possible endings were orchestrated by the author.

Some decision points in a story were frustrating because none of the options presented were good ones. The reader might have ideas about a different way to go, but it was not an option—the options were limited. The books were billed as being able to choose your own adventure, and this was technically correct, but all the choosing was done within parameters that were still outside of the control of the reader.

Those books have passed from popular culture, although you can still find them on eBay. They will never be considered fine literature. Indeed, a review by Smithsonian magazine includes a scholar who states that "in terms of literary quality, many of the multiple-storyline books are true skunks."

Even so, the books could keep an adolescent mind occupied for a while, or at least until a threshold of terrible options and frustrating endings was reached, and the adolescent just couldn’t take any more.

But those books also provide a very simple way to understand one of the apparent paradoxes of the Bible. There is a complex question that arises regarding God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. The difficulty is that both sides of this topic have so many examples that it is easy to muster the biblical evidence for whichever side one wants.

We will be considering some things that appear to be contradictory, so we will begin with a reminder of a foundational principle:

John 10:35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken)

Jesus affirms that Scripture cannot be broken. The psalmist says the words of the LORD are like silver that has been purified seven times, and that His word endures forever. There is nothing that proceeds from God’s mind or mouth that is corrupt. That means that if we find scriptures that appear to contradict each other, the problem must be in our understanding.

If that happens, we must not simply ignore the part that conflicts. Instead, we must strive to understand and explain all sides as much as possible. While it is true that we will never have it all figured out—we see through a glass darkly—we also should never stop trying because it is part of seeking to be of the same mind as God, and the nuances of His word teach us His mind.

So, let’s start thinking about this apparent paradox of God’s sovereignty and mankind’s free will. Like the law vs. grace debate, the reality is that there is no contradiction. These two elements fit together perfectly. But unless these elements are put into proper relation to each other, we face danger on one extreme of believing God has done everything and will do everything for us, and danger on the other extreme of believing that God is uninvolved, and essentially everything is up to us.

Obviously, there are problems with both extremes. So, our purpose today is to better understand how God’s sovereignty and man’s choices work together. These are both very large topics, but we will at least see enough to better understand both sides of this fascinating question. And as we go through the Scriptures, we should test ourselves, and consider whether we really believe them, especially if we find something that stretches us.

The beginning of the Book shows God as the Sovereign Creator, making the universe and the earth and mankind. At the other end, the Bible describes the goal toward which God is working in I Corinthians 15, where it says that at the end, God will be all in all. (I Corinthians 15:24, 28)

If we were to write a summary of these bookends, we could say, “in the beginning, God, and at the end, God.” God started it, and when it is complete, God will be all in all. All rule and authority and power will be yielded to Him. Every knee will have bowed to Him and every tongue will have confessed, or they will cease to exist.

Please turn with me to Hebrews 1:

Hebrews 1:1-3 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

Verse 2 says the Father made the worlds through the Son. It is not talking about planets, but about the divisions of time, history, and culture as they relate to God and to man, and whose sum is eternity. It means that the age before the Flood was created through the Word. This present age or world was also created through the One who became Christ. And there is a coming world or age that, in one sense, is already created—in the same sense that prophecy is history that is written in advance.

Isaiah 57:15 says that God inhabits eternity. Acts 15:18 says, “Known to God from eternity are all His works.” These verses really stretch our minds, but they also give us a glimpse of His incredible power and ability to do anything that He pleases. We are very limited, so it is impossible for us to grasp an existence like His.

Continuing on in verse 3, it describes Jesus Christ as “upholding all things by the word of His power.” It could also be rendered, “He sustains all things by His powerful word.” The Amplified Bible adds, “maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power.” It indicates an ongoing operation, meaning right this instant. Ever since the beginning, the Word has been upholding, maintaining, guiding, sustaining, and propelling all things.

The galaxies, the solar systems, the sun, the moon, the earth, the tectonic plates, the weather, the plant-life, the animal life, and more importantly, the course of human history—all these things are sustained and guided by His powerful word.

This is even more incredible when we remember that He also subjected His creation to futility. One of the laws that the Creator built into the creation is the law of entropy. Entropy simply means that matter goes from a state of order to disorder over time, much like a child’s room, or my garage.

So, the physical creation is breaking down. The nuclear reactions in stars run out. Vegetable matter decays. Animals and people are born, live, and die. Nations fall. Yet during all these events, Christ also manages the entropy so that things do not break down too fast, and He overrides natural law. The Israelites’ clothing and sandals did not wear out, and the grain and oil of a certain widow did not run out. All things fall apart, but God ensures that even the progression from order to disorder is within limits He sets.

Let’s look at something similar in Isaiah:

Isaiah 46:9-11 Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.

In verse 10, God says that at the beginning of something, He announces or makes known what will happen at the end. That goes beyond knowing in advance how cause and effect and natural law will play out. He knows that too, but here it means He has determined what that end is. That’s why He follows up by referring to what He will do so His purpose is worked out.

It is evident that God has no problem overriding the will of mankind, especially when mankind rebels against Him and tries to assert self-sovereignty. That is the context here. The nation that God redeemed from Egypt didn’t want Him any longer, and wanted the gods of the surrounding nations instead. So, God declares that the nation will be powerless against what He will cause to occur. If He has said it will happen, or if He has purposed it, He will bring it to pass because He is sovereign, not mankind.

We will keep looking at examples of God’s sovereignty. Please turn with me to Ephesians 1:

Ephesians 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Ephesians 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

This whole first chapter of Ephesians is filled with confidence and hope, encouraging us with what God has done and is doing. Here, Paul wades into the hotly-contested realm of predestination, mentioning it twice. The Amplified says, “He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children.” For verse 11, the Amplified says, “we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose.”

Now, the timid commentators say this is talking about the saints as a group, or the church in general, meaning that it was predestined only that there would be saints—that there would be a church. That is as far as they will go, and it is a very cautious way of looking at it.

But this view sidesteps what it says in verse 4. It says we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world for the purpose of our becoming holy and without blame. Chosen means picking some and excluding others for this age. The apostle says this choosing took place before the foundation of the world. So, if we are going to be objective in our studies—which we should be—we must find an explanation from Scripture as to why verse 4 does not mean what it certainly appears to be saying.

But instead of proof to the contrary, what we find is further biblical reinforcement. Please turn to II Thessalonians:

II Thessalonians 2:13-14 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul says basically the same thing here. He does not use the word “predestination,” but he again says that the choosing—the selecting—for salvation took place “from the beginning.” “God, from the beginning, chose you.”

Please turn to Acts 13, as we continue to look at God’s involvement in the lives of His people:

Acts 13:48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Notice that it does not say that those who believed were given eternal life. Rather, it says that it was those who had been appointed to eternal life who then believed what Paul and Barnabas said. They had already been appointed to eternal life, and that appointment included the faith to hear and accept the message. The appointment came first, and the gift of faith followed. That is how God’s calling works. It is entirely outside of our control.

Now, this incident does not tell us how far in advance God appointed some of the Gentiles there to eternal life. If we believe what it says in Ephesians 1:4, it was before the foundation of the world. But let’s go to another witness of Scripture that makes this even more clear:

Revelation 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

As we know, names are very individual. There are specific names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and this says they are written from the foundation of the world. This indicates that when Paul says we are predestined to adoption and predestined according to God’s purpose, he isn’t just talking about the church as a group. There are specific names written.

Again, our minds are so limited that it is hard to conceive of a Mind that can predetermine things thousands of years in advance. But just as an example, think about what God did with Cyrus, which is found in Isaiah 44—45. God named Cyrus approximately 140 years in advance and prophesied what he would do—and it came to pass. Now, if God knew Cyrus’ name at least 140 years in advance, there is nothing to stop the Almighty from knowing his name 150 years in advance, or 200 years in advance, and so on.

There is no point at which God can know a name this many years in advance, but one more year would be too much for Him. As we saw, He declares the end from the beginning. If He has purposed it, He will also do it. God demonstrated His foreknowledge with Cyrus, and there is no scriptural explanation for why He could not also choose some from the foundation of the world and write their names in His Book. He works all things according to the counsel of His will, and His foreknowledge is beyond our comprehension.

Please turn with me back to I Peter 1:

I Peter 1:2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

So, Peter agrees with Paul. His audience—which now includes us—was elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Other translations say, “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God,” “chosen and destined by God,” and “chosen and foreknown by God.” This verse doesn’t say “from the beginning,” but it nevertheless teaches that God chose us based on His foreknowledge. These passages all point to a specific and deliberate plan involving individuals—with names that He knows ahead of time—and not just that there would be a church.

Notice that Peter gives a couple of reasons for why we have been chosen. He says, “for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” So, we were chosen to have His blood applied to us. As we know, the Lamb was also slain from the foundation of the world. In other words, it indicates that God knew from the beginning that a Savior would be needed, and He knew from the beginning who the Savior’s blood would be sprinkled on. It really is incredible.

But Peter also says we were elected or chosen for obedience. It is part of the same package with justification—they are both part of God’s purpose. The fact that we were chosen for obedience should keep us from thinking that, because of God’s foreknowledge and election, we will just float into eternity. This declaration that we were chosen for obedience introduces the question of what happens if there is not obedience. Well, Paul answers that in Romans 2:8-9, where he says that those who do not obey will receive indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish. So, this brings us back to earth by showing that with God’s choosing from the beginning comes a responsibility.

Please turn with me to Romans 8:

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

We have so much working for us—that the Creator would purpose these things so far in advance, and be interested in us as individuals from long before our births. This passage is also about those whom God has called according to His purpose. It likewise mentions God’s foreknowledge of those whom He calls. It says we are predestined to be conformed to Christ’s image, and that His predestination includes justification, which we saw in I Peter, as well as glorification.

Now, before we conclude that our part in the first resurrection is assured if we are called according to God’s purpose, we need to think carefully about what it means that He “also glorified” those whom He predestined, called, and justified. The glorification we think of first is our change to spirit in the resurrection when our bodies will match Christ’s glorious body. Plugging that glorification in here certainly makes it sound like our spiritual completion and resurrection were determined from the very beginning.

But there is another way to understand the glorification here that also answers the question that many have asked, which is why sanctification is not mentioned here.

In John 17:22, during His Passover prayer, Jesus says to the Father, “. . . the glory which You gave Me I have given them . . ..” Jesus gave glory to the disciples, even as He had glory while He walked the earth. It was not the glory of a luminescent body, but rather the glory of a life of absolute purity and truth. Christ gave glory to the disciples through His instruction and His overwhelming example. This relates to what Paul says in II Corinthians 4:6:

II Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Drawing this all together, it means that those whom God has called into a relationship and who thus come into His presence, like Moses did, have been glorified in the sense that our lives begin to radiate the light of Christ’s life and truth. This is why Jesus said both that He is the light of the world, but also that His disciples are the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5; Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15).

When someone has spiritual understanding upon which he acts, it becomes visible—there is a glory. To glorify someone can also mean to bestow honor on them, which also applies to all whom God has called and justified—it is a tremendous honor that has been given to us. We are already partakers of the divine nature, which is another way of describing this glorification. It is the initial stage of a future glorification, but it is glorification, nonetheless. Those whom God justified, He has also glorified. We shine as lights in a darkened world.

This explanation also fits the overall flow of the passage, which is about how we can get through the sufferings of the present time. The passage is a reminder of what God has done for us, but it does not say that our place in the first resurrection is predetermined (see Philippians 3:11). What is predestined is the opportunity, along with everything that is needed for spiritual success, but the success itself is not. It must be chosen by us. Even so, we will read the rest of this passage to be reminded of what and Who is on our side:

Romans 8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

To put it mildly, the Father and the Son take immense, personal interest in the lives of the chosen. The same sovereign, unlimited Power that created the universe and which wrote our names in the Book of Life at the beginning is now working on our behalf—if we want Him to. If we love the One who called us according to His purpose. That’s how verse 28 begins.

This passage is an incredible testament to God’s love for us. God’s love for us is not the variable—that is an absolute. The variable is our love for God. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments and the rest of His words. We will obey, like we were chosen for. II Corinthians 5:14 says that the love of Christ compels us, or, as the KJV says, it constrains us. The love of Christ causes us to do certain things and not do others, and this becomes the critical factor in the use of our free will.

There are many more examples that underscore God’s sovereignty and His active outworking. Ephesians 2:10 says we are God’s workmanship. In numerous places, God is described as a Potter, making His people into the image He desires. Various psalms and proverbs teach that God orders or directs the steps of men, that He prepares hearts, and that He turns the heart of the king. Free will is not absolute.

In Psalm 139:16, David writes, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” Whether he means the number of his days was written, or he means what his days would contain, is not certain. God wrote in advance some of what the days of Cyrus would contain. He wrote even more about what the days of the Messiah would contain.

Thus, when we gather the many statements that demonstrate God’s sovereign control over His creation, we can understand why some, such as John Calvin, have believed in a type of fate or all-encompassing predestination that leaves us as spectators of our own lives. It’s not difficult to understand why the doctrine of eternal security is so readily accepted, with statements in Scripture like we have seen.

However, this is only one side of the ledger. To rightly divide the word of truth, we must also gather evidence for the other side of the ledger before we reach a conclusion. And even as some of the verses on God’s foreknowledge and sovereignty may make us uncomfortable, so also the matter of mankind’s responsibility in choosing could make us uncomfortable. But—we are not here to be comfortable, but to seek truth, even if that means challenging ourselves.

So, now we will start gathering examples that demolish the notion of eternal security, and which show that the sovereign God does not control the lives of His children in every way, even in matters of salvation. He obviously could override any choice, but instead, He requires that we make choices as an integral part of His purpose. As we go through these verses as well, we should test ourselves as to whether we truly believe what is written.

Please turn with me to Hebrews 6:

Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

Some commentators dismiss this passage because it is in a book called “Hebrews,” and they say it is only relevant for Jews, not for New Covenant believers. But notice that this describes people who have received the light of God’s truth and His Spirit.

Notice also that it does not say it is impossible to fall away, but rather that if they fall away—if they commit apostasy, or deviate from the faith and turn away from their allegiance. It says it is possible to choose that, and those who do cannot be brought back to repentance. They have publicly repudiated the Savior with their choices. The author says there is no coming back. In this way, our lives are not like gamebooks or video games, where we can start over if we reach an end we don’t like. We get one opportunity.

Please turn forward to chapter 10 and we will see another example of non-security:

Hebrews 10:26-31 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Other translations say, “if we go on sinning deliberately,” and, “if we willfully persist in sin.” This is not talking about a sin of ignorance or a sin of weakness. It is talking about acting with defiance while knowing that something is against God’s law. The fact that such apostasy is warned of shows that the sovereign God will allow someone to do this. God is not obligated to grant immortality to someone who persists in rejecting His way of life. God certainly does not want us to choose that, but He allows that wretched choice.

Remember, our election was not just to come under the blood of Christ. Our election was also for obedience. If we reject the obedience, we reject the covenant, and it is only within the covenant that forgiveness is available to us. Without that blood, we die in our sins.

Now, think back to the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books that we started with, and we will bring in that analogy. Both these passages in Hebrews can be seen through the lens of the ending of a story that has consisted of choices. Obviously, this is a very tragic end, and these passages only show the end, not all the choices that led to it.

But we can get an idea of what could lead to this falling away back in chapter 2. It speaks of drifting spiritually and of neglecting this great salvation. Similarly, Proverbs 21:16 says, “A man who wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.” Neglect and wandering are choices that, in time, lead to this ending.

This same bad ending is described in various other places. These next examples give us some indication of the choices that are made that lead to the ending of missing out on eternal life and not inheriting the Kingdom. We cannot plumb the depths of God’s love for us, nor grasp what He is willing to do for us, yet He also shows that He will allow endings that not happily-ever-after. These are all well-known verses, so I will just read them.

The first is near the end of the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

This reminds me of students who don’t want to do the coursework, but they try to offset their dereliction by doing extra credit or kissing up to the teacher at the end of the year. They are looking for a way to get around the things they would rather not do. In Christ’s teaching here, the basic responsibility—the coursework—is obedience to God’s will, which is outlined in His word. God does not require prophesying, casting out demons, or doing wonders. Now, if you have been gifted with those things, then you should use those gifts. But those gifts won’t offset practicing lawlessness. God’s law is non-negotiable. The end of these many is that the One who could save them declares, “I never knew you; depart from Me.”

Moving on to Matthew 18:

Matthew 18:8-9 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

So, if we know we have a problem, we should be willing to sacrifice something as valuable as an appendage for the sake of the future. Jesus gives His people a choice, but He does not guarantee a positive outcome. Instead, He warns about the ending that comes when one chooses to live with, rather than get rid of, a problem that threatens our spiritual future. Obviously, the people to whom this is written are not eternally secure.

Matthew 18:32-35 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Again, there is a choice to be made, as well as a tragic ending. If we have to pay our own life debt for our sins against God, we have no hope, which is what happens if we will not forgive others. This parable puts the lie to the doctrine of eternal security, as well as the idea of irresistible grace that overwhelms us and causes us to float into goodness. Those ideas are attractive and comforting, but for them to be true, we would have take out major sections of Scripture, such as many of the parables.

Moving on to the end of the Parable of the Wedding Feast:

Matthew 22:11-13 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

There is no injustice in God, the King. If He makes such a judgment, we know that it is in all fairness. This parable teaches that it is not enough to respond to the invitation, as though everything is then set for eternity. There is more to it, such as wearing the right garment, which is a symbol of righteousness. That does not come from just accepting the invitation. There is an additional responsibility for the individual to put on the righteousness of Christ.

Moving on to Matthew 24 and the Parable of the Servants:

Matthew 24:48-51 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So, the servant neglected his responsibilities and became abusive toward his fellow servants. Those were choices he made, and the ending of his story fits those choices.

Moving on to Matthew 25 and the Parable of the Virgins:

Matthew 25:11-12 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

One group made sure they had enough oil. The other group trusted that what they had was sufficient. Maybe they believed in a form of eternal security. Maybe they felt they didn’t have to be diligent in the responsibilities given to them, and that they were guaranteed a place at the wedding regardless of what they did or didn’t do.

This parable is unsettling because there are no obviously bad actors. There are no blatant sins here. The ones designated as foolish are not depicted as wicked, defiant, incorrigible, or lawless. They are simply unconcerned with being personally prepared. That is what makes them foolish. They had the same opportunities as the wise to build up a reserve of oil, but their choices continually took them in other directions, perhaps because they believed they were secure regardless. They assumed it would work out. They did not realize until too late that their ending would be the same as those practicing lawlessness while prophesying and doing wonders: The Lord tells them, “I do not know you.”

Similarly, God’s sovereignty is sometimes used as a justification for poor choices and inaction, and thus, to absolve a person of responsibility. This occurs because of the mistaken idea that if something happened, it must have been God’s will, or that if God wanted something to be different, it would be different. There is a measure of truth in that, because God certainly could have worked something out differently. Yet we should recognize the weakness in this reasoning, because God’s word rarely shows Him intervening to stop foolishness, let alone to stop sin.

There are countless events or circumstances that God does not desire, and which He warns against and may even hate, but which He allows to play out. God’s silence, or the fact that He did not intervene to stop something, must not be taken as His approval (Psalm 50:21). In this parable, God allowed half to act wisely and half to act foolishly, but the foolish ones had no grounds to blame God for their lack of preparation.

Moving forward to one ending of the Parable of the Talents:

Matthew 25:29-30 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The servant with one talent had the same opportunity as the other servants to do something with what he had been given, but he chose inaction. He even accused his Lord of being too hard. But it was simple laziness that kept this man from carrying out his responsibilities. Then he compounded the laziness with wickedness by blaming the one who gave him the opportunity. His ending was appropriate for his choices.

Then there is the ending of the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats:

Matthew 25:45-46 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

I will mention just one more, which is the branches that are grafted in Romans 11:19-22. The natural branches were broken off because of unbelief. Paul warns the Romans not to be haughty but to fear because God would cut them off also if they did not continue in goodness.

All these parables and other teachings show that “eternal security” is a comfortable lie that has been foisted on professing Christians. It’s a variation on, “You shall not surely die,” spoken by the serpent.

So, on one hand, we have many astounding witnesses of Scripture that testify of God’s sovereignty and His absolute ability to bring to pass anything He wants. On the other hand, we have seen a sampling of examples that show that the same sovereign God allows His people to choose, and to choose poorly, and even to choose eternal death.

As we saw, Scripture cannot be broken. The question, then, is how these two seemingly-opposing forces work together. To begin to explore this, please turn with me to Genesis 1:

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

We’ve read this so many times that maybe your mind went on autopilot just now. We typically come here to be reminded of what God is doing, but notice that He gave man something to do as well. An integral part of God’s creation of man is for man to have dominion. Dominion means rule or authority. Even more broadly, it means responsibility. If we separate that word into its parts, it means the ability to respond. It means the ability to use the spirit in man to make choices in responding to conditions, circumstances, and events.

God goes on in verse 28 to instruct the man to subdue the earth and exercise dominion, but this is about more than just animals. It sets an overarching pattern for man’s responsibility in general. In Genesis 2:15, we see another responsibility: Man is told to dress and keep the garden—to do battle with entropy. This was before sin entered the world. God created mankind, and almost in the same breath, God gave mankind responsibility. This pattern is fundamental to God creating man in His image.

Thus, we see that mankind’s ability to choose—that is, his free will or his free moral agency—is given at the same time as God’s declared purpose at the beginning that He will make mankind into His image. God has dominion and rule, and He imparts a measure of that to mankind. However, it is not typically in the sense of kingship, at least not yet, but in responsibility over what has been given.

We can start naming the obvious responsibilities. We must respond to God and to fellow man. Those relationships are our responsibility. We have responsibilities toward our spouse and our children, such as in legitimately providing for them. We have the responsibility to build a wall and ensure that if the world invades the church, it won’t be through our section of the wall.

We have a responsibility toward the church and within the church—to promote its edification and its spiritual health, and to serve within it. We have responsibilities for our own health, both our physical and spiritual health—a stewardship responsibility of our bodies and minds as temples of God’s Spirit. We have the responsibility to rule over our flesh, our tongues, and our thoughts—to overcome our carnal nature. We have the responsibility not to be deceived, but to evaluate everything that comes our way.

It can be a helpful and eye-opening exercise as we study the Bible to look for where God either states a responsibility (such as a command) or else gives principles for how to carry out a responsibility. Once you start looking, you will see that the matter of personal responsibility is in the Bible from beginning to end. A major part of God’s determined purpose is for mankind to have responsibility, and to become practiced at making the best choice at every opportunity because this is how we submit to taking on the mind and image of God. But it must be done willingly. It must be chosen, once it is made available. We cannot make ourselves into God’s image, but we must choose to yield to His creative process. So, He gives us responsibilities to practice choosing to do things His way.

We will bring the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books back into this. Jesus Christ is the Author—the author of salvation and the author and finisher of our faith. We don’t know how the Book of Life works, but we know it belongs to the Lamb, and we know that He and the Father determine what is written in it.

Even though there are many choices to be made over the course of life, there are only two endings for those whom God has called: eternal life on one hand, or eternal death on the other. And there are countless variations on how we might arrive at one of those endings and what our life consists of in the meantime, based on a combination of circumstances that God ordains, as well as choices that we and other people make.

Like the books, we are regularly presented with choices. However, it is evident that we often don’t have the option we really want. In the books, the typical decision point consisted of 2 or 3, maybe 4 options. Sometimes this was frustrating because the choice I really wanted was not listed. But this is true in life: We have the freedom and the responsibility to make decisions, but very often the option we want has not been made available by God, and it is not in our power to create that option.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” That verse is about our responsibility in rearing our children, but let’s put ourselves in the place of the child and God as the Parent doing the training of us.

The word train in that verse means, “to narrow in” or “to hedge in” or “to limit.” This is what we do as parents—we don’t give our children every option. We limit their choices. God, as the perfect Father, hedges us in. He puts a hedge on either side of us to help direct our course. Jesus even calls this way of life “the narrow way.” We can begin to see that God limits us by narrowing our options. We still have free will, and we must still make the choices, but because of the hedge that God provides, we don’t have as many options as we otherwise might if we were still in this world.

In Deuteronomy 30:15-19, God says that He sets before us life and death, blessing and cursing, and so on. God sets the options before us, and we choose. The options in this case are very broad and far-reaching. On one hand, there is life, good, and blessing; on the other hand, there is death, evil, and cursing. God even counsels us which choice to make—but He leaves the choice to us.

God does not predetermine our end, only the opportunity and the means. That’s the only way both sides of the ledger can be reconciled. Now, if all this talk of responsibility has given you a tight feeling in your chest, it may help to go back to the first column of the ledger and remember God’s power and His willingness to give aid to the seed of Abraham.

He will provide everything that is needed along this narrow way if we seek Him, so there is no good reason for us not to finish the course faithfully. Paul said he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him, and He will strengthen us as well. We can ask for wisdom, for understanding, for courage, for favor, or whatever it is we need to fulfill our responsibilities. Even though they are given to us, we are not facing them alone.

But all those endings we saw also show that He has not pre-ordained a faithful finish for everyone to whom He gives this rare opportunity. Even as names are written in His Book from the beginning, so also names can be blotted out (Revelation 3:5; 22:19; Deuteronomy 9:14; 29:20; Psalm 9:5; 109:13).

That passage in Deuteronomy 30 links obedience to God’s laws and instructions with choosing life and blessing. “Choosing life” is not a decision that one makes at a single point in time, such as baptism, but rather it is the overall direction and approach, as well as the specific decisions we make at each turn. It is a continual choice.

Again, God’s sovereignty and His love for us are constant factors. The variable in this is our love for God, which we are demonstrating, one way or the other, in how we are living and the choices we are making based on what we value. It is revealed in things like what we do each week with His holy time. God discovers it in the priority we place on daily prayer and Bible study—our time with Him. In these areas, as well as any other responsibility, it is possible for us to be continually choosing death through neglect, apathy, distraction, self-justification, or outright rebellion to God’s laws.

We can choose to fall away, to neglect so great salvation, by the decisions we make each day and each week, whether we are conscious of our choices or not. That is, our minds may have worn such a groove that we choose the same thing, over and over, not seriously considering any other option, or perhaps not even recognizing that there is another option. Therefore, it is worth re-examining our routines to ensure that they are helping us along the narrow way that has been made available to us.

Sometimes it seems like we have read page 14 dozens of times, as the same thing happens to us repeatedly. If we encounter angry drivers every time we are on the road, we may want to think about what we might be doing to contribute to their rage. When something in our life seems to be on repeat, we may be choosing the same thing on autopilot without being aware of the choice. It could also be that God is bringing the same type of situation before us, so our character develops to consistently make the right choice.

There is wisdom in thinking deeply and honestly about the cause of our circumstances, and to take responsibility before God for our choices because within that acknowledgement, that confession, we show God what we are learning and that His laws are being written on our hearts. Self-justifying, playing the victim, and blaming others are the opposite of taking responsibility which is integral to God making us into His image.

Once we understand the complimentary nature of God’s sovereignty and man’s choice, we can see countless examples of this pattern throughout the Bible. The story of Job is a fascinating one because we not only see God’s obvious sovereignty and Job’s choice, but we also see God’s sovereignty and Satan’s choice. With Satan, God set the limits and hedged him in regarding what he could do to Job. God gave Satan the options, and Satan made the choice of how to afflict Job.

This example also shows how the choices made by one individual can affect another who has no control over the matter. The tragedies that befell Job were not of his own choosing. He is not the poster child for reaping hardship because of poor choices. But his tragedies—which were Satan’s choices within God’s limits—then put Job him in the place where God wanted him. Then Job was faced with how to respond to his circumstances, to his wife, his friends, and ultimately, to the Almighty, as God continued to create Job.

Like Job, sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances that are not of our doing. A chapter of our life may be written without our approval or input, and we have no choice but to read it with dismay and respond in the best way possible. At other times, a choice that we made back on page 3 may still be affecting our circumstances and dictating the options that are available to us now. We can see how God can be sovereign and also why, at the same time, everything still matters. There is no contradiction because of the way God has engineered His plan to give us responsibilities that require us to choose.

Because God’s purpose requires that we grow in the quality of our choices and actions within our responsibilities, He is probably not going to answer prayers where we ask Him to do something that He has given to us as a responsibility. We may be waiting in God, standing still to see the salvation of the Lord, and He could be saying to us, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell your feet to go forward.”

It is significant that God told Israel to go forward before the waters were parted. They had to step forward in faith, and then God responded by doing what was impossible for them to do. Their responsibility was small. They just had to get moving, even though they could not see the way forward. But that step forward was an act of faith, and then God supplied the need.

Going back to Adam’s responsibility, God would not have been pleased if Adam prayed for God to take all the weeds out of the garden while Adam sat in his recliner. That task was given to Adam, and it meant labor and dirty hands. Praying for strength and wisdom to carry out a responsibility is very different from asking for God to do it for us.

If we want a better job to provide for our own, we’re probably not going to receive it while sitting in our recliner. As we heard from Hunter at the Feast, we have to give God something to bless—something like our earnest effort. God supplies what we are unable to, but He requires that we do what we can for ourselves, and then He adds what is lacking.

If we want better health, we can pray for God’s guidance in that responsibility, but we should not expect God to bless us with radiant health if our approach to diet and exercise is typified by doing 12-ounce curls from the recliner. (It may sound like I have something against recliners, but I really don’t—I like a good recliner.) This is just to illustrate that faith involves works, and God’s sovereignty does not absolve us of effort in carrying out responsibilities. He wants to see us applying ourselves within our dominion.

God is responsible for calling us. He is responsible for His Spirit working with us even before baptism. He is responsible for creating circumstances to both test our character as well as to build it. He is responsible for every instance of grace—every gift bestowed on us as we travel this path. We, then, have the freedom and the responsibility to choose to submit to God in every circumstance that He creates for us or allows others to create for us, as well as those circumstances that we create for ourselves.

So, we can see that God is sovereign, and in His sovereignty, He gave mankind free choice. What mankind does not have is all the options at any given time. Because God is the perfect Parent, He trains His children. He hedges us in and limits our options to those that are according to His purpose for us. But we must love Him enough to cooperate with Him, and to make the choices that result with the ending where we hear, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”

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