Is God in Control?

I wanted to take some time and write to you about some questions. There is a tension found in the Bible regarding the sovereignty of God and the human ability of choice. In the Bible there are two truths that stay in tension. God is sovereign and He knows the end from the beginning. If this were not true then prophecy and the book of Revelation would just be hopeful guessing. The other truth is that in the Bible men and women are always responsible for their choices, action and decisions. God responds to our choices and prayers in the time and space where we live, and that is very good. We must remember that God is not limited by time, space, dimension or anything else. He sees all time as the same, since He is outside of creation. So unlike humans, God is not limited. 

Now there are some folks who want to overemphasize one or the other of these truths. The extreme on one side says that our choices do not matter, but that is not what the Bible says. Our choices always matter, as we see in the history of Israel in the Old Testament. The extreme on the other side says that God cannot do anything except that we ask or allow Him to do it. That extreme sees God as dependent upon my choices. The thought that God is dependent upon my desires is laughable and it is not supported in the Bible either. 


So who are those who are predestined? All who come to faith in Christ. What is our task? To share the Gospel with a lost world that needs to turn to Christ. Is God to blame for those who reject Him? No, every person is responsible for their own choices. How is it that people are convicted of sin, righteousness and judgment? The Holy Spirit must awaken their hearts and turn them to Christ. Who does God save? God, in His grace, turns the hearts of sinners into heart of saints. Why? Because He loves us and He is wonderful. 

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