how do you balance the idea of God's soveriengty and free willl?

Question

just wondering........it seems to be a paradox....
thoughts?

I ask this because many who believe in God believe He is in absolute control of everything...which i believe as well

Answer 1

Here's an answer from http://gotquestions.org

See if you can make sense of it (I can't):

It is impossible for us to fully understand the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. Only God truly knows how that two work together. Scripture is clear that God knows the future (Matthew 6:8; Psalm 139:1-4) and is sovereignly in control of all things (Colossians 1:16-17; Daniel 4:35). The Bible also says that we have a free will. God does not force us or cause us to do anything (James 1:13-14). We are completely responsible for our own actions (Romans 3:19; 6:23; 9:19-21). How these facts work together is impossible for a finite mind to comprehend (Romans 11:33-36).

People often take one of two extremes in regards to this question. Some emphasize the sovereignty of God to the point that human beings are little more than robots simply doing what they have been sovereignly programmed to do. Others emphasize free will to the point of God not having complete control and/or knowledge of all things. Neither of these positions are Biblical. Again, though, in this life we will never be able to fully understand how God’s sovereignty and man’s free will work together.

What are we to do then? First, we are to trust in the Lord, knowing that He is in control (Proverbs 3:5-6). God’s sovereignty is supposed to be a comfort to us, not an issue to be concerned about or debate over. Second, we are to live our lives, making wise decisions in accordance with God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17; James 1:5). There will be no excuses before God for why we chose to disobey Him. We will have no one to blame but ourselves for our sin. Last but not least, we are to worship the Lord, praising Him that He is so wonderful, infinite, powerful, full of grace and mercy - and - sovereign.

Answer 2

Good question! You know, when you consider that some of us might be with God for the "eternity" HE promises, it's easy for me to comprehend that God's soveriengty will reign long past the death of these short lived bodies . Even though we have "Free Will" right now to enjoy at Will, we must never forget that God is a supernatural being who can miracles at the blink of an eye. We know from reading the New Testament that God will not interfere with our lives since Jesus' coming and will not intervene until Jesus' second coming. That's why I'm always baffled when I hear all these "secular" living people deny God. My first thought , upon deciding to become a Christian was, "what do I have to lose? All I have to do is Believe in the one True God, and accept HIS Word and allow HIS spirit to work in my life. HE has already rewarded me 100 time fold for my actions and faith. I often ask those who are quick to use their intellect to degrade Christians and class us as "less intelligent, or weak" WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS? What if you have wasted a perfectly good opportunity to gain everlasting life in total bliss and because you thought this life was all there was and refused to accept a few boundaries and laws, you gave it all up for a brief 80 years when you maybe could have had eternity? I this all worth it or is it that you just can't accept creationism over man made evolution?
I have to wonder who's using the intellgence God gave us all!

blessing
Cajun

Answer 3

That man has free will is only possible as a result of G-d's will, so our free will in no way contradicts his sovereignty. Whether or not G-d ever infringes on our free will is the subject of debate among scholars.

One famous example is that of the Jewish exodus from Egypt, or rather, the events leading up to it. The Pharaoh in those days refused to release the Hebrews (as per G-d's demand as presented by Moses), and the ten plagues were a result. Of course, the story goes that each time a plague occurred, Pharoah hardened his heart, and absolutely refused to let them go, until he end, where he told Moses and the Jews to leave, and later retracted this permission. The question is whether, in the face of obvious divine wrath, anyone could have been so insane as Pharoah as to insist on keeping the Jews enslaved.

There are several different schools of thought on the subject. One is that G-d in this case (and in other rare instances in determining the fate of nations) restricted the free will of the leader of a nation, the idea being that He will do this from time to time with heads of state, as everything is ultimately in His hands. Another opinion maintains that G-d was simply giving Pharoah the strength, the resolve, to do what he really wanted to do in his heart. Another way of thinking of it is that when the hand of G-d is made visible in this world in a direct way, man's free will is curtailed.

It is G-d's apparent absence from our day to day lives that makes our free will possible - people can delude themselves into thinking He isn't there. If G-d were breathing down our necks all the time, any human being with a half a brain would spend every waking moment actively trying to do the will of G-d. In Jewish belief, the angels dwell in the constant presence of the Almighty, and as such, have no free will. When the truth is so unbearably obvious, one simply can't embrace falsehood.

In the case of the Egyptian Pharaoh, one could argue that the plagues make G-d's presence (and his condemnation of Egypt's wickedness) undeniably clear. As such, Pharaoh's free will was already being interfered with. By "hardening his heart," and allowing the Pharoah to act in such a way that ran in utter contradiction to good sense, G-d was simply restoring the balance, strengthening the Pharoah's true desire to balance out the weakening of his resolve brought about by divine miracles.

Personally, I hold by this latter school of thought. G-d could step all over our free will, but He chooses not to. Free will is what makes man greater than the animals, and in some ways, greater even than angels.

The Talmud teaches us (I think it's in Brachos): "Everything is in the hands of heaven except for the awe of heaven."

I hope you find this information helpful.

Answer 4

Pastor John Courson stated it this way. "Everything God saw happen in real time, he already knew would take place; based upon all of our decisions he chose us.."

"God chose us at the beginning before the foundations of the earth" they say--no argument there and goes along with the idea that God PREDESTINED us before creation...

However, some think that He chose certain people to die and others to live--but you must realize that God said "He is not willing that any perish" God wants us all to see ever lasting life.. "Choose you this day who you will serve" this calls for a CHOICE.. we are not designed for hell.. we are not wondering around saying "oh well God decided that I am the one to go to hell while my friend here will take my place in heaven..." I would say "what? where did you ever get that from?"

"All things come together for those in Christ Jesus" Gods sovereignty is true--Free will is true.. they complement each other when you understand that our will eventually becomes the fathers will.. even if you decide to hate God--God uses it for his plan; Look at most of the Bible and those who were evil--God used them to fulfill his plan.. they had freedom to choose evil over good--and God still used them for his divine plan.. no contradiction there..

no problem with sovereignty and no problem with free will
Some might say a paradox--yet you get to heaven and realize that you really never chose God because all along he chose you--however, how real is your choice to you? do you actually feel as though you really chose to eat breakfast or lunch today? or did God choose breakfast for you? I think that the Bible is clear that we make our own decisions. however, God may use those choices for his plan in the end..

Remember God sees the beginning from the end.. at the beginning of creation he already knew what your choices are. Based upon his FORE-knowledge he chose the plan for your life--he chooses all Christians(that they will not perish but have everlasting life) You were predestined depending on your choice.. they work together hand in hand.. God will not send you to hell -- the Bible is clear that you send yourself there.. you have every chance and stand with out excuse..

I have decided to error on the side of caution.. its better for me that way--therefore, if I believe there is a God and there really is no God then nothing bad happens--i go about my life fine--i die and thats that.. but If I choose not to believe in God and there really is a God then I have a really big problem. I would loose my would be future life in heaven.. and I end up in Hell..

you can stand in the highway all day long and proclaim there are no cars--sooner or later you will get hit..

thanks ..

Answer 5

There is no easy answer. I, like you, believe God's control is in some sense absolute. However, what that means in practice is not something the finite mind is designed to grasp. What does it mean to Almighty God to be "in control?" Not what it means to you and me. Furthermore, many Christians believe God does interfere with human free will, the way a life guard interferes with the panic of someone drowning. Or the way a police officer interferes with the plans of criminals. Either way, free will is limited. Even God cannot do everything. He cannot lie. He cannot do evil. Yet we are much less free than God. We are born into sin. History proves this. We are prisoners of our evil natures. Jesus came to give us back our freedom, not to do just anything, but to do good, to love as we should. Therefore, our will is free to carry out the moral choices driven by our desires, but our desires flow from a deeper spring, and until that spring is made pure, our will is governed by unworthy desires. This is why Jesus taught the necessity of the new birth. Those who think it is a mere ritual, or one of many stages of enlightenment, have missed the point. It is a sovereign act of God, when He grants the gift of faith, in that He must give account to no one but Himself as to why He grants it to one and not another. God has not given us to understand the full meaning of His sovereignty. But we do know that He has told us to believe in Jesus, whom He has authenticated with many miracles, designed to show His sovereign control over many things, including sinful human hearts. This should give us great humility. However, as someone else has said, this should also give us great comfort, because we know that God, who is infinitely good, will govern the universe rightly, and in justice, even in matters that touch the deepest reaches of our soul.

Edit:

For Biblical theists, there is no Scriptural support, at all, for the notion of God determining our future based on His foreknowledge of choices we would make. Scripture says God made His choices based on His own good purposes, not on anything we would do. See Ephesians 1:5.

Answer 6

For Christians: See above

For Atheists: Free will proves there's no God.

Answer 7

The Mystery of God.
Our lives are not completely free will, nor are we robotic automatons merely doing God's will.
This is not an "Either, Or".
It is a "Both, And".
God is Sovereign and we have Free Will!

Answer 8

By this:

God has a plan for everyone, but He allows us to make choices, that will one way or another lead to our destiny. Either way most end up doing what He wills, no matter how insignificant it may seem.

Answer 9

God does not interfere with our free will, but God knows the choices we will make.

Answer 10

2cents,
I believe you will find the answer to this puzzle in Proverbs3:5.6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all your ways and He shall direct your path". 2cents I truly believe this is the true answer to your question. Meditate on this verse and it will bless you.