Refuting Twisted Views of God’s Sovereignty

A sovereign king is an independent ruler with supreme authority. A sovereign king does not control the actions of everyone in his realm though he makes and enforces the laws. The people in his realm don’t necessarily do what he says. However, they will regret that. A sovereign king also does not need the approval of others for anything he seeks to do nor is he constrained by any other power in his actions. A benevolent and righteous sovereign king would obviously consider himself to be bound by what is good and right. In the case of the true God (who is really the only true sovereign king), He is bound by His own moral law which reflects His own benevolent and righteous character.

Here is an easy, obvious proof from the Bible that not everything which happens was decreed by the Lord.

Jeremiah 19:3-5: “And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spoke it, neither came it into my mind…”

The Lord doesn’t cause idolatry and murderous acts (or any evil deeds) to happen. Moreover, it is also seen in the preceding passage that He also does not order evil actions by word nor did He decree them in some hidden, mysterious way in His own mind.

Jesus told His opponents the following in John 8:44: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

It is evil to ascribe morally evil actions such as lying and murder to the Lord. It is also evil to ascribe enticement to do evil as being from Him.

James 1:12-17: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

The reality which the Bible sets forth of Satan being a rebellious fallen angel who is the father of sin does not absolve people of personal responsibility when they sin- since doing so is a choice to act upon enticements to evil. Those who are committed to this in any way will be judged as enemies of the true God whom we all must give account to (this is a real aspect of His sovereignty). None of this negates the presence of a powerful deceiver who actively seeks man’s service in his rebellion and who schemes in very deliberate, specific ways to corrupt people both corporately and individually. For people to not acknowledge this and be aware of this is to his advantage. Those who deny the existence of Satan as a personal and powerful force who is an enemy of both the true God and mankind are surely his servants.

The Calvinist teaching that man cannot exercise authentic faith in Jesus Christ unless God irresistibly causes him to is also a misrepresentation of God’s sovereignty. If faith in Christ is the work of God which is irresistibly given to some and not others as Calvinism teaches, then this would be evil in itself due to the partiality involved therein. If everyone who exercises saving faith were irresistibly compelled to that, then everyone not irresistibly compelled could claim that they would have exercised and continued in faith if God had only done for them what He had done for others. This would be a valid charge if the twisted definition of sovereignty which Calvinism tries to attach to God were accurate. Such a charge though will never be justly made against the God of the Bible.

Calvinism is morally hideous since it portrays God to be morally hideous. Though the consistent Calvinist cannot say it, the one who is speaking consistent with the Bible can indeed say that the Lord will never force anyone to submit to Him in faith. This leaves the blame of those under condemnation upon themselves (where it rightfully belongs) and vindicates the Lord’s condemnation of those who are unrepentant sinners in His sight. Since Jesus is not a partial respecter of persons, He would distribute saving faith in Him to everyone if He did so for anyone.

Contrary to Calvinistic theology, God is indeed bound by His own Law (which forbids partiality/respect of persons). That is why Hebrews 6:18 says that it is impossible for God to lie. He does not coerce anyone to repent and submit to Him in faith through irresistible force nor does He unconditionally elect certain individuals to salvation while excluding the rest. He rather chooses who will be saved in accordance with the terms He has set forth regarding His plan of redemption in Jesus Christ (the Elect One). This is illustrated by how He chose who would go with Gideon to battle or not in Judges chapter 7 based upon who met the conditions which He had set for going to battle with Gideon. Biblical election to salvation is that is the Lord’s will to save whosoever cooperates with, and runs according to, the terms of His covenant in Jesus Christ.

Calvinists typically won’t use words like favoritism and coercion when they talk about their twisted definition of election. Yet when Calvinism is really examined, it implicitly pins these things upon God’s character. If someone were to make up a religion which involves some hideous practice of randomly killing animals for no reason and then telling those who found this despicable “Your reaction just proves you hate God”- they would be promoting an actual evil which people ought to find morally repugnant. That would be blaspheming God rather than vindicating His honor. He is actually repugnant to fallen mankind because of His unbending, zealous insistence that He be glorified as the Great King that He is. This is inseparable from His insistence that the righteousness of His Law be submitted to and walked in by man- with the severest punishment threatened for those who will not do so.

Deuteronomy 32:4: “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”