God's Sovereignty and Human Free Will

By Ronald W. Leigh, Ph.D.

Dec. 30, 2017
Copyright © 2012 Ronald W. Leigh
Bible quotations are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

A.  God is sovereign

God has decreed certain things.  For example, he decreed the existence of certain physical things, punishment for evil, future events, and the death of Christ.

God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.  (Genesis 1:3)

… they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death  (Romans 1:32)

Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city …  (Daniel 9:24)

The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.  (Luke 22:22)

In making decrees, God is sovereign.  The word sovereignty refers to God's complete power to accomplish and control whatever he wants.  God's power is supreme; he is free from any external control.  In simple terms, God is "in charge."

The Bible makes it clear in many passages that God is sovereign.  For example:

… God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords …  (1 Timothy 6:15)

Jesus Christ our only Sovereign [literally Lord, Master] and Lord  (Jude 1:4)

How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!  (Psalm 47:2)

I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.  (Psalm 135:5-6)

B.  Philosophical views

The following chart shows various philosophical views of the relationship between sovereignty and free will.  Even though this chart is an oversimplification, it attempts to compare several views with the most arbitrary and deterministic at the top. 

The biblical description of God quickly eliminates views 1, 2, and 6 above.  So we are left to evaluate views 3, 4, and 5.  In all three of these views God is sovereign, but there are certain differences.

• View 3 – God knows all and determines all.
• View 4 – God knows all and requires man to make certain choices.
• View 5 – God does not know individual's future decisions.

C.  The nature of sovereignty, per scripture

While all conservative and evangelical theologians uphold God's sovereignty, not all agree on the exact nature of that sovereignty.  We must not blindly adopt one of the philosophical definitions of sovereignty described above and then interpret Bible passages in that light.  Rather, we need to let the Bible define sovereignty for us.  If we blindly adopt a certain definition before examining all the biblical evidence, then we are using a deductive approach, which is not the way to do biblical theology.  It is also a violation of Paul's admonition:

Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.  (1 Corinthians 4:6)

We must be careful to gain our understanding of God's sovereignty from biblical statements about God, not from a concept of God that comes out of Greek philosophy or any other school of thought.  Olson issues a similar warning:

There is a real concern about the harmful influence of philosophic systems upon theology, especially the evidence of philosophical sophistries of Calvinistic theology. The heavy dependence upon words like antinomy, paradox, and mystery are highly troubling. Expressions like "soft deteminism" and compatibilism as explanations for the contradictions of the system are a smoke-screen, not a logical explanation.  (C. Gordon Olson, Getting the Gospel Right: A Balanced View of Salvation Truth, Global Gospel Publishers, 2005, p. 359)

We also need to be aware that doing a word study on "sovereignty" in an English translation (such as the New International Version) can be somewhat misleading.  In the NIV, the English word "Sovereign" appears in over 200 passages in the Old Testament, and five times in the New Testament.

In all five New Testament passages (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; 2 Peter 2:1; Jude 1:4; and Revelation 6:10), the Greek word δεσποτης (despotēs, lord, master) is used.  But there is no separate Greek adjective meaning sovereign; the NIV translators have added "Sovereign" in each case.

In the Old Testament, for example in Genesis 15:2, where the NIV reads "Sovereign LORD," the Hebrew has ADONAY (meaning Lord) and YAHWEH (related to the personal name God gave himself in Exodus 3:14).  These two words literally mean "Lord God."  This same two word combination appears frequently throughout the Old Testament.  So, again, the NIV translators have added "Sovereign."

A better approach is to do a word study in the original languages.  Olson summarizes his findings after doing such a study.  He begins with the following introductory comments.

The idea that God's eternal decrees dictate all that transpires in the universe, which Augustine and the Reformers developed, lacks any explicit biblical support. Reformed theologian John Frame has issued a warning:

… we must use greater care in formulating our concept of divine sovereignty than has sometimes been shown among theologians … The moral seems to be that 'sovereignty" is a more complex concept than we often imagine. Use of it requires some careful thinking rather than jumping to conclusions that seem intuative. … Intuitively, we tend to formulate divine sovereignty by excluding anything that looks like it might be a "limitation" on God  [John M Frame, "The Spirit and the Scriptures," in D A Carson and John D Woodbridge, eds, Hermeneutics, Authority, and Canon, pp. 223-4]

… there is no word for sovereignty in either the Old or New Testaments. Since sovereignty relates to political relationships of governance, the terms most directly related to it in the Old Testament are king, kindgom, decrees, and counsel, and in the New, counsel (boulē), purpose (prothēsis), and will (thelēma).  (Olson, op. cit., p. 18)

Olson then traces the usage of these Hebrew and Greek words to see if any of them are used to signify a sovereignty involving direct control of all events.  He shows, passage by passage, that this concept (a divine decree that has determined every event) is one that is imposed on scripture rather than being derived from scripture.  He then integrates this notion with other aspects of God's nature.

The absolute foreknowledge of God is affirmed as part of his omniscience, His absolute omnipresence, and His absolute omnipotence, the exercise of which He has chosen to limit in significant ways. The sovereignty of God is affirmed, but it must be defined in the light of that self-limitation. The Greek philosophical concept of the simpleness of God is rejected outright, since God reveals Himself as a Tri-unity, and His works of creation are incredibly complex. The concept of a single all-embracing decree of God must also be rejected, since it derives from the notion of the simpleness of God and is totally without biblical support. Likewise, the impassibility of God (no passions) must be rejected as incompatible with the biblical narrative and is obviously derived from Greek philosophy. God certainly has revealed himself as emotionally moved by the human condition. Lastly, while affirming the immutability of God, we must recognize His genuine dynamic interaction with humanity, which is not a frozen immutability. His attributes are unchanging, but His relationships with mankind are dynamic and changing.  (Olson, op. cit., p. 24)

Consider this use of the word βουλη (boulē) which means counsel, purpose, or decree:

… the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves …  (Luke 7:30)

Olson comments:

Is it not ironic that the very first (and only) connection of this term [boulē] with God in the Gospels, not only does not imply some exhaustively efficacious implementation of God's eternal plan, but quite the opposite brings out men's ability to frustrate God's plan for themselves?  (Olson, op. cit. p. 20, italics in original)

D.  Two views of sovereignty

The following table contrasts two different views of sovereignty.

1.  Direct Sovereignty

Calvin holds a direct view of sovereignty, that is, God's choices determine all of man's choices.  In particular, Calvin states that, because of God's sovereignty, the reprobate must reject Christ, referring to the situation as follows:

… the arrangement of all things is in the hand of God, since to him belongs the disposal of life and death, he arranges all things by his sovereign counsel, in such a way that individuals are born, who are doomed from the womb to certain death, and are to glorify him by their destruction. … it is clear that all events take place by his sovereign appointment.  (Institutes, Book 3, Chap 23, Sec 6).

Yet, he claims that Adam, before the fall, had free (alternate) choice.

In his upright state, man possessed freedom of will, by which, if he chose, he was able to obtain eternal life. … Adam, therefore, might have stood if he chose, since it was only by his own will that he fell; but it was because his will was pliable in either direction, and he had not received constancy to persevere, that he so easily fell.  Still he had a free choice of good and evil ….  (Institutes, Book 1, Chap 15, Sec 8)

How did it fail to occur to Calvin that God was no less sovereign when Adam was making his free choice than when the rest of the human race make their “choice”?  This is a clear inconsistency in Calvin's thought and shows the weakness of the direct view of sovereignty.  Yet Calvin uses this view of sovereignty to bolster many of his other positions as well.

Would God change his values so quickly?  Would he value human free choice so highly as to let Adam lead the entire human race away from him, but then drastically lower his value of human freedom when it comes to individuals' spiritual choices?  The view of James Arminius (The Writings of James Arminius, vol. 1, p. 251) seems to maintain a much more consistent view of God's value of human free will.

The direct view of sovereignty is an oversimplification.  It suggests that the essence of sovereignty is simply making all the choices.  This direct view of sovereignty implies that, (1) if man makes any choices then God is not sovereign, and (2) if God is sovereign, then man is not free to choose.  This makes sovereignty and free will an either-or matter.  This direct view of sovereignty also makes God the direct cause of all sin, in sharp contrast to the Bible's teaching that God is holy and causes no one to sin.

I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.  (Leviticus 11:44)

… God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone …  (James 1:13, see also Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8)

The problem can be clearly seen when we examine the Westminster Confession of Faith, which could also be called the Reformed confession or the Calvinistic confession.  It is the official doctrinal statement of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.  This confession states that God unchangeably ordained everything that happens.

God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.  (Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 3, paragraph 1)

Similarly, the same group's Larger Catechism states

Q. 12. What are the decrees of God?
A.  God's decrees are the wise, free, and holy acts of the counsel of his will, whereby, from all eternity, he hath, for his own glory, unchangeably foreordained whatsoever comes to pass in time, especially concerning angels and men.

In response to these statements Brents draws our attention to passages in Jeremiah which state that certain evil acts never came to God's mind.

The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the LORD. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire – something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.  (Jeremiah 7:30-31)

For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal – something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.  (Jeremiah 19:4-5)

Brents then comments:

If God fore-ordained every thing, He fore-ordained these things, for they came to pass; yet He says He did not command them, nor speak them, neither came they into His mind. Will the advocates of the doctrine please to enlighten the world as to how God fore-ordained things which never entered His mind? … Surely, such a theory is at war with the Bible – with all reason and common sense – as well as a reproach upon the character of our Heavenly Father.  (T. W. Brents, The Gospel Plan of Salvation, written 1874, reprinted by Truth Books, 2010, p. 12, italics in original)

Regarding the two Jeremiah passages quoted above, it should be noted that the clause "nor did it enter my mind" does not necessarily imply that God's foreknowledge is incomplete.  Since the clause is coupled in both passages with the statement "something I did not command," it seems reasonable to understand the clause to mean that the evil actions never entered God's mind as something to command.  This is the sense found in the NET Bible (net.bible.org) translation and in the Contemporary English Version paraphrase:

… That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing!  (Jeremiah 7:31, NET Bible)

… I would never think of telling you to do this. (Jeremiah 7:31, CEV)

Berkhof, a Reformed (Calvinistic) theologian, recognizes the problem evil causes for the direct view of sovereignty, but offers little help.  He uses the common distinction between God's "decretive" will, which is a determination of everything that comes to pass, and God's "preceptive" will, which is that part of the decretive will which is a revelation of our duty, that is, what we should do  (L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, Eerdmans, 1941, p. 79).  Berkhof summarizes the situation as follows:

Reformed theologians, while maintaining … that God's decretive will also includes the sinful deeds of man, are always careful to point out that this must be conceived in such a way that God does not become the author of sin. They frankly admit that they cannot solve the difficulty ….  (Berkhof, loc. cit.)

... the decretive and preceptive will of God are often contradictory.  His decretive will includes many things which he forbids in His preceptive will, and excludes many things which He commands in His preceptive will. … a perfectly satisfactory solution of the difficulty is out of the question for the present ….  (Berkhof, loc. cit.)

It should be obvious to everyone that it is a serious mistake to try to maintain the notion that God decreed everything that comes to pass, then struggle to try to understand it.  Rather, the solution is to repudiate that notion as unbiblical.

2.  Permissive Sovereignty

There is a different view of sovereignty which fits the Scriptures more accurately, called indirect or permissive sovereignty, in which both divine sovereignty and human freedom fit together.  In permissive sovereignty, God chooses to let man choose; God delegates certain choices to man.  God sovereignly determines that, in certain areas, man must make his own choices.  This does not detract from God's sovereignty because, in delegating certain choices to man, he still retains ultimate control.  When man chooses to trust in Christ he is responding to God's grace within God's sovereign plan.  It is still God's plan, not man's.  God is still sovereign, and man would not be able to exercise any faith at all were it not for God's grace.  Nevertheless, some people decide to exercise faith in Christ (which is not a work), and the sovereign God responds to their faith.  Other people do not exercise faith in Christ.

Finlayson explains this indirect sovereignty.  Although he uses the same terms as Berkhof, he does not include the preceptive will within the decretive will.

Theologians distinguish between the decretive will of God, by which He decrees whatsoever comes to pass, and His preceptive will, by which He enjoins upon His creatures the duties that belong to them. In the light of this definition it can be understood that the decretive will is always accomplished, while the preceptive will is often disobeyed.  (R. A. Finlayson, article on "God," The New Bible Dictionary, Eerdmans, 1962, p. 476)

Finlayson then states that this view of God's sovereignty

presents God as the final ground of all existence and of all that ever happens, either actively in bringing it to pass or passively in permitting it to come to pass.  (loc. cit.)

When God created man, he told him to "rule over" the animals  (Genesis 1:26, 28).  This is just one illustration of the fact that God has delegated part of his authority.  Olson explores this concept of God's self-limitation:

I affirm the absolute foreknowledge of God as part of His omniscience, His absolute omnipresence, and His absolute omnipotence, the exercise of which He has chosen to limit in significant ways. The sovereignty of God is affirmed, but it must be defined in the light of that self-limitation.  (C. Gordon Olson, Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism, p. 51-52)

… the issue is not whether God is sovereign over all of creation or not. He can do anything in all of His creation which He purposes to do, in harmony with His attributes and His word. The issue is rather, does He actively exercise his sovereignty in every event in the universe? Or has He chosen to delegate rule and authority to his creatures, angels and humans?  (op. cit., p. 63)

Based on a thorough discussion of the key terms and passages, Olson answers that last question with a Yes.

Notice Jesus' statement to Pilate during his trial, an illustration of Olson's point about God delegating authority.

Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. (John 19:10-11)

In regard to salvation, God not only permits but also requires man to choose.  Jesus' words to Jerusalem and to the church in Thyatira illustrate that God's sovereignty is permissive.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.  (Matthew 23:37)

I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.  (Revelation 2:21)

Also consider these passages in which God allowed human beings to resist his will.

These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.  (John 5:39b-40)

… the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves  (Luke 7:30)

… you always resist the Holy Spirit!  (Acts 7:51)

These are all clear examples of God allowing humans to do something different than he wants them to do.  It shows that God places an extremely high value on human free will.

There is also a helpful example of the exercise of faith within sovereignty in Mark 10:46-52.  As Jesus was leaving Jericho, blind Bartimaeus cried out for mercy.  Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  According to this question it was Jesus that would do the healing.  Yet, after healing him, Jesus said, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”  Clearly Bartimaeus' healing hinged on his faith.  If he had not had faith, he would not have been healed.  Since he did have faith, he was healed.  (Certainly “your faith has made you well” cannot mean any less than this.)  Yet, could anyone rightly suggest that Jesus was any less sovereign because the healing hinged on Bartimaeus' faith?  Certainly not.

The scriptural view of sovereignty and faith is that God's sovereignty allows for man's faith.  Both are genuine.  It is not a matter of God's sovereignty versus man's free will.  Rather, God in his sovereignty delegates to man the responsibility to freely exercise faith.

Also, remember that your view of sovereignty needs to be integrated with at least three other areas of theology.  First, the nature of divine foreknowledge.  Second, the creation of man in the image of God.  Third, the gracious work of God in enlightening, drawing, and convicting the "dead" sinner.

E.  Foreknowledge is not determinative

There is a frequent claim that, since God's foreknowledge of future events is certain, those events must be already determined.  But such reasoning makes serious mistakes.  First, since many of these events are evil, God must have determined evil.  In other words, God is the author of evil.  Second, such reasoning makes the mistake of applying a human limitation to God.  While we cannot know a future event with certainty unless we somehow determine that event, it is a mistake to assume that God has the same limitation.  This issue is discussed at greater length in the paper The Order of Salvation and Divine Foreknowledge, especially the section entitled "The Nature of Divine Foreknowledge, Based on Theological Considerations."

F.  Created in God's image

Genesis describes man as being created in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27).  What does this imply about the nature of man?  It seems obvious that a being that is self-aware and self-controlling would be similar to God, while a being that is merely a robot, programmed or controlled remotely, would be very unlike God.  Certainly man was created with free choice.  But did the fall ruin man's free choice?  The nature of the divine image and the effect of the fall of man are issues which need to be considered in any discussion of human free will.  See the paper The "Imago Dei."

G.  God enables all dead men to seek, repent, believe

There is a common notion that, because the New Testament describes sinners as "dead," they can do nothing.  They cannot seek God nor choose to believe in Christ, so God must regenerate an individual before he can believe.

Of course, there is a sense in which man is utterly estranged from God.  Certainly, because of the fall in the garden of Eden, men on their own will never seek God.  This is clearly stated, for example, by both David and Paul.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.  (Psalm 14:2-3)

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  (Romans 3:10-11)

But while it is true than men on their own do not seek God, that truth is not the whole picture, for God as part of his grace enables men to seek him.

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  (Acts 17:26-27)

And God tells people to seek him.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  (Isaiah 55:6)

And God rewards those who turn to him and seek him.

Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.  (Isaiah 55:7; compare Deuteronomy 4:29)

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  (Hebrews 11:6, compare Romans 2:7)

This idea, that God would make it possible for humans to seek him, fits perfectly with both his grace and his sovereignty.

What does it mean when the Bible says that men are dead?  Does it mean that they can do nothing?  That would be the case only if we think in terms of physical death, for a person who is physically dead obviously does nothing.  But when Paul describes sinners as dead, he is not talking about physical death.  Notice that, in talking about the Ephesian believers before they got saved, Paul says that they were both dead and alive at the same time.

… you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world …  (Ephesians 2:1-2)

Such a statement would be impossible if Paul were describing being lost as being physically dead, for people who are dead physically do nothing.  But Paul is talking about relationships.  In relationships, a person can be alive to one thing while at the same time being dead to something else.  We see this in Paul's discussion of the believers present relationship to sin and to God.

… count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11)

And Jesus refers to the fact that the dead, that is, those who are dead spiritually, will be able to do something.

… a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.  (John 5:25)

How can those who are dead do anything?  Only by the grace of God.  On their own they would never understand.  But God enlightens them and makes it possible for men to understand basic spiritual truths.

The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.  (John 1:9)

… what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.  (Romans 1:19-20)

On their own, men would never seek God.  But God enables men to seek him (Acts 17:27, quoted above).  And the Father and Jesus draw men to God.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.  (John 6:44)

But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.  (John 12:32)

On their own, men would never repent.  But the Holy Spirit convicts them.

When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment …  (John 16:8)

Notice the scope of God's enlightening, drawing, and convicting: "every man," "all men," "the world."  Even Calvin, when he commented on John 16:8, understood "world" to refer to all men.

Under the term world are, I think, included not only those who would be truly converted to Christ, but hypocrites and reprobates. For there are two ways in which the Spirit convinces men by the preaching of the Gospel. Some are moved in good earnest, so as to bow down willingly, and to assent willingly to the judgment by which they are condemned. Others, though they are convinced of guilt and cannot escape, yet do not sincerely yield, or submit themselves to the authority and jurisdiction of the Holy Spirit, but, on the contrary, being subdued they groan inwardly, and, being overwhelmed with confusion, still do not cease to cherish obstinacy within their hearts.  (John Calvin, Commentary on John 16:8, available online at ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom35.html)

Don't think that these human actions negate either God's sovereignty or his grace.  Rather, they are part of God's sovereignty and grace.  This is his gracious plan.  The sovereign God commands, requires, and enables repentance and faith from all men.

… he commands all people everywhere to repent.  (Acts 17:30)

Thus God's invitations and promises are genuine.  When Jesus says "come to me," that is what he means.  When he says "whoever believes," that is what he means.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  (Matthew 11:28)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)

And God holds men responsible.

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  (2 Thessalonians 1:8)

H.  God responds to people

Does God respond to people?  This is one of the most basic questions in determining the biblical view of sovereignty.  Here are some of the many scriptural indications that God does respond to people's decisions and actions.

→Genesis 3 — The fall. God commanded one thing; Adam and Eve did the opposite. God responded with the punishment he had promised.  (See "because" in verses 14, 17.)

Genesis 4:7 — The Lord says to Cain, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?"

Genesis 6:5-7 — God sees man's wickedness and says he will wipe man from the face of the earth.

Genesis 11:5-9 — God sees men building the tower of Babel and comes down to confuse their language and scatter them.

Genesis 12:3 — I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.

Exodus 3:7-10 — I have heard them crying out ... so I have come down to rescue them.

Exodus 32:8-14— They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.'" Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

→Deuteronomy 28-29 — The blessings and the curses (see especially 28:1-2 and 15, compare Nehemiah 9:26-37)

2 Samuel 6:7 — The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.

2 Kings 21:10-12 — Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. … Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.

2 Chronicles 28:1-5 — … He [Ahaz] burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree. Therefore the LORD his God handed him over to the king of Aram. …

→Psalm 62:11-12 — One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

Psalm 81:8-14 — "But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me; So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies …" (v. 11-14)

Proverbs 24:12 — If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

Jeremiah 9:13-16 — The LORD said, "It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their fathers taught them." Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have destroyed them."

→Jeremiah 18:6-10 — "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it."

Jeremiah 23:1-2 — "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 35:14-19 — Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather's command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, "Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers." But you have not paid attention or listened to me. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me. Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.' Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.' Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.'"

Jeremiah 44:1-6 — This word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in Lower Egypt – in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis – and in Upper Egypt: "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the great disaster I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie deserted and in ruins because of the evil they have done. They provoked me to anger by burning incense and by worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your fathers ever knew. Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, 'Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!' But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods. Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today.

Amos 5:26-27 — You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god – which you made for yourselves. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty.

→Jonah 3:10 - 4:2 — "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Zechariah 1:1-6 — "Return to me" declares the LORD Almighty, "and I will return to you." (v. 3, spoken to Israel, now in Babylonian/Persian captivity)  Compare Acts 14:16 ("… he let all nations go their own way.").

→Matthew 11:28 — Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Luke 11:13 — If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

→John 1:12 — … to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God … (John 1:12)

→Romans 1:18-28

The character and actions of the godless:

• "the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness" (v. 18)
• "they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him" (v. 21)
• "and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles" (v. 23)
• "they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God" (v. 28)

God's response:

• "The wrath of God" (v. 18)
• "God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts" (v. 24)
• "he gave them over to a depraved mind" (v. 28)

Such phrases as "Therefore" (v. 24), "Because of this" (v. 26), and "since" (v. 28) make it very clear that the people's actions were the cause, and God's actions were the response.

Romans 2:6-8 — God "will give to each person according to what he has done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

→Romans 9:20-21 and Jeremiah 18:1-10 — Jeremiah 18:1-6 is often cited as a parallel to Romans 9:20-21, with an emphasis on God's sovereign role as the potter and our passive role as the clay.  However, the next four verses in Jeremiah explain that, after the potter forms the clay, he responds to it!  (Discussed further under the heading Is the potter active and the clay passive? in the paper "Romans chapters 9 - 11")

Romans 10:21 – … concerning Israel he [God] says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people." (Romams 10:21, compare Isaiah 65:2; Jeremiah 35:17)

Hebrews 8:8-9 – But God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.  (Hebrews 8:8-9)

→Hebrews 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (in contrast to those who suppress knowledge, Romans 1:20)

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins ...

→Revelation 3:20 – (Christ waits for our response!) – Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

I.  Conclusion: Sovereignty includes free will

In the above discussion we have identified several lines of evidence which point to the conclusion that God's sovereignty does include human free will.