The Seamless Relationship Between Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility In Salvation

Let’s get straight to the point. To deny God's sovereignty in salvation is heresy. To deny humanity’s responsibility to choose in response to God's prior choice is also heresy. To deny either is heresy because the Bible teaches both.

We do, by an act of our will, choose Christ. If this were not the case, John 1.12 would be meaningless. There we read, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” If this were not the case, Acts 16.31 would also be meaningless, as would many other passages. The Philippian jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Now, there was nothing he could "do" to merit salvation as if it was by works, but there was clearly something he had to "do." Paul said, "(Here's what you have to do. . . you have to) believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

To be sure, we do - by grace, through faith - choose to receive Christ and believe in him (Eph 2.8-9). However, we do so only because it is God’s will. We looked at John 1.12 above, but what about the very next verse? It says, “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1.13, ESV). This birth was not of blood; that is, we have no right to claim to be children of God on the basis of our ethnic, religious, or any other heritage. This is a spiritual birth that did not come about due to the will of the flesh. Furthermore, this spiritual birth did not come about by the will of any man – including ourselves.

Though we receive him and believe in his name; that is, we acknowledge that Christ is who he says he is, place our trust in him, and yield our allegiance to him, we do so only because it is granted us by the good will of God for his glory and purpose (See Eph 1.4-6; 2.10; Titus 3.). We must never forget that we were dead in trespasses and sins. Folks, dead people don't do anything! The only hope for a dead person is resurrection, and that is precisely what God did (Eph 2). When we were dead in trespasses and sins, God “made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved”(Eph 2.4, ESV). Now we can "do" something - we're alive! Now we can respond rightly to God's prior choice.

And furthermore, the elect will not choose to reject Christ. In Jesus' high priestly prayer (The Lord's Prayer - John 17) he said that none had been lost among whom the Father had given him (verse 12). Furthermore, in John 6.37, Jesus said, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” God chooses some, and the elect come to Him - period! Neither side of that comma can be denied or even "played down" if we are to rightly divide the Word of Truth. God chose the Philippian jailer, but he had to "believe" in Jesus. The Father has given some to Jesus, but they have to "come" to Jesus. And they will.

We speak of the so-called tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. However, this is our tension alone - the Bible knows no such tension. That is, the Bible is not at war with itself over the matter. Though our finite minds may see these truths as mutually exclusive, in the Bible they fit like a hand in a glove. The Bible never sets them apart from one another or even seeks to explain how they work together. This is our tension; created because our finite minds can never fully comprehend (much less explain) the depths of the riches of God’s grace to us in Christ Jesus (see also, Deut 29.29).

C.H. Spurgeon was once asked if he could reconcile the two truths of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. “I wouldn’t try,” he said, “I never reconcile friends.” Spurgeon was right! Commenting on Spurgeon’s words, J.I. Packer once said that, “In the Bible, divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not enemies. They are not uneasy neighbors. They are not in an endless state of cold war with each other. They are friends, and they work together.”

Though we can never fully comprehend or explain how they work together, is it really that difficult to understand, at least in basic terms, the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility? I think not.

My then 9-year-old and 4-year-old daughters gave me a watch for Christmas two years ago. They love me and desired to give me something from themselves. However, there was a problem – they did not have the means with which to purchase the watch, much less present it to me in love as a gift from them. Well, you guessed it! We chose to give them the money to purchase the watch which they, in turn, chose to give to me.

Now, this is a simple illustration and, as any illustration, likely falls apart at some point. However, I think the basic point is illustrative of the seamless relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

As I initiated a love relationship with my children, thereby causing them to love me, so God has initiated a love relationship with us. We were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2.1, ESV). “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace (we) have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2.4-7, ESV). It is, then, “by grace (we) have been saved through faith. And this is not (our) own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast” (Eph 2.8-9, ESV).

What is “the gift of God?” Why, all of it! Yes, I receive him and believe in his name (John 1.12). Yes, I place my faith in him. But how? Only because of his grace. Only because he made me alive when I was dead. Only because he gave me the means through which I would give myself back to him in love. It is the gift of God.

My daughters didn’t know what love was until God granted me the great honor to show love to them; thereby awakening love in them for me. My daughters did not have the means to purchase the watch they gave me that Christmas until I gave them something they did not have and had no way to get – the money to buy it. They chose to love me, but only because I chose to love them first. They chose to give me a watch that Christmas, but only because I chose to give them the means with which to buy it.

One more simplistic illustration. Since I live in the beautiful horse country of central Kentucky, I often have the following picture come to mind when thinking about these things. Imagine a horse in a large field. The owner has constructed a fence around the property on which the horse roams, but the fence can't always be seen because the property is so large. Now, that horse belongs to its owner and is "fenced in" (whether it realizes it or not!). At the same time, the horse has a great deal of freedom within the parameters of that property. He can run freely from here to there. He can jump. He can play. He may also choose to attempt to jump over something, miscalculate its height, and get tangled up and fall - even become injured. He may even choose to wallow in a mud hole for a time. The owner may have granted the horse a great deal of freedom within the parameters of where he has placed the horse. But the horse is still fenced in - this was the owner's choice.

I know that is simplistic and could be articulated much better, but the primary point I want to make is this: We are free to choose, but only within the parameters of God's sovereign plan for the ages. That is, we choose, but we cannot choose contrary to the will of God. In other words, God's sovereignty is not limited by our choice; our choice is limited by God's sovereignty.

Again, the Bible knows nothing of the so-called tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Though we may seek to explain the seamless relationship between the two for the sake of our own understanding, we have no need to attempt to reconcile them as if they were at odds. Clearly, they are friends.

Holy Father, thank You for Your mercy; for choosing me by Your grace, and for enabling me to choose You through faith. Amen.