Wrestling Calvinism
I’ve wrestled with God’s sovereignty ever since college. I knew that somehow I was neither a Calvinist nor an Armenian, but somehow, I was a mixture of both. I’ve finally found a famous Christian thinker who lies where I do on this issue. Because I cannot use my own words to portray what I believe, I will borrow Tozer’s for he says it so well:
Most Christians are content to get into one camp or the other (either the camp of Jacobus Arminius or that of John Calvin) and deny either sovereignty to God or free will to man. It appears possible, however, to reconcile these two positions without doing violence to either, although the effort that follows may prove deficient to partisans of one camp or the other.
Here is my view: God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it. If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, “What doest thou?” Man’s will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so.
Perhaps a homely illustration might help us to understand. An ocean liner leaves New York bound for Liverpool. Its destination has been determined by proper authorities. Nothing can change it. This is at least a faint picture of sovereignty.
On board the liner are several scores of passengers. These are not in chains, neither are their activities determined for them by decree. They are completely free to move about as they will. They eat, sleep, play, lounge about on the deck, read, talk, altogether as they please; but all the while the great liner is carrying them steadily onward toward a predetermined port.
Both freedom and sovereignty are present here and they do not contradict each other. So it is, I believe, with man’s freedom and the sovereignty of God. The mighty liner of God’s sovereign design keeps its steady course over the sea of history. God moves undisturbed and unhindered toward the fulfillment of those eternal purposes which He purposed in Christ Jesus before the world began. We do not know all that is included in those purposes, but enough has been disclosed to furnish us with a broad outline of things to come and to give us good hope and firm assurance of future well-being.
Of course, the analogy breaks down when you play it out more. The passengers of this ship knew where they were going. They bought a ticket for the specific destination. But nonetheless, it is a rather strong analogy for seeing that we can, without realizing it, be on our way somewhere without realizing it, although our daily freedoms don’t seem to be tampered with.
But let’s say you had a mentor in whom you trusted. War suddenly came to the area in which you lived and this mentor told you there were two choices to make. Either you can stay where you are or you can take this ticket for a fare to an unknown place. You then decide to take the ticket and hop on the ship from New York to Liverpool. In all reality, this ship could be taking you to a prison camp or to Antarctica to freeze to death. But this mentor loves you and would never think of doing such a thing. Therefore, you, as a passenger on this ship, like Tozer said, have the freedoms to choose what you do on the ship. And, although you know not where the ship is going, you are sure it is somewhere good, somewhere better than where you were before.
Sometimes I wonder if I had chosen another college or another job, if I would have make the same mistakes I have. I can’t say those thoughts take up much of my time though, because I believe what Romans says: that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. I don’t deny the election of saints, Ephesians 1 talks about that. But I also don’t deny that we have the privilege of choice. I am responsible for my actions. I am responsible for my choices, whether good or bad. So put Calvin and Arminius at an arm wrestling match and I’d bet they’d stay in a locked position so long, the referee would have to call it a tie. I guess we’ll see when heaven comes. But probably by that time, it won’t really matter.
“There is a glorified Man on the right hand of the Majesty in heaven faithfully representing us there. We are left for a season among men; let us faithfully represent Him here.”
Most Christians are content to get into one camp or the other (either the camp of Jacobus Arminius or that of John Calvin) and deny either sovereignty to God or free will to man. It appears possible, however, to reconcile these two positions without doing violence to either, although the effort that follows may prove deficient to partisans of one camp or the other.
Here is my view: God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it. If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, “What doest thou?” Man’s will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so.
Perhaps a homely illustration might help us to understand. An ocean liner leaves New York bound for Liverpool. Its destination has been determined by proper authorities. Nothing can change it. This is at least a faint picture of sovereignty.
On board the liner are several scores of passengers. These are not in chains, neither are their activities determined for them by decree. They are completely free to move about as they will. They eat, sleep, play, lounge about on the deck, read, talk, altogether as they please; but all the while the great liner is carrying them steadily onward toward a predetermined port.
Both freedom and sovereignty are present here and they do not contradict each other. So it is, I believe, with man’s freedom and the sovereignty of God. The mighty liner of God’s sovereign design keeps its steady course over the sea of history. God moves undisturbed and unhindered toward the fulfillment of those eternal purposes which He purposed in Christ Jesus before the world began. We do not know all that is included in those purposes, but enough has been disclosed to furnish us with a broad outline of things to come and to give us good hope and firm assurance of future well-being.
Of course, the analogy breaks down when you play it out more. The passengers of this ship knew where they were going. They bought a ticket for the specific destination. But nonetheless, it is a rather strong analogy for seeing that we can, without realizing it, be on our way somewhere without realizing it, although our daily freedoms don’t seem to be tampered with.
But let’s say you had a mentor in whom you trusted. War suddenly came to the area in which you lived and this mentor told you there were two choices to make. Either you can stay where you are or you can take this ticket for a fare to an unknown place. You then decide to take the ticket and hop on the ship from New York to Liverpool. In all reality, this ship could be taking you to a prison camp or to Antarctica to freeze to death. But this mentor loves you and would never think of doing such a thing. Therefore, you, as a passenger on this ship, like Tozer said, have the freedoms to choose what you do on the ship. And, although you know not where the ship is going, you are sure it is somewhere good, somewhere better than where you were before.
Sometimes I wonder if I had chosen another college or another job, if I would have make the same mistakes I have. I can’t say those thoughts take up much of my time though, because I believe what Romans says: that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. I don’t deny the election of saints, Ephesians 1 talks about that. But I also don’t deny that we have the privilege of choice. I am responsible for my actions. I am responsible for my choices, whether good or bad. So put Calvin and Arminius at an arm wrestling match and I’d bet they’d stay in a locked position so long, the referee would have to call it a tie. I guess we’ll see when heaven comes. But probably by that time, it won’t really matter.
“There is a glorified Man on the right hand of the Majesty in heaven faithfully representing us there. We are left for a season among men; let us faithfully represent Him here.”
posted by go2016 at 11:05 AM
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