Free Will and sovereignty

Today the Boar's Head Tavern is having a little discussion on election and free will. I find Jim Nicholson's post very wise. I have stood on both classic sides of the issue, Armenian and Calvinist, and wrestled with it earnestly. The last year I have finally come to peace with what I honestly see as a paradox (Thank you, Kierkegaard), a necessary paradox, much as the incarnation and the trinity are incomprehensible truths that we hold firmly. Open theism removes that paradox in favor of free will and in the process, God as God is lost. What I would call extreme Calvinism removes the paradox in favor of God's election and in the process, humanity is lost. (I would not lump all Calvinists in this description.)

Ultimately, the 'problem' is the incomprehensibility of God Himself and two of His defining attributes: omnipotence and omniscience. God by definition (the philosophical definition I accept) if wholly Other. That is what makes Him God. He is the unmoved mover, the first absolute cause, that which makes this world and life and creation understandable but then is of Himself, beyond our reason. All creation points toward Him, yet nothing presents or defines Him. Creation indicates the existence of God, His power and His presence. According to Romans, it is obvious! Yet, how He is the unmoved mover is utterly incomprehensible. How He is sovereign over everything is completely beyond the scope of our finite mind.

Clearly, I also have a will. I make choices, all day, every day. A theology that denies an authentic human will is truly an ivory tower imagination with no grounding in reality, much less the Bible. The Bible speaks of human choices, responsibility and urges action and accountability. Our theology must allow for choice. (It is not in my interest or time allowance to discuss the "free" qualifier of choice.) But if God is utterly sovereign and omnipotent, how can I have a choice? If I act, He has chosen to allow it. He is the one with the ultimate control.

Here is the position that has brought me great peace; God is totally sovereign and I make choices. The Bible is clear on God's omnipotence; I see it everywhere in creation. He is all powerful and awesome. I also make choices. I make choices concerning not only dinner but my faith in God. Both truths are very, very real to me. Exactly how they fit together? Mystery! Paradox! Glory! Praise God that reality does not fit inside my little pin brain! I have gone from being troubled by the issue to joyful about it.

However, in my life, teaching, counseling, and in my faith, I look towards God's sovereignty as ultimate, thinking very little regarding my own choices or the choices of others. For good reason did John say, "But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men." (2:24). It gives little benefit to concern ourselves much with human will, for it is perhaps the most fickle, unreliable, aggravating realities we deal with. I have several in my life that I love deeply who struggle greatly with drugs, addictions, neurosis, and altogether terrible life decisions. I will completely despair if I live by a theology that emphasizes free will to even the smallest diminution of God's loving sovereignty. In my own life, healing has come by a gracious hand reaching down to pull me out of the mire. I will live by His sovereignty because it is the most reliable, hopeful, powerful reality I can rest in. Yes, we make choices. How that fits in with God's sovereignty, I have no earthly idea, really. And that is fine with me. There are many mysteries in life that we must live with. When we trust that God is good and He is sovereign, those mysteries make this world a wondrous place to live.