Why Sovereignty Is Necessary

For most opponents of Calvinism the doctrine of God's sovereignty is a particularly frustrating doctrine primarily because it is seen in either of its two extremes.  That is to say, either God controls absolutely everything, and thus free choice is nullified, or God is not in control of everything, and thus Scripture is nullified.  However, this is a false dilemma (a logical fallacy where only two options are assumed possible when in reality there are other options).  When such limitations are placed upon the sovereignty of God it is no wonder that few want to discuss this doctrine.  The results of such discussion would be frustration and confusion, as well as a polarization of opposing sides and arguments.  However, I would argue that it is possible to choose both the sovereignty of God and the free responsibility of man.  Sadly many opponents of Calvinism seem to choose the latter of the two options simply because it is the opposite of the Calvinism argument and provides a better ground for free choice.  This is detrimental because Scripture is nullified when arguments attempt to deny or dilute the sovereignty of God.

God is sovereign, of this Scripture is clear.  He is before all things (Col. 1:17), above all things (Eph. 4:6), knows all things (Ps. 147:5), rules all things (1 Chron. 29:11-12), sustains all things (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3) and controls all things (Job 42:2).  However, it is important to understand sovereignty as it is portrayed in Scripture.  Sovereignty does not biblically mean that God can do absolutely anything.  In fact, quite the contrary.  There are many things God cannot do that are listed in the Bible.  He cannot cease to exist (Rev. 22:13), cease to be God (Ps. 90:2), sin (1 John 1:5), or tempt (James 1:13) to name a few.  God cannot do any of these things because they contradict His nature.  However, it is important to note that none of these things count against the sovereignty of God because to do them would contradict Himself (i.e. sinning would contradict His holiness and make Him unholy).  He is able to do all things that are consistent with His character and nature.  This in no way is "limited" sovereignty because the ability to do absolutely everything is self-contradictory (a thing cannot be red and blue at the same time, a sum cannot be 2 and 5 at the same time, etc.)

This point is crucial to understand because it reveals how sovereignty and free choice are not mutually exclusive but rather completely compatible.  Since God cannot do what contradicts His character or nature then He cannot override a free and moral choice made by one of His free creatures, and yet is still completely sovereign.  Because God has made man free, to override his freedom (either by force or coercion) would contradict His creative nature.  God only creates things that are perfect.  If He were to override what He had created perfect then that would imply that there is an inconsistency or imperfection in the creative nature of God.  If God would need to override a free creature then why was He made free in the beginning?  This kind of reasoning would suggest that God made a mistake and is rectifying His error, which is impossible because God cannot make mistakes.  So then, moral freedom in human beings is consistent with the sovereignty of God.  He maintains absolute sovereignty, while at the same time human beings maintain moral responsibility and freedom of choice.

However, please do not think that God's sovereignty is limited to man's free choice.  Indeed, He has many things that He can do to woo, persuade, convince, and convict men in regard to their choice.  It would also be wrong to say that God is not sovereign over the events of this world, the actions of men, or the combination of these things.  This will be revealed in more detail when we conclude by drawing sovereignty and responsibility together.  Next time we will examine why moral responsibility, or free choice as it has been called, is absolutely necessary.