Because It Came Up Recently

Christians, we have a problem. Scripture is clear; God is Sovereign. In Paul's terminology He is the "only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords." (1 Tim 6:15) Job said, "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:2) The psalmist wrote, "Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." (Psa 115:3) Even Nebuchadnezzar claimed, "He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'" (Dan 4:35) Over and over and over again Scripture affirms that God alone is Sovereign and absolutely so. On the other hand, Scripture is equally clear that we make choices and are responsible for them. So when Joseph's brothers attempted to kill him, then sold him into slavery, Joseph didn't absolve them, but explained, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." (Gen 50:20) There is no absolution in that. Their intent was evil for which they will be held accountable. But God intended good and used their evil for His good purposes. Jesus said something similar. Explaining that His time was coming to an end, He said, "For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" (Luke 22:22) That is, His betrayal was predetermined and would be used by God, the one who did it would be held accountable for his choice to do it. According to Scripture, the worst sin in human history was carried out by "both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel" and it was according to God's predestined purposes (Acts 4:27-28).

Our problem, then? We have to come up with a reasonable explanation of God's Sovereignty as expressed in Scripture while keeping some form of human free will intact. The view that erases human free will violates Scripture. The view that decreases God's Sovereignty violates Scripture. We need to put them together and not rip them apart as both Fatalism and Libertarian Free Will do. Our problem is that two of the most popular views -- Fatalism for Calvinists and the diminishing of God's absolute Sovereignty for those opposed to Calvinists -- both contradict Scripture. We have to put the two together else we have Scripture contradicting Scripture leaving nothing we can count on.

Compatibilism (aka "Soft Determinism") is "an attempt to reconcile the theological proposition that every event is causally determined, ordained, and/or decreed by God (i.e., determinism, not to be confused with fatalism)—with the free will of man." (Emphasis mine.) It argues that God is Sovereign while Man has free will. It was argued by Augustine, Aquinas, and Hobbes and even Greek philosophers (that is, it's not new). The key component is the definition of "free will" which most people argue is "libertarian free will" -- "For 'free will' to exist, it must be unhindered and without limit." Compatibilism argues that "free will" is the ability to choose within the limitations of the nature of the creature. That is, Man is free to do as he wishes, but is limited by what he wishes.

The Westminster Confession, Section III.1, says, "God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: (Eph. 1:11, Rom. 11:33, Heb. 6:17, Rom. 9:15,18) yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, (James 1:13,17, 1 John 1:5) nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established. (Acts 2:23, Matt. 17:12, Acts 4:27–28, John 19:11, Prov. 16:33)" That is, God is Sovereign yet without "offering violence" to free will. (It views "free will" as a "second cause" where God is always the "first cause.")

In all views, someone gets limited in some way because humans, by nature, are opposed to God (Rom 8:7). So either God gets limited by human free will or God is not limited and human free will isn't as absolutely free as we thought it was. You may not like Compatibilism and that's fine. You may not be convinced by the Scriptures I offered or the references I gave, and that's your prerogative. But, whatever you do, do not be satisfied with either diminishing God's Sovereignty or diminishing biblical free will. Whatever you believe, make sure both are intact. (And, just a word, here. "God sovereignly surrendered some of His Sovereignty to Man's free will" leaves God as not the "only Sovereign" nor does God accomplish all He intends, so you're not on Paul's side there.) Come up with what you want; just make sure Scripture still stands when you're done. And don't forget, Scripture describes God this way. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!" (Rom 11:33) Don't be surprised if it's not easy.