God is sovereign. There is none greater than He. He is king of the universe. He rules, He decides, He purposes, and nothing can thwart His will. We are told that He works all things according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). His plans stand forever. Psalms 33:10-11 “The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.” Psalms 115:3 “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.” Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” (Daniel 4:32).
Even though God is sovereign, we are given free will; we are not puppets but make real choices and those choices matter. Moses admonished the Israelites in Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Joshua asked the Israelites to make a choice in Joshua 24:15 “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” A choice had to be made and it was up to them to choose.
We are accountable for our actions. Romans 14:10b-12 “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” We reap what we sow. Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” God judges people for their decisions. Acts 17:30-31 “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Both are true. God is sovereign and we are responsible for our decisions and actions in life. There are examples from the scriptures where both are true. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery because they hated him. But by the same action, God saved Joseph’s family from starvation. Joseph said in Genesis 50:20 “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” Peter preached to the Jews on the day of Pentecost in Act 2:22-23 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.” It was the purpose and foreknowledge of God that Jesus would be sacrificed, but the Jews chose to have Him crucified and put to death. The greatest sin in history was also the greatest act of God’s sovereignty. God draws us to Jesus. John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” But we are commanded to repent and be baptized. Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” God is sovereign but we are given the right to make choices.
Why does God hold these two truths together? Because each truth protects us from a different error. God’s sovereignty protects us from fear and pride. We cannot ruin God’s plan. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot boast in our own wisdom or strength. We are dependent upon God. But human responsibility protects us from being passive and thinking that our choices don’t matter. But our choices do matter. Our obedience matters. Our prayers matter. Our evangelistic efforts matter. Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” God works in us but we also must work out our own salvation. Both are true.
Jesus showed us the perfect balance between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility and choice. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus came to Gethsemane. Matthew 26:36-39 “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’” It was God’s plan that Jesus would be the sacrifice for the sins of the world and Jesus chose obedience to the Father. He submitted to the Father’s sovereign plan. He surrendered to the Father and obeyed Him.
When life feels chaotic, God is not. When we don’t understand, He does. Since God is sovereign, we learn to trust Him. We pray because God works through prayer. We share the gospel message with others because the gospel is the power of God to salvation (Romans 1:16). We pursue the things He wants us to pursue. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” I encourage you to choose the good fight of faith.
We trust as if everything depends on God, and we obey as if everything depends on us; both are true. I encourage you to “trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”