One of the most common questions I receive is in regards to how God’s sovereignty and man’s free will are connected, especially in light of the discussion of salvation. How can God be sovereign, or RC Sproul used to say that “there is not one maverick molecule in the universe,” and yet man be held responsible for his sins? This post is a soft response to that question. It is soft in the sense that I have intentionally aimed to not make my words overly theological, but simple and practical. In reality, this question is one that is deeply developed theologically, but I am not aiming to capture all that could or should be said on this topic. Rather, it is a humble effort to helpfully apply some larger theological concepts in an easy to understand manner.
One of the most helpful places to begin is with the doctrine of governance. Hebrews 1:3 teaches us that Christ, as fully God, “… upholds the universe by the word of his power…” This is a remarkable statement that is vital to our proper understanding of God’s providence. The word in that verse translated as “upholds” means to carry, to bear up, or to hold. The verse gives a sense that there is a very active and yet often invisible way in which God, beyond the use of ordinary measures, sustains the operations of the universe.
Indeed, God chooses to use laws like gravity, inertia, and thermodynamics as part of His sustaining work. For the sake of discussion, we can call laws and activities that ordinarily occur in God’s created universe “secondary causes.” Yet, those systems and laws “secondary causes” are not the fulness of God’s upholding the universe. Even beyond those, in some mysterious way, he is actively engaged. To put it a different way, if God were to suddenly remove himself from “upholding” the universe, the universe itself would cease to function or even to exist. The built in laws and structures that God uses to govern the world are not enough to uphold it all. So, it is proper to say that in the every ordinary events of life, countless number of “secondary causes” are at work in each and every moment, and so is God’s mysterious and providential sustaining power. In this way, God governs and upholds the universe.
Let’s take a small example before we consider something more complex like salvation and damnation. Let’s consider the flight path of a bumblebee. In what way, and to what degree is God providentially involved in the flight path of a bumblebee? Is the flightpath of a bumblebee simply reducible to the directly extended hand of God dragging the creature through space and time. No, that does not seem to be the image painted by Scripture. It seems God normatively uses an entire host of secondary means in his upholding that bumblebee.
- the bumble has a nature
- it has sensory inputs
- it responds to its environment
- air currents affect it
- gravity affects it
- its muscles move its wings
- countless physical conditions affect its trajectory
- Its instincts drive its efforts
Indeed, that bumblebee is a living organism, and each of those secondary causes are legitimate and true causes of the bumblebee’s path. It is proper to say that God has governed the flight of that bumblebee primarily by the use of secondary causes. And yet it is also proper to say that God—in some mysterious way—has a more active role in sustaining each of those secondary causes than we could ever fully understand. His hidden will is indeed mysteriously at work sustaining and upholding everything required for the bee to fly. As the Westminster Confession states, “God in his ordinary providence maketh use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them, at his pleasure.”
It seems to me that nothing stated so far should be altogether controversial, even to a skeptic. Why should it be difficult to imagine that the architect and creator of the entire universe is not intimately involved in some hidden and mysterious way, in the operations of his created world? Wouldn’t it seem strange if he wasn’t? Isn’t it rather beautiful and remarkable that He created a world where real cause and effect (“secondary causes”) shape history, and yet are not fully removed from his power?
It is one thing to consider the flightpath of a bumblebee, and it is another to consider the salvation and/or damnation of a human soul. A human soul is not only far more complex than a bumblebee, but it is also a moral agent capable of doing good and evil. A bumblebee may have some capacity to make choices, but those choices are far less complex and carry far less repercussions than a man. With humanity we have higher variables to consider, and yet the same foundations already established can help guide the discussion.
In what way is God involved in the salvation of a human soul? Much of the story of any saint coming to faith in Christ is through God’s ordinary use of secondary means. God uses conversations, internal thoughts, trials we navigate, sermons we hear, relationships we are in, hopes we hold onto, fears we realize, decisions we make, the deliberations of our minds, and so much more in a preparatory way. Each of those “secondary causes” are ordinary things that God co-opts to prepare a heart for salvation. Is God invisibly and mysteriously at work behind all those elements? Yes, just as he is mysteriously and invisibly at work in the flightpath of the bumblebee. And yet, those “secondary causes” are legitimate, just as the instincts of the bumblebee are legitimate. They truly shape the future.
In what way is God responsible for the evil of humanity? Well, God is responsible for evil as much as he might be responsible for the flight path of a bumblebee. The sinfulness of the evil act is legitimately a result of the secondary cause: a man pulled the trigger, a woman chose an abortion, a child lied to his parents, etc. In none of these examples can the subject say “God made me do it.” No, they chose evil. Yet, as with all things, there is some mysterious sense in which God’s providential hand is underneath all activities on earth in such a way that he co-opts all events, whether good or evil, to serve his ultimate ends. He does this not in some passive way, but actively and invisibly.
Again, the Westminster Confession states this eloquently, “The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God, so far manifest themselves in his providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission, but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God; who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.”
In the case of a person being born again however (John 3:3), something extraordinary occurs. A miracle takes place. At the moment of conversion, God supernaturally acts in such a way that a soul that was dead in their sin comes alive and is transformed into a child of God. This is no ordinary event due to “secondary causes.” No “secondary cause” (sermon preached, use of the intellect, evangelistic encounter, etc.) could ever raise a person from spiritual death to spiritual life. God must intervene (John 3:8, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Ezekiel 37:1-14, James 1:18, Titus 3:5).
Again, the Westminster Confession is helpful here. “All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, he is pleased, in his appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by his word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God; taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them a heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and by his almighty power determining them to that which is good; and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by his grace.”
Hallelujah! This is grace upon grace! We were dead in our sin, and God by his miraculous grace, reached out and made us alive in Christ. Secondary causes are not opposed to grace, in fact God often co-opts them in the story of our redemption, and yet they cannot produce salvation alone. If salvation were only a result of secondary causes then our salvation would be one of works, not grace. Ultimately, that would prove that we were not “dead” in our sin, but we were only “wounded” in our sin and still able to reach out on our own accord and save ourselves. The Bible knows nothing of this. Salvation is entirely free; it is therefore solely a miraculous work of God!
What about those who are not saved? Is God responsible for the damnation of the reprobate? At this point, the language we have already established provides a consistent means for the answer. Is a sinner legitimately guilty for their sin of rejecting Christ? Yes. God sends preaching. He sends Christians. He restrains sin. He exposes sin. He gives innumerable opportunities to repent. And the sinner who rejects Christ is legitimately responsible for their rejection of Christ. None can say, “God made me do it” because every human being has legitimate agency. Yet, is God at work in some hidden and mysterious way even in and over the sinful acts of humanity? Yes (Romans 1:24-26, Romans 11:7-8, Deuteronomy 29:4), whether it be the flightpath of a bumblebee or the sinful acts of humanity, God is always providentially guiding all things according to his purpose in some invisible way. Does God’s “passing over” the reprobate by not providing the miraculous gift of salvation make God the cause of their reprobation (Acts 13:48, Romans 9:18)? No, not at all. Each of us are legitimate agents of a substantive will. Our choices matter and justly have real consequences.
In the end, the Bible teaches us that is the primary cause who governs all things. He is God after all! And it teaches us that creatures, including humans, are genuine secondary causes who really act. In evil, the creature is the source of sin. In salvation, god is the source of spiritual life. Pastorally, this means that when I sin, I have no one to blame but myself. When I am saved, I have no one to thank but God.
Oh thank God for the riches of grace that saved a wretch like me! “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
