Some thoughts on the fate vs free will (Calvinism vs. Arminianism) debate. Calvinism teaches that people are predestined to be saved and those who are not elected are pre-determined to be damned. Arminianism teaches the opposite, that everyone has a choice and that God is not 100% in control. There is more to this, and both are true on different levels. God’s “elect” people are known from the beginning because God can see the past, present, and future, and therefore knows who will choose life and receive Jesus. Meaning that God didn’t cause our choices but allowed the circumstances for the choices he knew we would make. Thus, his elected people are simply those whom he knew would receive the New Covenant, but he didn’t make them believers directly. We can predict the behavior of a child because their behaviors are more easily predictable compared to those of an adult. Having that knowledge doesn’t mean we can make the child behave in a certain way.
The debate usually goes something like this:
Person A: If everything is God’s will, then how are people responsible for their sins?
Person B: If it happens, then it must be God’s will, right, because he is Sovereign.
Person A: Why did God give the Israelites a choice between life or death when it comes to keeping his commands (Deut 30:19-20) if he chooses for us? The Bible teaches that mankind is sinful and can choose to sin against God or keep his commands.
Deut 30:19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Person B: Romans 9:19-22 suggests that God’s will determines everything, and Paul even raises the question of human responsibility versus God’s will in verse 19. Still, he doesn’t directly answer the question. Instead, he says, “Who are we to judge God?”
Romans 9:19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?” 20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?
Reevaluating our Questions:
The idea of God causing us to sin comes into conflict with James 1:13-15, which says God does not tempt us. Satan is the tempter, and he even tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, & Luke 4:1-13). However, this still leaves the question: Did God cause Satan to tempt Jesus and Adam? Does this mean we have a choice to follow Satan’s temptations or not? Jesus resisted temptation in the wilderness, and Paul mentions the struggle between the flesh (our sinful nature) and the Spirit of God in Romans 7 and 8. How is it a struggle to do right if God caused it? It would only be a struggle if God gave us a choice. Otherwise, we are struggling against God, which is futile. If whatever happens is God’s will, why are we told to choose between following the Spirit or the flesh (Gal 5:16, Gal 6:7-8)? However, if God gives us a choice, then why does Paul say in Romans 9 that everything is God’s will and that God has a “chosen elect according to Mark 13:20?
Another question is, why share the gospel with people if God has already determined their fate? It’s hard to fathom why God would have us minister to and pray for people if He had already decided to reject them. What’s the point? There’s no point in trying to convince people of the truth, because if it’s meant to be, then God will make them a believer. If you tell an unbeliever that God will choose them automatically, then they won’t bother seeking God because they don’t feel an obligation to do anything on their part, and will continue in sin. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts people of their sin (John 16:8) and leads them to God, saving them, but believers are a part of the process itself. We do not work for our salvation; it is a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 3:1-11), but we must choose to believe to receive the offering of salvation (John 3:16-21, Rom 10:9-10). In Romans 10, Paul writes that faith comes by hearing, so the Gospel needs to be preached to be heard, giving people the opportunity to be saved. This contradicts any application of what he says in Romans 9 to salvation, since in the very next chapter, he makes it clear that salvation is not automatic. People must hear the gospel in order to receive it. Which means Romans 9:19-22 is not about salvation by predestination or pre-election at all.
Romans 10:9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”[Isa 28:16] 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.[Joel 2:32]”
14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news! [Isa 52:7]”
My conclusion on the subject:
The truth is actually in the middle. God has a sovereign cosmic will, which consists of a series of interconnected scenarios, much like a node tree. Each node is fixed prophetically and cannot be changed. However, the branches or threads between the nodes have multiple possibilities that all lead to the same outcome. Human actions connect these threads. Therefore, when a person sins, it’s not because God caused it or tempted them, but the threads are between two fixed nodes that allow God to restrict the effects of their sin. James 1:13-15 says God doesn’t entice people to sin. Instead, people sin because of their sinful desires, which come from the flesh, which is corrupted from birth because they inherit sin nature from Adam (Rom 5:12-17). People rebel against God and sin all the time, so their sin can’t be God’s will if he is against sin and hates evil (Psalm 45:6-7). Therefore, I conclude that God has predetermined events that will occur regardless of human actions, and how they unfold and affect people depends on people’s obedience.
For example, God can instruct a person to do something, and they obey, doing it the way they were told, and everything turns out fine. Enoch walked with God and was taken up (Gen 5:24, Heb 11:5). God can give someone an instruction, and they eventually follow it. Still, they say no at first, causing a long delay and detours with unnecessary drama, as seen in the case of Jonah, who was instructed to prophesy to the Ninevites but refused and instead got on a ship in the opposite direction. This led to him being tossed overboard and swallowed by a sea creature. While there in the creature’s belly, he represented them, and God delivered and healed him, and he went to Nineveh and completed the assignment. Or Paul, who went the long way to Rome, enduring imprisonment and being shipwrecked because he was desperate to go to Jerusalem despite being told multiple times not to go (Acts 20:16, 21:1-14). Or God could anoint someone for a purpose, but they could fail, and he will replace them. Like King Saul, who was anointed by Samuel (1 Samuel 10) but then failed (1 Samuel 15:10-35), God raised David to be a greater King (1 Samuel 16:13-14).
Another example is Eli, whom Samuel replaces as a high priest because he couldn’t keep his wicked sons under control (1 Sam ch. 3-4). Our final example is Joshua leading the Israelites into Canaan, rather than Moses, since Moses was forbidden from entering the land due to his sin (Num 20:12, Deut 32:51-52). In this concept, there could be different kinds of nodes. One type of node requires a specific person to perform a particular task, such as Jonah and Paul, but another kind simply needs the task to be done, and whoever completes it receives the reward, as seen in Samuel and David. However, only God knows which node is in operation at any given time; we can only trust him and follow him between the nodes.
In the case of Bathsheba and David, what if Solomon’s birth between them was a fixed event, but adultery was only one of many possible scenarios that would have led to it? What if Uriah was sterile, and that’s why he and Bathsheba didn’t have a child when David inquired about her; thus, they were never going to have one. So maybe God’s fixed node was that Bathsheba and David would get married legally and have Solomon. How else would Solomon exist without adultery? An alternative scenario is that Uriah died in battle, possibly saving David’s life because David was on the battlefield instead of at home checking out bathing women. David’s intern took care of Uriah’s widow, as if Uriah were his brother, and through her produced an heir through marriage, just as in a levirate marriage (Deut 25:5-10). A levirate marriage is when a widow marries her deceased husband’s male relative to produce a child who will inherit the dead man’s land. Remember, Uriah was a Hittite, not an Israelite, so he may not have had any male relatives living in Israel who could marry his widow, like in a real Levirate marriage. Regardless, David’s first wife, Abigail, was a widow, so it wouldn’t be the first time he married a widow simply out of compassion without being related to the deceased husband. Then the first child they had could be counted as Uriah’s, while Solomon was born as David’s son—no need for any babies to be born in adultery only to die. However, David chose adultery by following his flesh and not fixing his heart on God’s word. In other words, Solomon’s existence is a fixed node in time, but there is more than one method for him to come into existence. Other possibilities include Uriah divorcing his wife, or dying of natural causes, and still, David would marry her without ever sinning—thoughts to ponder on the subject.