Free Will vs. God’s Sovereignty: Can Christians Handle the Truth?

“You Can’t Handle the Truth!”

“You can’t handle the truth!!!” So goes the famous line spoken by Jack Nicholson to Tom Cruz in the blockbuster movie, “A Few Good Men”.

Perhaps nowhere is the impact of this statement more pronounced than in the relationship between God’s Sovereignty and the (supposed) free will of man.

For as we shall see, man is in a sense “hard-wired” to believe that he possesses a total free will. He believes this freedom determines the events and decisions of his or her own life, contrary to the clear teachings of God’s Word.

Why Humans Naturally Believe in Free Will

In an article in the June 2016 issue of the Atlantic Magazine, author Stephen Cave opined that, “There’s no such thing as free will, but we’re better off believing in it anyway.”

In this commentary, Cave cited a psychological study done by Kathleen Vohs and Jonathan Schooler. The study showed that individuals who believed they possessed a total free will tended to be happier and more creative than those who held deterministic beliefs.

In addition to this, they were also more prone to being better workers. They were also more honest, and in general, made better moral choices than those individuals who lacked a strong belief in their own free will.

It seems that we as human beings have a strong “cognitive bias” towards believing in our own free will. In a sense, our natural inherent desire to be “happy” is dependent to some degree upon our believing that our wills are totally free.

Throughout the years, there have been additional psychological studies showing that when an individual’s belief in free will is weakened in any way, their belief in moral responsibility is also weakened.

People who possess deterministic beliefs have also been shown to be less creative and more likely to conform. They may also be less grateful towards others and ultimately less happy in their overall psychological outlook.

Again, it seems that we as humans are in a sense “psychologically bound” into believing that our free wills are “inviolable” or “sacred.” We inherently sense that our very happiness is dependent upon maintaining this belief.

It is therefore no wonder that so many Christians have a difficult time understanding God’s Sovereignty over the affairs of their lives. We are both culturally and internally conditioned to believe in our possession of a total free will.

In other words, “We as Christians simply, can’t handle the truth.”

The Christian Doctrine of Free Will

When we couple this with the fact that it is commonly taught within Christendom that “man has a free will, which God will never violate,” the problem becomes even clearer. This false theological doctrine has been propagated by many throughout the years of Church History. The forces pushing the believer into thinking that they possess a total free will are formidable indeed.

Typically, it is only through years of walking with the Lord and studying His Word that most Christians begin to realize that it is God who controls the events of our lives and overall Human History. Our wills are presumably totally free only when the matter in question is outside of His Sovereign Plans.

This same concept—that history is not governed by mere coincidence but by a Sovereign God who ordains events according to His timetable—is explored elsewhere in the study of God’s providential control of history.

What Scripture Says About God’s Sovereignty

“But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” Psalm 115:3

“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

“LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.”

Isaiah 26:12

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God,

and there is none like me,

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet

done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Isaiah 46: 9,10

“And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to

His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay

His hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou?” Daniel 4:35

“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever.

Amen.” Romans 11:36

The idea that God “declares the end from the beginning” also forms the basis of several of the site’s prophetic timeline studies involving Daniel and God’s ordering of history.

How God Works in the Human Heart

God often accomplishes His Sovereign Will in our lives by silently working in our hearts in ways of which we are unaware:

“In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in

slumberings upon the bed;

Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction.” Job 33:15,16

“The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from

the LORD.” Proverbs 16:1

Providence in Earlier Generations

To get an idea of how far the modern-day Church has lost its understanding concerning the Sovereignty of God in the affairs of men, one only must look to secular writers from prior centuries.

In Hamlet, William Shakespeare wrote:

“There is a Divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how He will.”

The noted scientist and politician Benjamin Franklin revealed the cultural mindset of his day when he wrote that God “governs by His Providence.”

What a sad commentary on the lack of theological understanding within the Church today, that even the secularists of prior centuries had a better grasp of Biblical truth than modern-day Christendom.

God Works Behind the Scenes

As they go about living the affairs of day to day life, numerous Christians are often blissfully unaware of the fact that God has been arranging from behind the scenes all the events of their lives.

This same principle is reflected in the study You Never Know, which emphasizes the difference between man’s limited perspective and God’s complete knowledge of the past, present, and future.

It will only be in eternity that many shall begin to understand the totality of His Sovereignty. This includes His Sovereignty over both world history and their individual lives.

Learning to “Handle the Truth”

The true followers of God’s Word, however, acknowledge that their own “will” is not totally free. They acknowledge that the Sovereign will of God reigns supreme in the affairs of their own lives.

It can be said that they have indeed learned to “handle the truth.” They are capable of being blessed by the numerous “divine interferences” that they experience and recognize as coming from God’s Loving Hands throughout the course of their lives. These experiences bring their relationship with Him to a far more intimate level.

The same principle of God’s sovereignty can also be seen in the prophetic argument that there are no true coincidences in God’s ordering of human history. It can also be seen in the Daniel 9 prophetic timetable, where historical events are presented as unfolding according to specific periods established by God.

Related Studies from Paradigms Tossed

Continue exploring God’s sovereignty, providence, and the believer’s response to His control over the events of life through these related studies:

God Knows the Future: Trusting Him Through Life’s Trials
This study contrasts man’s limited perspective with God’s complete knowledge of the past, present, and future, emphasizing His control over the believer’s life.

Refined Like Silver: How God Uses Trials to Mature Believers
Explore how God uses difficult circumstances to refine believers, remove impurities, and accomplish His purposes even when those circumstances are not understood at the time.

Poetic Justice in the Bible: God’s Justice and the Measure We Use
This study examines biblical examples in which events unfold under God’s sovereign ordering, including Pharaoh, Daniel’s enemies, Haman, and King David.

The Rapture of the Church: Birds of a Feather Flocking Together
Explore biblical types and patterns that demonstrate what the article describes as God’s sovereign control over the events of world history.

The 70 Jubilee Cycles of Daniel
This study considers the biblical structure of time itself and how recurring cycles of seven are presented as part of God’s ordered plan for history.