Thoughts on the Sovereignty of God

Denying the elective purposes of God in salvation has had devastating consequences for the church. Open Theism and other “progressive” theologies have emerged that arrogantly claim that God’s knowledge is not eternally fixed and that His providential dealings with man is not meticulous. These claims have their origin in the rejection of the supremacy and sovereignty of God. Let us examine closely the price that has been paid theologically for rejecting God’s way.

Synergists claim God would be unfair to elect some and not others. However, in regards to the matters of faith, why is faith wrought in some but not others. If the answer is that some men come to faith on their own, what allows them to come to faith when all men are equally depraved and unworthy.

The answer of course is that salvation is based on the eternal decree of God. Faith is a gift of God that is given as God’s sovereign good pleasure. Faith originates as an operation of the Holy Spirit.

Synergists falsely assume faith is the possession of every man. This is a half truth. Men have faith in believing the chair they are sitting will not collapse but this skirts the core issue which is salvific faith.  What about “saving” faith, the Holy Spirit “creating faith within”?

Paul states in Thessalonians, “And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.”  II Thess 3:2 

How do Christians know that all men do not have faith? Because faith is a gift of God. Gifts are not distributed universally and if so the gift is no longer a gift.

What is the result of diminishing God’s sovereignty?

• God’s good pleasure has become man’s good pleasure.
• Merit is called grace. How arrogant to corrupt the doctrine of grace.
• Faith is no longer a gift but something all men have. It just needs to be rightly directed.
• God’s self determination is no longer important. Self determination describes a God who is transcendent and self consistent. It speaks to His sovereignty in all matters of purpose.

God’s self determining will and self consistency, the I Am who I Am, is now the mutable I am who you say I should be. Self autonomy and human will trumps decrees and purposes. Secret counsels and mysteries regarding salvation do not exist. 

 “ He shall save His people from their sin” (Matthew 1:21)  becomes “people will save themselves from their sins if they so choose.

 “ All that the Father gives to me” (John 6:37) is now “all that come to me I will give to the Father”.


"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)


Synergists have changed to "For by faith are ye saved through grace; and that of yourselves in cooperation with grace: it is the exertion of faith".

The sovereign truth“ No one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the Father” John 6:65 is reduced to “ No one can come to me unless he exerts his will in faith”.

 “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth”.  I Timothy 1:4  is modified by Arminius to “God would have all men to be saved, but, compelled with the stubborn malice of some, he changes his purpose, and will have them to perish.”

Where is God’s sovereignty? Not only are God’s decrees invalidated but God becomes mutable. God’s sovereignty is stripped as He must elect those who elect themselves.

Scripture: “ Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”  Rom 8:30

Arminians:  Delete, ignore, suppress, call conceptual, or quote the mantra “ God is not willing that any should perish”.

Scripture: “ No one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the Father” Jn 6:65

Arminians: “ No one can come to me unless he exerts his will in faith”.

 Those denying God His due sovereignty:

• Take the most humbling of all doctrines, election to salvation, and accuse its proponents  as having pride.
•   Accuse God of a breach of fairness when fairness would keep the accuser himself in reprobation.
•  Procures core doctrines of the church only to  weaken, pillage , and suppress them.
• Rejects God’s fixed ordained liberty, transforming liberty into an obstacle of freedom. 
• Proposes an indifferent spontaneous will to advance free will and in doing so suspends choice altogether.
• Assumes God’s sovereignty threatens free will when His sovereignty intervenes to free man from his fallen nature.
• Accuses God of frustrating man’s will but have no problem diminishing God’s will.
•  Robs God of His due glory by denying God His sovereign choices.
• Makes purpose conditional. Purpose must be a prior event to any sovereign decree as purpose includes future goal.

“Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called . . . “ Romans 8:30

There is no event or work that determines whether one is predestinated. If that were true grace would be nullified. Obviously, predestination is a matter of decree and outside human history. The classic argument that predestination is based on God’s foreknowledge 

is not only wrong but impossible.

Satan hates grace. He is using God’s attribute of sovereignty to disparage the doctrine of grace. “Look”, Satan proffers to the sinner . Grace is discriminating. Grace demonstrates favor. Grace takes away your liberty. Grace is unfair as you know that the religious deserves salvation more than the prostitute. God’s decree of salvation by grace robs you of your choice.

Surrendering to these false assumptions is largely due to man’s ignorance regarding God’s sovereignty in providing salvation. Many Christians are unable to accept God’s sovereign grace. Grace is discriminating. Grace demonstrates favor. Grace puts salvation in the sovereign hand of God rather than the sovereign hand of man.

 God is self-consistent and self determined. He is outside all history. God is immutable in His pursuit of what He has sovereignly determined and decreed. Being self determined and sovereign translates into purposefulness  and faithfulness. God will do that which he has covenanted or promised to do. God is “I am that I am”. Exodus 3:14 .God is sovereign. He alone rules, sustains, guides and governs all things with the end purpose of bringing glory to Himself. Decrees and purposes are predetermined from eternity. God’s counsels have concluded all things past, present and future. Times and events are in His control – their performance certain. Salvation and reprobation are in His discretion. Mercy is His to give or withhold. 

Not Willing Any Should Perish

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” II  Peter 3:9

Arminius’ response to II Peter 3:9  was “God would have all men to be saved, but, compelled with the stubborn malice of some he changed his purpose, and will have them to perish.”

There are several problems with Arminius’ interpretation. God’s decrees become mutable and his purposes frustrated. [See God’s Decrees].

A proper interpretation takes the verse at face value. God does not delight in anyone being sentenced to hell. In fact God does not sentence anyone to hell; they sentence themselves and are in self reprobation.

What judge delights in the death penalty?  No respectable judge desires to send a man to the gallows. However, the fact remains that there are those who perish.  In the two verses before II Peter 3:9, Peter speaks of the fire judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Why does the ungodly man’s neighbor accept Christ while he himself rejects God’s offer of life.

God’s desire that “all” men come to repentance is in the imperative mood. An imperative is a command or unavoidable obligation. An example is “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30. This command does not address the issue of capability but what man ought to do.

The facts or indicatives indicate man does not have the ability to come to Christ except a calling and drawing. The command that all come to repentance is similar to the command that Christians “love God with all our hearts” Deuteronomy 6:5.