The United States is at a crossroads, teetering on the edge of transformational change. Much is at stake in our upcoming presidential election. As noted in our last article, Christians pray for a government that allows them to practice and preach the soul-saving gospel of Christ in a peaceful and quiet environment (see 1 Timothy 2:1-4). They want to be a part of a nation of laws, in which justice is blind and is administered equally to all (this principle is taught in Exodus 23:1-8). They want a government that punishes the wicked and promotes the righteous (Romans 13:3-4). They do not want a government that allows the rich, powerful and popular to make their own laws and avoid punishment for their crimes.
The next US president will face the task of selecting at least one Supreme Court justice. Will we have a Supreme Court whose justices respect their role as interpreters and applicators of the US Constitution, or will it be a Court that ignores the Constitution and arbitrarily makes its own laws? Will it be a Court that respects the sanctity of all human life, or will it tilt in favor of abortion, including support for that abomination of partial-birth abortion? Will it respect religious rights and liberties, including the freedom of speech that is necessary for Christians to propagate the gospel, or will it continue to legislate against traditional religious liberties and values? Will it be a Court that continues to redefine marriage, while promoting and normalizing various forms of aberrant sexual behavior (such as homosexuality, transgenderism…etc)?
Many people quickly dismiss these concerns by saying that “God is in control,” that He will do as He pleases, and that we need not concern ourselves with any of these problems! I should point out that God does indeed control things. However, He controls only those things that He wishes to control! One thing that He does not wish to control is human free-agency. He allows humans to do their own thinking, reach their own conclusions and do as they please. God allows us to exercise our own personal “will” (John 5:40; 7:17; 8:44). God does attach consequences to these choices and actions, but He nonetheless allows the choices to be made. This includes voting. Casting a vote is a free-“will” exercise. As I have told several people over the past year, God is in control, but He allows people to vote. After these votes are cast, God allows the votes to stand as they were cast. He does not miraculously change the results of the votes either in the voting machine or during tabulation.
God’s “control” of things does not nullify the power of free expression by humans. It should be noted that people regularly blaspheme God in the most horrible ways, but are allowed by God to continue their earthly lives — some even into very old age. People regularly commit all types of violent and deviant crimes against their fellow man, but continue living without any immediate and physical punishment by God. Sinners will be punished later: in torments (Luke 16:23) and in eternal hell (Revelation 21:8). God allows them live and even to prosper in this life (see Job 21 & Psalm 73).
The Calvinistic doctrine of fatalism is largely to be blamed for misconceptions that people have about the nature of God’s control. They have been erroneously taught that God is in direct, immediate and manipulative control of every aspect and detail of life. Others reach faulty conclusions by making modern day applications of certain Old Testament passages, such as Daniel 4:32 (God rules in the kingdoms of men). They either forget or fail to realize that the Jewish nation was a theocracy and that God dealt directly with nations in both the preservation and the punishment of the Jewish nation. We are not under a theocracy today. God’s kingdom is spiritual (John 18:36). It has no physical domain. God today works through people to the extent that they are influenced and guided by His word (Philippians 2:12-16).
—Tim Haile
It has always bothered me that some would aver that God controls all actions and events. This is an impossibility because if God controls all then God is responsible for all sin. We know that God can control all but He allows and demands free choice. He presents to us His son, the incomparable messiah, and demands that if we want to be with Him in heaven we must choose Him as our savior. God fervently desires that we choose His son and render obedience to His divine will, but…. it is our choice. Be blessed by choosing Him or be cursed by choosing anything else. The choice has been and remains ours.