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There is certainly no biblical problem with preaching the doctrine of God's sovereignty. At the same time, there are other situations where it is wise to present the facts of the case as dispassionately as we are able to. God's saints must see this issue as it really is -- the clear, objective teaching of the Word of God, and not the result of theological speculations. This is no carnal add-on. "Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar" (Prov. 30:6).
That said, let us talk about the sovereignty as the liberty of God. Enough about whether man has free will. Does God have free will? In the book of Proverbs, how free is God?
First, consider God's liberty in knowing man's ways. "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his paths" (Prov. 5:21). God watches everything that men do. "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3). Moreover, this last verse made clear that God watches the commission of wickedness. This is a very important point to master. If we are competent to judge God for perfect control of evil, then why do we stop there? Why not judge Him for His refusal to intervene? If man can indict God for sins of commission, then why shouldn't we be able to judge him for sins of ommision? If God were to be called "evil" because He ordained that some wicked act would take place, then why could we not call Him evil for letting it take place, with Him right there in the room? Why doesn't God call 9-11 more often than He does? Those within the evangelical camp need to come to grips with the fact that every objection they mount against "Calvinism" can be pressed with equal force against every form of Christian belief. Calvinism draws all the fire because Calvinists the ones who genuinely engage with the accusation.
Then there is God's liberty in knowing the heart of man. "Hell and Destruction are before the LORD; so how much more the hearts of the sons of men" (Prov. 15:11). "The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but the words of the pure are pleasant" (Prov. 15:26). "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts" (Prov. 21:2).
God is not a mere spectator of the outside. His gaze doess not stop at the skin. He sees all the way in. And because sin is conceived in the mind, this brings us back to the point made in the previous section. Whenever sin and evil are conceived in the heart and mind of any given sinner, God is "present at the creation."
And God shows His liberty in His control of inanimate objects. "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Prov. 16:33). We must note that Solomon does not tell us what each decision means -- just that it is from the Lord. We must distinguish between the decretive will of God (heads or tails), and the preceptive will of God -- what He tells us to do in His Word. In other words, I cannot flip a coin without knowing that God decreed that it would come up however it comes up. What I can't know (apart from special revelation from Him) is whether heads really means that I should sell all my possessions and go prospecting for gold in the Yukon.
God also exercises His liberty in His perfect control of evil. "The LORD has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; though they join forces, none will go unpunished" Prov. 16:4-5). We see how the Word does not oppose God's exhaustive sovereignty and man's responsibility. We must not fall into the opposing errors of hyper-Calvinism or Arminianism. Let us say this again, and simply deal with what the Bible actually says. God has made the wicked for the day of doom.
And we can also see that God shows His powerful liberty in His control of free actions. "The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD" (Prov. 16:1). God controls what we say. I am sitting at a keyboard right this minute, free as a bird, typing away. And God decreed, before the foundation of the world that right now I would type ldkjglsdfkgj and then italicize it. "A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps" (Prov. 16:9). God controls where we step -- this includes the gas pedal, and this is why we pray for traveling mercies. This includes the gas and brake pedal within the car of a drunk driver. This is why we pray to God for traveling protections. If God does not do this, then why do virtually all Christians everywhere (of every doctrinal stripe) consistently ask Him to? And God's control of such things does not depend on a "yielded heart." "When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Prov. 16:7).
God also displays His liberty of control in the devisings of man's heart. "The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes" (Prov. 21:1). God's control is not limited to externals. He turns the heart of the king any direction, and there is no hint of any diminution of the king's responsibility. And the point of this proverb is to say that God does this, even with kings. The point is not to say that He does it with kings, but could care less about the peons. God holds the heart of every man in His hands.
Because of this, we would not be far off to infer that God controls all things. But we do not need to rely on an inference. "There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the LORD" (Prov. 21:30). God cannot be outsmarted; under no circumstances can His decretive will be thwarted -- and remember the distinction made above concerning His will. "There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the LORD’S counsel -- that will stand" (Prov. 19:21; cf. 21:31; 22:2; 26:10; 29:13). Man can devise and scheme away, however he pleases. But the Lord's counsel . . . that is what will happen.
We are not peering into deeps when we assert that God does all this. We would have a problem if we tried to explain how He does it. We would be filled with hubris if we attempted to show the math. How God does it is none of our business. That God does it is the concern of every pious soul. "A man’s steps are of the LORD; how then can a man understand his own way?" (Prov. 20:24). God's sovereignty is the true school of humility.
Charles Spurgeon put it well. "There is no attribute of God more comforting to his children than the doctrine of divine sovereignty. On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of which they have made such a football, as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah."
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