If God is sovereign over all things, then does He predestine our sins?
This is one of the deepest and most solemn questions that can ever enter the mind: If God is absolutely sovereign, and if "He works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will" (Ephesians 1:11), then did He predestine our sins?
The answer of Scripture requires us to distinguish carefully between God's sovereign decree and man's sinful intention. God is sovereign over all that comes to pass, yet God is never the author of sin. He ordains whatsoever occurs, but He does so in such a way that the creature acts according to his own wicked desires and remains fully responsible for what he does.
The greatest example is the crucifixion of Jesus, the worst sin ever committed! Acts 2:23, "This Man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross."
There it is -- God's "set purpose" and man's "wicked" act standing side by side. The murder of Jesus was not an accidental interruption of God's plan. Calvary was ordained before the foundation of the world. Yet the men who crucified Him were not innocent instruments blindly compelled to do evil. They acted from the hatred of their own hearts, and therefore they were guilty.
Acts 4:27-28, "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your holy Servant Jesus, Whom You anointed. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen."
Notice the language. They "did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen." God's purpose stood behind their crime. But the sin was theirs. God did not pour hatred into their hearts. He did not make wicked men wicked. He sovereignly determined what they would do, while they willingly did what their sinful hearts desired.
Joseph spoke the same truth concerning the terrible evil committed against him in Genesis 50:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
The same event had two intentions. Men intended evil. God intended good.
This is the mystery of Divine providence. God does not sin when He sovereignly governs sinful actions. He is holy in every decree, righteous in every purpose, and pure in every work. "The LORD is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made" (Psalm 145:17).
James leaves no room for the thought that God tempts anyone to sin: "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted, when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed." James 1:13-14
God ordains the circumstances.
God governs the boundaries.
God directs history.Yet the sinner sins because he wants to.
His wicked heart is his own.
His motives are his own.
His rebellion is his own.
He alone is fully responsible for every sinful thought, desire, word and action.The sinner cannot stand before God and say, "I sinned because You made me do it." Scripture will never permit such an excuse. The Judge of all the earth shall do right. The same sovereign God Who ordains the end, also ordains the means, and one of those means is the willing, responsible action of moral creatures.
What a holy mystery! God is so sovereign that even the sins of men cannot overthrow His purposes. Yet God is so holy that He never partakes of sin.
And here is the believer's great comfort: the sins of men cannot frustrate the purposes of God. What appears to us as chaos, is never chaos to Him. The evil Joseph's brothers intended, became the means of preserving life. The murderous hatred of Christ's enemies, became the appointed road to redemption. The darkest crime in history, became the doorway through which the light of eternal salvation shined.
Sin is truly yours. Sovereignty is truly His.
You are responsible for every sin you commit.
God is responsible for every good purpose He accomplishes through His providence.Christian, remember this: even when wicked men act wickedly, and even when your own remaining sin grieves you, nothing can overturn the eternal purpose of your God.
Romans 8:28, "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
The hands of sinful men may be evil -- but the hand of God is never evil.
He is holy.
He is sovereign.
He is wise.
And not one purpose of His can ever fail.
If God is sovereign over all things, does God predestine our sins? (expanded article)
This is a question which has perplexed many minds and, tragically, has sometimes been twisted into a refuge for the ungodly.
Scripture gives us a profoundly solemn answer. God sovereignly ordains whatsoever comes to pass, yet He is never the author of sin. His decree is holy; the sinner's rebellion is evil. God governs the actions of sinful men, without sinning Himself. The mystery is deep, but the moral distinction is clear.
Calvary gives us the supreme illustration.
Acts 2:23, "This Man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross."
The crucifixion was God's "set purpose." It was not an unforeseen catastrophe. Before the foundation of the world, God had purposed that His Son would be delivered up as the spotless Substitute for His people. Yet the men who murdered Jesus were "wicked men." God's decree did not excuse their crime. They acted according to the evil desires of their own hearts, and therefore their hands were guilty.
Acts 4:27-28, "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your holy Servant Jesus, Whom You anointed. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen."
What a dreadful and glorious mystery! Wicked men did precisely what God's sovereign hand had determined would occur -- and they did it out of the wickedness of their own hearts.
God ordained the event.
They committed the sin.God's purpose was righteous.
Their purpose was evil.God accomplished redemption.
They incurred guilt.Never confuse God's sovereign ordination, with God's moral approval. God can sovereignly ordain that a sinful act occur, without approving the sinfulness of the act. The distinction is plainly written across the pages of Scripture.
Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery. Their intention was evil. Yet God had another purpose: Genesis 50:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
One event. Two intentions. Man intended evil. God intended good.
Here, then, is the great warning: Never use the sovereignty of God as an excuse for your sin!
What a fearful thing it is when a doctrine intended to magnify God's glory, is twisted into a pillow for a guilty conscience.
"God ordained it" is no justification for your lust.
"God predestined it" is no excuse for your anger.
"It was God's providence" does not cleanse your dishonesty, bitterness, covetousness, pride, malice, or unbelief.
You sinned because you wanted to sin!The sinner cannot charge his wickedness to the decree of God. Scripture traces sin to the heart of man: James 1:14, "But each one is tempted, when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed."
And Scripture shuts the sinner's mouth when he attempts to blame God: James 1:13, "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone."
God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
His sovereignty is not sinister.
His providence is not polluted.
His decree is not sinful.He is infinitely holy.
The evil is ours.This should make sin infinitely more dreadful to us. We must never imagine that because God can overrule our sin for His glory, then our sin is somehow less horrible. Joseph's brothers' evil, became the means of God's good purpose -- but their evil remained their evil. The murder of Jesus became the appointed means of redemption, but those who murdered Him remained guilty.
Indeed, Calvary shows us the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
Christian! What must sin be, if nothing less than the blood of the incarnate Son of God could atone for it? What must be the horror of rebellion against God, when the Father did not simply overlook our guilt, but poured out the punishment that our sins deserved upon His beloved Son? Jesus was not crucified because sin was insignificant. He was crucified because sin was infinitely serious. He bore the wrath of God as the Substitute for His people. He stood in the place of the guilty, received the punishment their sins deserved, and satisfied divine justice completely.
The sovereignty of God should make the believer humble, not presumptuous. It should make the lost sinner tremble, not become careless. The God Who ordains all things, is also the God Who commands all men everywhere to repent. His sovereignty does not diminish human responsibility -- it makes the sinner's rebellion against such a sovereign King all the more dreadful.
Christian! Bow before this unfathomable mystery: the God Who sovereignly governs all things:
never commits sin,
never makes a mistake,
never loses control,
and never abandons His purpose.Romans 8:28, "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Therefore, when you are tempted, do not reason from God's sovereignty into carelessness. Reason from God's holiness into repentance. When you sin, do not excuse yourself by saying, "God ordained it." Fall upon your face and confess, "I have sinned against the LORD."
Let the sovereignty of God humble you, not harden you. Let it make you more watchful, more prayerful, more fearful of offending such a holy God. The doctrine of election was never given to make men comfortable in their sins, but to make redeemed sinners marvel at sovereign grace.
His sovereignty does not make your sin less sinful. It makes His grace more amazing.
The same God Who ordained the cross, has commanded you to take up your cross. The same Christ Who sovereignly saves His people, calls them to "go and sin no more." And the same Holy Spirit Who seals the believer unto the day of redemption, works within him, producing hatred for the sins which once enslaved him.
"Salvation belongs to our God, Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." (Revelation 7:10)
He is sovereign over all.
He is holy in all.
He is righteous in all.And when all the purposes of His eternal counsel have been accomplished, the redeemed will discover that:
not one thing He ordained was unjust,
not one promise He made was empty,
and not one purpose of His grace ever failed."For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)
(The above article was AI generated.)