Heresy?

For quite some time I have been thinking about the whole conflict between free will and God's sovereignty that is present in Christian thought. As I was thinking about it, all the sudden it made sense, (which was not what I was expecting.) So, I thought I would post this here where someone might read it and tell me if any part of this is heresy, or whether I just don't make sense.


Ok, let's start with two statements. First, God is completely sovereign over all things in his creation. He made everything, he plans how everything will come about. He knows our thoughts, and he forms our days. He knows what we will say before it comes out of our mouths. In Acts it says that Christ was delivered up according to God's plan. In Proverbs it says that the heart of kings is like streams of water to the Lord, that he turns them wherever he wishes. Read Psalm 139 and you will see some of these statements about his sovereignty.

The second statement is that the will of men is free. We have no outward compulsion forcing to decide to do this or that, that we do it of our own accord. This is especially true when it comes to sin. We sin because it is what we want to do. Essentially I am saying that man is free to do whatever it is that he wants to do in the circumstances that he finds himself in.

Now these two statements seem contradictory. But I believe they are (at least for the most part) Biblically accurate. (I'm not being extremely careful with my words, so I may have just said something heretical. Please check me.)

To me, one extremely obvious statement clears up the whole matter.

We are who God created us to be.

Well, duh, right? How could this be any different? God created me to be a male, so I am. God created me to be an American, so I am. I did not choose any of these attributes about me, He did. I didn't choose to be unable to draw, or to be more competent in math than most. Many times I wish I wasn't so flippin' analytical all the time, but I can't do anything about it, it is simply who I am.

Now based on who I am, I make decisions. I chose to be an engineer because I am good at math. That choice has put me into many situations that I would not have been in if I were instead an English major. Saying that God planned for me to be a civil engineer and put me in all the contexts that have resulted from that is not contrary to me saying that I choose to be a civil engineer. Here is the argument laid out.

-I choose freely in who I am

-God made me who I am and knew what I was going to choose.

-God cares about what we choose and uses our choices in His plans

-Therefore God made me to make the choices I have freely made.

The best objection that I have thought of to my argument that is from scripture is that this conception of God seems to put all of his creative action in our hearts at the time when He created us, and leaves no more room for Him to work in us. But I disagree here. Our being is found in God. We are who God says we are. If God changes us, like He did at conversion, we are something different, a new creation. If He says we are something else, then we ARE something else, and make choices from a completely different framework.

Now the question becomes, "If God changes us without our input, how can that be free will?" My answer is we are changed all the time without our input. In the Bible you hear, "Bad company corrupts good morals." So what is the bad company doing? Well, it is changing you. You had good morals, but the bad company corrupted them without you wanting them too. Is this a violation of your free will? I don't think so, because you were still with the bad company.

So, if this type of change is possible without violating free will, can an infinite, creator God not form you be giving you those things which He created you to repond to? We are not saved until we call upon the name of the Lord. Can the Lord not give you that which will make you freely call upon Him?

There is a question remaining though. In all of this, regardless of whether man if "free" or not, can man still be responsible if God created him to perform such and such actions. I like this question. I like this question because unlike most I can give you a direct and definitive answer, because the exact question is asked in the Bible, in Romans 9.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

So the answer of Why did God create me in such a way that I run headlong into hell of my own accord is, "How can you question God about why He made you in such a way?" God has His own reasons (His glory, which I promise I will get back to,) and He carries those out. Furthermore, how can you question who you are? You are who you are. You, the person running headlong into hell of your own accord, are running headlong into hell of your own accord. The person who is running headlong into hell of his own accord deserves to go to hell. God could have created you differently, but then you wouldn't be you. You would be something else. As you are though, you are yourself, you deserve judgment for acts you have freely committed. I am not God, so I don't know the full measure of His wisdom in creating men one way or the other, all I know is that ultimately it is for His glory.

So that covers all of my potential heresy for today. The only part of this entire post that I know you, the reader, can trust, is that part where I quoted the Bible. The rest might be crap.

If I am a heretic, let me know and tell me why. I'll shut up if I am and it can be shown.