Does the Bible teach that God is sovereign over men’s wills? You tell me.
“you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” (Gen. 50:20)
“But I will harden his (Pharaoh’s) heart, so that he will not let the people go.” (Ex. 4:21)
“And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.” (Ex. 12:36)
“And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.” (Ex. 14:17)
“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand” (Deut. 2:30)
“For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them” (Josh. 11:20)
“God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech” (Jud. 9:23)
“the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’” (2 Sam. 24:1)
“The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets” (1 Kings 22:23)
“that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom” (Ezra 1:1-3)
“the Lord made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God” (Ezra 6:22)
“He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal craftily with His servants.” (Ps. 105:25)
“A man’s heart (will) plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Pr. 16:9)
“The king’s heart (will) is in the hand of the LORD…He turns it wherever He wishes. (Pr. 21:1)
“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger…I will send him against an ungodly nation, and against the people of My wrath I will give him charge…Yet he does not mean so, nor does his heart think so” (Is. 10:5-7)
“For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” (Is. 14:27)
“Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure’” (Is. 44:28)
“I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever” (Jer. 32:39)
“I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.” (Jer. 32:40)
“I will give you a new heart (will) and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart (will) of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezek. 36:26-27)
“For His dominion is and everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have you done?” (Dan. 4:34-35)
“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.” (Acts 4:27-28)
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
“Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” (Rom. 9:19)
“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Cor. 12:11)
“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13)
“Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’” (Jas. 4:15)
“For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.” (Rev. 17:17)
I constantly wonder how Arminians can resist the plain import of such verses. But then I remember what a taskmaster pride can be.
ReplyDeleteWe see here illustrated that portion of the Westminster Confession of Faith (III:1) that reads, "God from all eternity did by the most and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established." In order to attain His purposes God used the wickedness native to men's hearts to bear fruit in wicked actions, that He then overruled for the salvation of the elect. That element of theology is the underlining moral of the story of Joseph, especially.
Great observation, Chris. Arminianism start with a presupposition that forces them to skirt the clear force of such passages.
ReplyDeleteWhat do they do with Isaiah 63:17?