Whether you’ve been raised in the Church or you’re new to it, you’ve probably heard buzzwords like “free will,” “predestination,” “God’s sovereignty,” “election,” and more. These topics can be difficult to understand, whether you’ve been a Christian for years or are just beginning your faith journey. They deal with questions about how humanity and God interact. This naturally raises an age-old question: Which view is correct? Throughout church history, and even today, faithful Christians have held different perspectives on these doctrines. So how do we determine what is true? How can we confidently discern which interpretation best aligns with Scripture?
If you’ve studied this topic, you’ve probably encountered the words Calvinism and Arminianism before. These are two of the most well-known views regarding this topic. Calvinism emphasizes God’s sovereign role in salvation, teaching that He unconditionally chooses those who will be saved. Arminianism emphasizes that God’s grace enables every person to respond freely to the Gospel, making salvation available to all who place their faith in Christ. Most views on this issue lie somewhere on this spectrum.
Each perspective relies on scripture. Many calvinists will point to Romans 8:29–30, claiming “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son… And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” While Arminianists will often point to John 3:16, emphasizing that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Both groups, and everyone in between, make reasonable arguments and draw their answers from scripture. So that brings us back to the question: How do we know what’s right?
Here’s the simple answer… we don’t know. For centuries, Christians have debated this topic with no end. The issue is that, while most mean well, we are trying to explain something we don’t have the capacity to understand. When we try to define our position on this, we are attempting to understand how an infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving God interacts with His creation. The God of the universe can’t be fit into a category.
We don’t have to understand these things to trust what scripture says. That doesn’t mean we should ignore them or have blind faith. It simply means that we should trust that God’s sovereignty and our free will co-exist, not in contradiction, but in partnership, and we don’t have to understand their relationship to be saved. The Bible says in Romans 10:9-10, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” It also says that if we are saved, we are called to fulfill the Great Commission. Neither of these things requires a complete understanding of the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human free will. While these doctrines are important to study, our salvation does not depend on having every theological question answered. Instead, we are called to trust Christ, obey His Word, and faithfully proclaim the Gospel.
Written by Kayleigh Rosado