Sunday’s passage raises a question that I didn’t have time to address in the sermon, but maybe you talked about it later in the day. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Jesus presents us with a choice: follow him into everlasting life or follow sin to our own destruction.

Our question arises when we read this passage next to others like John 15:16. There Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” Ephesians 1:5 makes the question even sticker when it says, “he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.”

So, which is it? Do we follow Jesus as an expression of our own will or is it something we do because it was predetermined by God? Yes – the answer is both. Sometimes we frame this question as “predestination vs free will,” but that’s not really how the Bible sets it up. The Bible says that God is fully sovereign and that we are fully responsible.

God is fully sovereign. That means there’s nothing in all the world that happens apart from his plan. Not one single thing. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” Casting lots was a lot like rolling dice. It was probably one of the most random things that an ancient mind could imagine. Yet, as random as that is, the outcome is still determined by the Lord. That means every decision is a response to his plan – including your decision to follow Jesus.

We are fully responsible. If we cut out right there, it might seem like our decisions don’t really matter. They’re predetermined anyway, right? So, who cares what we do? Not so fast. God makes it clear that we have full responsibility for the decisions we make. Notice how Jesus rebukes the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” Jesus doesn’t say, “You’re full of death, but it’s not your fault because God didn’t choose to clean out your hypocrisy.” Jesus affirms the Pharisees’ agency and holds them responsible for the decisions they made. We’re responsible for our choices because they’re real choices.

Is your head spinning a bit? If so, I totally understand. It’s hard to hold those two things together in tension – but that’s exactly what the Bible does! God is not reacting to our decisions. He’s fully sovereign. At the same time, we are not robots who go through programing with no say ourselves. We have fully responsibility.

This isn’t just a theological data point for us to mull around. It has real implications for how we live every day. Don’t believe me? Here’s just a few:

Because God is fully sovereign, I can have confidence when I make decisions. I might make a poor decision that opens me up to bad consequences, but I can never derail God’s plan. I cannot handicap him when he says he will work all things for good.

Because God is fully sovereign, I can have peace when I make decisions. One of the biggest sources of stress for me concerning the Coronavirus has been having to make a bunch of decisions based on partial or constantly changing information. I’ll bet you’re doing the same thing. In fact, all of our decisions are based on partial information because we can never know everything there is to know. We can rest in the fact that everything doesn’t depend on us and then make the best decision we can. God really is in control.

Because God is sovereign, I can have humility when I make decisions. I can’t brag about choosing to follow Jesus as if I was somehow more insightful than anyone else. That decision is no credit to how clever I am. It’s a credit to how gracious God has been to me. It’s tempting for me to judge others when I think they choose poorly, but God’s sovereignty won’t let me. I chose Jesus only because Jesus chose me.

Sovereignty and responsibility are things that many of us will wrestle with for our entire lives. This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about it and it certainly won’t be the last! My hope is that you don’t spin yourself up in frustration or throw up your hands in despair. My hope is that you’ll find great comfort in uncertain times. God really is on the throne – and that means you can press forward with the hundreds of decisions you have to make with confidence.