But rather that He works in His mysterious way through their wills to accomplish His purposes.

So while the Bible asserts both God's sovereignty and people's freedom and moral responsibility, it never attempts to explain their relationship.

The relationship of the sovereign will of God to the freedom and moral responsibility of people is one of those mysteries.

it is the ability of God to so arrange diverse human actions to fulfill His purpose that makes His sovereignty marvelous and yet mysterious.

The third truth to keep before us is that the Bible consistently portrays people as making real choices of their own will.

The choices people make are moral choices; that is, people are held accountable by God for the choices they make. The actions of Judas, Herod, and Pilate were wicked acts even though done under the sovereign appointment of God.

The Bible teaches both the sovereignty of God and the free moral choices of men with equal emphasis.

But in the light of Scripture, it is decisive that this creaturely freedom poses no threat or limitation to the sovereign and almighty Divine enterprise….

Because we know God is directing our lives to an ultimate end and because we know He is sovereignly able to orchestrate the events of our lives toward that end, we can trust Him. We can commit to Him not only the ultimate outcome of our lives, but also all the intermediate events and circumstances that will bring us to that outcome.

He will direct it according to His sovereign purpose for His glory and our good.

But the reverent reader of Scripture cannot fail to see the sovereign hand of God arranging those ordinary circumstances to accomplish His purpose.

God recorded in His Word specific instances of His sovereign rule over history in order that we might trust Him in the affairs of history as they unfold before us today.