Hi John,
There is a paradox, not a contradiction, between free will and God's sovereignty.
We certainly won't fully understand it in this life. Let me give you a
parallel: A father can have a plan for his son's life, but his son
can choose to ignore it.
Likewise, God wills that all men come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ,
but the operative phrase there is come to. For a man to arrive
at or come to a conclusion, he requires reason and, hence,
free will. Along the way, God introduces grace into the circumstance because
given to our own devices we will always choose ourselves over God.
God does allow free will, and, yes; the choices we make influence others
but there are limits to the extent to which God allows my free will,
and yours, to effect the salvation and future of others. God does intervene
and in His foreknowledge has made provision for our decisions. Moreover,
grace is intrinsically efficacious, yet not irresistible as John Calvin argued, hence, God's intervention for the benefit of His Son's is sovereign.
In the natural realm, a child does have free will, but a good
father exercises control over the child. He allows the child to mature
and make choices. He allows his child to learn by mistakes and failures.
Nevertheless, a good father also knows enough not allow the child to endanger
himself or others. He may let a toddler touch a hot oven so he learns not
to get burnt. That doesn't mean he'll let the kid stick his
hand into a raging flame to learn the same lesson. In fact, he might let
the kid touch the hot oven so he learns what heat is, then, when he tells
him to stay away from the campfire, the kid will have an experience to
relate to and therefore obey his father.
God treats his children the same way. He has a perfect will and plan.
He also has a permissive will, which allows man to learn the hard way.
I hope this helps,
John DiMascio
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