whose responsibility is it anyway?

God is sovereign and man has choice. the key to holding this dynamic lies in grasping how God - in His sovereignty - inevitably chooses what is good, and man - in his freedom of choice - inevitably chooses what is not good.

just because God predestines the elect to be saved does not mean that God predestines the unelect to be unsaved. it is logically impossible for God (who is uncreated and therefore perfect) to predestine the unelect to be unsaved. predestination works one way, not two ways.

"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." - James 1:13-15 (NIV)

at the same time, just because man has the capacity to sin in and of himself does not mean that man has the capacity to do good in and of himself. it is logically impossible for man (who is created and therefore imperfect, even if he is 'very good' - Genesis 1:31) to have the capacity to do good in and of himself. total depravity also works one way, not two ways.

"Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." - James 1:16-18 (NIV)

the elect are chosen by God because God chooses them and the unelect are not chosen by God because they do not choose God.

"Everything that does not come from faith is sin." - Romans 14:23b (NIV)

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." - James 4:17 (NIV)

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

when we do not live by faith, it is by our lack of faith. when we live by faith, it is by God's grace. God is responsible when we choose to do good, and we are responsible when we choose not to do good.

there are no tenses in God

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." - Romans 8:29 (NIV)

from a human perspective, God's foreknowledge of the elect (His foreknowledge of who would choose Him) precedes His predestination of the elect (His predestination of who He would choose).

however, this does not mean that God's foreknowledge of the elect causes His predestination of the elect, or that God's predestination of the elect is based on His foreknowledge of the elect. as c.s. lewis writes in the four loves, 'there are no tenses in God'.

descriptive vs prescriptive certainty

there is a difference between describing something that is going to happen and prescribing something to happen. to lay a foundational truth, God's revealed will only ever mentions sin with descriptive, not prescriptive certainty.

for example, when God tells Moses that He WILL harden Pharaoh's heart - even before Moses goes to speak to Pharaoh - God is not saying (with prescriptive certainty) that He will cause Pharaoh's heart to be hardened, or that He will cause Pharaoh to harden his heart.

rather, God is saying (with descriptive certainty) that as history unfolds, He is going to harden Pharaoh's heart in accordance with Pharaoh's refusal to let His people go.

God is sovereign and man has choice. to be chosen by God is to choose God, and to choose God is to know that we are chosen by God.

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God's foreknowledge of the elect, God's predestination of the elect and our free choice all accord with each other. God's foreknowledge of the elect and God's predestination of the elect accord with each other on the same plane (the eternal plane of divine sovereignty), and they both accord with our free choice on a different plane (the temporal plane of human responsibility).