Sovereignty and Free Will

 

 

Concerning Sovereignty

There is only One,

History has its Emperors and kings

But they are long gone.

 

Pseudo sovereignty

Meaning a mere pretense

But never having ultimate control

Whatever their intent.

 

The Emperors of Rome

And the great kings of Israel:

They all suffered irreversible defeat

In their final battle.

 

The Presidents of today

And Prime Ministers as well

Are destined to lose their life battle

After their spell.

 

Death is appointed

For both great and small

And when death dials our number,

None can stall.

 

Pseudo sovereignty

Is all that we have got

And whether Emperor or pauper,

Death is our lot.

 

God is the only Sovereign

And there’s not another,

Don’t you dare consider the devil:

That deceptive usurper.

 

 

 

Now man has free will

Given to him by God

Meaning he has limited choice,

That is all.

 

He is not sovereign

And this is so very clear

For he lives for a period of time

And then disappears.

 

Man may choose

Whether to live or die

And this must be seen in two ways:

One being suicide.

 

Or he can remain dead

In his trespasses and sins

And refuse the gift of salvation

God offers to him.

 

Man can choose to work

Or idle away all day,

He can choose to become muted

Or have a say.

 

He can choose a job

And build a nice career

Or be a recluse and from people

Stay clear.

 

He can have a family,

I mean of his own

Or having been born into a family,

He can go off alone.

 

 

 

A Myriad choices

Are available to all

But understand choice is unlimited

Only to God.

 

God sets the limit

On the choices of man

And we can accept or reject Him

If we so plan.

 

BUT

 

There are consequences

To the choices we make

And these can be very heart wrenching

Like here of late.

 

 

 

Choices by our leaders

And important others

That put harsh measures in place

And cause great bother.

 

Nations against Nations

In skirmishes and war

Choosing weapons of destruction

To show their power.

 

Taking another’s resources

By sheer brute force:

The animals’ survival of the fittest

Now man’s recourse.

 

Changing their gender

As though this is possible

And then actually agitating for it,

Though reprehensible. 

 

Man is not a robot

But then, neither is God

And because He is the I AM that I AM

He is sovereign of all.

 

 

 

Creating Adam and Eve

God gave them a rule:

It was His way or the other way;

They could choose.

 

Think of a world

Without restrictive choice:

Wherein are no rules or regulations:

No regulating voice.

 

No reason, no empathy,

Just all is civil anarchy!

Surely God did not create the world

For this to be.

 

Hence a Sovereign voice

With ultimate control

That can limit the despicably wicked

And put evil on hold.

 

Thus, the reason for death

And the limit imposed,

I AM that I AM is the only Sovereignty

And none other comes close.

 

We can do as we like

But not for as long as we like

For Almighty God is in ultimate control

And will set things right.

 

Free will is limited

And this is without doubt

So, to rulers of countries and nations,

So is your clout.

 

Stewart Russell © November 10, 2025

 

God’s Sovereignty Man’s Free Will

How do the two work?

I have heard people ask

And to them, even for God.

This is an impossible task.

One must displace the other

At some time or another,

That is the only way

They can ever work together.

It won’t take rocket science

To see what I see

So, in my simple understanding

Here is what must be.

First it must be an absolute

That God is Sovereign,

After all, He is the Lord of lords

And the King of kings.

 

God is the only sovereignty

That has not been given,

All other so-called sovereignties-

For such, men have striven.

At the level of civil society

That is how sovereignty works,

The stronger takes the weaker

You don’t have to be an expert.

The stronger and the weaker:

These are two human groups,

They have repeatedly changed

In a consistent loop.

Like the World Powers

Of which we read in our history,

Each reign will last

Until the other succeeds.

None can conquer the World

Of this history is replete,

But man will try and try again

Thus, his failure he will repeat.

Man’s reign is always limited

Limited to time and space,

Contrary to this God is not

After all, He created the human race.

 

God gave man his free will

He gave him the ability to choose,

It is a facility that is given for a time

Which at death he will lose.

Lucifer, God also created

And to him He also gave free will,

But Satan forgot it was what he received

And failed in his overthrow bid.

God is omnipotent and omniscient

Creator and Ruler of all,

He is self-existent, the only I AM

And to do what He pleases is His call.

He is sovereign and man is not

Free will is a gift from Him,

Man is finite and God is not

But such a quest brought about the first sin.

That the two can work together

We may not fully understand

But nothing is impossible with God

And this is His divine plan.

I see it in the light of salvation,

God has given man a choice,

It’s just like in the garden of Eden

When man disobeyed God’s voice.

But God in His eternal wisdom

Worked around this catastrophe,

Hence, the coming of His beloved Son

To die for you and me.

Our free will remain intact,

We can say yes or no to God

But that free will is not unlimited,

If you doubt me, ask the Fraud.

Lucifer was the first, you’d recall

To truly understand this

And any that dares to join him

Is taking an eternal risk.

 

When we say yes to God

We are accepting His sovereignty

To order the affairs of our life

For all eternity.

In our ignorance and stupidity

Sometimes we may want to turn back

But having said yes to God,

He keeps each child on track.

This is not a violation

Of the free will He gave to us

But a commitment that God has made

On account of His Son Jesus.

Our free will need not oppose God

Even though sometimes it will

But that “yes” we have said to Him

Keeps us under his covering still.

God will do what is best by us

For His glory and our good

And His indwelling faithful Spirit

Will prompt us to do as we should.

He will not bully or bulldoze us

To do what we should do

But like a loving shepherd with silly sheep,

He will care for me and for you.

There are two theological camps

That claw at each other daily,

One holds the side of man’s free will

The other on God’s sovereignty.

Neither the twain can see

How the two can work together

But standing behind two deceased men

They refused to come together.

Perhaps like the blind man of old

They are not seeing much

And maybe, like that blind man of old

They need a second touch.

Both camps need to remember

It is Christ that died for man,

He did this by way of his own free will

Yet, in accordance with God’s plan.

So, the two can work together

As a matter of fact, they always do,

They combined to process salvation

Both for me and for you.

Man’s free will is limited

And though he has that facility now

There is a time that is yet to come

When all men will be forced to bow.

Subject your free will to God,

Do so willingly,

Do not wait until that time comes

When you will compulsorily.

Then, it will be to no avail

Redemption’s amnesty would have passed,

Therefore, while it is called today

Salvation’s offer you must grasp.

There is absolutely no violation

When we exchange our will for God’s,

The real bully is the devil

Don’t be taken in by this Fraud.

God’s sovereignty, man’s free will-

One is as evident as the other

And given the benefits salvation brings

Why should either be a bother?

God always keeps His word

And that is the key,

At the same time this cannot be said

For you and for me.

Stewart Russell © May 2020