ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What does it really mean to have free will when God is sovereign over everything? This week Rob Jorgensen talks to Scott Christiansen to discuss his book Defeating Evil. Scott tackles one of the most misunderstood concepts in evangelical Christianity: the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. We discover that the popular notion of libertarian free will—the idea that we must have equal ability to choose or reject God for our love to be real—actually contradicts what Scripture teaches about our nature and God's grace. The Bible is clear: we are dead in our trespasses and sins, unable to seek God on our own. Yet this doesn't make our choices meaningless or reduce us to robots. Instead, Scripture reveals a beautiful truth: God's sovereignty doesn't diminish our responsibility but establishes it within His perfect plan. When we properly understand who God is (fully sovereign), who we are (creatures dependent on our Creator), what sin is (enslaving and deceptive), and what salvation is (entirely of grace, both necessary and sufficient), everything falls into place. This isn't about logic or emotion—it's about submitting to Scripture's definitions. The regenerating work of the Holy Spirit transforms our will, freeing us from sin's bondage and enabling us to believe. Grace doesn't just make salvation possible; it makes it actual. This God-centered worldview changes everything, moving us from seeing ourselves as the sun around which everything revolves to recognizing that we orbit around God's glory, where we were always meant to be.
