Dr. John Piper wrote 1961) J. I. Packer argues that the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man is an antinomy. He defines “antinomy” as “an appearance of contradiction between conclusions which seem equally logical, reasonable or necessary” (p. 18). It “is neither dispensable nor comprehensible…It is unavoidable and insoluble. We do not invent it, and we cannot explain it” (p. 21). God “orders and controls all things, human actions among them”…yet “He holds every man responsible for the choices he makes and the courses of action he pursues” (p. 22). “To our finite minds this is inexplicable” (p. 23).

The first thing to notice here is that the antinomy as Packer sees it is not between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. Packer is too good a biblical scholar to think there ever was such a thing as “free will” taught in the scripture. Thus the whole conversation between him and myself can proceed on the cordial agreement that free will is an unbiblical notion that is not part of the antinomy because it is not part of revelation.

But now I would like to ask where Packer gets the idea that this so-called antinomy between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man is “inexplicable” to our finite minds? Does he simply have an intuitive feeling that we can’t understand the unity of these two truths? Or is it that he has tried for 40 years to explain it and has found that he can’t? Or does he appeal to the endless disputes in the church on this subject? Packer does not tell us why he thinks the antinomy is an antinomy. He simply assumes that “it sounds like a contradiction” to everybody. He also assumes that anyone who is discontent with antinomy and tries to probe into the consistency of its two halves is guilty of suspicious speculations (p. 24). I disagree with both assumptions: everybody does not think the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man are apparently contradictory (for example Jonathan Edwards), nor is it in my judgment, improper to probe into the very mind of God if done in the right spirit.

Proper Probing

Let’s take the second point first. Packer refers (p. 23) to Romans 9:19, 20 “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted his will?’ O man, on the contrary, who are you to dispute (antapokrinomenos) with God?” What is Paul rebuking here? A sincere, humble desire to understand the ways of God? No! He is rebuking the arrogance that calls God’s ways into question. The word antapokrinomai means “grumble, dispute, make unjustified accusations” (TDNT vol. 3, p. 945, cf Lk. 14:6). Paul’s dander is up because he has already explained in 9:14-18 why God is righteous in electing some men and rejecting others totally apart from their distinctives (9:9-13). But the objector, unwilling to accept that answer, calls God into question again. Yet Paul-unwilling that any should say he has failed to explain the matter-goes on and in verses 22 and 23 unfolds further his justification of the ways of God. If finite men are not to understand how God can be righteous while condemning those whom He sovereignly controls, then why did Paul write Rom. 9:14-23?

I think Packer is wrong when he says, concerning Paul’s response in Rom. 9. “He does not attempt to demonstrate the propriety of God’s action” (p. 23). He does indeed! That is why he wrote Rom. 9:14-23. I also reject the sentiment of these words: “The Creator has told us that He is both sovereign Lord and a righteous Judge, and that should be enough for us” (p. 24). Why should that be enough for us? If that were enough for us Paul would have told the questioner at Rom. 9:14 to keep his mouth shut. But as a matter of fact the only time Paul ever tells people to keep their mouth shut is when they are boasting. If our hearts and our minds pant like a hart after the water-brook of God’s deep mind, it may not be pride, it may be worship. There is not one sentence that I know of in the New Testament which tells us the limits of what we can know of God and his ways. Continue reading →