John MacArthur: Does the Doctrine of the Divine Decrees Eliminate Human Will?

Reformed theology teaches that God has ordained whatsoever comes to pass. Critics of Reformed theology argue that this entails a fatalistic worldview in which only God's will truly exists. They claim that if God decreed or willed the acts of our will, then our will is not real. In this lecture, Dr. John MacArthur explains why the biblical doctrine of the divine decrees does not eliminate the reality of the human will and does not entail a fatalistic worldview.

[Debrah-gt]

Listening to this sermon reminds me how precious my salvation is and to be unceasingly grateful. Praise God!

[DB-cxcb]

❤❤❤This man of God always teaches word for word line by line Truth. I have sit under many preachers in my 71 years, I have never had such in-depth teaching of the Scriptures. I have grown so much listening to Brother John through many years. I marvel at his encouraging truth from Holy Scriptures. He is truly a wise man who has followed God’s principles through his ministry without hesitation and without apologies. Love the man for his boldness for Jesus Christ! I live for Christ and he gives me hope for an Eternity in Paradise!❤

[kathleennakatoblair]

Pastor John has taught me more this year than in my 64 years of life. I found I had been under false teachers and prophets my whole life. Thank You Lord for finally learning the true Gospel of Jesus Christ through a true Christian Pastor.
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽✝️✋🏾‼️

[Rottweilll]

Pastor John I ran into you on YouTube and I cannot stop listening to you! You deliver the word so carefully and so Stern and bold and I really admire that you take everything from scripture there's not too many pastors who read and deliver the message like you from the Gospels. God bless you and I'm so thankful that I ran into you on YouTube because I listen to you every night before I go to bed please don't stop thank you God bless. Yvonne

[LarryAKuhn]

One of my favorite of all time. I fashion John MacArthur to be the one who champions Calvinism more than anyone else on this planet yet here he is saying he doesn’t understand how Free will is involved, but somehow it must be. I love the humility of that. I have chased the answer for this for four years now and the greatest understanding I’ve gotten had been from this sermon and in a radio interview he did a few years ago. Thank you sir for being bold in your faith.

[BobbyFiermonti]

I was a wretched sinner consumed by sin and lived for sin. I hated the thought of a restricted life . I was saved after going through a terrible time in my life I was drawn to Christ and I have been truly born again. I am a new person and changing everyday by Gods grace and mercy. I am being molded into an image of Christ. I can see the difference every day in the way God has changed me. I once hated the the law of God and loved sin and I now love Gods laws and hate sin. This is not something that is natural to man it is something that is truly God given. It is not something that can be taught or leaned it is something that only God can give by his compassion and grace. His work in everything is absolutely astonishing. There is no doubt that our very existence is proof enough for his presence. Every breath that is taken by man is a gift of life that we have existence at all by his wonderful act of love . To be born again is to be what we were made to be it is the foreshadowing of what is to come and what once was in the garden of Eden and what will be in the forever after. Praise God hallelujah Amen

[melze]

Listening to this on my cell at full audio so that my young adult sons can catch any degree of this message. Please join me in prayer for my sons and this next generation that they will hear truth and not refute. All glory to His name!

[michaelpark]

This was a beautiful sermon! I have been struggling with the idea of human will and God's perfect sovereignty and have been trying to get answers. There is still this war within me about understanding this fully but at the same time coming to a realization of how can I as a created being understand fully the mind of the Creator? How can I, a human being, who does not even know what will happen 5 minutes from now try to understand the One who calms the raging sea? As it says in His Word, in Psalm 46:10, "be still, and know that I am God." God, You are faithful and Your plans will come in place according to Your great sovereignty. To Him be the glory forever.

[inChristalone]

Pastor John, I have been bingeing on your sermons for weeks. Thank you for strengthening my understanding of the gospel of grace, and the sovereignty of God. I am a former Mormon. I was drawn out of Mormonism by the Holy Spirit to the true Jesus Christ of the Holy Bible. I am forever grateful to Father God for this blessing! 🙏❤

[jenica]

This is an amazing sermon, just truly humble yourself to a sovereign God.

[RaptureReadyPam]

I love how he defers to the Word of God for all explaining of God. This was a marvelous Bible study!

[renew]

God Bless John McArthur, there are few teachers who are so pure in sharing the word of God

[cambo]

I pled and prayed that Jesus fill my heart with His love and guidance after learning that I could pray upon it and He did in fact fill my heart with His loving guidance directly after He crushed me flat.
I was seeking His face for about two years before I began to pray Him into my heart and that's when my life changed, I've never been the same since praise be to God for the Holy Spirit was calling me all along I just wasn't answering the call.
Hallelujah to the Lamb of God 👍

[clevelandboiohio]

Stunningly Powerful !!! ... WOW 😲
i was spiritually confused up until the very end ... then he gave that crystal clear explanation ... my heart will NEVER again think about even beginning to question or double think God’s Sovereignty and decision Making concerning who receives and doesn’t receive Salvation ... All Praise and honor and Worship to God the Father, Jesus my LORD and Their Holy Spirit my Helper ... Amen !!!

[nancywhite]

Never knew what true Gospel was until I heard it taught. Thank you ABBA Father GOD for the preachers who have fought to keep this Doctrine .

[lawrencestanley]

For anyone who wants to dive deeper into this subject, I cannot recommend enough, A.W. Pink's book: "The Sovereignty of God, " shortly followed by Sproul's book "The Holiness of God."

[alakazoom]

As i mature in my Christian walk.. i find myself coming to grips that i just need to have faith in God, not just for salvation, but that somehow through his wisdom he will be found fully just. What an impossible feat that only God can perform.

[gmaflor]

John is so awesome explaining things in a way we can understand, the little details I for one sometime read over and missed, he brings them into the text. This was so good

[jeanwetherbee]

I wish I could get to church but I am unable but I have found you and I am happy for that. I believe God sent me here.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[edmccaffrey]

I appreciate the agony that Dr. MacArthur teaches on this subject. It is a struggle and we all agonize over trying to understand this biblical truth!