Who Is Responsible?

By Editor Bob Terry

Those active in social media may have read some of the heated exchanges that took place following the deadly school bus accident in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Nov. 21, 2016. A school bus overturned, killing 6 of the 37 children on board.

The arguments have been about who is responsible for this tragedy. What made news in The Christian Post was the number of people who argued it was God’s will that the children die so God is ultimately to blame for the accident and for their deaths.

This is an old debate. The theological word for it is “antinomianism.” The belief holds that all personal behavior is foreordained by God. Thus what happens in life is all God’s will and individuals are not responsible for what they do.

Antinomianism believes free will is an illusion and gives no value to the impact of sin on people’s actions.

Following this belief with the school bus accident, whether or not the school bus driver was driving too fast, on the wrong route or driving recklessly would make no difference. It would all be the will of God, making God ultimately responsible.

Who is to blame?

In his book, “The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness,” noted Baptist historian H. Leon McBeth writes of a church where the pastor sought church discipline against a member who was habitually drunk, a clear violation of Bible teaching. The church member argued he could not help himself because God controlled everything he did — antinomianism.

According to the record cited by McBeth, the church agreed with the church member and fired the pastor.

Today that anecdote has a humorous ring to it but it still illustrates the tension behind the social media debate over who is responsible when bad things happen. It also illustrates the approach many of us take in our own lives.

A few years ago a pastor friend had served a church for about 10 years. He had a successful and fulfilling ministry that drew attention from churches around the state. A larger church in a more prosperous community eventually invited him to become its pastor. After much prayer and soul-searching the pastor accepted, said a sorrowful goodbye to his longtime congregation and moved to the new community.

The members of his new church welcomed the pastor with open arms and a wonderful initial service with record attendance. But the pastor was miserable. That first Sunday afternoon he called his former church saying he had made a terrible mistake and asked them if he could come back. The church agreed and in the evening service of his first Sunday, the pastor resigned from his new congregation and returned “home.”

Who was responsible for the confusion of this situation? Was God? Was the pastor search committee? Was the pastor?

And how do you explain the number of times a pastor goes to a new church only to realize that he and the new congregation are a bad match? Is that God’s fault or is there human responsibility?

Theologically speaking the tension is between the sovereignty of God and the free will of mankind. The more one tilts toward sovereignty, the more one makes God responsible. The more one leans toward free will, the more one makes us responsible and accountable for the results of our decisions and actions.

The answer has practical outworkings as well. The more one tilts toward sovereignty, the more one is tempted “to rest in Zion” because it all depends on God anyway. Human striving is unnecessary and demonstrates a lack of trust in God.

Conversely the more one leans toward free will, the greater the temptation to conclude that everything depends on human action, that God leaves us to our own strivings.

Yet one must ask if God can will sinful behavior? And what role does sin play in the lives of people, even Christians?

Theologians talk about the intentional will of God where God only purposes good for His creation. They discuss permissive will where God permits what He does not purpose. Some teach the circumstantial will of God where God acts in the midst of life’s circumstances for man’s redemption and wholeness.

Not to be left out is the punitive will of God where sin is punished in keeping with God’s holy nature. This is most clearly demonstrated in Jesus’ death on Calvary’s cross for the sin of humankind.

And there is the ultimate will of God whereby God’s intentional will for the good of His creation will be done for all who believe in His redeeming work.

The debate between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will has been going on for centuries and will likely continue until our Lord returns. But there is still guidance for the Christian about how believers should live in every circumstance.

The apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service.”

Obviously Paul was talking about presenting the whole person to God — mind, body, spirit and soul. He was not referencing the physical body alone. Through presenting the totality of one’s being to God, one acknowledges God’s ownership of all that one is and all that one has. That includes talents and abilities as well as responsibilities and opportunities.

For God’s honor and glory

If God is the owner of all that we are then all we do must be done for His honor and His glory. All that we do must be done with “your whole heart.” The writer of Ecclesiastes says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Eccles. 9:10). Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, do with your whole being.”

When we have presented our bodies as living sacrifices to God we take no responsibility or no opportunity lightly. There is no sloughing off as if what we do does not matter. We give all that we are, our very best as an act of worship.

Perhaps the old adage we have all heard is still the best advice — “Pray like it all depends on God and work like it all depends on you.” Then it does not matter who gets the credit or the blame.