Some relevant themes in Holy Scriptures:
With the distinction between free agency and free will defined, compatibilism then addresses the nature of the free agency of man in respect to the theological proposition known as determinism and/or the biblical truth of the omniscient nature of God. The foundational issue is how man can be held accountable for his actions if his actions were always going to occur (i.e., the future is not subject to change) and could not have been anything other than that which occurred. Although there are numerous passages of Scripture that address this issue, there are three primary passages to examine.
The story of Joseph and his brothers
The first is the story of Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37). Joseph was hated by his brothers because their father, Jacob, loved Joseph more than any of his other sons (Genesis 37:3) and because of Joseph’s dreams and their interpretation (Genesis 37:5-11). At an opportune time, Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave to traveling Midianite traders. Then they dipped his tunic in the blood of a slain goat in order to deceive their father into thinking Joseph had been mauled by a beast (Genesis 37:18-33). After many years, during which Joseph had been blessed by the Lord, Joseph’s brothers meet him in Egypt, and Joseph reveals himself to them (Genesis 45:3-4). It is Joseph’s discussion with his brothers that is most pertinent to the issue:
“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt” (Genesis 45:8).
What makes this statement startling is that Joseph had previously said his brothers had, in fact, sold him into Egypt (Genesis 45:4-5). A few chapters later, the concept of compatibilism is presented:
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).
The Genesis story tells us that it was, in fact, the brothers who sold Joseph into Egypt. However, Joseph makes it clear that God had done so. Those who reject the concept of compatibilism would say that this verse is simply stating that God “used” Joseph’s brothers’ actions for good. However, this is not what the text says. From Genesis 45-50, we are told that (1) Joseph’s brothers had sent Joseph to Egypt, (2) God had sent to Joseph to Egypt, (3) Joseph’s brothers had evil intentions in sending Joseph to Egypt, and (4) God had good intentions in sending Joseph to Egypt. So, the question is, who sent Joseph to Egypt? The bewildering answer is that both Joseph’s brothers and God did. It was one action being carried out by two entities, the brothers and God doing it simultaneously.
The commission of Assyria
The second passage that reveals compatibilism is found in Isaiah 10, a prophetic warning passage for God’s people. As divinely promised in Deuteronomy 28-29, God is sending a nation to punish His people for their sins. Isaiah 10:6 says that Assyria is the rod of God’s anger, “commissioned” against God’s people to “seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.” Notice, however, what God says about Assyria:
“Yet [Assyria] does not so intend, Nor does it plan so in its heart, But rather it is its purpose to destroy And to cut off many nations” (Isaiah 10:7, NASB).
God’s intent in the Assyrian invasion is to inflict His righteous judgment against sin, and the intent of the Assyrians is to “destroy and cut off many nations.” Two different purposes, two different entities acting to bring about this purpose, in one, single action. As we read further, God reveals that, although this destruction is determined and decreed by Him (Isaiah 10:23), He will still punish the Assyrians because of the “arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness” (Isaiah 10:12, cf. Isaiah 10:15). Even though God Himself had infallibly determined the judgment of a disobedient people, He holds those who brought the judgment accountable for their own actions.
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ
The third passage of Scripture that speaks of compatibilism is found in Acts 4:23-28. As revealed in Acts 2:23-25, Christ’s death on the cross was carried out by the “predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.” Acts 4:27-28 further reveals that the actions of Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel had been determined and decreed by God Himself to occur as they “gathered together against” Jesus and did “what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.” Although God had determined that Christ should die, those responsible for His death were still held accountable for their actions. Christ was put to death by wicked men, “yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer” (Isaiah 53:10). Once again, the answer to the question "who put Jesus to death?" is both God and the wicked people—two purposes carried out by two entities within a single action.
There are other passages of Scripture that pertain to the concept of compatibilism, such as God hardening the hearts of individuals (e.g., Exodus 4:21; Joshua 11:20; Isaiah 63:17). While compatibilism seems bewildering to us (Job 9:10; Isaiah 55:8-11; Romans 11:33), this truth has been revealed by God Himself as the means by which His sovereign decree is reconciled with the will of man. God is sovereign over all things (Psalm 115:3, Daniel 4:35, Matthew 10:29-30), God knows all things (Job 37:16; Psalm 147:5; 1 John 3:19-20), and man is held accountable for what he does (Genesis 18:25; Acts 17:31; Jude 1:15). Truly, His ways are unfathomable (Job 9:10; Romans 11:33), and so we should trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).
What is compatibilism?
I love and appreciate you as a brother in Christ. I can always count on a Scriptural conversation with you! Since that is where all Truth comes from I really appreciate that about you!
I love those Truths, though I see them as a testimony of God's absolute providence/sovereignty to make "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28) without removing the individual agents' free will to make their own decisions. And, I also look to Job. God allowed him to lose everything except his breath and then God restored double. Where did that double come from? God took the blame for allowing satan to attack Job (Job 2:3 in his own words, Job 42:11 in the narrator's words) and God undid it (Job 42:10,12). People, of their own free will, brought him gifts; but that was because God blessed him and everyone knew it. The only ones who did it under compulsion were the three friends directly and severely chastised by LORD. And, if God appears to me and gives me severe correction and tells me what I better do so I can be forgiven, I'm doing what He says, too! But, He didn't control their actions, He just appeared to them and told them what they had to do to right their own wrong. Going back to the beginning of the story, listen to what satan says to God in Job 1:9-11. So, God removes His protection for "a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and eschews evil" and allows satan to "move" others against Job. It appears that satan has just manipulated God into doing something until you get to the end where Job really knows the God He was always worshipping (big benefit) and everything is doubled. Does satan have free will? Yes. But, who manipulated who? Who is the one who brought Job to satan's attention in the first place by bragging on His boy? Satan talking about God's hedge suggests that the Sabeans and Chaldeans would have attacked and taken Job's stuff earlier, if they could have and suggests that they were listening to the wrong voice (satan's). Jesus said: My sheep hear My voice and a stranger's [voice] they will not follow. Note that Scripture doesn't say His sheep don't hear the stranger's voice. Another thing I like about this section in Job 1 is it shows how people say things that aren't necessarily true about God. It wasn't the fire of God that fell from heaven and burned up the sheep, like the honest Testimony of God shares that the servant said. Likewise the great wind that destroyed and killed wasn't from God, either. Although, because God removed the protection and allowed satan's attacks, He takes ultimate responsibility for what was done, as He should have. But, neither God nor satan forced the Sabeans or Chaldeans to attack Job against their will. Neither God nor satan forced the three friends to reason and try to convince Job that he deserved what happened and that he needed to repent for whatever he was hiding. Neither God nor satan forced Job's wife to turn quickly against him and God. All these things happened within the context of depraved human beings free will.
I believe that is what can also be said about the story of Joseph. The brothers were jealous and resented Joseph. You could even say they were bitter against him. So much so that they considered killing him (Genesis 37:19-20) But Reuben wouldn't let them kill him and instead suggested casting him in a pit, because it was Reuben's intention to get him back to his dad (Genesis 37:21-22). It was Judah's idea to sell him to the Ishmeelites (Gen 37:26-7) while Reuben was gone. And they acted and sold him to Midianite merchantmen (Ishmeelites), before Reuben returned (Gen 37:29-30) And the midianites brought him into Egypt and sold him there to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's (Gen 37:36).
God's providence is certainly at hand in the bigger picture; but He doesn't have to violate free will. Some brothers wanted to kill Joseph using their free will. The eldest brother, using his free will, talked them out of it. Judah, using his free will convinced them to sell their brother and lie about what really happened. They meant it for evil. They wanted to get rid of Joseph and never thought they would see them again.
But, in God's absolute sovereignty, He meant what He allowed to happen to Joseph for a greater good. Again working all things out for good.... He allowed that to happen to Joseph to fulfill exactly what He told Joseph, his brothers and his father, through his dreams. God absolutely fulfilled His plan and used the brother's free will to accomplish it. Joseph recognizes God's sovereignty in the whole thing, because had they not acted like they did, he wouldn't have been in position to save anyone from the famine. But, God didn't make them do evil. They did the evil of their own free will by listening to the wrong voice because they were envious of their brother Joseph. Just like in Job, God didn't allow Joseph to be killed, so he wasn't. And, just like Job, it wasn't a happy ride through all the crap Joseph had to go through to achieve God's end purpose. And, just like Job, I am quite certain Joseph didn't see God's hand in what God was allowing or why God was allowing it, until after the fact. But, in the end, Joseph recognized why God allowed what God allowed to happen to him. So, while they were concerned he might kill them,because they knew that they had evil intentions; Joseph knew that God allowed it for a bigger purpose that Joseph understood. So, how could he remain bitter and vengeful?
I think the same general argument holds for the Assyrians. God allows what is naturally on their mind when He removes the supernatural protections for the purpose of judgment/chastisement.
And, yes, Jesus' crucifixion. Why stop there, though? How many times did they want to stone Jesus and they couldn't. In fact, it was never a question of the will of the jealous leaders to kill Jesus. It is more of a question of why they couldn't. Jesus told us: "My time has not come." When it was time, it was allowed. The many other times, He was just able to disappear (Divine protection)--even walking right through the crowd trying to stone Him. How does that happen, apart from divine intervention?
And Jesus talked about everything needing to be fulfilled as it was written. God told us what was going to happen ahead of time. God called His shots! And, in His Absolute Sovereignty was and is able to 100% fulfill His promises/prophesies/guarantees AND He can absolutely do it without violating the free will He desired us to have. He just supernaturally intervenes.
So, just like with Joseph. The events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus Christ were normal events that routinely happened by our own free will. God just divinely orchestrated the timing of the events to work out in such a way that it accomplished all His prophesies (so we could believe He was behind it) and His purposes (to fulfil His desires).
So, Joseph's famous words: "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" wasn't so much to absolve his brothers of guilt; but to state that God had a higher purpose for allowing what they meant for evil. And Joseph recognized that higher purpose and wasn't going to treat them badly, because He saw God's greater plan.
I, too, can look in the rearview mirror and see God's hand sovereignly allowing me to go through some of the things I have gone through to bring me to where I am. I couldn't do what I do today, if I had won some of the battles that He allowed me to lose. In the moment, I didn't understand why He allowed certain things. But, I couldn't do what I am doing today, if I hadn't lost those battles. That doesn't absolve those who did evil of their free will choices to do the wrong things; but, it gives me a greater perspective of why God allowed some things to happen, so I don't have to be bitter about the evil that was done to me by those people.
I disagree with compatiblism. I believe God is just so sovereign that He can adjust and overcome supernaturally something He doesn't want to happen, without removing free will. For instance, a guy who doesn't usually miss can shoot at point blank range and miss. A king can imprison Peter with the intent on chopping his head off and without anyone's free will choices being affected, God can send an angel to free Peter from the prison, even before Peter realizes what is really happening. Without violating free will, God can deliver Paul and Silas from a prison with an earthquake or using free will can get Paul rescued from an angry mob in one instance or seemingly killed (and arguably supernaturally brought back to life) in another. The jailor used his free will to go from planning on killing himself to asking what he must do to be saved. The natives used their free will to reason Paul was a killer when he got bit by the deadly snake and then a god when he didn't die. None of them were or had to be controlled by God. He only had to manage the circumstances that led to their use of free will and reason and the outcomes that resulted from their exercise of free will to produce His desired results.
