God-in-the-box

The video below is making the rounds of the Reformed blogosphere. The gist of the song is that God is completely sovereign over every last part of the universe. Well, every last part except for, um, you.

and the lyrics:

I Give You Freedom (The Whippoorwill Song)

I set the boundaries of the ocean vast,
Carved out the mountains from the distant past,
Moulded a man from the miry clay,
Breathed in him life, but he went astray.

CHORUS:
I own the cattle on a thousand hills,
I write the music for the whippoorwills,
Control the planets with their rocks and rills,
But give you freedom to use your own will.

And if you want Me to, I'll make you whole,
I'll only do it tho' if you say so.
I'll never force you, for I love you so,
I give you freedom - Is it "yes" or "no"?

I hold the waters in My mighty hand
Spread out the heavens with a single span,
Make all creation tremble at My voice,
But My own children come to Me by choice.
(chorus)

Even the oxen knows the master's stall,
And sheep will recognize the shepherd's call
I could demand your love - I own you twice,
But only willing love is worth the price!
(chorus)

What most blogs aren't telling you is that the Joy Quartet busted out Meatloaf's Paradise by the Dashboard Light for an encore performance, giving us God's perspective during altar calls:

"Whats it gonna be boy?
Come on
I can wait all night
Whats it gonna be boy yes or no?"

Seriously though, the best part is when the preacher comes out and talks about this theme that runs through the entire word of God, that God gives us this incredible freedom to choose. What an awesome privilege? How about what an awesome blasphemy.

Like most theological errors, this one starts with too high a view of man and too low a view of God. Man is a morally neutral being, standing at a crossroads. He is a little dinged up by sin, but not so much that he can't still choose to love God. God is still God, but he's relegated to standing on the sidelines waiting and hoping that some of these little creatures will find it in their hearts to accept him and approve of him and his Son.

The Bible gives us a different picture of man's moral state:

"The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?" - Jeremiah 17:9

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." - John 3:19-20

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." - John 6:44

"None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God." - Romans 3:10-11

"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." 2 Corinthians 2:14

So, we learn from the word of God that man

• has a heart that deceives him, and that it is so sick that nobody can understand it.
• loves the darkness and hates the light because of his own wickedness. Far from being drawn to (or at least indifferent to) the light, he flees from it to conceal his wickedness.
• is unable to "come to Christ" unless God does something to him first.
• is not righteous and does not seek God.
• is unable to discern or understand spiritual matters.

If God were to take a laissez faire approach to our salvation, as this song implies, we would all be without hope. We would choose to flee from God. We would choose our wickedness over his mercy. We would choose death, though Christ offers us life. "Free Will" would be a horrendous curse, not the greatest privilege we can imagine.