I totally believe in the complete sovereignty of God. I know that all our choices are within the scope of His sovereignty.

But in my simple mind, I have to also look at all that the Bible says. God tells us to choose. And He tells us we are responsible for the choices we make. I can’t deny the biblical responsibility to choose!

So, to me, I have to answer the “question” (can we choose?) in a way that fits all the biblical data. I think this issue revolves around the truth about “life” and “death.” We cannot now fully understand the bliss of true “life” or the torment of total “death.” God is not threatening or bribing us. He is simply telling us that we have a choice (Deut. 30:15, 19) between life and death. I won’t get into the theological significance of how God is glorified by all this because the “question” is about “choice.”

To some, the choice for death is appealing because it means “independence.” [I think John Milton (Paradise Lost) has best focused on the real issue when he quotes the Devil as saying that it is better to rule in hell than to serve in Heaven. I can’t imagine what would motivate such a brilliant being to make such a decision. But he has made his choice.] I think I understand some of that appeal—my pride. We often make bad choices because of this tremendous motivation of pride.

To others, the choice of life is appealing because we have realized the emptiness of death. We see an eternity of existence apart from true and full life that can be realized only IN God. We gladly give up “independence” to experience true life.

Death is torment [hell and all] though it does appeal to our pride. And life is bliss [heaven and all] though it means being IN Jesus and, thus, dependent. This is not a threat or a bribe; it is just stating the only choice we have: life or death.