Here is a brief little paper that might help.
The Goodness of God and the Guilt of Man
A brief contemplation on sin, salvation, and the sovereignty of God
Part One: Sin
The nature and origin of sin must first be understood if one is to properly consider the broader topic of the sovereignty of God. Paul makes it clear in Romans chapter 5 that sin entered the world through Adam, and death along with it. Man therefore has inherited the curse of Adam, which is first manifested in sin, and then ultimately in death.
In this sense, man is incapable of abstaining from sin. Carnality and hatred dominate the thoughts of men, and these thoughts inevitably manifest themselves into actions. It is important to understand that these thoughts, in and of themselves, are sinful independent of any action. Jesus made this point quite clearly in the Sermon on the Mount. Ultimately, the law is about love. Love for God, and love for others. If the law is understood in this light, it is clear that abstaining from the action of sin in no way satisfies the requirements of the law because evil comes from within. It is this darkness of heart and mind that man has inherited from Adam and which keeps man fatally disinclined to God.
Some would argue that this renders man blameless in the commission of sin because of his clearly helpless state in the face of inherited tendencies. This cannot be considered as valid because man clearly possesses the capacity to sin independent of this nature. If this were not so, how then could Adam and Eve have sinned? It cannot be said that Adam was born with a sin nature, and yet he sinned.
The sin nature that man now possesses manifests itself in the evil thoughts and desires that consume him. While man has little power to subdue the evil in his mind, man has complete control over the actions of his body. Man therefore thinks evil involuntarily, but commits evil voluntarily. In this sense, man is guilty because of his sin nature, but would be equally guilty without a sin nature. The reality of this may seem hopelessly circular, possessing neither a beginning nor end. It is for this precise reason that the cross was necessary, to break the endless cycle of sin and death that neither the law nor the will of man had the power to stop.
Part Two: Free Will
Does man then have free will? The answer to this is both yes and no. Man certainly possesses a measure of free will in that he is free to choose the actions of his body. However, the measure of freedom that man does possess is at best superficial. God promised Abraham a son in his old age, but Abraham grew impatient with God and attempted to provide himself a son by his own doing. All of these efforts on the part of Abraham were disastrous acts of free will. The fact that God did eventually provide Abraham a son in due time illustrates the fact that the acts of man in no way interfere with the ultimate will of God. When Paul speaks of God “working” all things together in Romans 8, this is precisely what he is alluding to, God does His will in spite of the sinful and counterproductive actions of man.
In the same way, man is not truly free in matters of sin and salvation. While it is certainly true that man sins volitionally, each sin that man commits creates another link in a chain that binds man to the power of sin. In this sense, as man goes deeper and deeper into sin, his power to resist sin grows exponentially weaker until sin ceases to be a true choice. Only the Grace of God can break this chain, but man is equally powerless in achieving salvation. While some would argue that salvation is predicated upon the choice of man, a true understanding of sin and free will can lead to only one conclusion; man would never choose God on his own. To understand this, we must consider that man does have the power not to sin, and yet all men do sin. In the same way, men would never choose God on their own, salvation is completely the result of the goodness and grace of God.
Part Three: The Sovereignty of God
God is clearly sovereign. To believe otherwise is to render God as being like man, capable of error and lacking omniscience. God created the world and all that is contained therein. The very breath that man takes is owed to the power and glory of an all-powerful God. God clearly works all things for His ultimate purpose and the actions of man serve only to complicate the lives of man and never the will of God.
In His sovereignty, God has seen fit to allow man a measure of free will. Clearly, God foreknew that this free will would lead to the fall of man, and yet God allowed it for His ultimate glory, which would be manifested in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Man was created and placed in a garden in the very presence of God, and through his own actions was expelled from the garden, and from the presence of God, and left to a life filled with sorrow and ultimately ending in death. It is hard to imagine that this could possibly be the will of God, and yet God clearly allowed it to happen. This should not be construed to imply that God was the author of the sin that led to the fall, but rather that He allowed it to happen for His ultimate purpose and glory. Christ speaks often in the Gospels of His death bringing glory to the Father, and clearly this is true. How much more glorious is it to consider a God who would sacrifice His own son for the salvation of a sinful people rather than one who simply created a race of mindless automatons who could do nothing other than obey?
The illustration of Abraham and his quest for a son is a microcosm of the overall condition of mankind. The sinful actions of man serve only to bring misery and suffering, but they never thwart or confound the ultimate will of God. In this way, God is completely sovereign, not in the sense that He controls every minute detail of the lives of men, but in the sense that all men are ultimately performing the will of God in spite of any measure of free will they may possess.
