What’s the Point If God Is Sovereign?

A question I hear often is, “If God is sovereign, then what’s the point of our lives as believers?”

If God has already chosen His people and His will cannot be stopped, then are we just robots? Why preach? Why pray? Why warn about false teachers if the elect cannot ultimately be lost?

That’s a valid question. If we don’t wrestle it out, God’s sovereignty can start to feel like that old Doris Day song, “Que Sera, Sera.” Whatever will be, will be. Nothing we do makes a difference. I’ve wrestled with this myself. But Scripture presents it very differently. God’s sovereignty never cancels human responsibility. We just have to step outside our own construct of time to see it.

God’s Decree Outside of Time

Romans 8:30 says, “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Notice every word is in the past tense. From God’s perspective, it has already been accomplished. Salvation is certain. His plan is eternal.

Most Christians nod along here, but this is where our human limitations take over. We process everything through the lens of time; past, present, and future. But God doesn’t. He has always been. He wasn’t created. He has no rivals and no equals. There was never a moment He came into being. His decree stands outside of time itself.

Which means this: the elect are as good as glorified in His plan before the foundations of the world (Eph. 1:4–5). And that leads us back to the question of, if that’s true, why bother preaching, praying, and warning others of false gospels?

God Ordains The Means, Not Just The End

Here’s the most straightforward answer: God’s sovereignty doesn’t only cover the outcome, it covers the process. He ordains not only who will be saved but how they will be saved.

And He has chosen the means. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). God could call His people directly, but in His wisdom He delights to use His church as His instrument. That’s why the church is non-negotiable in the life of a believer. Together as the body, we sit under the preached Word, we pray, share in fellowship, and are guarded by the truth. These aren’t boring practices. They are the very ways God carries out His eternal plan.

Paul says in Romans 10: “How will they believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how will they hear without someone preaching?” (v. 14). Sovereignty doesn’t erase the need for proclamation, rather, it guarantees that proclamation will accomplish what God intends. To believe in God’s sovereignty is not to lay down the call to proclaim the gospel. It’s to believe that when we proclaim it, God’s power is at work. We are the instruments.

Why Wolves Can’t Be Ignored

“But if God saves His people no matter what, does it really matter if wolves slip into the church?” Yes, it matters. Wolves can’t be ignored. A shepherd’s job is to guard the flock, fiercely if necessary.

It’s true that the elect cannot be lost forever, but they can be wounded. They can spend years under a false gospel, robbed of joy, assurance, growth, and rest until the Shepherd calls them out from it (John 10:27–28). Those years are real, and the scars they leave behind are real too.

These wolves hurt individuals, and they dishonor Christ. When lies are tolerated, the gospel is twisted and God’s glory is obscured. As Peter warns, false teachers “secretly bring in destructive heresies” and “in their greed exploit you with false words” (2 Pet. 2:1–3).

That old saying, “Chew the meat and spit out the bones,” doesn’t work here. Poison mixed with truth is still poison. Wolves will devour a flock if they aren’t guarded against.

Not About When but How

When we read that the Lord draws His people, we often reduce it to timing. As if God is sitting in heaven waiting for a certain date on the calendar to flip the switch. But His call is not mainly about when. It’s more about how.

Think of it as a process rather than a moment on the clock. God opens blind eyes through the preaching of the gospel. The Holy Spirit regenerates. And He preserves His people through the ordinary means of grace and the care of the church.

In His perfect wisdom, God weaves His eternal plan through ordinary means. That’s why what we do together as a church is never just routine. It’s the body being used by God to fulfill His will. It’s not about racing the clock. It’s about being instruments in His hands, as His eternal will breaks into time.

Why It Matters

This perspective changes everything. If God’s plan were uncertain, then preaching, prayer, and warnings would be nothing more than desperate attempts to change the outcome. But because His plan is certain, those very acts are filled with meaning and purpose. Preaching is never wasted. The gospel message is never wasted words. Warnings to the flock are never pointless.

So let’s reframe the question: What’s the point if God is sovereign? The point is this: because God is sovereign, everything matters more. Our faithfulness is not what makes salvation possible. God accomplishes His will through the faithfulness He supplies to His people.

And in the end, this isn’t “whatever will be, will be.” The weight is not on us to save souls. The glory belongs to Him who does. We can rest here: the Shepherd’s voice will reach His sheep, and He has chosen to use ours to carry it. Not bound by time, but carried out in time, as instruments in His hands.

Scripture References

Romans 8:30“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Ephesians 1:4–5“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.”

Romans 10:14, 17“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (v. 14)“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (v. 17)

John 10:27–28“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

1 Timothy 3:15“…if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”