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Crucial Questions
What Does It Mean That God Is Sovereign?
From the first page of the Bible, we encounter a God who is sovereign. By His power and authority, He created the world and governs it to accomplish His plans. But is God sovereign over everything that happens—even our salvation? And if He is, do our choices even matter?
In this booklet, Dr. R.C. Sproul demonstrates that the sovereignty of God extends to all things, from creation to redemption. Rather than erasing our responsibility, God’s absolute power and complete authority are what enable us to know Him, obey His Word, and tell others about His saving grace.
The Crucial Questions booklet series by Dr. R.C. Sproul offers succinct answers to important questions often asked by Christians and thoughtful inquirers.
In this booklet, Dr. R.C. Sproul demonstrates that the sovereignty of God extends to all things, from creation to redemption. Rather than erasing our responsibility, God’s absolute power and complete authority are what enable us to know Him, obey His Word, and tell others about His saving grace.
The Crucial Questions booklet series by Dr. R.C. Sproul offers succinct answers to important questions often asked by Christians and thoughtful inquirers.
88 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 25, 2022
115 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
R.C. Sproul
675 books1,976 followersDr. R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was founding pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.
Ligonier Ministries began in 1971 as the Ligonier Valley Study Center in Ligonier, Pa. In an effort to respond more effectively to the growing demand for Dr. Sproul’s teachings and the ministry’s other educational resources, the general offices were moved to Orlando in 1984, and the ministry was renamed.
Dr. Sproul’s radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. Dr. Sproul produced hundreds of lecture series and recorded numerous video series on subjects such as the history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, and Christian living.
He contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, spoke at conferences, churches, and academic institutions around the world, and wrote more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, and Everyone’s a Theologian. He signed the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and wrote a commentary on that document. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible, previously known as the New Geneva Study Bible.
Dr. Sproul had a distinguished academic teaching career at various colleges and seminaries, including Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and Jackson, Miss. He was ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 2, 2022
Clear and Thorough
This little booklet cleared up a few things for me, which I didn't necessarily expect. I actually enjoyed reading it, which I don't usually expect from an educational book. In both respects, that makes this booklet a winner. If you want to enjoy a richer, more full journey as a Christian, this book may help.
This little booklet cleared up a few things for me, which I didn't necessarily expect. I actually enjoyed reading it, which I don't usually expect from an educational book. In both respects, that makes this booklet a winner. If you want to enjoy a richer, more full journey as a Christian, this book may help.
March 2, 2022
This is one of the newest books in R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions series, all of which are free in the digital edition. These books/booklets offer clear answers to the most common and difficult questions about the Christian faith. In this volume, Sproul looks at God’s sovereignty over nothing, creation, salvation, human actions and evangelism.
Sproul writes that when we say that God is sovereign, we are saying that His power is supreme in all reality, and no power in heaven or on earth can possibly resist the power of God. He tells us that there are four ways that God is sovereign. He is sovereign over nature. He is sovereign over history and human affairs. And He is sovereign in His inherent right to impose obligations on His creatures, to say to them, “Thou shalt not do this” and “Thou shalt do that.” He writes that God is sovereign, not we ourselves, and His sovereignty extends to all things, not only the creation of the world but the sustaining and governing of the world, and what we describe as the laws of nature only describe the ordinary ways that God in His sovereignty governs nature.
As with all of Sproul’s teaching, he communicates what can be hard to understand subjects in an easy-to-understand manner.
Below are 10 good quotes from the book:
• Whatever God creates, He sustains. Whatever He creates, He owns, and whatever He owns, He rules. He rules over all things.
• God possesses sovereign authority, and that authority in no way rests on my agreement or submission to it.
• Salvation is of the Lord. That’s what the sovereignty of God is all about.
• In His sovereignty, God has the capacity and ability to work through the sinful decisions and wicked choices of His creatures to bring about His sovereign will, which is altogether righteous.
• How do we reconcile the sovereignty of God with human freedom? If God’s sovereignty is limited by our freedom, then who is sovereign? We are.
• You still have a will, you still have the ability to make choices, but your choices are wicked. You are morally incapable in and of yourself, until you are enabled by God the Holy Spirit, ever to choose the holy things of God.
• When we’re engaged in evangelism, we have to remember that justification is by faith and not merely by a profession of faith.
• We are convinced that no one in an unregenerate state will ever believe in Christ. That person is in a state of spiritual death and will not, in that imprisonment of the will, exercise his or her will to choose Christ.
• The Holy Spirit has to raise us from spiritual death, and when He does, then we choose and make the decision that is real.
• Every person who has tasted the sweetness of the gospel has an obligation to communicate that gospel to a dying world.
Sproul writes that when we say that God is sovereign, we are saying that His power is supreme in all reality, and no power in heaven or on earth can possibly resist the power of God. He tells us that there are four ways that God is sovereign. He is sovereign over nature. He is sovereign over history and human affairs. And He is sovereign in His inherent right to impose obligations on His creatures, to say to them, “Thou shalt not do this” and “Thou shalt do that.” He writes that God is sovereign, not we ourselves, and His sovereignty extends to all things, not only the creation of the world but the sustaining and governing of the world, and what we describe as the laws of nature only describe the ordinary ways that God in His sovereignty governs nature.
As with all of Sproul’s teaching, he communicates what can be hard to understand subjects in an easy-to-understand manner.
Below are 10 good quotes from the book:
• Whatever God creates, He sustains. Whatever He creates, He owns, and whatever He owns, He rules. He rules over all things.
• God possesses sovereign authority, and that authority in no way rests on my agreement or submission to it.
• Salvation is of the Lord. That’s what the sovereignty of God is all about.
• In His sovereignty, God has the capacity and ability to work through the sinful decisions and wicked choices of His creatures to bring about His sovereign will, which is altogether righteous.
• How do we reconcile the sovereignty of God with human freedom? If God’s sovereignty is limited by our freedom, then who is sovereign? We are.
• You still have a will, you still have the ability to make choices, but your choices are wicked. You are morally incapable in and of yourself, until you are enabled by God the Holy Spirit, ever to choose the holy things of God.
• When we’re engaged in evangelism, we have to remember that justification is by faith and not merely by a profession of faith.
• We are convinced that no one in an unregenerate state will ever believe in Christ. That person is in a state of spiritual death and will not, in that imprisonment of the will, exercise his or her will to choose Christ.
• The Holy Spirit has to raise us from spiritual death, and when He does, then we choose and make the decision that is real.
• Every person who has tasted the sweetness of the gospel has an obligation to communicate that gospel to a dying world.
June 19, 2024
" God is a volitional being that is God has a will. He has Divine faculty by which he makes decisions and choices. We, as his creatures, are also volitional beings, and part of our humanity is that our creator has ended us with the faculty of choosing, which we call as a will. We have the ability to make choices. And that's what we're concerned about when we talk about freedom and free will: the ability to make choices" (53)
Sproul does an awesome job of laying out what the sovereignty of God is and how it interacts with us and the many misconceptions that we have about it. Freedom is not autonomy. God does not enact evil, but is a God who is powerful enough to take the fallen choices of man and bring about His will form them. An awesome read and one I strongly all Christians read.
Sproul does an awesome job of laying out what the sovereignty of God is and how it interacts with us and the many misconceptions that we have about it. Freedom is not autonomy. God does not enact evil, but is a God who is powerful enough to take the fallen choices of man and bring about His will form them. An awesome read and one I strongly all Christians read.
December 11, 2025
We have been studying Romans in our church Bible Study and questions about the sovereignty of God have arisen. Hence yet another R C Sproul Crucial Questions book.
As I conduct the Bible Study I've been looking at this book to see if I could recommend it. I thought that I could as it's R C Sproul but as I only suggest books I have personally read or used I needed to read it. It's a brilliant little book that I'll be recommending that people read.
Sproul looks at the sovereignty of God over five areas: Nothing, Creation, Salvation, Human Actions and Evangelism. He looks at the questions most people ask and answers them.
As I conduct the Bible Study I've been looking at this book to see if I could recommend it. I thought that I could as it's R C Sproul but as I only suggest books I have personally read or used I needed to read it. It's a brilliant little book that I'll be recommending that people read.
Sproul looks at the sovereignty of God over five areas: Nothing, Creation, Salvation, Human Actions and Evangelism. He looks at the questions most people ask and answers them.
May 4, 2022
The sovereignty of God is an issue that has been debated in the church for a while now. The questions are numerous and extensive. How does God’s sovereignty interact with human free will? What is He sovereign over? And on and on. In this booklet, R.C. Sproul takes a serious look at this serious question, and he begins to explain it in a way that the common man can understand. If you need a starting point for the questions you have about the sovereignty of god, this is the booklet for you.
February 21, 2022
This is my first read of R.C. Sproul. I found his book full of biblical knowledge about God's Sovereignty. His idea that God is sovereign over nothing was an interesting take on creation. I will admit at times his wording was not easy to follow. I really had to concentrate. That's why I gave it a four star. Maybe I'm a lazy reader. haha
March 5, 2022
Yes, God is in Control
RC Sproul tackles a tough topic with a wondrous sense of warmth, wit, intellect, and insight. This little book is a treasure, and he has made it available to read for free. Gave me a much better understanding of what is meant by the Lord’s sovereignty. Looking forward to the next 50+ books in this series.
RC Sproul tackles a tough topic with a wondrous sense of warmth, wit, intellect, and insight. This little book is a treasure, and he has made it available to read for free. Gave me a much better understanding of what is meant by the Lord’s sovereignty. Looking forward to the next 50+ books in this series.
December 20, 2022
Great reading on the sovereignty of God
I have emotional ties to RC because years ago when I was torn between the subject of God's sovereignty in saving people and in people saving themselves, God led me to RC Sproul's teaching. RC was a great teacher, and thank God we have his resources available.
I have emotional ties to RC because years ago when I was torn between the subject of God's sovereignty in saving people and in people saving themselves, God led me to RC Sproul's teaching. RC was a great teacher, and thank God we have his resources available.
June 13, 2024
God is Sovereign
Romans 3:23, 24. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified BY HIS GRACE AS A GIFT, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
We cannot earn salvation... God in His Sovereignty GIFTS us with it
Thank you Dr. Sprou! for explaining this doctrine clearly!
Romans 3:23, 24. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified BY HIS GRACE AS A GIFT, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
We cannot earn salvation... God in His Sovereignty GIFTS us with it
Thank you Dr. Sprou! for explaining this doctrine clearly!
April 6, 2022
Sovereign God
R.C. Sproul has a short book and speaks about the different aspects of God being sovereign. I really enjoyed reading book and it pointed things back to who God and that He is the one in control and we got our true power from the Gospel.
R.C. Sproul has a short book and speaks about the different aspects of God being sovereign. I really enjoyed reading book and it pointed things back to who God and that He is the one in control and we got our true power from the Gospel.
May 22, 2022
Easy to read overview of the doctrine of sovereignty of God
Great summary of the reformed view of sovereignty. R C Sproul hits the nail on the head in this quick and well thought out read. I am left wanting to know more.
Great summary of the reformed view of sovereignty. R C Sproul hits the nail on the head in this quick and well thought out read. I am left wanting to know more.
March 19, 2024
Important Subject
The question of sovereignty of God is excellently answered in this book, filled with inspirational principles that will enable us to understand the hand of God In everything
The question of sovereignty of God is excellently answered in this book, filled with inspirational principles that will enable us to understand the hand of God In everything
January 29, 2022
Sovereignty ofGod
A quick read on the sovereignty of God, even Sovereign over nothing (in this case over ex nihilo or void in Genesis).
A quick read on the sovereignty of God, even Sovereign over nothing (in this case over ex nihilo or void in Genesis).
May 27, 2022
A very good and interesting read, but not the best one he has written
July 27, 2022
A Good Read
Easy to read and comprehend. I did not accept his total teaching but believe we as Christians should read others views to broaden our understanding of the gospel.
Easy to read and comprehend. I did not accept his total teaching but believe we as Christians should read others views to broaden our understanding of the gospel.
July 20, 2023
The best explanation and teaching evver
I will recommend it all doubters. Discover for yourself what Jess teaches about God is Sivereign
Do and know it by the Word
I will recommend it all doubters. Discover for yourself what Jess teaches about God is Sivereign
Do and know it by the Word
May 27, 2024
I love R. C. Sproul because he uses the Holy Scriptures to explain doctrine. He answers everyday questions we all have.
January 18, 2025
I loved this book! I learned so much about the sovereignty of God! I’ll be thinking about this book for awhile!
August 15, 2025
Must-read.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews