Is open theism biblical?

from the old testament

• Open theism teaches that God does not fully know the future. However, the Bible tells us that God declares the end from the beginning and accomplishes His purposes (Isaiah 46:9–10; Psalm 33:11). God’s knowledge and plans are perfect and certain, contradicting the open-theist view that the future is partly unknown to Him.
• Open theism suggests human actions can surprise or change God’s plans, but Job 42:4 and Proverbs 19:21 show us that God’s purposes prevail regardless of human choice.
• God’s knowledge is perfect and unlimited (Psalm 139:1–6; Psalm 147:5). Whereas open theism posits that God learns or discovers future events, the Psalms affirm God’s complete and exhaustive knowledge.
• Open theists use examples such as Genesis 6:6, Exodus 32:9—13, 1 Samuel 15:29, and Jeremiah 18:7—10 to argue that God changes plans in response to humans. However, God’s “relenting” is compatible with His sovereign plan—He incorporates human choices into His eternal purpose. It does not mean that He is fickle or uncertain.
• Open theism emphasizes human free will shaping the future in ways God cannot fully know, but Deuteronomy 30:19 and Genesis 50:20 demonstrate that human decisions occur under God’s sovereignty and plan and that humans are responsible for their choices within God’s plan.

from the new testament

• Open theism struggles with God having a fully determined plan. Yet Paul affirms that God’s purposes and predestination are eternal (Ephesians 1:4–5, 11; 2 Timothy 1:9).
• Jesus shows that He has knowledge of hearts and future events (Matthew 26:34; John 2:24–25, 13:19), contradicting open theism’s claim that God learns or discovers the future. Jesus’ omniscient knowledge of people and future events confirms God’s perfect foreknowledge.
• Romans 8:28 and Ephesians 1:11 shows that God works all things according to His will, in contrast with open theism’s claim that God’s control over events is limited by human choices. These verses emphasize that even human decisions are used by God to fulfill His purposes, affirming His sovereignty.
• Open theism claims the future is partly unknown to God, but 1 John 3:20 and Hebrews 4:13 shows that God’s knowledge is complete and not developing. He sees and knows all, leaving nothing hidden, contradicting open theist premises.
• Open theism emphasizes human free will in shaping God’s plan. The New Testament shows human responsibility exists but always within the framework of God’s eternal, fully known purposes (Acts 2:23; Philippians 2:12—13).

implications for today

Open theism depends on a presupposition—man's free will. But the "free will" that open theism espouses is different from simple freedom of choice. Open theism defines free will as the genuine ability of humans to make choices that are not predetermined or fully known by God, allowing their decisions to shape the future in ways even God does not exhaustively foresee. Open theism cannot see how God can be fully sovereign yet we have the ability to make choices too.

But, God’s sovereignty is not contradictory to our freedom—He ordains and works through our choices without being constrained by them. Our decisions are truly ours while His plans and purposes remain unthwarted. For example, when you choose to forgive someone who hurt you, that act is genuinely yours, yet God can use it to bring healing and reconciliation beyond what you imagined. Similarly, when you decide to take a new job, God can guide circumstances and people around that decision to accomplish His purposes, showing that your free will and His sovereignty work together, not in opposition.

God's ways are not like ours; His thoughts are not like our thoughts—they are higher than ours, higher than the heavens are above the earth (Isaiah 55:8–9). Just because we cannot understand something does not mean it is not true. In the end, open theism fails because it attempts to figure out God's mind using man's mind. This is like trying to use a hammer to write HTML code. It's the wrong tool for the job. The best and safest way for man to come to the truth about God is by listening to what He has revealed to us about Himself in the Scriptures. And Scripture has revealed that He is both sovereign and knows all things fully and that we are responsible for our decisions. God is the all-knowing King who weaves our choices into His perfect plan, showing that true freedom and divine sovereignty are not enemies but partners in the story of redemption.