That statement presupposes that our actions signify something outside God's control -- which is false.
Warfield is saying that if someone held that our actions could be outside of God's control, then that person is either wrong or there is no Biblical God. So, Warfield would agree with the intent of your first sentence, as I perceive it.
For God, His control is the ability he's given us to choose. He doesn't micromanage, yet He has His plan for mankind. If Hitler choose to be evil, that does not negate God's plan, nor does it mean God cannot come down "deus-ex-machina" and resolve things, but that would remove our free will.
The key question to answer is whether God gives us the ability to choose against His will. Warfield (and other Reformers) would say that if we answer "yes" then that is beyond God's control and Warfield's implications would come to be. We cannot just say that God's control is giving us freedom, and then stop right there. We must explore the nature of that freedom.
So, with the Hitler example, would we say that what Hitler did was part of God's plan all along, OR, would we say that God's giving Hitler free will meant that the "rule" was that Hitler could do anything he wanted and God wouldn't interfere, even if it disagreed with God's plan, because the "rule" said Hitler was free? If we say the latter then Warfield and we would say that's elevating man's will above God's and the implication of that would be that our God is no god at all.
A similar argument would apply if we said that God's plan was simply to roll with the punches of human decisions and deal with history as we gave it to Him. That would also be God abdicating His control and ceasing to be God.
A creator cannot be sovereign and moral if he gives up control over his creation. Warfield is saying that if God actually DID give people the kind of freedom that many suppose they do have, then it would actually be a sign of immorality and that God did not love His creation.
Warfields frequent use of the word “imagine” itself is distracting, as well as frequent use of “control”.
Additionally, the whole article presents a negative and distorted view of who God is.
Example: Just in his first two sentences his repetitive use of——
..we are controlled
..we are controlled
..we are controlled
I wonder, do you think this guy is clearly not asking questions rather stating his stance pretty forcefully and surrounding his words with a bunch of fluff to make it palitable. Not for me....
Do you believe we love God of our own free will?
My question is why the test? What would it prove if Job was predestined to weather everything that was thrown at him, not even knowing it wasn’t God who was doing it, because God programmed him to? Why did God even give us this tremendous example of faith at all? I might be thick as pea soup, here, but I just don’t see it. Again, I think it shows God to be so much more all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving when he is ABLE to fulfill his plan and make all things work together for good with angels and mankind free to choose or reject him. Where is the glory in creating robots?
“Warfield is saying that if someone held that our actions could be outside of God’s control, then that person is either wrong or there is no Biblical God.”
That assumes we are out of God’s control because we choose to be. But if God gives us a choice to make, and allows us to make it freely, that is within his will and his control.
“The key question to answer is whether God gives us the ability to choose against His will.”
Well, look at scripture. Does it clearly teach we are to repent? Yes. Does it clearly teach we are to believe? Yes. Are these presented as something we decide, decisions for us to make? Yes.
If God’s will is to have loving sons vs obedient robots, then giving us that choice is critical to his higher will. He may want us all to be saved, but if he desires sons more than he desires compelled obedience, then he has to give us choices - that we may screw up badly.
As an officer goes up in rank, one of the greatest challenges is to figure out how much freedom to give a subordinate. Too little, and you stifle growth. Too much, and you permit failure. And failure can mean death, or it may mean being fired for your subordinate’s actions.
We do it as men, with very imperfect knowledge. God doesn’t make mistakes, but he does give us freedom. When we choose to believe, or to harden our hearts, we are exercising the freedom he gave us, and are still subordinate to him. And those who reject Christ will find that out to their pain, while those who accept Christ find it to their joy.
Our choices. Not because I say so, but because scripture from Genesis to Revelation demonstrates it.