Dostoevsky and the Sovereignty of God

Ken Kalis
2 days ago
4 min read

Dostoevsky in 1847 at 26 — Dostoevsky in 1847 Public Domain: Wikipedia

Jesus came to me when I was still in my crib.

His Presence filled the room, and I knew I belonged to him.
But I wanted my own life to live out my dreams "to the fullest."
Those dreams turned out empty, and I repented and turned to Him.

I surrendered my own sovereignty and accepted His: NOW I belong.

“Not our own, for we were bought with a price.”

A Christian Reflection Through the Eyes of a Russian Genius

Few modern writers understood the sovereignty of God as deeply as Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) . His novels drip with the reality of a God who rules the world — and the human heart — with a mercy so fierce it terrifies sinners and comforts saints.

Dostoevsky did not learn this from a book. He learned it in chains, at gunpoint, and in the Siberian snow, where his life was spared at the last moment by a sovereign intervention.

His fictional characters wrestle with what he himself knew:Man wants to be sovereign over himself, but only God truly is.

The Illusion of Sovereignty

Dostoevsky believed that the modern world suffers from one great delusion:

We think we are our own.

We imagine we can rule our lives, define our identity, direct our destiny, decide our morality, and command our future. His villain, Ivan Karamazov, tries this — and goes mad. Raskolnikov tries it — and ends in despair. Stavrogin tries it — and destroys himself.

Every attempt to be sovereign brings bondage.

Dostoevsky insists that self-rule is the shortest road to ruin.

The Exchange of Sovereignty

The Gospel makes the same claim, but more urgently:

“Ye are not your own.For ye are bought with a price.”— 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

To come to Jesus is to hand over the keys.

To say:

“Lord, I renounce the throne I have tried to build for myself.You alone are King.”

This is humbling — even offensive — to the modern heart. But it is the only path to freedom.

Dostoevsky said it beautifully:

“There is only one thing that matters:to find God and surrender to Him.”

When we surrender to Christ, we do not lose ourselves;we finally become who we were created to be.

Bought With a Price

Dostoevsky never forgot that he had been spared from execution.He saw his reprieve not as luck, but as grace.

And so he wrote characters who realized, often painfully, that:

Life is not ours — it is God’s.

The price Christ paid on the cross makes this clear.He did not purchase part of us.He did not redeem us partially.He bought us entirely.

That is why Paul says:

“Present your bodies a living sacrifice…this is your reasonable service.”— Romans 12:1

Reasonable — because nothing less makes sense after Calvary.

The True Sovereign

Dostoevsky’s world is filled with broken men and women who try to live without God, only to discover a terrifying truth:

If God is not sovereign, then chaos is.

But his novels never end in chaos.

There is always a thread of grace —sometimes faint, sometimes blazing —pulling sinners back to the One who reigns.

Sovereignty is not a doctrine for theologians; it is the anchor of the soul.

Dostoevsky is for Us Today

When we come to Jesus, we give up our sovereignty. We give up the right to define good and evil. We give up control of our choices, our future, our desires, our plans.

This sounds like a loss.

But Jesus says it is the beginning of life:

“Whosoever will save his life shall lose it:but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it.”— Matthew 16:25

The most joyful Christians in Dostoevsky’s stories —Alyosha, Sonya, the Elder Zosima —are the ones who surrender.

The most tormented —Ivan, Raskolnikov before repentance, Stavrogin —are the ones who insist on ruling themselves.

The lesson is timeless: We cannot be both sovereign and saved.

A Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the only Sovereign, the Lord of heaven and earth. Teach us to give up the illusion of our own rule and to surrender gladly to Your loving authority.You bought us with a price —help us to live as those who belong to You. Reign in our hearts, our minds, and our wills.Amen.