Results 1 - 3 of 3
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Why does Satan believe he can win? | Bible general Archive 3 | Ocelot | 166916 | ||
Dear Doc, I apologize for the false accusation. Please forgive my obfuscation, as I did not mean such. Let me state my position plainly. I do not believe God predestined sin. I do not believe that God, in allowing His creations to commit sin failed to be sovereign. If an earthly father has the ability to force his will on his children, but allows them to make their own choices because he loves them, it does not detract from his ability to control them. In the same way, I believe God, setting aside His sovereignty so to speak, and allowing His creations to make poor choices that lead to sin and ultimately to death, does not detract from His sovereignty. Because He CAN control His creation does not mean that He WILL control His creation. “God is Love” 1 John 4:16. Love is not a characteristic possessed by God, but rather it is His primary characteristic. The verse does not say “God is loving” but “God IS LOVE”. Those are my beliefs in the matter. I realize you may not agree. You don’t have to agree. That’s the beauty of freedom of choice. : ) Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?' Doc, I do appreciate your input in this matter. Ocelot |
||||||
2 | Why does Satan believe he can win? | Bible general Archive 3 | Morant61 | 166981 | ||
Greetings Ocelot! Allow me to quote from a former post of mine on this issue: "I think that part of the struggle people face concerning human events and God's sovereignty is that many operate under a definition of sovereignty that is philosphical not necessarily biblical. What I mean is simply this: Where in the Bible does it say that Sovereignty means that every act and every decision must be a direct result of God's determinitive will? A. W. Tozer used an example years ago that explains both sovereignty and free will very well. Imagine that God has placed us upon an ocean liner. We have no way to steer the liner. We have no way to change the speed. We have no way to determine the destination of the liner. All of this has been determined by God. However, within the confines of our limitations, we have a multitude of choices. We can choose what we will eat. We can choose with whom we will fellowship. We can choose the attitude with which we will approach our journey. This is an excellent illustration of the tension between God's sovereignty and our freedom. God doesn't determine what we will eat for breakfast. We freely choose our food. God doesn't force us to obey His commands. We freely choose to obey or disobey. However, we suffer the consequences of our choices." It is certainly clear that God's sovereignty is a Biblical doctrine and concept. What is not so clear is how that sovereignty should be defined. Does God's sovereignty allow His creation to do things that He does not wish? The answer is found in Mt. 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." Here, Christ clearly speaks of individuals rejecting His will. So, any definition of sovereignty that rules out limited human freedom is clearly not biblical. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
||||||
3 | Why does Satan believe he can win? | Bible general Archive 3 | DocTrinsograce | 166984 | ||
Dear Brother Tim, Very good point. I really appreciate your help in clarifying this important doctrine. There is, indeed, incredible misunderstanding of the sovereignty of God. I fully agree with you that sovereignty of God does not rule out human freedom nor does it rule out His employment of secondary causes. At least, it doesn't if it is a Biblical definition! How could these things be excluded... after all, He has decreed them! Doug Wilson put it this way, "At the same time, this does not make God the master puppeteer. What He foreordained was a world full of free choices. He not only ordained that a man would be in the ice cream store choosing one of thirty-one flavors, He also decreed which flavor would be chosen. But this is not all; He ordained that the cookie dough ice cream would be chosen by this man freely. God ordains non-coercively. This makes no sense to some people, but how many basic doctrines do make sense? We do not understand how God made Jupiter from nothing any more than how He determined my actions today without annihilating me. But He does. Remember, the point being made here is not that divine sovereignty is merely consistent with secondary freedom, but rather is that which establishes it." Jonathan Edwards wrote in a much earlier time, "The Sovereignty of God is the stumbling block on which thousands fall and perish; and if we go contending with God about His sovereignty it will be our eternal ruin. It is absolutely necessary that we should submit to God as an absolute sovereign, and the sovereign of our souls; as one who may have mercy on whom He will have mercy and harden whom He will." John Wesley wrote, "Chance has no share in the government of the world. The Lord reigns, and disposes all things, strongly and sweetly, for the good of them that love Him." I also very much appreciate A. W. Tozer. He was a wonderful writer. His book on "The Attributes of God" was one of the first that I read on this topic. He wrote, "God’s sovereignty is the attribute by which He rules His entire creation, and to be sovereign God must be all-knowing, all-powerful, and absolutely free. The reasons are these: "Were there even one datum of knowledge, however small, unknown to God, His rule would break down at that point. To be Lord over all the creation, He must possess all knowledge. And were God lacking one infinitesimal modicum of power, that lack would end His reign and undo His kingdom; that one stray atom of power would belong to someone else and God would be a limited ruler and hence not sovereign. "Furthermore, His sovereignty requires that He be absolutely free, which means simply that He must be free to do whatever He wills to do anywhere at any time to carry out His eternal purpose in every single detail without interference. Were He less than free He must be less than sovereign." Thank you, again, Brother Tim, for your post. In Him, Doc |
||||||