Results 1 - 13 of 13
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99030 | ||
Perhaps this article by John Piper will help How God governs all events in the universe without sinning, and without removing responsibility from man, and with compassionate outcomes is mysterious indeed! But that is what the Bible teaches. God "works all things after the counsel of his will" (Ephesians 1:11). This "all things" includes the fall of sparrows (Matthew 10:29), the rolling of dice (Proverbs 16:33), the slaughter of his people (Psalm 44:11), the decisions of kings (Proverbs 21:1), the failing of sight (Exodus 4:11), the sickness of children (2 Samuel 12:15), the loss and gain of money (1 Samuel 2:7), the suffering of saints (1 Peter 4:19), the completion of travel plans (James 4:15), the persecution of Christians (Hebrews 12:4-7), the repentance of souls (2 Timothy 2:25), the gift of faith (Philippians 1:29), the pursuit of holiness (Philippians 3:12-13), the growth of believers (Hebrews 6:3), the giving of life and the taking in death (1 Samuel 2:6), and the crucifixion of his Son (Acts 4:27-28). From the smallest thing to the greatest thing, good and evil, happy and sad, pagan and Christian, pain and pleasure - God governs them all for his wise and just and good purposes (Isaiah 46:10). Lest we miss the point, the Bible speaks most clearly to this in the most painful situations. Amos asks, in time of disaster, "If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?" (Amos 3:6). After losing all ten of his children in the collapse of his son's house, Job says, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21). After being covered with boils he says, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10). Oh, yes, Satan is real and active and involved in this world of woe! In fact Job 2:7 says, "Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head." Satan struck him. But Job did not get comfort from looking at secondary causes. He got comfort from looking at the ultimate cause. "Shall we not accept adversity from God?" And the author of the book agrees with Job when he says that Job's brothers and sisters "consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the LORD had brought on him" (Job 42:11). Then James underlines God's purposeful goodness in Job's misery: "You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful" (James 5:11). Job himself concludes in prayer: "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2). Yes, Satan is real, and he is terrible - and he is on a leash. John |
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2 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | Parable | 99039 | ||
I concur. By His resurrection, Christ has won the war against darkness, death and evil. What remains to be worked out is the mopping-up operation, that is, for us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to identify remaining pockets of enemy activity and be victorious over them through faith, prayer and love. | ||||||
3 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99046 | ||
Dear Parable, The church is indeed engaged in a mop-up operation. The question is has God not only ordained the beginning from the end, but, has He also ordained everything that occurs in between? I believe the answer is yes! The following texts are a few of the foundation stones for my stated belief. Is 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'; Dan 4:35 "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What have You done?' Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ps 73:28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works. John 9:3 Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Rev 15:3 And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! John |
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4 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | Parable | 99051 | ||
I acknowledge these verses describe God's supreme authority, but not that he micromanages every detail. There is a difference between saying that what God has ordained will come to pass and that everything that comes to pass has been ordained by God. From our experience, do we not feel that leaders who cannot delegate are insecure and ultimately less respected because they feel they must dictate every little thing? On the other hand, do we not respect those who empower others, don't we feel they are secure, strong and wise? |
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5 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99054 | ||
Firstly Dear Parable, Matt 10:29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. As christians we believe that every thing that has been created, down to the smallest particle, was created by God. We also belive that God is omnipresent and that nothing that exists exists without His knowing and by His will. He is also omniscient. Nothing happens that He is not aware of. He is omnipotent. Nothing can happen that He does not cause to happen. All power originates from Him. Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and exist, "From our experience..." is an arguement from human reason that is based on worldly wisdom. It certainly does not apply to All-Mighty GOD!!! Our God is bigger than we can even imagine. To God be the glory. John |
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6 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | Parable | 99055 | ||
In Romans 10:9, Paul said "...if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." This is what scripture says is the meaning of being Christian, not that we adopt Augustine's exhaustively defined blueprint theology in which God is the author of evil for purposes beyond human understanding. Read scripture for what it clearly says, not what others have said it means. Clearly, the bible teaches God is eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, transcendant and immanent. Scripture also teaches that it is the very real EXPERIENCE of Jesus' life, death, resurrection and ascension that give our faith its meaning. |
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7 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99057 | ||
Matthew 10:29 was not written by Augustine :-) You say that God does not micro-manage His creation, but offer human wisdom for a foundation. I reply with scripture and am accused of using the wisdom of Augustine as my foundation. Frankly, I think you may be looking for a way out of the discussion. John |
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8 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | Morant61 | 99058 | ||
Hi John! I know that we have discussed this verse before, but Mt. 23:37 is an excellent indicator that God does not micro-manage every every detail and choice. ;-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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9 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99061 | ||
Hiddee Hi Tim, Matt 23:37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Jesus is the one doing the speaking. I believe He is speaking from the weakness of His human nature. Everything which He did was in obediance to His Father's will. When He took upon Himself flesh, He also laid aside many of the perogatives that being God the Son entailed. 2 Cor 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. Be carefull here Tim. What you are inferring is that God is less than an absolute ruler; that His governance is not over ALL of His creation. Rom 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! You force me to make an arguement for the universality of the term "ALL" (at least in this case) :-). Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For this promise to be true God would have to be ruler over "all things". If I were to ask you if God were able to foreordain every single thing that occurs, and at the same time, preserve man's freedom to make his own choices freely, what would your answer be? But before you reply...consider this particulat attribute of God's: Matt 19:26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." John |
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10 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | Mommapbs | 99065 | ||
John Reformed, in referencing Matt 23:37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.", you wrote: "Jesus is the one doing the speaking. I believe He is speaking from the weakness of His human nature . . . Everything which He did was in obedience to His Father's will. When He took upon Himself flesh, He also laid aside many of the perogatives that being God the Son entailed." Matt 19:26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Are you saying all things were not possible (He couldn't gather His people) because Jesus was in the flesh? What were the perogatives of God that Jesus "laid aside?" Please explain this. Thanks mommapbs |
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11 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99067 | ||
Dear Mommapbs, Let me see If I can explain my thoughts more clearly. As a man Jesus laid aside many of the attributes He has as God the Son. In His incarnation He was subject to fatigue, pain, hunger thirst etc. He also experienced fear and anguish. Mark 14:36 And He was saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." My point is that the fact that Jesus was prevented from gathering the people of Jerusalem into His protection is a poor arguement against God's soveriegn rule over all things. The incarnate Christ also laid aside His omniscience. As a child He had to learn to speak and read and how to behave. As an adult He did not know the day or the hour of His return; Only the Father knew that. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are 3 persons and as such have different offices, yet are of the same essense. One God! When God the Son took on human flesh, He laid aside those riches for a time. He became poor. He was God and man at the same time but there was no mingling or mixture of the human nature with the nature of the Diety. Does this help or hurt. It is a very complex topic. Hopefully, someone wiser than me will chip in. John |
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12 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | Mommapbs | 99121 | ||
Greetings John - you wrote: "My point is that the fact that Jesus was prevented from gathering the people of Jerusalem into His protection is a poor arguement against God's soveriegn rule over all things." I am not argung against God's sovereign rule. As I read that verse, I do not see the inability of God and especially I do not see His unwillingness. I also do not believe He was unable due to the limitations He was subject to as Incarnate. The reason He "could not" was due to the unwillingness of man to surrender to the will of God. Jesus COULD have gathered His people, but THEY WOULD NOT. This does not diminish my understanding of God's sovereign rule, but reveals His permissive will. He loves us even when we don't love Him. He died for all, which in my understanding includes even those who reject Him (past, present and future). He is still IN CONTROL when we refuse to submit to His authority. I believe that when God created man in His image, that necessitated a free will. Yet our choices are not always Godly and we must suffer the consequences of those that are not. It is God's will that mankind have a free will . . . therefore, God's sovereignty triumphs again. You wrote: "He was God and man at the same time but there was no mingling or mixture of the human nature with the nature of the Diety." Please explain what you mean here. mommapbs |
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13 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | Morant61 | 99132 | ||
Greetings Mommapbs! Excellent observation! The verse does not say, "How often would I...but I could not". It says, "How often would I...but you would not". Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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