Results 241 - 260 of 1773
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: John Reformed Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
241 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99229 | ||
God is Sovereign in the exercise of His mercy. Necessarily so, for mercy is directed by the will of Him that showeth mercy. Mercy is not a right to which man is entitled. Mercy is that adorable attribute of God by which He pities and relieves the wretched. But under the righteous government of God no one is wretched who does not deserve to be so. The objects of mercy, then, are those who are miserable, and all misery is the result of sin, hence the miserable are deserving of punishment not mercy. To speak of deserving mercy is a contradiction of terms. God bestows His mercies on whom He pleases and withholds them as seemeth good unto Himself. A remarkable illustration of this fact is seen in the manner that God responded to the prayers of two men offered under very similar circumstances. Sentence of death was passed upon Moses for one act of disobedience, and he besought the Lord for a reprieve. But was his desire gratified? No; he told Israel, "The LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee" (Deut. 3:26). Now mark the second case: "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech Thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years" (2 Kings 20:1-6). Both of these men had the sentence of death in themselves, and both prayed earnestly unto the Lord for a reprieve: the one wrote: "The Lord would not hear me," and died; but to the other it was said, "I have heard thy prayer," and his life was spared. What an illustration and exemplification of the truth expressed in Romans 9:15!-"For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." The Sovereign exercise of God's mercy-pity shown to the wretched-was displayed when Jehovah became flesh and tabernacled among men. Take one illustration. During one of the Feasts of the Jews, the Lord Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He came to the Pool of Bethesda where lay "a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water." Among this "great multitude" there was "a certain man which had an infirmity thirty and eight years." What happened? "When Jesus saw him He, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answer Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but when I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked" (John 5:3-9). Why was this one man singled out from all the others? We are not told that he cried "Lord, have mercy on me." There is not a word in the narrative which intimates that this man possessed any qualifications which entitled him to receive special favor. Here then was a case of the Sovereign exercise of Divine mercy, for it was just as easy for Christ to heal the whole of that "great multitude" as this one "certain man." But He did not. He put forth His power and relieved the wretchedness of this one particular sufferer, and for some reason known only to Himself, He declined to do the same for the others. Again, we say, what an illustration and exemplification of Romans 9:15!-"I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." (Arthur Pink) |
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242 | Is the Potter free to do as He pleases? | Eph 2:3 | John Reformed | 99218 | ||
NC, Thanks for your post. I need to clear up my meaning for you. All men by nature are objects of wrath. Within this group are are two sub-groups. The those who recieve mercy (objects of mercy) and those who do not (objects of wrath prepared for destruction). John |
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243 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99215 | ||
Your trying to make grace mystical something God gives to some who know nothing about it but must accept it and once they get it are thrilled and that God doesn't give to others that know nothing about but aren't even aware they are missing it. I think that is a definition that degrades grace rather than Grace freely given to all who would accept it. Show me your definition in scripture I would like to read it. EdB Your conclusions are so far from what I believe I wonder if we both speak the same language. |
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244 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99193 | ||
Dear Ed, I am truly growing weary of answering your mis-characterizations of my position. Perhaps it would help to cut and paste my original statements from which you draw your conclusions. John |
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245 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99187 | ||
Dear Hank, Rather than offer my feeble interpretaions, I believe The Word itself will provide the evidence you have asked for. Acts 4:27 "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, Acts 4:28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. Gen 50:20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. Job 1:12 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD..." Job 1:19-21 and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you." Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." John |
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246 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99165 | ||
Sorry Mommpbs, They or you, my point remains the same. The object of the sentence was not the people but the leaders. John |
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247 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99153 | ||
Dear Hank, What kind of "liberty" makes it possible to choose and impossible to choose at the same time? Liberty is simply the freedom to follow the desires of one's own heart. Now, if you would be so kind, please answer my question. John |
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248 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99150 | ||
Paul is addressing those who have been given a "new heart". The heart of stone which they had been born with has been taken away. Ezek 36:26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh..." John |
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249 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99147 | ||
The decendents of Adam are all born spiritualy dead. Dead in sin and trangressions. Without hope and without Christ. Do you disagree? John |
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250 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99143 | ||
Dear momapbs, I have to go out, so I have to be brief in my reply. A carefull reading of Matt 23 shows that the "they" in "they would not" are the pharisees and the leaders who were preventing Jesus from gathering the people of the city of Jerusalem. Does a slave to sin have free will to disobey his master? If so he not a slave in the biblical sense of the word. Does the following passage support "free-willism"? 2 Tim 2:25,26 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. These two verses are an accurate description of the state of fallen mankind. They are absolutely dependent on the grace of God for repentance and gaining the knowledge of the truth. They are not free to do good, but are captives to the will of their father the devil and are enthralled by him. So much for free will... John |
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251 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99138 | ||
Parable, Liberty means "The state of a free person; exemption from subjection to the will of another" (Websters) The point I have been laboring to make is simply this: Fallen man is at liberty to to choose either good or evil. But our choices are governed by our desires and the desires of the unregeneret heart are wicked ones. It is not because God forces or coerces man to sin that man is a sinner, but that man is a sinner by virtue of his own fallen nature. He has liberty to choose good or evil, yet his own heart makes it impossible for him to choose spiritual good. This is not Augustine, Calvin, Beza or Boyd ...it is Bible. Gen 2:17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Gen 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Jer 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? John 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 4 Rom 6:6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; As long as one believes that fallen man has even a spark of spiritual life inside his heart, that one will not appreciate fully the grace od God in salvation. John |
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252 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99068 | ||
"If I understand you correctly, you seem to be saying that each and every flap of each and every wing on each and every sparrow is specifically and exhaustively determined by God's meticulous control." You are correct. "This necessarily implies that each and every demon or wicked person is just a puppet exhaustively controlled by God, which makes Him an accessory to evil..."" I disagree. This implies nothing of the sort. I just hold a higher view of God's sovereignty than you do. Now if you want me to explain How God can be absolutely sovereign and yet man still be resposible for his actions...well, don't hold your breath while your waiting for an answer. I will say this: Fallen man is absolutely free to choose according to his heart's desire. That liberty is also his downfall. Gen 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. John |
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253 | 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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254 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99064 | ||
If we examine Mat 10:29 in its context, Jesus concludes His discussion in verse 31 with "So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." His point is that we are worth more than the sparrows, not that sparrows die because God kills them" There is more than one truth taught in Matt 10:29. You are right that Jesus used the example of the sparrows to show the disciples relative worth as compared to birds. But that does not cancel the other truth contained in the verse. Jesus was also assuring them through the sparrows that if even sparrows cannot fall apart from God's will, how much more precious are the lives of His elect disciples! 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. Matt 10:29a ""Are not two sparrows sold for a cent?" Matt 10:29b "And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father." The fuller point is this: 29a Sparrows compared to men are insignificant in value. 29b Even these relatively insignifant birds are subject to God's rule. And if they will not fall apart from God's providence then, most surely, neither will His own chosen ones. John |
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255 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99063 | ||
Thanks foryour reply Colin, Let me assure you that Scripture not philosophy is my guide. I have learned through scripture that "God is NOT the author of evil" and have never claimed that He was the author of evil either. Where you might have gotten that idea was from another poster, who erroneouly assumed by mis-reading something I said, that that is what I MUST believe. I don't! Whether my interpertaions of Scripture be right or wrong, I arrived at them by Scripture. Please read Acts 4:27,28. That should give you a clue as to which way my stick floats. (A little mountain man lingo Tex) John |
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256 | 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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257 | 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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258 | 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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259 | God is not the author of evil. | Job | John Reformed | 99053 | ||
Dear Colin, Please try to understand...It is not my desire to be contentious. My desire is to glorify God in the midst of the saints. I'm certain that you share that same desire and sought to do so in your reply to parable. I just happen to think you are mistaken in your view. It is my view that God dos not long for anything. At least not in the way you meant in your post. The Bible does say that God longs to be gracious to you, but, the meaning of the word "longs" denotes patient waiting. The way we come to know God is through His Word. To the extent that we properly interpret scripture, that right understanding will be the measure of our success. It is crucial that we strive to understand Him as He is. In that spirit of christian fellowship I have written you my reading of Gen 6:3 The Hebrew word for "strive" is "din". It means to judge; administer, dispute etc. Webster's defines the english word "strive" as To struggle in opposition; to be in contention or dispute; to contend; to contest; -- followed by against or with before the person or thing opposed; as, strive against temptation; strive for the truth. I realize that God takes no pleasure from the destruction of the wicked, however, Gen 6:3 does not convey the idea of a helpless God grieving over the stubborn opposition of a wicked race of people; longing for their salvation but powerless to persuade them to repent. Our God is omnipotent and accomplishes everything to which He stretches forth His hand to accomplish. 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'; Compare your interpretation of Gen 6:3 with the above verse. Do they harmonize with one another? John |
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260 | 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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