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NASB | Job 1:8 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Job 1:8 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God]." |
Subject: 1. Is God sovereign? 2.) Free Will? |
Bible Note: Dear G, I did, indeed, notice. I concur that God created all things, and that Satan – a creature – is therefore a creation of God. However, you go beyond that simple syllogism by attempting to give an explanation as to why God created Satan; i.e., “to give you and I a choice between...” (sic). (In theology this line of inquiry is called theodicy: attempting to deal with the problem of evil in the light of a good and holy God.) I was not challenging your assertion so much as trying to determine if you had a Scripture on which we might actually deduce God's intentions in creating Satan. To know the mind of God relative to His motivations and eternal purposes, necessitates that He reveals it. Furthermore, we would not want to hold to a doctrine so sweeping unless we had Scripture on which to base it (see post #205911). Therefore, my question: Where is that written? Now as to the other thing about choice, here are my thoughts (for what they are worth): Every man does have a choice (the ability to select varying courses of action based on what he determines will bring him the greatest good). However, that choice does not seem so much to do with choosing to enslave themselves to Satan versus enslaving themselves to God. Rather, it seems to me that it is more fundamental than that: shall men choose to enslave themselves to themselves versus enslaving themselves to God (Romans 6:19). The root of evil in this world is not so much Satan or the world system, the root of evil is within us. Everyone, everywhere, and in every time has tried to point to something external to blame. We can feel better about ourselves if we can point to something and blame it on all our ills; e.g., if it weren't for those rascally Romans...; if it weren't for those argumentative Sadducees...; if it weren't for our poverty...; if it weren't for our illnesses...; if it weren't for those liberals...; etc. etc. Nonetheless, our Lord places His finger right on the real source of evil: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23) Thus, there is at least one other thing upon which a choice would be based – and that other thing is much more immediate an issue relative to our choices than is Satan. In Him, Doc |