Can God do all things???
"KATHLEEN DIMICK" (kdimick@colsa.com)
Mon, 13 Oct 1997 09:42:48 -0500
Regarding what God can, cannot or will not do...
Dave:
> My question to you sister is this: Does God do to everyone as He did to
> Saul of Tarsus? No. Let's put it this way...Does God want all to come to
> repentance? I hope you answer "yes". Then why doesn't He "make us"
repent?
> Because we have a free will...thus, God cannot do all things. Yes, it's
> impossible for Him to lie and fail. However, He'll never violate the
human
> will. If He did, He never should have made humans with a free will. Grant
> it, I love Him and want to do everything He commands of me as a Child of
> God. But to the sinners, He'll never force them to live for Him.
The key here is this sentence:
> ... However, He'll never violate the human
> will...
I notice one thing, the contraction 'He'll'. It is of course a contraction
of
'He will'. There is the rub. It is not that God ** cannot ** violate the
human will, it is that He ** will not ** violate it. He could if He
desired too.
But also, this is not directly stated anywhere in scripture. What is
directly stated is that:
"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the
son of man, that he should repent: hath he said,
and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall
he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19 KJV)
"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie:" (2 Thessalonians 2:11 KJV)
"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie,
promised before the world began;" (Titus 1:2 KJV)
"That by two immutable things, in which it was
impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold
upon the hope set before us:" (Hebrews 6:18 KJV)
"Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes,
that they may also obtain the salvation which is in
Christ Jesus with eternal glory... If we believe not,
yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."
(2 Timothy 2:10,13 KJV)
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted
of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither
tempteth he any man:" (James 1:13 KJV)
[literally: God is untemptable]
Therefore, God:
- cannot lie
- cannot deny Himself
There are no other intrinsic limitations on God,
except those which He imposes upon Himself.
There are certain things which He WILL not do,
because He CHOOSES not to do them.
For instance (but not inclusive):
"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God
in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that
taketh his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7 KJV)
"And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their
enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor
them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant
with them: for I am the LORD their God."
(Leviticus 26:44 KJV)
"(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not
forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the
covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them."
(Deuteronomy 4:31 KJV)
"For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and
your children shall find compassion before them that
lead them captive, so that they shall come again into
this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful,
and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return
unto him." (2 Chronicles 30:9 KJV)
"Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the
Almighty pervert judgment." (Job 34:12 KJV)
"But your iniquities have separated between you and
your God, and your sins have hid his face from you,
that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2 KJV)
etc, etc.
The scriptures plainly do not specify that God will not violate the
will of man, however, I, IMHO, feel that it is implicitly taught by
the histories of the individuals and their relationships with God
which are recorded in the scriptures.
My favorite scripture which I feel demonstrates the non-imposing
God is:
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear
my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20 KJV)
Kathy Dimick
Falkville, Alabama
kdimick@colsa.com
kedimick@hotmail.com
http://members.tripod.com/~coffeepleaz/index.html
"For to me to live is Christ"