Featured God can change.

"God's will determines all the choices and circumstances of his creatures, so that nothing is up to man's "free will." In fact, because God is completely sovereign, man has no free will:

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalms 139:16)

The LORD works out everything for his own ends – even the wicked for a day of disaster. (Proverbs 16:4)

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way? (Proverbs 20:24)

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. (Proverbs 21:1)

All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" (Daniel 4:35)

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:13-15)

All things are decided and caused by God – nothing is free from his control, and he has not chosen to forego his control on anything. The doctrine is repulsive to those who abhor the rule and honor of God, and so they oppose it. But the doctrine is a source of comfort and celebration to those who love him. Why would we want it any other way, than for God to rule over all things? And what better life can we wish for, than to be ruled by God?

The doctrine contradicts the religious tradition that God does not decree evil or that he does not cause evil. Of course God does not make decrees against his other decrees. Since God is not insane, he has only one will, one desire. However, there is no problem for him to issue a decree that causes his creatures to violate his precepts. Whereas decrees are declarations of intentions about things that he would cause to happen, precepts are declarations of definitions, not intentions, and do not overlap with the decrees. It must be true that God decrees and causes events that are contrary to his precepts; otherwise, there could be no evil, but there is indeed evil. Therefore, God must be the metaphysical author of sin and evil.

This does not mean that God himself is evil. To metaphysically cause evil and to morally commit evil are two different things. One is a matter of ability to cause something, while the other is a matter of conformity to a principle. The Bible teaches that God is the one who defines right and wrong, and that sin is a transgression of God's law. Therefore, for God to commit evil by causing evil – for this to be bad or wrong – he must declare a moral law that forbids himself to decree or to cause evil, that is, to decree or to cause his creatures to transgress his law. There is no biblical basis to suppose that God has declared such a law against himself. Indeed, the Bible teaches that all that God says and does are right and good. If he says it, it must be true. If he does it, it must be good. Therefore, since God is sovereign and there is evil, God must be the cause of evil, and since he is the cause of evil, it must be right and good for him to be the cause of evil.

There is no divine law that says God would be wrong if he were to be the cause of evil. Why, then, do men assume that it would be evil for God to be the author of sin? What law would God transgress? He would transgress the law of men, or what men have imposed upon him to define what a righteous God must or must not do. This is the sinister truth behind the religious tradition that says God is not the author of sin, for if he were to be such, it would mean that he has transgressed a law that men have declared against him. The necessary conclusion is that the doctrine that God is not the author of sin, or that it is blasphemy and heresy to say that he is, is itself the real blasphemy and heresy. Unless God is the author of sin and evil, he is not completely sovereign, and he is not God. Therefore, to deny that God is the author of sin and evil is to deny God.

The Bible teaches that God's decrees and actions are always right and good. Since he is completely sovereign, and there is evil in this universe, this means that he is the one who decrees and causes evil in this universe. But since his decrees and actions are always right and good, then this means that it is right and good that he is the one who decrees and causes evil in this universe. The very fact that he decrees and causes evil means that it is right and good for him to do so. There is no authority or standard higher than God by which to condemn him. If he thinks that it is good for him to cause evil, then it is good for him to cause evil.

This does not mean that evil is good, which would be a contradiction. Sin is defined as a transgression of God's moral law, and when we say that God is the author of sin, we are saying that God is the metaphysical cause of a creature's transgression of God's moral law. God transgresses no moral law, since there is no moral law against what he does, but he causes the creature to transgress. Morality relates to moral law. But there is no moral law against sovereign metaphysical power. It is right and good for God to metaphysically cause evil, just because he does it, and because he has not declared himself wrong for doing it. It is wrong for man to morally commit evil, because God has declared man wrong for doing it, although it is God who metaphysically causes man to do it. Therefore, God remains righteous, and the sinner remains evil. The distinctions are clear. There is no paradox or contradiction, and also no biblical or logical basis for objection against the doctrine.

Does this make God a tyrant? If the word simply means, "an absolute ruler," then of course God is a tyrant. And since he is the sole moral authority, the very fact that he is a tyrant means that he ought to be one, that it is good and just for him to be one. The negative connotations of the word apply only to human beings, since no man is worthy of absolute authority or capable to wield it. But God is "an absolute ruler" – that is what it means to be God."

- excerpt from Vincent Cheung's Systematic Theology

 

No.

Showing mercy to one person and hardening a different person has nothing to do with change. It has to do with God dealing with people in different ways. It has nothing to do with the nature or actions of that person.

 

1 Corinthians 2: 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Brother Glen

 

to quote you "In fact, because God is completely sovereign, man has no free will:"

So whatever man does is only because God has decreed that he will do. So by your own words God is the only responsible being in the universe. Thus God by your words is the author of all the sin and evil that exists. And you think your view does justice to the character of God as revealed in scripture!
As you said you do not fully understand scripture and from what you have said on here I would have to agree with you, you do not. You seem have a problem accepting clear scripture so that you can hold to your views.

You do seem to hold to a rather more extreme view than most of the Calvinists I have dealt with.

 

Ezekiel 36: 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Van... God does not change but he can change you!... Brother Glen

Btw... There are five wills in these scriptures... Who's will is it?

 

So you're saying that God is arbitrary. His choices have nothing to do with anything man does. Not what the bible tells us but it is your view none the less.

 

Eze 36:24 "For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
Eze 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.
Eze 36:27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Eze 36:28 "You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.

As you can see there are seven "I will's" of God and one "You will" regarding Israel.
God does not force people to change but will give them the opportunity as we see in " take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land" Did all those returning Jews follow God?

And He has even told us why He did this with Israel. "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went."

 

Wrong.

Yes, it does. Where do you think evil comes from, Silverhair? Assuming that you believe that God is omniscience, do you think that God knows that evil is going to be taking place, and that He just stands aside and lets it happen, even though He could stop it? How would that possibly be a better situation than God being absolutely totally sovereign as the Bible teaches. With your thinking, how do you even get out of bed in the morning with thinking that all of the billions of sinful acts that will take place that day are just random actions that God knows are going to take place(including murders and beatings, etc.) but just stands aside(I assume you believe that God is omnipotent and omnipresent) and lets them happen?

Listen, Silverhair, I am thankful that God is in control of every action that has ever taken place in this universe.

Proverbs 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

The Bible states that God made the wicked specifically for the day of evil. Now, do I understand how, when this present heavens and earth is removed and replaced with the new heavens and earth(and may I add; come quickly, Lord Jesus) how all these bad things taking place will all pan out for God's purposes? No. That is why I walk by faith, not by sight, not by my own understanding. I believe what God has revealed in His Word and I trust Him.

I couldn't care less about fitting in with what you might consider some typical Calvinist. I do not recall ever having read Calvin, and have only read or heard quotes of his by other people.

 

@KenH I realize that you really think you are honoring God but from what you have said in your posts you do not. You have made Him the only responsible being. All the sin and evil, according to your view, falls back to God. You have distorted the character of God. The bible shows God to be compassionate and loving and concerned with His creation. He wants all to be saved but does not force anyone to love and trust in Him that they may be saved.

Our ethics, morality, understanding of Love our since of right and wrong all come from God but not the god of your making. You have made God to be unlovable as He is duplicitous in His dealing with His creation. By your comments He has no ethics or since of morality.

Look at Christ in scripture and see if He matches the version you have created. Sadly He does not. I understand that you are sincere in your views but your views do not comport with God as we see Him displayed in scripture.

 

Wrong.

Wrong. For example, when I sin, I am the one that commits the sin and I am totally responsible for it.

Wrong. But you have. Your idea of the god of your imagination is basically no more than Zeus in Greek mythology, who cannot always achieve his purposes.

Yes, He is - for the purposes of His glory.

Yes, all of His elect whom He gave to Christ to be their Surety before the world began.

True. God makes them willing. Psalms 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, In the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: Thou hast the dew of thy youth.

(emphasis mine)

Oh, I quite believe that you love the god of your own imagination.

God is concerned with His glory, not your puny, vain thoughts and your profane attempts to make Him to be one like yourself.

Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another.

Psalms 50:21 Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself.

Unlike you, I have created nothing. I accept God as He describes Himself in His Word.

Are my views of God complete and perfect? Of course not. How could a vile, filthy, wretched sinner like me even make much of a start to fully understanding an infinite God Who has always existed without beginning and without ending?

As I said, I accept God as He describes Himself in His Word.

 

Whose WILL dominates?... I rest my case!... Brother Glen

 

@KenH your logic is flawed. You said "Wrong. For example, when I sin, I am the one that commits the sin and I am totally responsible for it." But under your Calvinist philosophy how can that be true. Your words "God's will determines all the choices and circumstances of his creatures, so that nothing is up to man's "free will." In fact, because God is completely sovereign, man has no free will:"

You say man has no free will yet man is responsible that would only work under your philosophy. You have God control all, not just some but all the choices and circumstances of his creatures. So you have tied your self in a gordian knot. You want A = not A. Man has free will but has no free will.

So again you have made God the author of all the sin and evil we see in the world. You keep tripping over your own errant philosophy.

 

God does not dominate as Calvinists would like Him to do, divine determinism, God did not make puppets, He made creatures in His own image. We can think and exercise our God given free will. Are you suggesting that every Jew that came back to the land worshiped God? That is the only way you can rest your case @tyndale1946?

Does God determine some things, YES. Does God determine all things, NO.

 

I can't give you understanding, Silverhair. I spent decades reading the Bible, but its pages were simply words, like I was reading a mere history book. It wasn't until the Holy Spirit regenerated me and God replaced by heart of stone with a heart of flesh that I began to understand God's Word, and I was amazed how I could have read the Bible all my life and not understood it.

I was once as you are, but now I am at peace with God, Silverhair. My faith is firmly planted upon the my Rock, Christ Jesus, and His finished work on my behalf. Your man-centered thinking cannot destroy what Christ has started in my soul.

 

So you are comfortable with contradictions in what you say? So now you are claiming superior knowledge and a deeper understanding than a poor mortal like me. There's a sin for you "Pride".

Will say that I never considered the word of God as just a normal book or as you say "a mere history book". I have been reading and studying His word for over 65 years now and never would have thought to call it that.

@KenH I would never want to destroy something that God has started but I would endeavor to point you in the right direction, back to trusting scripture as the Holy Spirit inspired it and not as you want it to be.

 

@tyndale1946 are you saying that all those that returned to the land worshiped God? Because that is what your comment suggests. Does God force people to worship Him?

God will save all those that trust in Him but will not force anyone to trust in Him. So your case needs more work.