Is God's Sovereign really absolute control of everything?

I Luv Light,

Read Jonathan Edwards' "The End for Which God Created the World" for this easy answer.

 

Can you change the course of the sun, moon and stars? Can you hold back volcanoes, create floods, and determine times of sunshine and rain? Can you heal a man dying of AIDS or give life to the lifeless body of a child?

Can you stop a sparrow from falling to the ground at its appointed time, or can you put back in to place the hair of your head that God orders to fall?

Can you change the hearts of your enemies to be at peace with you; the enemies of our nation?-- Go change the heart of the muslim terrorist! Can you tell the end from the beginning, and tell us things that will be before they ever are? Can you march yourself into the throne room of heaven and throw down the challenge, "Why have you made me thus?"

You want to know how Sovereign God is? Go and do these things.

And when you've done them all, you can then change my heart so that I will listen to your piddly-little objections against your Creator.

 

Do you think that God watches the sparrow and says, "well little birdie, it is your time, so die already" and the birdy just does a double back flop?

No, God does however know that it happened at its appointed time.

Does God lose His Sovereignty because he did not actually remove the life from the sparrow, but instead allowed the course that he established to be run to its conclusion?

 

Who appointed the time?

And why do you think this is an either/or situation?

 

I've never quite heard it put like that but, sure, I'll go with that. God created color. God put it in the minds of people to manufacture bath towels. God also created the physical laws of the universe that allow me to choose a certain color over another. So, yes, God has control over the color of my bath towels, which, btw, are sage green.

 

Who appointed the time?

And why do you think this is an either/or situation? </font>[/QUOTE]In the Creation God established the times and seasons, and He did it so that he would not have to watch every single life in every single life-form through its unique, individual life. He probably realized that he would really have trouble with man though.

 

We tend to limit God by thinking of him in our linear timeline. Just as God is present in all places at once, God is present in all points of time at once, nonlinearly. So, from a "God's eye view", God knows which color I will choose at the same time he created that color and all creation.

 

God is sovereign in everything He desires to accomplish in time and in eternity. He, however, is not so sovereign that He Himself could sin or fall from grace. He eternally lives and moves within His Divine attributes.

In the Garden the Lord asked Adam to name all of the living creatures all by himself. In situations like this God in His sovereignty has willed to make human beings self-governing.

Also, it pleased the Lord God to give every living human being a freedom of his or her will. As the Gospel is published or proclaimed He calls by His Spirit men and women to the meaning of His life, death, resurrection and so on. When we were first saved we might not have known the majority of the meaning of the Bible, but enough that we could received Christ. Is man pushed about the planet like a chess piece? No.

Revelation 22:17f does not say that the elect will come to Him and drink of the water of life, but rather, ‘Whoever wills, let him take of the water of life freely.’

Yes, we bow to His sovereignty even in our dependence on Him for our daily bread and water.

There would be absolutely no meaning to worship and adoration if God placed the words and act in our mouths and hearts. No matter what some of you think, grace is offered as a gift to be received or rejected. [Ephesians 2:8]

The human agent, created by the sovereign God will make Hell hot for those who reject Him, and a joy and felicity to those who receive the Son, our Savior. [I John 5:11]

Neither is God a Deist kind of god who exists, but is uninterested and uninvolved in His world. All of the future events of the Bible must take place because He will providentially bring them into human history, such as the Battle of Armageddon, [Revelation 16:16] and the Great White Throne Judgment [Revelation 20:11]

As to forced salvation and damnation, this is the folly of men. Jesus ‘wishes’ {Greek} that all people will be saved, [I Timothy 2:4a; John 3:17] but knows that some people will use their free agency to their own demise and eternal ruin in Hell. [John 3:18b,c]

‘The Lord is King forever and ever’; in this sense His is sovereign over all of His creation and created beings. [Psalm 10:16]

There would be no justice or glory to God in autocratically damning the majority and merely dying for part of His lost human beings.

Time is given to us to make this greatest of all choices, our eternal destiny.

Almighty God remains sovereign because He wills the freedom of the will, [Revelation 22:17] while respecting our choices, even though He continually is calling the lost to Himself.

 

I meant to say this.

The sovereign God, Who created the human agent, will make Hell hot for those who reject Him, and a joy and felicity to those who receive the Son, our Savior. [I John 5:11]

 

God is sovereign enough to have created ONCE, all that is necessary! He is also sovereign enough to know how it all works, and to have built into his creation, perpetuation of the species! Life goes on!

 

I Luv Light.. love the sarcasm...

There is no way I can with clarity explain what J.E. expounds on in his book(s). His books are loaded with much scripture and is VERY well respected and considered the greatest Christian mind in American history... Of course you could argue that, but it is worth reading. Remember, one can not learn unless one studies both sides of any issue WELL. Not saying you haven't but that's just a quote...

RC

 

I luv light...

My people perish for a lack of knowledge..

That's the problem with Pelagian's.... (sorry you don't read historical figures... that's a guy who started your faith)...you show your ignorance by not understanding the historical causes of this debate. Arminian's clutch to Catholic scholars and man's secular philosophies, but you don't get that because you don't know history! You are showing me that from your posts. Was Luther arguing against the reformers? HMMM... no AGAINST the Catholics... You are on the side of the Catholics.. of course you can easily deny this because ignorance is bliss... whether it is right or not.. who cares? You still get to type posts and think your answers have weight...

 

ILUVLIGHT,

I think some on the board want you to study historical men who have tried on their abilites at interpreting Scripture.

From my reading your posts I believe you are honestly interpreting the Word, with little to no bias. If you want to preach a pure Gospel you are going to have to continue what you are doing. Study the words of Christ straight from the N.T. and not what some newly converted Catholics had to say about Jesus' words of truth and life.

You are 'light years' closer to the truth than many here, who merely repeat the montra that they think is pure truth.

Keep in the Word and you and I will not err in understanding even if some name call, saying, Pelagian or Arminian. The Lord did not say study the fathers of the faith, but He did say, 'Study to show yourself approved unto God . . . ' plus He said to study the Word. [II Peter 1:20]