This is a follow up to my previous myTake. "A Christian's View of God: All Powerful, All Good, All Knowing, All Just (Part 1)." https://www.girlsaskguys.com/religion-spirituality/a51600-a-christian-s-view-of-god-all-powerful-all-knowing-all-good-all#g1a22734660
In my first take I addressed the goodness of God and what that really means as well as explained two common misconceptions in logic problem of evil and God. (Those being God's justice and His love). Now I want to address another common misconception about God, as well as mankind. That being the concept of "Free Will."
No One Has Free Will:
This may seem a strange statement coming from a Christian. After all "Isn't free will the reason for sin in the first place?" Not quite. A common argument that is mean to make the idea of an all-powerful God is, "Could God make a boulder so big He couldn't lift it?" This makes an assumption about God... that He has free will. I propose that God does NOT in-fact have free will, (The ability to do or not do something) but that He has Free-Agency (the ability to do what one desires to do).
Free agency essentially means that something is bound by its own nature. All living beings have free agency. They can't do something outside of their own nature and they can't do something they don't in some way shape or form, want to do. For example: It is outside the nature of a fish to fly in the air and live as a bird. It is FREE to do what it wills within the context of its nature and the way in which its nature binds it to the water. We see freedom often as the idea of no boundaries without realizing that we have far MORE freedom when we stay within our boundaries. In response to "but I do stuff I don't want to do sometimes." If you mean studying for college or some other unpleasant thing you do because you have a long term goal or motive, it is still within your nature to work towards that goal even if you don't WANT to do the things it takes, you WANT to reach your goal so you proceed WITH them.
Before anyone starts ranting about how, having free agency as opposed to free will is a form of bondage and it's not good just realize that not all boundaries are bondage, but that they give us greater freedom than what we'd have without. A train off the tracks is in bondage. It may be free of the tracks, it may see itself as being in bondage to the tracks when its on the tracks, but it has been placed in far greater bondage through freedom from said tracks.
God Cannot Sin:
God isn't physically capable of sinning or of changing.
Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
James 1:13-16 "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."
1 John 3:5 "You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin."
God therefore is not omnipotent in the sense that "God can do anything." However, God CAN do whatsoever He WILLS. God is bound by His own nature in that He can do nothing that is not for the good of His people, or that will fail to bring Him glory. God cannot sin, He cannot lie, He cannot change, He cannot abandon His people, etc. God can't do just anything, but He CAN do whatever He wants.
God's Just Nature as Judge:
So then, what is God's nature that He cannot escape from? We know that God is just and righteous.
Deuteronomy 32:4 "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He."
Psalm 9:8 "And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity."
So then, God is a judge and a righteous judge. Who does He judge? The world. What is He judging them for? Sin. Who has sinned? Everyone. "as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one;'" Romans 3:10 (ESV). What is sin? What is the law we're breaking?
"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:8-10 (ESV)
"And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.'"
Matt 22:37-40 (ESV)
So then anyone who does not love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength... AND their neighbor (everyone, not just those in your neighborhood) as themselves has broken the law and shall be judged accordingly. Love is the law
Clarification: God is a righteous judge who judges all people according to their EVIL DEEDS, not a comparison of how much good they've done to how much evil they've done, He strictly pronounces judgement based on their crimes. He is a JUDGE. If a judge in any courtroom let a heart surgeon off after he'd molested 10 children, just because said surgeon had saved 100 lives that year... he wouldn't be a just judge. God is a just judge and therefore He punishes evil. To say God could simply get rid of evil and sin because He knows how and is powerful enough to do so is to deny this aspect of God's unchanging character, that He MUST judge wickedness. Such statements neglect His justice, or deny His unchanging nature which is clearly established throughout scripture.
"Then Why Did God Allow Sin/Suffering In The First Place?"
I hear you ask. The Westminster Shorter Chatechism (an ancient text written as a teaching tool using questions and answers) asks the question "What is the chief end of man?" The response given by this Chatechism is "Man's Chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."
Revelations 4:11 quotes a song of praise sung by angels in a vision seen by the apostle John
"Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created."
A theme throughout the Bible is the idea that God does things for the sake of His own pleasure and that He might be glorified through them. In Luke 7 there is a story in which Jesus is eating with one of the pharisees (the religious leaders at that time). A woman comes in to wash Jesus' feet. She happens to be/or have been a prostitute. The Pharisee is appalled by this, that Jesus would let himself be touched by such a sinner. However, listen Jesus' words to verses 41-43.
"'A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.' And he said to him, 'You have judged rightly.'”
Now what does this tell us? It implies to me, that the reason God allowed sin into the world, was so that those to whom He showed mercy would love Him all the more.
I believe that if everything was Good in this world, we would not realize the greatness of God's majesty and power. We would not understand just how much God loved us despite our constant rebellion against Him.
What is "Good?"
God is good. Whatever sanctifies us to become more like Him is good and it is good for God to be glorified by us. Goodness is not simply "less sin."
These arguments that try to say God cannot be all good, all knowing, all powerful etc. are based on a false, human, understanding of what IS and IS NOT "good." God is good, and whatever He wills is good.
God is all powerful in working all things together for the sake of His glory and the sanctification of His people.
God is all knowing in that He knows how to work all these things together that He might be most glorified, and that His people might most delight in Him.
God is all just in that He judges and punishes the wicked both in this life and that which is to come.
God is perfectly loving in that He does not allow His people to continue in sin, or to continue living life without Him, even while rejecting sin itself and by pouring His wrath out upon those who hate and rebel against Him.
Closing:
I know these are some highly controversial topics, and I've made some... interesting statements. Even so, I'm not looking to start any debates/arguments. I merely want to explain what I believe and why I believe it. If possible I hope for this to provide encouragement to Christians who aren't sure how to answer these sorts of arguments from scripture. I want people to make people think, if I can, whether or not they agree. If you agree, that's awesome. If you are a fellow Christian and you disagree with some assertion or statement I've made please show me through reason AND scripture where I've made my mistake and I'll gladly listen. God bless to any who read this. I sincerely hope you will find this take beneficial.
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