The Life Variables
The more I learn to think more logically as I expand my web development skills, the more I think about the little variables of life and the idea that God is in control as the supreme ruler. As I look back, the idea of the butterfly effect becomes more and more apparent to me. For example, our lives have dramatically changed by effects of a medium level decision to change churchs. And based on that decision, there are now innumerable new variables that will inturn create new variables that will effect where we end up on this road called life.
As a believer we often pay lip service to the idea that God is in control but do we really believe it? The extremes always come down to two ideas - EITHER God is not sovereign and He is dependent on the choices of man’s free will OR there is no free will for man and we are robots playing out our part. Neither being prefered choices.
I admit that over the years I’ve become more and more comfortable with the idea of being a robot. Before you freak out and say I’ve lost it, let me add that I also believe that we have personal accountability in our own existance. That’s all we really have isn’t it - the Word of God and our own existance? Let me ask you this, why be so opposed to not being in control? Isn’t that the point of being a Christian in the first place - to completely submit yourself to God’s perfect will?
When I think about my progression to where I am, my initial reaction was against the idea of not being in control of my own destiny. But as I think more about God as THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, then who am I to tell Him what to do? (As the potter creates, he can either create a bowl for the formal dining room or to be used as a bed pan - it’s His choosing.)
I also think a lot of Christians seem to be comfortable living somewhere inbetween. The candy coated version of the thought is, “God is in control but man has the free will to choose Heaven or Hell - or what to have for lunch.” What they are really saying is, “Yes, God is in control but not of me.” Take that very self-centered thought and apply it to every human on earth. Now you have, “Yes, God is in control but not of the human race, its choices and therefore its actions.” I don’t see how God can be ALL POWERFUL but not in control of the human race or only certain aspects of it - like meeting your spouse, getting a job, avoiding an accident, and so on. There would be WAY too many variables.
October 21st, 2004 at 3:53 pm
do the roboto!
October 22nd, 2004 at 9:51 am
OH MAN DO I WANT COMMENT ON THIS ONE!!!!!!! I Just dont have time because I was programmed to go to lunch. I’ll be back shortly though unless I’m reprogrammed.
October 22nd, 2004 at 10:34 am
I believe your premise itself is off. It is NOT an either/or scenerio. I believe that by choosing either one of those options, you are placing limits on God’s soveriegnty itself. By choosing either one of the above options, and not Both equally, you attribute no substance to many scriptures to the contrary of either view. I can provide these later.
The key lies in an infinite blend of God’s foreknowledge, forebearance of free will, his perfect will, his laws, and lest we attempt to make sense of it all, his soveriegnty. He does allow free will, but all within his knowledge control and plans. Is he in complete control of my thoughts? Yes, but Is he writing everyone of them? no. Our thoughts are not his thoughts neither are our ways his ways. Over and over he shows that he gives a choice. I dont believe this is some grand dupe. What we choose is not orchestrated or it would inherently not be a choice. However, does this freedom to choose operate outside of God’s foreknowledge, forebearance, his perfect will, his laws, and his soveriegnty? No way. There is a perfect realm in which TRUE free will coexists with these. And all of these exist under the umbrella of God’s complete control.
October 26th, 2004 at 9:24 am
Just my $.02. To drop a big word, I believe the most heated area of the freewill debate is in regard to soteriology. All through the Bible we see man making freewill decisions in their fallen state of sin. Does this freewill equate the absolute freewill of God. Of course not. It’s limited. Sinful man has the freewill to act according to his nature, sinful. In Romans 3 Paul parks on the truth man is not righteous. So how does a sinful man attain God’s righteousnes? Can he save himself? No, God must save him and chosen Christ to do the work to save. (I have left out a lot here for sake of brevity) Once saved, a regenerated man has the freewill to glorify God. Does he always do it? No, because its freewill and man can’t seem to trust God perfectly. Does God hold us accountable for what we do with his gift of life? Yes. Are we robots? Good question. Perhaps Paul could answer that for us-notice verse 18,
“15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” Romans 6:15-23
Notice the you are - the fact of righteousness and the must be - strive for what you are. God’s sovereignty in making you righteousness right there next to your responsibility.
October 26th, 2004 at 10:43 am
Thx for everyone’s feedback, feel free to keep it coming.
A different angle struck me this morning. The typical line of thinking is “nothing happens that God doesn’t allow.” That gives me the visual of God being some “great spagetti strainer in the sky” that some how filters everything the world throws at Him. This illustration leaves a big hole in the idea of sovereignty though. It makes God some kind of “switch” or “control valve” and not the Almighty Creator.
Take your birth for example. We are all quick to say that God gave us life - the Bible even says He has ordained our days from even before the beginning of time. Yes the miracle of life can only be given to God but continue that thought and it means that your parents were ALSO ordained by God from even before the beginning of time to get freaky when they did so you could be born.
Everyone, all together now, “Ewwwwwww, not my parents!”