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Romans 9:1–29

8/19/2012

 
Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

God's Sovereignty
Today's passage is a very controversial one - it is a point of contention for a lot of people.  Sadly, I don't have time for a very lengthy post today, so hopefully we can backtrack a bit in chapters 10-11 to summarize and tie things together.

Today I'm going to borrow a post from Reclaiming the Mind Ministries to get you thinking about the major controversial topic.  The big verse is 18:  "So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills."  So, just how far does God's sovereignty go?  Here's the post:


"Where do you stand on God’s sovereignty?
Picture
1. Meticulous sovereignty: God is the instrumental cause behind every action and reaction there has ever been. For this view, in order for God to be truly sovereign, he must be the ultimate and instrumental cause for everything, including sin.

2. Providential sovereignty
: God is bringing about his will in everything (Eph 1:11). However,  his will is not the instrumental cause of all that happens. God’s will plays a providential role in “causing” all things, using secondary causes as instruments. What God wills is not always what he would want in a perfect world, but all he has is sin to work with. Therefore, in this sense, even evil is the will of God.

3. Providential oversight
: Here God’s sovereignty is expressed in active oversight. He has a general plan, but is not married to the details. God can and often does intervene in the affairs of humanity to bring about his purpose. In this case he never “wills” evil; he only uses it.

4. Influential oversight
: Here God limits his own sovereignty. God could control things, but to preserve human freedom, he will not intervene in the affairs of men to the degree that human freedom is effected. He is hopeful that his influence will be persuasive to change a person’s heart or to guide them to his will. Here God never wills evil, but only allows it."

So, NT in a year-ers, what do you think?  And I don't just mean which one do you like best.  Which view do you think the Bible teaches and why?  I know it's a hard question, but give it a shot.
Gina
8/19/2012 11:50:40 pm

I don't know ...somehow It doesn't fit the picture to imagine God has something to do with evil....I believe He will not cause, wills or uses evil but He might allow it for a purpose which we can't understand-after all He is sovereign and in control. We need to trust His judgement and how He will bring us through....

Greg
8/22/2012 06:10:55 am

There are definitely very few people who would say that God actively causes (aka creates) evil, but if you go for 3 or 4, you definitely have to deal with passages where it talks about God hardening someone's heart. For example, when God hardens Pharaoh's heart in Exodus (something evil that causes suffering for the Israelites), can we say He is merely "using" or "allowing" evil? It's hard question without an easy answer, but we just need to be aware that how we answer this question will totally influence how we think of suffering and evil in the world, as well as God. That's why I encourage everyone to back it up with verses: if we all put what we WANT to be true, it would probably be #4 because that's easier to deal with, but just because we want it to be true doesn't mean it IS true. We can't say untrue things about God, even if it is to try to "defend" Him. Recognizing God's sovereignty and the power of His will is just as important as recognizing His love and care. Again - no easy answers here, but a lot to think about.

Andrei
8/20/2012 07:10:40 pm

I would guess #3? Isn't there some overlap between 3 and 4?

Greg
8/22/2012 06:12:50 am

I suppose there possibly could be. Check my response to Gina above for further thoughts on this topic.


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