Why did God regret creating man?

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them.

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

                                                                                                                        -Genesis 1:26-27;30        

In the book of Genesis 6:5-7 we come to an apparent dichotomy in God’s character. These verses read, Then the Lord saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was very sorry that He had made man on earth, and He was grieved at His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry I have made them”.

It seems rather strange to the reader that God would utter these statements since He knew what man would do before He created him. God knew He would destroy man due to his inherent wickedness. And since God knew all of this, why would God destroy man save Noah  and his family and some animals when He declared that all He created was very good?

Was God confused?

Obviously God is not confused. Due to the wickedness of man, it was only right for God to destroy him. Men perpetually committed the sin of  their father Adam, which was disobedience to His word. As a result, the Lord made the decision to send the global flood to wipe evil men from the face of the earth.

So, the next question we must ask is, “Did God change his mind in creating man?” The answer is no.  The NKJV renders Genesis 6:6 as God  saying He repented that He had created man.

In what way did God have to repent? What we see here is the writer Moses is depicting God in  the anthropopathic mode[1]; meaning Moses is describing God with human experience, knowledge and emotion. It allows us to understand God better. God is seen as a loving caring creator and father who has to for His own holiness sake destroy man whom he loves. God can not deviate from His own righteousness and judgment. So destroying what He created was good although it pained the Lord to do it. God reserves the right not to be grief stricken due to man’s wickedness so he decided to get rid of the pain (i.e. evil mankind) that He called very good.

In like manner we as parents must discipline our own children when they disobey. It pains us because we love them yet it is good and righteous to punish them when they disobey so that they stay in line. Disciplining our children doesn’t diminish our love for them, rather it shows another dimension of our love for them. In this instance tough love.

In Exodus 32:14 we read where the Lord repented of the harm He was going to inflict on the Hebrews for their disobedience of worshipping the golden calf. This the Lord did for Moses’ sake who pleaded for their lives. So we see here God recanted the judgment He was going to inflict. It’s not that He couldn’t destroy the Israelites, He decided not to due to Moses’ intercession (Exodus 32:11-13). God displayed his mercy in this instance (Exodus 33:19).

God never regretted creating man essentially for he saved Noah and his family to preserve and repopulate mankind. He regrets that man chose the path of sin. This is what breaks God’s heart and grieves the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

God essential attributes are immutable, meaning they will never change (Malachi 3:6; Heb 13:8). When man repents of evil God doesn’t change his mind, man has actually changed his disposition in God’s eyes and now he puts himself in a favorable position where God’s favor will rest upon him instead of wrath. In other words, God repents of the harm He would have done to that person since he repented (Jonah 3:4-10). 

In the final analysis  God is a God of grace and mercy, and He is also a God of justice and wrath.

God indeed was sorry for what Man, chose to become, evil. It breaks his heart. Yet God delights in man because he is made in God’s image and that was and is good still.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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[1] This word means ascribing human emotions and attributes to a non human being (God in

Particular) or thing. By using this literary device, it allows us as finite human beings to relate to

God a little better.

What is the Antediluvian period?

The term antediluvian means pre-flood. From the creation of the universe in Genesis 1 up to Genesis 6 was the existence before the flood of Noah. I want to concentrate in particular on  some the activity in the sixth chapter of Genesis.

In Genesis 6:1-4 we read, Now it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves all of whom they chose. And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not always strive with man forever for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”[1] There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children  to them, those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

There are two views regarding who the sons of God are. The first view is that they are angels and second view is that they are the sons of Adam and Eve’s third son Seth (Genesis 4:25).

Notice when the text says the sons of God took wives for themselves all of whom they chose, and immediately afterward God says, “My Spirit will not always strive with man forever for he is indeed flesh. It seems odd that God would become upset with the sons of God if they are human men (i.e. sons of Seth), and they desired to marry the daughters of men. Men and women were put on this earth to marry and procreate. For this reason, the writer does not believe that the sons of God are the descendants of Seth or any other mere mortals.

The view that the sons of God are wicked angels that cohabited with women and produced offspring is one of the accepted interpretations of this text. This is the interpretation the writer leans to. The phrase sons of 

God also appears in the book of Job 1:6 and Job 2:1. In these two texts sons of God refers to angels and not men. The argument against this view comes from Matthew 22:30 where Jesus has to rebuke the Sadducees for their lack of understanding of marriage in the eternal state. Jesus said regarding men, “for in the resurrection they (men and women) neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven (italics mine).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Jesus is letting his audience know that heavenly angels do not procreate.[2] The amount of angels that were created by God is fixed. So as a result of this reality, there are many that do not believe the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6 are angels. This is a plausible view in my opinion.

Another view why some believe the sons of God in Genesis 6 are angels is because many believe that the angels indwelt men and produce giants; perhaps some type of hybrid offspring. This conclusion is a misreading of the text. Notice Genesis 6 vs. 4 says there were giants (Hebrew Nephilim; meaning to fall or fallen ones) already. So the union between the sons of God and daughters of men did not necessarily produce the nephilim. It says their union produced men of old, men of renown (vs 4).

Two texts II Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 makes reference to angels who did not keep their first estate or proper domain or dwelling are consigned to hell; Greek word Tartarus which the Hebrew writers borrowed to describe the lowest hell. Many scholars believe these are the angels who sinned and had intercourse with the daughters of men in Genesis 6 producing an evil offspring. This act along with the wickedness of men in the antediluvian race precipitated the judgment of the earth producing the worldwide flood.

Concluding, no one knows for absolutely sure who the sons of God are. Once again I Iean toward them being fallen angels for the reason I mentioned above while others believe they are the sons of Seth because there are those that believe his line were godly (Genesis 5:6-32).

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[1] The one hundred twenty years is believed to be the time from God’s pronouncement of His declaring that He will not always strive with man until the flood. Other believe that man’s life span would be reduced to 120 years of life. Man still lives beyond 120 years after the flood; e.g. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel). Life spans drastically declinded thereafter.

[2] Heavenly angels do not commit sin but the sons of God in Genesis 6 (if they are angels) were evil and left their natural abode as Jude 6 and II Peter 2:4 declare to have inordinate relations with human women and produce wicked offspring.

Does God show partiality?

Another way to ask this question is, “Does God treat everyone the same way?” The answer to the question is no. The opponent of that statement  would say, “God is partial then isn’t He?” The first thing we to do is define the word partiality which means to  show favor to someone or something over something or someone else.

We show partiality to a particular person when we are fond of them. That means that person will receive benefits from us that others will not receive because of the importance of the relationship.  The person we favor has said or done something to merit or earn our favor. But God is not that way. Whoever we are, God rewards obedience and punishes disobedience as a universal rule. There are several passages that tell us that God is no respecter of persons:

"Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour." (Leviticus 19: 15 KJV)

"Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous." (Deuteronomy 16: 19 KJV)

"For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, 
that his banished be not expelled from him." (II Samuel 14: 14 KJV)

"Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." (II Chronicles 19: 7 KJV)

"These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment." (Proverbs 24: 23 KJV)

"To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress." (Proverbs 28: 21 KJV)

"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." (I Peter 1: 17 KJV)

"God is no respecter of persons." (Acts 10: 34)"For there is no respect of persons with God." (Romans 2: 11)"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors." (James 2: 1-9 KJV)

The verses in James says it all.  We are not to treat a rich man with honor just because he’s rich and a poor man with contempt and disrespect just because he’s poor. Both should be respected the same. That is being impartial – no respect of persons based on socio-economic status, gender, education, pedigree, popularity, ethnicity, etc.

When God chooses someone like for instance Abraham over all the other people in the earth at that time, it wasn’t because of Abraham’s good looks, education, money or anything else. God did not need Abraham. Abraham discovered he needed God after God revealed Himself to him in a mighty way (Genesis 15:1). God does not choose someone because of what they have, He chooses them because of what they do not have; The Lord God Almighty.

That is clearly why God is not a respecter of persons or shows partiality for if He did, no one would receive grace or mercy. Everyone would only receive benefit from God based on something virtuous in them and/or something they did which would give them reason to boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

   Since God chooses those who are saved does that mean He is showing respect of persons?

That is a valid question. The answer is no. Why? Salvation is unconditional by nature. God created it that way. We must remember every human being born is a sinner and under the wrath of God as His enemies (John 3:36; Romans 5:10). The reason for this is because of the original sin of Adam (Romans 5:12).

God chooses some for salvation with no pre-condition. We see this clearly in Romans 9:10-16 where God sovereignly chooses Jacob and not Esau, twins before they are born. This account clearly proves God is not a respecter of persons because neither one of them had committed any good or evil because neither one had been born. Once again, God would have been a respecter of persons had he chosen let’s say Esau over Jacob after they had been born because Esau was a mighty hunter and Jacob was not. That type of salvation would be based on man’s ability, intelligence or skill. In other words conditional.

Another account of sovereign election is when Peter preaches to the Gentiles at Cornelius’

house. We read in Acts 10:34 that God is not a respecter of persons. In what sense in this passage? What God did for the Hebrews in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit fell and they spoke with different languages or tongues, He also did for the Gentiles in Acts 10:34. God was declaring that whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile, we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). God does not favor the Jew over the Gentile in salvation.

                                  Jesus did not heal all oppressed of the devil, why?

When we read in John 5:5-9 that Jesus healed a paralyzed man that had been in that condition for thirty eight years. We also read in verse 3 that there were a multitude sick people, blind, lame, and paralyzed. Yet Jesus healed only one man. Why? Did this man have something that compelled the Lord’s choice to have mercy on him and heal him and leave the rest sick? No he didn’t. It was Jesus divine initiative to do so to extend a miraculous benefit to him. Notice the man didn’t ask for a healing because he had been in that condition for a long time and was not expecting to receive anything. Tremendous divine favor was granted to him, nothing more.

This explains another case of God through Christ not being a respecter of persons or showing partiality. God never chooses anyone because they choose Him first.  As a matter of fact, we CAN NOT choose God unless He chooses us first (John 15:16a; Rom 3:11). We do not have the ability or the willingness to come to God of our own initiative for prior to coming to Jesus we are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13; Titus 3:2-5). God has to bring us back from the dead spiritually speaking.

       

                                                                  Conclusion

Anyone that believes God will do for all what He does for one assume God is under obligation to bless everyone the same way. The truth of the matter is God is not obligated to bless anybody. God blesses undeserving sinners because He is good beyond comprehension and comparison. It’s a lack of understanding of the character of God and the scripture to have the audacity to say God is unfair if He chooses to save some wretched sinners and leave others in their depravity for all of us deserve eternal damnation for all have sinned and keep on sinning (Romans 3:23). If one does not believe they deserve hell they are terribly deceived. They think of themselves more highly than they should  and really need to take a careful look at their lives and compare it against scripture. I have said it before but it bears repeating. It is amazing that God chooses anyone; an innumerable amount of souls. Certainly He is under no compulsion to choose and save all for that would make God a Universalist and there would be no hell.

For God to show respect of persons actually humanizes God and deifies man. In what way you might say? Partially by it’s very nature demands that there is something virtuous in the person to compel God to choose them; it’s based on condition. It is what theologians called synergism. What that means is man and God are co-participants in the salvation process. The sad part of synergism is that man is the initiator because he has something that God needs (e.g. faith, wisdom). As a result, God chooses him, but man can still exercise his “sovereign right” to reject God once the gospel is preached to him. So God’s choice of man is rendered null and void unless God comes on man’s terms. That is the Arminian’s view of salvation which is conditional.

If one believes salvation this way, then God is no longer sovereign. If God is no longer sovereign, then He is no longer God.

What the Bible actually teaches is that salvation is monergistic – a work of God, alone.  Since God is not a respecter of persons, He chose before the foundation of the world who He would save (Ephesians 1:4; I Peter 1:20). Salvation as I mentioned earlier is unconditional. In this way God is praised for the loving sovereign that He is.

So in the final analysis, partiality is synergistic. Meaning salvation is based on what man has to contribute to salvation. A man centered salvation is no salvation at all. God operates on impartiality which is monergistic. He chooses those He wants to bless based solely on his sovereign divine initiative. It is always based on His unconditional love.

How were Old Testament Saints saved?

Galatians 3:8, “And the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the  Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, In you all the nations shall be blessed.”

Romans 4:3b says, “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”       

The above text was originally recorded in Genesis 15:6 by Moses.

Romans 4:3b and Genesis 15:6 is synonymous with II Corinthians 5:21, “He (Jesus) who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

What all three verses declare is that when the sinner believes the word of God, God places His righteousness in the sinner’s account; God treats them as if they had never sinned. Here we  see the congruence between the OT and NT.

Old Testament Saints were saved or justified by their faith in the word of God just like New Testament Saints are. The difference is that the OT Saints were looking ahead to the cross, whereas NT Saints look back at the cross. The cross is the epicenter for all the redeemed whether an Old or New Testament believer.

When Jesus died on the cross, He paid for the OT Saints past sins which was on credit. Jesus sacrifice paid their debt. For NT Saints He paid for our sins which were all future.

In Isaiah 6:5-7 we read about Isaiah regarding himself when he sees the glory of the Lord, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of people with unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of Hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it and said: “Behold this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.”

Here we see the Lord pardoning Isaiah’s sin so that he could be fit to be the Lord’s prophet which tradition tells us he was for 60 years.

King David knew of the pardoning of sins by the Lord for he said, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom does not impute iniquity (Psalm 32:1-2). “

 David comes from a different angle in that he mentions the effect first; one believing (forgiveness of sins), but the logical conclusion is that if one’s sins have been forgiven, they have been justified (saved) by God who is the righteous cause. 

Jeremiah 31:31-34 says, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more .”

This new covenant the Lord will make with Israel has also been called the everlasting covenant because it is a permanent covenantal relationship with the children of Israel which will ultimately result in her salvation. This covenant parallels the relationship Jesus has with the church; NT believers.

In conclusion, all those who God has declared righteous look for a complete redemption; that is when we are glorified. The OT Saints like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets, et al died not seeing the promise fulfilled in their lifetime, but by faith realized it afar off for it had been promised to them (Hebrews 11:39-40).

We too look for that final redemption so we persevere in faith, believing the promises of God knowing as each day passes, we are nearer to our salvation than when we first believed (Romans 13:11).

  

The Bible and slavery

To all, these are mutually opposed realities. They should never be paired in the same phrase most would say. But, does the Bible condone slavery in any way? The answer is yes. Bible translators uses the word servant in place of slave because of the negative connation the word slave has. The word servant contains several meanings. Two of those meanings in the Greek language are: doulos, meaning “in bondage”. It also means to be in subjection without bondage. The verb form of doulos is douloo which means “to enslave to bring into bondage”

Because of the horrendous, evil slave trade enterprise of blacks by whites, the Trans Atlantic Slave trade/Middle Passage of the last few centuries along with the inhumane treatment of blacks slaves by white slave masters in America, the reality of slavery in the Bible is abhorrent by all people. That is why many people do not believe the Bible because they automatically assume the slavery that was permitted in scripture was the same harsh servitude that occurred against our black ancestors centuries ago and as recently as last century; the early 1900’s.

The Bible has never condoned harsh treatment of any innocent human beings. It has never endorsed human trafficking. It definitely hates racial slavery. The Bible has never approved of subjugation of a race because of their ethnicity or skin color. God indeed made all men equal. For we are all made in His image (Genesis 1:26).

                        

  

                          What the Bible says about the master-slave relationship

Exodus 21:2-6 says: When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh year he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

Deuteronomy 15:12-18 says: “If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year, you shall let him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household since he is well-off with you, then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever.

This Deuteronomy passage is a recitation of the Exodus 22 passage before it.

Leviticus 25:39-43 says, “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired servant and as a sojourner (italics mine). He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God (italics are mine).

When someone became destitute and was not able to meet their financial obligations, they would sell themselves with their family (if they had one) to someone with means. The purchaser was not to treat his own countrymen like a slave but as a hired servant.  In the seventh year, they were allowed to go free with resources from their master.

Proverbs 17:2 says, “A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

Here we see that a wise slave would be treated as well as a member of his master’s own family.

Deuteronomy 24:7 “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

Kidnapping, human trafficking was a violation of Hebrew law; punishable by death. It was forbidden to sell a brother or sister as a slave and gain a profit.

In Matthew 20:25-28 Jesus, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom for many.”

Jesus, in essence, is saying the way to the top is humility, serving God and your fellow man willingly. That’s when a person gains praiseworthy recognition. Not for who he/she is, but what he/she does that is righteous.

Colossians 4:1 declares this, “Masters grant your slaves justice and fairness knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.

Ephesians 6:5-9 is dealing with the employer-employee relationship, “Slaves be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ; not by way of eye service as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. With goodwill render service as to the Lord and not to men knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord whether slave or free. And masters do the same things to them and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours are in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”

Both parties are required to be faithful in their roles for both have a Master in heaven to whom they must give an account.

I Peter 2:18 says, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.”

Romans 6:16-18 says, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

What the Apostle Paul is declaring here is that in this sense-regarding good and evil, the whole world is in slavery no matter your status in life. You are either a slave to sin or to righteousness. Whichever one you serve is your master. No one alive can escape this reality.

                                                               

                                               Conclusion

The aforementioned proves without any doubt that the slavery mentioned in the Bible was under the providence of God almighty. Nothing like the inhumane slavery that was allowed here in America and other countries where blacks and others were treated worse than a beast of burden. As a matter of fact, scripture says salvifically we are all one in Christ Jesus whether one is a slave or free (Galatians 3:28).

When the Bible commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, that would include those who were hired servants and slaves (Leviticus 19:18; John 13:35; I John 3:11; 4:7).

Jesus God incarnate humbled Himself and became a servant doing only what pleased the Father. For Jesus said, “for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me (John 6:38)”. Jesus willingly submitted himself as a slave. Like or not, we must do the same. The question is, “who or what are you going to serve?” Remember what or whoever you obey, is who you are a slave to.

Is God fatalistic; Where does evil come from?

In Him (Christ) we have obtained an inheritance, having predestined according to the purpose of Him who works  all  things according to the counsel of his own will.

                                                                                                                                                       -Ephesians 1:11

 

Isaiah 46:10 says this of God, “declaring the end from the beginning (emphasis added), and from the ancient times things not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose”.

The despot Gentile King of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar declared to the known world at that time  regarding the sovereignty of God, “all the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say to Him, “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:35).

Regarding the judgment on the nation of Assyria Isaiah says this, “The Lord of hosts has sworn as I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand” (Isaiah 14:24).

The lot is cast into the lap, but it’s very decision is from the Lord (Proverbs 16:33).

Proverbs 21:1 says, “The King’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, and as the rivers of water, He turns it whichever way He chooses”.

These verses clearly tell us is that God is a determinative being. He does not leave anything to “chance” or “luck”. As a matter of fact, neither of these things exist in God’s economy. Chance and luck are two phantoms, apparitions, false gods that many worship when gambling in Las Vegas, or playing the Lotto – scratch offs.

Chance and luck are two non personal man-made forces that humans hang their mental and emotional  hats on to hope for a positive outcome. It’s the case of the classic song, “Que Sera Sera” – “What ever will be will be”! That is fatalism or indeterminism.

Those who do not believe in/or trust in the Lord only have chance and luck to lean on; so in essence they have nothing, because chance and luck are nothing. Something or someone has to exist to have causality in the universe and since chance and luck are nothing, they can cause nothing to occur.

Someone has called God the “Uncaused-Cause”. What that means is God is eternal, nothing created God because He is self existent, and that everything that has happened and will happen is by His divine decree – alone.

So, in answering the question, “Is God a fatalist?” The answer is an emphatic no!

To be a fatalist God would have to be a casual impotent observer of the events of life. He would have to be dependent on “the fates”, or chance and/or luck. He would have to be at the crap table rolling dice and relying on non existent forces to determine His outcome. He would not be the direct cause of whatever comes to pass in this world.

There are plenty of objections to God being not only in control of all things, but the author of everything that occurs.

 

Is Predestination fatalism? If God has predetermined the destiny of all things, how are my choices really free?

 

It is a massive mistake to pair predestination with fatalism. Why? Well, once again fate is a man-made-ghost; in religious terms idolatry, a false god. Things do not happen by chance, good or bad luck, or by coincidence. Just because we can not make sense of so many things that happen in life, does not mean they were not pre-planned in the mind of God. Of course, this idea of predestination becomes a thorn in our side when it comes to all the evil that occurs everyday. Humans look at sick and hungry children in the world and declare it sad, evil and bad luck. Senseless wars as God not being in control. For if He were in control, why would He allow  or cause such horrific things to occur? These calamities are why many choose to disbelieve in God.

So, for most of the world, it is better for them to resolve in their minds that God exists, but  is not in control of all things; He is just a casual observer[i], or that He does not exist at all and everything is left  to blind, ignorant chance; the sovereign deity and object of worship of unregenerate humanity.

Predestination on the other hand exists because of an antecedent cause; that cause is God Almighty. Predestination could never exist without God, so certainly predestination and fatalism could never be related. Fatalism isn’t even dead. It essentially was never conceived and born except in the minds of sinful men which are reprobate (Romans 1:28).

What is the meaning of predestination? Well the prefix “Pre” means before. Destination means and end of a journey or basically where someone is headed. So, in relation to God when it comes to all things, God has predetermined them; that is before time, God determined all things that will ever occur, good and evil.

Okay, I must now answer the question, “Are our choices free if God has already determined what is going to happen?” The answer I give may not satisfy the reader, but I will give I hope a thoughtful reply to a valid, and very difficult question.

The problem with almost everyone’s definition of free is that we believe we have free choice without divine intervention or interruption. We want freedom indiscriminately without responsibility or accountability. The writer of Proverbs says this, “the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Simply put, nothing is done in this life without God’s direct or indirect involvement.  We all have the ability to freely choose, but that does not mean that God can not intervene to navigate a change in that choice in the direction He wants it to go.

So yet again, the opponent of this reasoning will say, “since God has determined already what will be, why does it matter what I do? I can’t change my direction in life anyway”.

That is not true. We change our minds daily, yet God being omniscient knew we would change our minds on a multitude of decisions in our lives. As a matter of fact, God has weaved the changing of our minds to freely choose another path into his overall plan. God not only knows what we will actually do, He knows the multitudes of things we ever think about doing. God knows all things actual, and possible.

The heart of the matter is God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. We have to discover how to keep these two realities in their proper tension. For instance, just because God has decreed everything that will come to pass does not absolve man the responsibility to obey God’s commands.

We read in Psalm 41:9 the prediction of Judas betraying the Lord by David nearly 1,000 years before Christ came to the earth. The fulfillment of this prophecy occurs in John 13:18 at the Last Supper before Jesus is crucified. Now, the question would be raised by many, “how could Judas be blamed for betraying Jesus when it was predetermined by God  that he would”?

Judas acted as a free moral agent. Yet he chose to consciously sin and betray Jesus. God used Judas as his instrument of betrayal of his Son so that He could be crucified and die for His people. For that is why Jesus came (Matt 1:21; Luke 19:10). But, that in no way makes Judas less culpable for his act of treachery. What Judas did, he did for evil, but God used Judas sin and evil for good (Genesis 50:20).

The result of Judas betrayal  led to Jesus crucifixion which ultimately led to the salvation of innumerous souls.

Our choices are always free. By virtue of the fact that we have the ability to choose is freedom. God has not prohibited our free choice because he has pre-planned all of destiny. But, what we must understand is that our choices are always subservient to God’s choices, and sense God already knows all the choices we will ever make, He already before time circumvented any choice that would deviate from (if possible) His master plan. Even our willful sins are woven somehow into God’s ultimate will and purpose. Nothing we do catches God off guard. If that is not free choice, I do not know what is.

            

                    So if God is using evil to accomplish His plans, does that make God the author of evil?

 

In the book of James we read, “Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God can not 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 or lust” (James 1:13-14).

God is not the creator of evil. Evil is not a created thing. It is simply the absence of good like darkness is the absence of light. God mysteriously ordained evil in His overall plan.  Let me be clear, God Himself is not evil. Evil denotes wickedness, maliciousness, depravity, et al.  These descriptions encompass people and the evil that they do.  Evil believe or not serves God. He uses evil in the overall fulfilling of his plan on earth. God uses evil for good which is antithetical to it’s nature. Remember the words of Paul in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, those who are called according to His purpose”.

Evil is never good, but evil in the hands of God will serve good purposes because God is good. God uses the evil men do to fulfill His will. Men choose  to commit evil, but God never approves of it. God grants the allowance of evil, because we are free moral agents, able to make choices, but that does not mean God has authorized or approved the evil that men do in any way. He hates it, and for his holiness sake, He must judge it.

We see that clearly in the Garden of Eden. God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.[ii] For God said, in the day you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam freely chose to disobey God and eat. Adam’s choosing to sin was never approved by God that Is why his sin along with Eve’s were judged and they were expelled from the Garden (Genesis 3:24).

I like to think of it this way, if evil did not exist, we would be robots; we would be good by default without the ability to choose between good and evil. We would be emotionless creatures. There would have been no need to send Jesus Christ to die for our sins because there would have been no evil.  That  was never the  plan of God.  God decided in eternity past for sin to pollute the entire human race so that He could show the extreme wonders of His grace, and glorify himself (Eph 1:7;2:6-7). Yes, that was God’s plan.

Paul said in Romans 5:20a, “where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more”. The virtue of good is far greater than the force of evil.      

                                                                                  Conclusion

God is purposeful, not fatalistic. He created His plan in eternity past and by the means of His providence[iii] is fulfilling  His plan day by day. God does not leave things to chance, luck or fate. As mentioned earlier, those are man-made deities that do not exist. Evil is outside of God, but unfortunately evil is in man due to original sin. Man inherited an evil nature as a result of that sinful act by Adam. Where did evil come from? The Bible actually does not tell us; it’s a mystery. Some would say it came from Lucifer. The Bible says that iniquity was found in him (i.e. the devil, Ezekiel 28:15; Isaiah 14:14), not that sin or evil originated from him. The best definition I can give for evil is the absence of what is good, righteous and pure.  It is the residence of wickedness living in you.  Evil  is anti-God. God deals with evil every time He deals with us so God knowing we would fall, because He ordained the fall also ordained the evil that we would be burdened with all our lives. Let’s be honest, the idea that God deals with evil this way naturally disturbs us, but this is how He has chosen to deal with sinful mankind.

These truths transcend the mind. Here is our saving grace. Here’s the doxology:

“Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became his counselor? Or, who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things (emphasis added). To Him be the glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:33-36)!

  

NOTES

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[i] The idea that God is not in control or author of all things is a heresy known as Openness Theology.

Meaning God is “open”. God in this view does not know things until they occur like humans.

This would also mean God is bound by time. This view is blasphemous because it robs God of one of his

Essential attributes; omniscience. If God is not omniscient, then he is not God.

 

[ii] This Genesis 2 reference lets us know that evil (at least conceptually) existed due to fact that there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This proves that evil existed before man was created. God created everything before He created man on day 6.

 

[iii] Providence is the means by which God ensures the fulfilling of His overall plan in the earth through human choice and through the natural order of  things. When God decides to directly bend the natural orders of things to fulfill His plan, that is what we call miracles.