The question is:
IS EVERY DECISION THAT LEADERSHIP MAKES GOD’S WILL AND PURPOSE?
In view of God’s sovereignty, can any decision be made that is not God’s will? Can any action that we make be outside of God’s purposes and plan for our life? Do we as pastors/teachers need to teach on subjects telling our members to walk according to the will of God for their lives? If their walk is going to be in the will of God anyway?
Is any decision made by mankind, outside the control of a sovereign God?
Is there not a contradiction at certain points between what God commands and says He desires and what He actually wills? Sin for an example is totally prohibited, yet apparently God wills for it to occur! (If your position is that God has granted everything that occurs.)
I was over at oldtruth.blogspot.com the other day and the discussion was about this subject
Quoting RC Sproul . . .
- I began [a seminary class by reading this from] the Westminster Confession: God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass. I stopped reading at that point. I asked, "Is there anyone in this room who does not believe the words that I just read?" A multitude of hands went up. I then asked, "Are there any convinced atheists in the room?" No hands were raised. I then said something outrageous: "Everyone who raised his hand to the first question should also have raised his hand to the second question." http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.484
We read this statement and say " unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass." So does this mean that His will is always done? That God in some sense foreordains whatever comes to pass is a necessary result of His sovereignty.
It only declares that God is absolutely sovereign over His creation. God can foreordain things in different ways. But everything that happens must at least happen by His permission. If He permits something, then He must decide to allow it. If He decides to allow something, then in a sense He is foreordaining it. Who, among Christians, would argue that God could not stop something in this world from happening? If God so desires, He has the power to stop the whole world.
- Is there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God's sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled. Perhaps that one maverick molecule will lay waste all the grand and glorious plans that God has made and promised to us. If a grain of sand in the kidney of Oliver Cromwell changed the course of English history, so our maverick molecule could change the course of all redemption history. Maybe that one molecule will be the thing that prevents Christ from returning. ...
- Without sovereignty God cannot be God. If we reject divine sovereignty then we must embrace atheism. This is the problem we all face. We must hold tightly to God's sovereignty. Yet we must do it in such a way so as not to violate human freedom. ]
- Of God's Eternal Decree
"God, from all eternity, did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established"
.reformed. org/documents/wcf
"RC Sproul, like Calvin, does not see the wisdom of God in allowing for human individual free choice." says: Peter Y. Woo, Biola Univ. I ask .."so is this true?" Charles E. Whisnant
"I believe that whether we are speaking of God's decretive (active) will or His permissive (passive) will, both work together to bring about what He has ordained. In that sense we are safe in saying nothing occurs He hasn't ordained or that He hasn't willed to take place, or not take place, such as the case may be." covenantcorner.blogspot.com David Mccrory
This is rather deep to digest so I will post the last half of this post on Thursday. We continue to study this issue, How do we know how God is in control? By what means is God in control? Tune in Thursday.
Next week we will return to our pastoral ministry at First Baptist Church, Altoona.
Drafted by Charles E. Whisnant October 13th Checked by Charity 17th Posted 18th
