Question on Trusting God taking into account His Sovereign Will

Kris Cadogan

October 23, 2015

Can a person really trust God 100% when factoring in his sovereign/hidden will into the equation? Isn’t it almost like he is hiding part of himself from us?

Example: His perfect/revealed will would have been that the inhabitants of Sodom and Tyre repented, yet he did not exhaust all of the methods to get them to repent. How can a Christian trust that God is doing all in his power to allow certain situations to be better given this information?

He knew the remedy for Sodom and Tyre, which would have been the miracles (Matthew 11:21-23), yet he did not send his angels, a prophet or even the Angel of the Lord to perform them. Does this mean that in this particular instance, God did not want the inhabitants of those cities to be saved? (1 Timothy 2:4, Ezekiel 18:23, Matthew 23:37)

I understand that God is under no obligation to save any or go extra lengths to save any but the fact that he stated the solution to the problem and yet did not administer the solution suggests that he holds back some of his “best gifts”. If in his sovereign council he holds back certain things. What would stop him from holding back certain things in eternity, or even now, especially to his elect?

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Robert Lowry Couple of thoughts. 1) God created man with a free will. He doesn’t just save everybody to come to Him like robots. He wants man to accept His saving grace by an exercise of his free will. 2) Isaiah 55:8: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord”. When I can’t figure out what God is doing or why, I always fall back on that verse.

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 7:10am

Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil God’s Sovereign will is hidden to us until it takes place. We have no right to ask God why He did this or why He did that or why He saved some and did not save some. We are to dwell only on His preceptive will which is found in the Scriptures. Yes, God wants all men to be saved, that’s His will of disposition, but He has already decreed the recipients of His grace of salvation before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). In the case of the unsaved, Paul repeatedly said in Romans 1 that God gave them over to their sins. They enjoyed sinning and deliberately fought against the will of God. The sinners are sent to hell because they don’t want God. Their free will is the reason why they go to hell. In the case of Tyre and Sidon, if God did not chose to provide means for their salvation, it is His prerogative that’s why we call Him GOD.

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 7:26am

Ed Chait When I don’t understand something about how or why God does certain things, I also fall back on Isaiah 55:8 and 1Corinthians 13:12.

For many years, one thing that kept me from growing was that I believed that I had the right to know everything about how and why God does things. Through the Holy Spirit’s work in my life, I slowly came to understand that as one of His creatures, I don’t have that right, but if I trust in Him, everything will be OK.

Just as you understand that He is under no obligation to save anyone, He is also under no obligation to explain all of His ways.

Like · Reply · 2 · October 22 at 9:48am · Edited

Tim White Let me address the first part of your question, which is not what you are asking. Thus, I will operate like the FAQs of software website and answer something that is not asked. Can someone truly trust God 100%…?
Trusting God is a floating exercise. …See More

Like · Reply · 2 · October 22 at 9:45am · Edited

Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil I also want to add, Jesus said that the punishment for Tyre and Sidon would be lighter than the punishment for Chorazin and Bethsaida on the Day of Judgement. I understand this “Day of Judgement” as the Great White Throne Judgement (Luke 10:14). Jesus…See More

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 9:56am

Ed Chait When I hit that line that Tim is talking about, I find it helptul to remember that no matter what, God’s love for us is infinite and He always does what is in our best interest, even if it doesn’t seem that way in the present time.

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 10:03am

Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil You may use this verses in Romans 9Kris Cadogan, “20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21Or does not the potter have a right over the cla…See More

Like · Reply · October 22 at 10:04am

Kris Cadogan Just found a book entitled ” Does God desire all to be saved” by John Piper (http://www.desiringgod.org/…/does-god-really-desire-all…) will give it a read.

Also what glorifies God more? Saving people from eternal punishment or righteous judgemen…See More

Does God (Really) Desire All to Be Saved?

On the extent of who will be saved, the Bible makes two clear points: God desires that all sinners be saved (1…

DESIRINGGOD.ORG

Like · Reply · Remove Preview · 1 · October 22 at 10:21am

Ed Chait God does not desire that sin continue, but He is allowing it to continue in order to accomplish His purpose and plan. This may seem like a subtle distinction, but it’s a huge one.

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 10:33am · Edited

Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil “God “desires” that all men be saved” in Timothy is an antrhopopathic expression. Paul ascribes human emotions to God to show to Timothy that God is not like a psycho killer who laughs at and mocks those that He sends to and punishes in hell. On the co…See More

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 10:49am · Edited

Ed Chait This discussion makes me think of how my belief has vacillated between Calvinism and Arminianism to various degrees until I finally came to believe in Compatibilism, which I believe is Biblical and, at least for me, puts the matter to rest.

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 10:44am

Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil Going back to the main question: Can a person really trust God 100% when factoring in his sovereign/hidden will into the equation? Isn’t it almost like he is hiding part of himself from us? My answer is yes. If you are a true believer, knowing that God has saved you irregardless of your unworthiness, that would be enough. But it is useless to try to know about God’s hidden will for no one has the right to know or question His decision. And yes, He is definitely hiding a large part of Himself to us and that’s the reason why we are all the more amazed at His glorious nature. In fact, heaven is heaven because it would be a place of endless chase of the glory of God which our finite minds cannot exhaust for eternity.

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 11:01am

Ed Chait Beautifully stated, Corpuz. We also have a tendency to anthropomorphize God and then judge Him through our finite and limited sense of fairness and goodness.

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 11:27am

Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil Amen Brother Ed Chait..

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 11:29am

Kris Cadogan Well I guess some of my fear of his hidden will stems from the fact that just maybe later on in life I may be “purposed” to leave the faith. I know that Christians are eternally secure but the problem comes because today so many pastors are leaving th…See More

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 12:28pm

Ed Chait Kris, the concern you have over possibly leaving the faith in the future demonstrates your love for God through the Holy Spirit’s work in your life.

Like · Reply · 1 · October 22 at 1:28pm

Dale Agner ROMANS 1 does a great job of showing that God’s wrath is letting us do what we want to do. Because we did not give thanks, nor honor Him, and worshipped/served the creature, rather than the Creator…He turns us over to ourselves (pattern is repeated 3 times in ROMANS 1:18-30; and Hebrews 12 shows that Esau only regretted, but did not repent…God turns us over to ourselves, to the randomness of this world, to bring us back to Him. I did a great little search yesterday for verses that contain “faith, hope, love” (there are 4 in the NASB and ESV). The hope of the gospel is that God is able to use our brokenness. Either we come to Him in brokenness, or we turn from Him, and he turns us over to the randomness of this world, to break us, to return to Him in brokenness.

Like · Reply · 2 · October 22 at 4:06pm

Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil Kris Cadogan If you are an elect, nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8;38-39).

Like · Reply · 1 · Yesterday at 1:24am

Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil Pharaoh’s repentance is not repentance unto salvation but only remorse. The basis of true repentance is not the past but the present acts.

Like · Reply · 1 · Yesterday at 1:25am

Christopher Dupre I believe God always does everything possible to get us to repent and have faith in Him (2 Peter 3:9), although every one of His efforts are not necessarily recorded in the Bible. Sadly, I also believe that if the vast majority of the world’s population were face-to-face with God and the reality of His holiness, they would curse him to his face and be snuffed out immediately, including many professing Christians (John 3:19, Romans 1:18-22).

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Question on Trusting God taking into account His Sovereign Will

Kris Cadogan

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