God is in Control

God is in control 

God’s mercy is something God freely gives according to His nature, not according to our worthiness or unworthiness.

God is not the author of evil. God is not the author of sin, but God is the author of a master plan that includes evil and includes sin. And God has created everything, even the wicked for the day of evil, yet God is not charged with being the author of evil but let us be absolutely clear He is the author of the plan that includes evil. The mystery of all mysteries that no one can answer is the origin of evil.

When human beings oppose God’s plans and purposes, they actually think they can prevail, but the truth is, God uses their resistance as an opportunity to accomplish His will and to display His power and nature.

 

Throughout the bible, we see this paradox of God using adverse circumstances and even the most extreme wickedness of mankind to achieve God’s own good purpose.

God sovereignly worked through sinful and sometimes wicked and cursed men, to bring blessings to others, and to bring honor and glory to God.

 

we may not be able to resolve this in our minds, but we can trust God to be fair because GOD IS MOTIVATED BY MERCY.

 

Paul says we are responsible for our response to God, even though God is able to use both our obedience and our disobedience to fulfill his purposes.

 

there is a God and you’re not him: God is shaping the first man out of the dust of the ground and then breathing into him the breath of life. Just as the potter has the freedom to shape and mold his pots, God has the same rights over the human race, to make one for noble [honorable] use, and another for common [dishonorable] use

 

God is God and that God will do what God will do, and it will be perfect whatever God chooses to do. God is never unjust. God is never unfair.

We don’t want fair; we need mercy. He does not owe salvation to anyone. “Fair” is to give someone what they deserve. There is not a one of us in this room that want that. We don’t want “fair.” “Fair” would be to go to hell. That is what you deserve. That is what I deserve. Every one of us deserves condemnation. Salvation is actually God giving to you what you do not deserve. That is unfair. “Fair” is hell. In a sense, “unfair” is heaven.

You actually did choose to commit your life to Christ, but it was only because God was previous and God was already at work in your heart.” And it was God who was convicting you of your sin and bringing pressure to bear upon your soul that you need to be made right with God. And it was God who drew you out of your sin to Christ, and it was God who gave you the gift of repentance and faith. It was God who opened your eyes to see Christ and the beauty of who Christ is. It was God who opened your ears to hear Him calling to you. It was God who opened your heart like He did Lydia’s in Philippi that you would receive the gospel message, and it was God who gave you a new heart with which to believe in the gospel. It was all of God.

God has divine design for everything in the entire universe. 

All men are already sinful and are already filled with all sorts of evil. God is not creating sin and putting it into the heart of any man. God is not creating evil and depositing that into the soul of man. No, there is evil and there is sin already in man because he was conceived in sin. He came forth from his mother’s womb speaking lies. The sin of Adam has already been charged to his account. The sin nature of Adam has been passed down through each successive generation to man. Man entered into this world with his mind already darkened, his heart already defiled, and his will already dead. So, everyone in heaven is there by God’s sovereign will. Everyone in hell is there by their own will and by their own choice.

God being the potter and we being the clay, we can absolutely trust God to be fair, because HE IS not only OUR MAKER, OUR SAVIOR, AND OUR SUSTAINER, HE IS TOTALLY JUST.

If God says He has a plan, and if God also says that we are responsible before Him, who are we to question Him? if God declares that we have an eternal responsibility before Him, then it is so.

 

This is probably the one truth about God that we mortal beings dislike above all others. God is absolutely sovereign; He can do whatever He pleases, He answers to no one for what He does, and He has no obligation to explain to anyone the reasons for His actions. 

We just don't like that. We want to know why? And we don't appreciate being likened to clay that is pushed around by the potter any way He pleases--making one pot for a noble use and another for a menial use. We are people, with opinions, and feelings. We have rights.

 

We may not like it, but the fact remains: He is the potter and we are the clay. He has a right to do with us as He pleases, and in His wisdom, He will always do what is best. So it would be impudent of us to reply against him, talk back to Him, contradict Him, question His actions, accuse Him of injustice.

GOD IS GOD. 

Steve Lawson