All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
Marriage and Remarriage
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Permalink Reply by Michael on
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I'm sorry but I did not mean to anger people while saying this stuff and opinions are always opinions. But for a person to repeat a line in a book already recorded is why you have it ingrained in your head. It is why religion used to be strict and gets less strict just to go back to rememberance once again. 99 percent of people will disagree with me on this, but the consequence is WHY we serve god. Mercy vs. wrath/Good vs. Evil. If we are good he is good, if we are evil he is evil. Not in amount of sins, as how we act during the period of trial.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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Trust me, it isn't anger that I feel but great concern for your soul.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31, NIV.These are lines from the beautiful Book which you seem to be condemning and these Scriptures tell us that God writes His Word on our hearts and puts it in our minds. God is in no way evil and who God is does not depend on man's actions. God does not change!!!
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Permalink Reply by winter mckinney on
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Amanda,
I noticed this, and I have to ask about something that is making me a little curious. I don't know everything so bare with me please lol.
I asked David to answer my questions about the "evil" statements and verses so I was wondering if you could help me understand the changing aspect of God and your reference from the Bible about God not changing. Feel free to answer both if you want though:)
My observation of the scriptures seems to talk about God changing. Am I wrong? Let me know because I am awfully confused by reading the verse you wrote from the Bible and these other verses from the Bible. Many thanks!
Genesis 6:6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Exodus 32:14 So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
Judges 2:18 When the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them.
2 Samual 24:16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough! Now relax your hand!" And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
1 Chronicles 21:15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the LORD saw and was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, "It is enough; now relax your hand." And the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Jeremiah 26:19 "Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against ourselves."
Jonah 3:10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.
Thank you so much for your time in advance!
~Winter
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Winter, I noticed you asked David a question alongwith some of the same verses, and he is part of the leadership team here at AAG and is very knowledgable of apologetics. I will allow him to explain it to you as it pertains to the same thing. God does not change back and forth between being good and evil. God's character does not change nor does God have a change of mind. God is immutable.
I have had the same question in the past and here is a good article that helped me understand:
Question: "Does God change His mind?"
Answer: Malachi 3:6 declares, “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” Similarly, James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” The meaning of Numbers 23:19 could not be more clear: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” No, God does not change His mind. These verses assert that God is unchanging and unchangeable.
How then do we explain verses such as Genesis 6:6; “The LORD was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain”? Also, Jonah 3:10; which says, “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened.” Similarly, Exodus 32:14 proclaims, “Then the LORD relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had threatened.” These verses speak of the Lord “repenting” of something and seem to contradict the doctrine of God’s immutability. However, close examination of these passages reveals that these are not truly indications that God is capable of changing. In the original language, the word that is translated as “repent” or “relent” is the Hebrew expression “to be sorry for.” Being sorry for something does not mean that a change has occurred; it simply means there is regret for something that has taken place.
Consider Genesis 6:6: “…the LORD was grieved that He had made man on the earth.” This verse even goes on to say “His heart was filled with pain.” This verse declares that God had regret for creating man. However, obviously He did not reverse His decision. Instead, through Noah, He allowed man to continue to exist. The fact that we are alive today is proof that God did not change His mind about creating man. Also, the context of this passage is a description of the sinful state in which man was living, and it is man’s sinfulness that triggered God’s sorrow, not man’s existence. Consider Jonah 3:10: “…He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened.” Again, the same Hebrew word is used, which translates “to be sorry for.” Why was God sorry for what He had planned for the Ninevites? Because they had a change in heart and as a result changed their ways from disobedience to obedience. God is entirely consistent. God was going to judge Nineveh because of its evil. However, Nineveh repented and changed its ways. As a result, God had mercy on Nineveh, which is entirely consistent with His character.
Romans 3:23 teaches us that all men sin and fall short of God’s standard. Romans 6:23 states that the consequence for this is death (spiritual and physical). So the people of Nineveh were deserving of punishment. All of us face this same situation; it is man’s choosing to sin that separates us from God. Man cannot hold God responsible for his own predicament. So it would be contrary to the character of God to not punish the Ninevites had they continued in sin. However, the people of Nineveh turned to obedience, and for that the Lord chose not to punish them as He had originally intended. Did the change on the part of the Ninevites obligate God to do what He did? Absolutely not! God cannot be placed in a position of obligation to man. God is good and righteous, and chose not to punish the Ninevites as a result of their change of heart. If anything, what this passage does is point to the fact that God does not change, because had the Lord not preserved the Ninevites, it would have been contrary to His character.
The Scriptures that are interpreted as God seeming to change His mind are human attempts to explain the actions of God. God was going to do something, but instead did something else. To us, that sounds like a change. But to God, who is omniscient and sovereign, it is not a change. God always knew what He was going to do. God does what He needs to do to cause humanity to fulfill His perfect plan. “…declaring the end from the beginning, and from the past things which were not done, saying, My purpose shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure … What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do” (Isaiah 46:10-11). God threatened Nineveh with destruction, knowing that it would cause Nineveh to repent. God threatened Israel with destruction, knowing that Moses would intercede. God does not regret His decisions, but He is saddened by some of what man sometimes does in response to His decisions. God does not change His mind but rather acts consistently with His Word in response to our actions.
Recommended Resource: Knowing God by J.I. Packer.
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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Hello Michael,
Please elaborate your statement: "If we are good he is good, if we are evil he is evil."
Please define for me what you mean by appropriating the word evil to God?
God is perfect and good and in Him there is no evil.
English Standard Version (©2001)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
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Hi David,
Can you explain to me what these verses mean then? I know repent me...
Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Jeremiah 26:19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.
1 Chronicles 21:15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 Samuel 24:16) And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing place of Araunah the Jebusite.
Judges 2:18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
Exodus 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Genesis 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
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* cut off from up above David,
I know repent means to turn away in the opposite direction, and evil is just...evil, why does there seem to be such contrast in your verse and the others?
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Great question Winter,
Thank you for your kind words sis Amanda. Here are my biblical thoughts:
There are several figures of speech in the Bible that accommodate the human level of understanding. One is anthropomorphism (man form), where physical features are ascribed to God, e.g., the eyes of the Lord (1 Pet. 3:12), Jehovah’s arm (Jn. 12:38), etc. These depict God’s watchfulness and his power.
There is another figure called anthropopathism (man feeling), whereby human emotions are sometimes attributed to God. To say, therefore, that God “repented,” or that he was “grieved,” is simply a symbolic way of asserting that man’s conduct did not meet the divine standard. This language vividly portrays, from a human perspective, God’s displeasure at our rebellion.
God cannot repent, but Moses could only use words that make sense to us. God has no arms as we know arms, He is a spirit, but there are verses that speak of his hand, eyes and arm. God comes down to our level, by describing himself, through the men He used to pen the bible, with attributes, both physical and emotionally that as humans we would understand.
God knows exactly what tomorrow holds and He does not repent as humans do. He knew exactly what was to happened. He is describing by that sentiment (He repented) his enormous grieve at the action. He was grieved at men's choice, though He knew already that they would do such things.
God is omniscient; that means he knows everything. “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; his understanding is infinite” (Psa. 147:5). If the Lord’s understanding is infinite, he must have known, before he created man that he would fall.
The article below is From : http://www.gotquestions.org/did-God-create-evil.html
Question: "Did God create evil?"
Answer: At first it might seem that if God created all things, then evil must have been created by God. However, evil is not a “thing” like a rock or electricity. You cannot have a jar of evil. Evil has no existence of its own; it is really the absence of good. For example, holes are real but they only exist in something else. We call the absence of dirt a hole, but it cannot be separated from the dirt. So when God created, it is true that all He created was good. One of the good things God made was creatures who had the freedom to choose good. In order to have a real choice, God had to allow there to be something besides good to choose. So, God allowed these free angels and humans to choose good or reject good (evil). When a bad relationship exists between two good things we call that evil, but it does not become a “thing” that required God to create it.
Perhaps a further illustration will help. If a person is asked, “Does cold exist?” the answer would likely be “yes.” However, this is incorrect. Cold does not exist. Cold is the absence of heat. Similarly, darkness does not exist; it is the absence of light. Evil is the absence of good, or better, evil is the absence of God. God did not have to create evil, but rather only allow for the absence of good.
Blessings
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David,
Thank you so much for that insight to something I never, and probably might have never thought of. It makes so much sense now:)
Blessings To You As Well,
~Winter
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Michael,
You are going to have to be more specific on the things you are trying to convey. Unfinished thoughts lead to assumptions and i rather not assume you are saying something. I would like to know what you are saying and not think I know what you are saying, if not we just create confusion.
Blessings
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I was told by a pastor that a person beating and verbally abusing a spouse is a form of adultery from the idea that the abuser doesn't want to be with the one being abused. If they wanted to be there they wouldn't do any abusing. I have to agree with that thought.
Blessings...
Rita
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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Rita,
Adultery has a specific definition and it does not apply to beatings. The Word speaks against abuse, but physical abuse and adultery are not the same thing.
Lord Bless,
LT
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