During a discussion regarding God's sovereignty and its impact on sotieriology, some thoughts came to mind. We are taught in apologetics to appeal to the universal morality that is weaved through all of history's great cultures and use this to point to a creator. And yet when it comes to discussing what God can and cannot do we often find ourselves limiting God based on what is just or right or loving or gracious. Which leads me to ask:
Is God good, or is goodness God?
Is God love, or is love God?
Is God just, or is justice God?
Is God subservient to the higher moral truths, or does He by His nature and decree define what those ideals are?
Too often I think we take the filter of what our fallen limited minds conceive of as loving or just or good and apply those to God, instead of taking our definitions of those ideas and running them through the filter of God and His word. If God is bound by some moral code higher than Himself, then He ceases to be the most powerful force in the universe. Why is it so hard for us to let go and let God be God? He has told us He is truthful and He is just and He is loving. Why do we impose what our understanding of those ideas are onto Him? Too often I let the fallen side of my mind step in and try to convince me that I know better than God what is right and place restrictions on Him that are based on a fallen, simple, bad understanding of what right means. God does right because what He does is right, by definition. He literally can do no wrong. We learn what is right from His example and His decree. Not from what we think is right. And definitely not from what somebody else tells us is right.
For those that think I'm only playing with semantics, remember that foundational thinking is the first step toward action. So, for example, if we want to fight for justice, we had better know exactly what justice is. Otherwise we will fail in achieving our goal. If we are to work to further the kingdom of God, it is imperative that we know what the components of that kingdom are.
So if God is sovereign and defines for us what is right, then He has the freedom to do what He wants, and to explain and expect humanity to do the same. We never have to argue to justify God's actions - although sometimes we need to understand clearly His purpose. Instead, we must constantly renew our minds and bring ourselves into alignment with His truth. What box are you putting God in? (He won't fit, you know)
I am comfortable saying that God IS bound, by His own self. Everything He does is automatically just, and He would also only do that which was just anyways/beforehand. But I won't try to define God's justness to a 't'. Yeah, our conceptions of His characteristics are sometimes on the right path BUT never fully grasped.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. And maybe the point should have been made clearer: we need to be extremely careful when we make statements about what God can and cannot do, basing those arguments on what we think our moral ideals of love, kindness, justice, etc. are. Especially when He already explicitly tells us He does those things.
ReplyDeleteMy first impression is to ask just how many people do i know that have discussions regarding "God's sovereignty and its impact on soteriology." However, you do bring up some good, and surprisingly relevant ideas from what seems to be a purely academic exercise. The key is just what you said. Our fallen minds forget that God is and must always be good in all that he does at all times, because He defines goodness. All definitions of what is good, just, etc. must find their root and grounding in the character of God. A thought to remember, though, is that there are some things that God does that are good that would be evil if anyone other than God did them.
ReplyDeleteGood point, and something I've been thinking about while studying James regarding judging others. I think that this is one of the major consequences of sovereignty; namely that God can do things that are moral that would be immoral if people did them. This argument is nearly impossible to make in the "overarching moral code" frame of mind, but fits exactly with God's holiness and sovereignty. He is other, so He gets to do things we don't. For example, in the sight of God, there really is no such thing as an innocent person, our sin nature demands death of us all. However, God reserves that judgement for Himself and describes for us what innocence/guilt looks like to us, and what the avenues are for justice (i.e. governmental authority). This is why God can justifiably destroy Sodom and Gommorah, children and all, but it would be wrong for an individual to kill an abortion providing doctor.
ReplyDeleteIf you will notice, especially in the NT, the power and authority to enforce the morality and justice of God is not given to an individual, but rather to an institution, i.e., a government, a community, a body of believers. Unfortunately unbelievers have too much ammunition given to them through examples of individuals who have "in the name of God" sought to be his arm of justice. Which immediately brings the Biblical confrontation, "Who are you to condemn others, who do those things yourself." See Romans 2, James 2, 4.
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