Christian Living
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BY COMMENTING
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE As A Member OR Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE As A Member OR Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article
Based on Jonah 1:7
A speculator, who won and lost money by instinct, was discussing success with a business man who had done very well. They were discussing whether success was attained by planned judgment, or by mere luck. The business man said judgment, but the speculator held out for luck. He pointed out to the business man that he was a forty-niner, and that that was an adventure, but he responded that it was not so for him for it was planned. "Well then," said the speculator, "You came to New York just when the investment of your money would bring the highest returns, that was luck." "No," insisted the business man, for it had been his own wise judgment. After several more examples to which he received the same reply, the speculator concluded, "Well, you'll have to admit you are mighty lucky to have such good judgment."
The whole issue of providence and chance; sovereignty and free will; the Lord or luck, is a complex one, but one that we must think about seriously since it governs much of our attitude toward life and circumstances. Lack of thought at this point causes many Christians to be very inconsistent in their ideas. Sometimes we are like the professor who was going to lecture on the III World War. He announced his two major points in his introduction. First he said we will consider why there will be no war, and second we will consider what to do when it comes. Christians get into the same fix when they say nothing is of chance, and then condemn gambling because it is not of God. We want to look at the sailors method of accusing Jonah as a starting point to try and reconcile the concepts of luck and the sovereignty of God.
I. IS LUCK REAL?
The sailors certainly did not think that casting lots was a matter of luck. They wanted to know on whose account the storm had come, and they believed that the gods revealed their will through the lot. Since, however, this practice as not in conformity with belief in the one true God, we must recognize that their views amounted to superstition. These sailors did not make this up for this occasion. It was a practice of life, and they had doubtless made other decisions by lot. Are we to suppose that all decisions of ancient or modern pagans are guided by the Lord, as this one was? If so, then we are led to the conclusion that superstition was not wrong after all, and that the pagan world was guided by God by superstition, as was His chosen people by revelation.
This conclusion is contrary to all the facts, for the vast majority of pagan practices and superstitions were an abomination to God. God did use this particular event of lot casting to reveal His will, but certainly He did not do so in all cases. Most pagan decisions were decided by what we would call luck. They were events which were not decided by God's will, but by chance causes which were not known or predictable. In other words, many innocent people suffered as being guilty not because God willed it but because foolish men made their decisions on the basis of
chance. It was deciding which of two men accused of murder would be guilty by the flip of a coin. People use to determine guilt by binding a person up and throwing them in the river. If they drowned they were presumed innocent, and if they floated they were presumed guilty.
I cannot believe that all such folly has been the will of God. It has, instead, been the result of blindness to His will. I am convinced that all that happens in life is not God's will, for if it was, it would be meaningless to pray thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus taught us to pray this, therefore, it is clear that God's will is not always done on earth as it is in heaven. This makes me question the easy and superficial attitude of many Christians who say nothing happens by chance, or there is no such thing as luck. If they mean that nothing happens without a cause, then all can agree, for every effect has a cause. But to say that all causes are God' s will is to contradict the clear teaching of His Word that sin is not His will, and the effects of sin are not His will.
Events and things that happen that are not intended by God, and are not caused by the will of man, is what I mean by luck. Calvin believed that all that happens is the direct will of God. He even rejected the idea of God's permissive will. God does not merely permit anything, but He actively causes everything. God does not just permit murder He ordains it for His own glory. How all the evil of the world glorifies God Calvin does not say, but he points out that God's ways are not our ways, and His plan is beyond our comprehension. Many people who are godly Christians believe this, but I cannot. This view exalts God's sovereignty at the expense of His love. Certainly no evil can happen without its ultimate cause being in God, for He is the cause of all that is, but it is still true that He is not the direct cause, for things and events can happen which are not His will.
There are millions of acts of sin going on all the time which are not God's will, and they will cause many to suffer eternal judgment which is not God's will, and many will never repent, which is His will. The Bible says very little about chance, for it is revelation, not of what is purposeless events, but of what is God's purpose in life and history. There is no place in revelation for luck since it is a book of God's action. This casting of lots is recorded, but all other lot casting of the pagan world is not, because this particular occasion was used of God to accomplish His purpose.
The word chance is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and there are a number of passages where the idea of chance is obvious. Consider Exodus 21:12-14, "Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death. However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate. But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death." We see two kinds of situations here where a man is killed. One is considered murder and is directly opposed to God's will, and it is not to be tolerated. God does permit it in the sense that He does not stop it, but He will not permit it
to go unpunished. God permits murder only because He cannot consistently stop it and still leave people free to make moral choices. He cannot let a man be free to disobey His law and at the same time compel him to obey it. This is the price God was willing to pay to make a man with free will.
If, however, you kill a man accidentally, you are not be killed, and the reason is because you did not choose to disobey God's law. It happened by circumstances and not by your act of will. It was a matter of chance and not a matter of choice. Berkley has verse 13 like this, "However, if he did not plan it, but God allowed an accident...." We see that some things God permits to happen, and some things he causes to happen, and still other things He does not want to happen at all, but must allow them to be, but will judge those who do them. This means there is much in life that is not God's will, but is the result of man's sin, foolish actions, whims and mere chance combinations of his actions and decisions. Liberalism and modernism and all attacks on God's Word, plus the lethargy of Christians are all against His will, and it can be little short of blasphemy to suggest that God ordained all that He clearly hates. This would be saying that God wills all that He says is not His will.
If nothing is the result of mans false thinking and poor decisions which brings about all kinds of messes, then what is the sense of controversy? It is the pastime of fools, for what possible objection can we have if those who disagree with us do so by the will of God. If all is of God then even atheism and the cults are part of God's will. My conclusion is that much happens by chance, and that luck is very real. The second question is-
II. IS GOD SOVEREIGN?
Without argument we can say yes, but the problem is, can yes be said to both questions without contradiction? Is this trying to have our cake and eat it too, or can the two be reconciled to show that they are not only compatible but necessary? I think so. The first thing we have to do is get out of our minds a false meaning of sovereignty. The idea that the omnipotence of God means He can do absolutely anything without limitation is not valid. This would mean that God is the cause of all evil, for if He is all powerful and yet does not stop evil, it must be that it is His will. The Scripture makes it clear that God has imposed self limitations on His own power.
It is impossible for God to lie the Bible says. There is something God cannot do because it is contrary to His very nature. Holiness and lies are incompatible, and so a holy God cannot lie. No contradiction can exist in reality if it is absolute. It is impossible for the same object to be both a square and a circle at the same time. While it is one, by its very nature it excludes the other. So it is no limitation to sovereignty to be unable to do a contradiction. It is no limitation that God cannot lie or make a square circle, and, therefore, it is no limitation either that He cannot make a man free and at the same time make him conform to His will.
Why didn't God stop Adam and Eve from sinning? He certainly had the power, and it seems like it would have been so easy. But it was not only not easy, it was impossible, for the very plan of God was to have a creature who was free to obey or disobey Him. It is impossible to have a truly free being, and at the same time have them not be free to disobey. How then is God still sovereign if so much can happen which is not His will? He is sovereign in that He knows the end from the beginning. Man does not know the outcome of his chance decisions, but God does, and God works in them to accomplish His will. He used the chance acts of the sailors to accomplish His will with Jonah. He used the lot often in the Old Testament. The twelve tribes used the lot to determine what land they got in Num. 26:55. Quite often the lot is used to settle arguments. Prov. 18:18 says, "The lot puts an end to disputes and decides between powerful contenders." In Acts 1:24-26 Matthias was chosen by Lot to be the 12th Apostle.
Most chance is just that. We flip a coin to see who goes first in many games, but when crucial decisions are to be made and we do not know what to do, God can even use chance to reveal His will and to guide us. Therefore, though the Christian can believe in chance, he is always ready and eager to look for God's guidance even in the chance circumstances of life. If God can use evil to bring forth good, how much more can He use luck to demonstrate His own Lordship.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 288 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by GLENN PEASE or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 288 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.