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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're glad to
have you with us today.
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We are continuing to look
at God's love and justice.
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And today, we are
looking at lesson number 8.
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Lesson number 8 is "Free Will,
Love, and Divine Providence."
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What does all that mean?
Well, you're about to find out.
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Let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we wanna thank You
for bringing us together today
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and giving us an opportunity
to learn more about You
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through our study of Your Word.
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We ask that You
will bless us and help us
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to be able to rightly
represent You to the world
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as we better understand
You and Your character of love.
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We thank You, in
Jesus' name, amen.
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We're grateful to have
with us once again the author
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of this quarter's "Sabbath
School" lesson, John Peckham.
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He is an associate
editor of the "Adventist Review"
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and also a research professor
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at the Adventist Theological
Seminary at Andrews University.
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John, welcome back once again.
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>>John Peckham: Thank
you, my pleasure to be here.
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>>Eric: So this week,
we're looking at "Free Will,
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Love, and Divine Providence."
Now, some of those terms
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are probably gonna be
a little bit unfamiliar.
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I think most people
understand what love is,
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and they've got a decent
understanding of free will,
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but we're gonna
dive into something
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called divine providence here.
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How does this
concept of divine providence,
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how does it influence the way
that we view this relationship
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between God and human free will?
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>>John: Yeah, well, let's
put on the table a definition
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of what we mean
by divine providence.
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And a good way of entering
into that is from Matthew 6,
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Jesus' words in Matthew
6, beginning with verse 25.
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>>Eric: "Therefore I say to you,
do not worry about your life,
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"what you will eat or what you
will drink; nor about your body,
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"what you will put on.
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"Is not life more than food
and the body more than clothing?
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"Look at the birds of the air,
for they neither sow nor reap
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"nor gather into barns; yet
your heavenly Father feeds them.
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"Are you not of
more value than they?
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"Which of you by
worrying can add one cubit
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"to his stature?
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"So why do you
worry about clothing?
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"Consider the
lilies of the field,
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"how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin;
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"and yet I say to
you that even Solomon
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"in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
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"Now if God so clothes the grass
of the field, which today is,
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"and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven,
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will He not much more clothe
you, O you of little faith?"
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>>John: So, here we
see Jesus pointing out
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that God takes
care of His creation.
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He takes care of the
birds, the lilies of the field.
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They don't work,
and yet they're arrayed
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even greater than Solomon.
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And so, all these verses
point out that God provides,
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and that's actually the
core concept of providence.
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A more theological definition
is it's God's way of governing
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and working in the world
with regard to what takes place,
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what He does, what He prevents,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
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Now, this very concept
is a very biblical concept.
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It is thoroughly
biblical that God provides.
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In fact, in the story of
Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22,
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you have the story
where God commands Abraham
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to sacrifice his son.
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He never actually intended
for Abraham to sacrifice his son
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Isaac, but it was a
test of Abraham's faith.
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And so, Abraham
makes the preparations,
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and he's on the way up the
mountain with his son Isaac,
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and Isaac is told they're
going up to make a sacrifice,
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but Isaac isn't told
what the sacrifice is to be.
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And on the way, Isaac
looks around, and he says,
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"We don't have
anything for the sacrifice.
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We don't have a ram."
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And he asked his father Abraham,
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"Why don't we
have the sacrifice?"
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And Abraham's response
is, "The Lord will provide."
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And in that
story, He does provide.
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He provides a ram in place,
which, of course, symbolizes
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providing Christ in our
place to forgive our sins.
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But that language, "the
Lord will provide," in Hebrew,
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it's "Yahweh Yireh," it
literally means "the Lord sees."
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The Lord sees. And
when the Lord sees, He acts.
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When He sees a need,
He actually takes action.
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And the language of
providence is just a Latin form
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of "the Lord sees."
You can actually see it.
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"Pro" means "before,"
and the "-vide" part is
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like "video," what you see.
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And so, you
have the Lord seeing,
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meaning He is going to provide.
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Now, when it comes to free
will, this gets a bit tricky
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because there's more than
one model of divine providence.
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You could have a
model of divine providence
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in which God causes
everything to happen
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the way He wants it to happen.
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Let's call that a
one-dimensional view
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of divine providence--
everything is up to God.
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You could have a view in
which God causes some things
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to happen, but He also
grants humans free will.
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And so, some things
that happen are not up to God
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because if God
grants humans free will,
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then what they do is
not going to be up to God
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to control everything.
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And let's call that
a two-dimensional view
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of providence. And where
we're gonna go in these lessons,
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especially in the weeks to come,
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is beyond those two to
a three-dimensional view
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of providence that
actually recognizes
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there's not just
humans who have free will,
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but there's celestial
agents like good angels
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and fallen angels or
demons that are working
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behind the scenes in
ways that we don't always see
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but have a huge
impact on the world.
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So, if you have one of
those views of free will,
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yes, God is in control
in an overarching sense,
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but there may be
many things that occur
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that God does
not want to happen.
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>>Eric: Okay, so let's go
with one of those ideas here,
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that God determines all
events, that it's all up to Him.
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What are some of the
theological implications,
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if that is the case
or if that were the case?
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What does that
look like when we look
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at, like, human desires
and things along those lines?
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>>John: Yeah, so a
thorough going determinism is
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the view that God causes
everything, like you said,
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including even our choices.
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Now, this is very problematic,
I believe, theologically,
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and I believe it
doesn't fit with the Bible.
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Now, to be clear,
there are many Christians
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who believe this,
and they believe this,
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and they also don't
think that God is therefore
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the author of evil
or culpable for evil.
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They would not want to say that.
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So, to be fair to them, we don't
wanna put words in their mouth.
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But from my perspective,
it's very hard to see
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how both of those
things could be true.
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If God determines everything--
including human decisions
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and even human
desires, which, of course,
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after the Fall, at
least, include sinful desires--
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you have a big problem
with the character of God.
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I don't see any way that
you can escape the conclusion
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that God is the author of evil,
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that God causes
evil, that He even causes
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the evil desires in
your heart and in my heart.
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And this just doesn't fit at
all with what scripture teaches.
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For example, if we look
at Habakkuk 1:13 together--
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if you'd be willing
to read that for us.
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>>Eric: "You are of
purer eyes than to behold evil,
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"and cannot look on wickedness.
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"Why do You look on
those who deal treacherously,
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"and hold Your tongue when
the wicked devourers a person
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more righteous than he?"
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>>John: So, we see in
that text that the latter part
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is asking actually
about why God doesn't do more
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to stop evil, this
question of providence
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that we're going to be
unpacking in lessons to come,
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but the first part
says God is too holy
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to even look on evil.
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So, if He's too holy
to even look on evil,
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how could He be the cause of
sinful desires and evil actions?
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It doesn't fit at all
with what the Bible teaches
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about God's character.
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It also doesn't fit with the way
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the Bible describes
God's reactions to sin,
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and even instances
where His own covenant people
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don't do what He
wants them to do.
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So, for instance, in
Psalm 81, verses 11 through 14,
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God says, "My people
would not heed my voice,
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"and Israel
would have none of me.
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"So I gave them over to
their own stubborn heart,
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"to walk in their own counsels.
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"Oh, that my
people would listen to me,
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"that Israel
would walk in my ways.
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"I would soon
subdue their enemies,
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and turn my hand
against their adversaries."
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Now, if God is
causing everything to happen,
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including human
decisions and human desires,
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this kind of statement
seems very disingenuous, right?
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Where God is lamenting the fact
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that His people
have rejected Him.
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He wills one thing,
and they do the other.
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And He's calling for them, "Oh
that they would listen to me!
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Oh, that they would turn to me!"
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But if He's really
the one controlling that
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in the background,
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this makes no sense, and
worse than making no sense,
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it makes God to be
rather deceptive, and again,
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I don't see how
to escape the view
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that He's actually the cause
of evil, culpable for evil.
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>>Eric: So, let's build
on that just a little bit.
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The existence of evil itself,
kind of it challenges this idea
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that everything happens
according to God's will,
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if we're gonna be
completely honest.
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And again, there
are many Christians
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who, of course, take
a different viewpoint.
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But how does this help us
to understand more accurately
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the biblical viewpoint here?
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>>John: Yeah, I think
based on the building blocks
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we have already and
some that we will continue
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to put on the
table as we continue,
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we can see that if God
cannot even look on evil,
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then, given
there's evil in the world,
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this, it cannot be
the case that everything
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is happening
according to God's will.
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Now again, to be
fair, there are Christians
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and theological
systems where they say,
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"No, evil is a part of
God's will in the sense
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"that He determines
everything to happen
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the way He wants it to happen."
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Some of those views are known
as "Felix Culpa" theodicies,
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and that just comes from
a Latin phrase that means,
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"Oh, happy fault."
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And so, there's a part of the
Christian tradition that says,
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"Oh, it was actually better that
sin and evil came into the world
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"because then God brings some
greater good from that evil,
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"and therefore God determined
all of these things to happen,
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maybe even determined
them to happen for His glory."
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But I think that is a
very problematic account
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because number
one, it makes evil
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a stepping stone for
good, and it still makes
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God the author
and the cause of evil.
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And here I wanna
look at Romans 3, verse 8
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because I think this
gives us an indication
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of how we should relate
to that kind of approach
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to the problem of evil.
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>>Eric: "And why not say, 'Let
us do evil that good may come'?
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"as we are slanderously reported
and as some affirm that we say.
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Their condemnation is just."
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>>John: Yeah, so Paul
there points out this idea,
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"Should we do evil
so that good may come?"
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And the answer is certainly not.
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And if that's the case
for us as mere humans--
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we should not do evil so
that greater good comes--
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certainly that
principle is gonna be true
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for the very source of goodness
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and the source of love.
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So we cannot, I
think, hold the view
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that God causes evil
in order for good to come.
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That would make evil almost
like an instrumental good,
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and it would
raise serious problems.
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In fact, what we
will see as we go along
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is that God grants free will,
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which requires the
possibility of evil
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if anyone exercises that
free will in a wrong way,
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and that part's not up to God,
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but it doesn't
include the necessity of evil.
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No one needs to exercise
their free will in a wrong way
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in order for the kind
of free will to be in place
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that's needed for love.
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And so, the biblical
theodicy, which is a view
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of God's goodness
in light of evil--
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that's kind of what
the term "theodicy" means--
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the biblical theodicy
or the biblical approach
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does not have God causing evil.
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He doesn't want evil. He
hates it more than we do,
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and He doesn't want
it in His good creation.
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And He is very, very
thorough and consistent
00:11:29.88\00:11:34.22
in His attitude
toward evil and injustice.
00:11:34.26\00:11:37.03
>>Eric: I think as we
continue going through,
00:11:37.06\00:11:38.49
not just this week's lesson,
00:11:38.53\00:11:39.83
but the ones to
come, that's gonna become
00:11:39.86\00:11:42.23
more and more apparent.
00:11:42.26\00:11:43.90
Now, share with us a little
bit about the companion book.
00:11:43.93\00:11:48.04
That book goes into
deeper detail on this subject
00:11:48.07\00:11:50.71
and many other subjects.
00:11:50.74\00:11:52.41
Why would somebody wanna
pick up the companion book
00:11:52.44\00:11:54.58
to this quarter's lesson?
00:11:54.61\00:11:55.91
>>John: Yeah, I have so
much more to say on this topic.
00:11:55.94\00:11:58.45
We covered the problem
of evil for a few weeks,
00:11:58.48\00:12:00.28
and we put seven
points on the table
00:12:00.32\00:12:03.08
over the course
of a few chapters.
00:12:03.12\00:12:05.29
But I can only really scratch
the surface in the lessons.
00:12:05.32\00:12:08.72
Just like I wrote a
lot more about divine love,
00:12:08.76\00:12:11.43
I've written an entire
book on the problem of evil.
00:12:11.46\00:12:14.23
And in this companion
volume, I include a condensed,
00:12:14.30\00:12:18.53
summarized version
of that approach to evil
00:12:18.57\00:12:21.54
based on the Bible
all the way through
00:12:21.57\00:12:23.71
that provides a framework for us
00:12:23.74\00:12:25.04
to wrestle with
these big questions
00:12:25.07\00:12:26.81
and help others
that are wrestling
00:12:26.84\00:12:28.24
with these big questions and
maybe doubting God's goodness.
00:12:28.28\00:12:30.68
>>Eric: Good. So, we can
pick that book up very easily.
00:12:30.71\00:12:33.38
You can pick it up
in a variety of places,
00:12:33.42\00:12:35.15
one of which is on the
It Is Written online store.
00:12:35.18\00:12:38.49
That's at itiswritten.shop,
00:12:38.52\00:12:40.96
again, itiswritten.shop.
00:12:40.99\00:12:42.92
You're looking
for the companion book
00:12:42.96\00:12:44.66
to this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson
00:12:44.69\00:12:46.80
by John Peckham.
00:12:46.83\00:12:48.46
We're going to be
back in just a moment
00:12:48.50\00:12:50.20
as we continue
looking at this subject
00:12:50.23\00:12:52.80
that we're delving
into here on week number 8
00:12:52.83\00:12:55.97
and getting a clearer
understanding of how free will
00:12:56.00\00:12:59.17
fits in with God's
character, the concept of evil.
00:12:59.21\00:13:02.71
We're gonna dive into that more
deeply in just a few moments
00:13:02.74\00:13:06.05
when we come back
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:13:06.08\00:13:08.08
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:13:08.12\00:13:09.95
[uplifting music]
00:13:09.98\00:13:12.49
>>John Bradshaw: So,
what is God really like?
00:13:14.02\00:13:17.23
To hear some people tell
the story, God is a tyrant;
00:13:17.26\00:13:19.86
God is
vindictive; God is hateful.
00:13:19.89\00:13:22.66
To hear some people tell
the story, God is a murderer;
00:13:22.70\00:13:26.37
God is masochistic.
That's what some people say.
00:13:26.40\00:13:29.90
Now, why would
they say such a thing?
00:13:29.94\00:13:31.47
Well, you look into the
Bible and in Noah's day,
00:13:31.51\00:13:33.94
God destroyed the entire world.
00:13:33.98\00:13:36.58
There may even have
been billions of people
00:13:36.61\00:13:39.68
alive at that time.
00:13:39.71\00:13:41.75
God wiped them out.
00:13:41.78\00:13:43.15
Well, was that a one-off?
00:13:43.18\00:13:44.62
In the days of
Hezekiah, king of Judah,
00:13:44.65\00:13:47.86
185,000 Assyrian soldiers
were destroyed by God's angels
00:13:47.89\00:13:54.46
in a night.
00:13:54.50\00:13:55.80
What is the
character of God like?
00:13:55.83\00:13:58.47
You don't wanna miss
"The Character of God."
00:13:58.50\00:14:00.74
We'll talk about
creation, love, the cross,
00:14:00.77\00:14:03.77
and you'll know
that God is love.
00:14:03.81\00:14:06.54
"The Character of God,"
00:14:06.57\00:14:08.71
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:08.74\00:14:12.38
You know that at It Is Written
00:14:13.92\00:14:15.48
we are serious about
studying the Word of God,
00:14:15.52\00:14:17.69
and we encourage you
to be serious as well.
00:14:17.72\00:14:20.46
Well, here's what
you do if you wanna
00:14:20.49\00:14:22.32
dig deeper into God's Word.
00:14:22.36\00:14:23.66
Go to itiswritten.study
for the It Is Written
00:14:23.69\00:14:26.80
Bible Study Guides online,
00:14:26.83\00:14:28.76
25 in-depth Bible studies
that will take you through
00:14:28.80\00:14:31.53
the major
teachings of the Bible.
00:14:31.57\00:14:33.84
You'll be
blessed, and it's something
00:14:33.87\00:14:35.30
you'll want to tell
others about as well:
00:14:35.34\00:14:37.21
itiswritten.study.
00:14:37.24\00:14:39.04
Go further: itiswritten.study.
00:14:39.07\00:14:41.41
[uplifting music]
00:14:43.81\00:14:48.28
>>Eric Flickinger: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:48.32\00:14:49.78
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:49.82\00:14:51.62
We're continuing our
study of lesson number 8
00:14:51.65\00:14:54.22
under the larger subject
of God's will and justice.
00:14:54.26\00:14:58.56
We're continuing to
delve into divine providence,
00:14:58.59\00:15:01.36
free will, and love.
00:15:01.40\00:15:03.20
John, let me kind of
get us into the second half
00:15:03.23\00:15:05.37
by asking this question.
00:15:05.40\00:15:07.37
When we look at the
biblical evidence that exists,
00:15:07.40\00:15:11.04
does it tend to
support or contradict the idea
00:15:11.07\00:15:14.71
that God's will is
always being done in the world?
00:15:14.74\00:15:18.81
>>John Peckham: Yeah,
this is a great question
00:15:18.85\00:15:20.45
because it's important to
frame the question this way.
00:15:20.48\00:15:23.45
Because there are some
who believe in determinism
00:15:23.49\00:15:25.85
or deterministic predestination
who will still wanna say
00:15:25.89\00:15:29.46
that humans have free will.
00:15:29.49\00:15:31.23
And you might think immediately,
well, that's rather puzzling
00:15:31.26\00:15:33.50
because isn't
determinism the opposite
00:15:33.53\00:15:35.40
of God granting free will?
00:15:35.43\00:15:37.33
And it is, if you mean by that
00:15:37.37\00:15:38.97
that God grants creatures
free will to do otherwise
00:15:39.00\00:15:41.57
than what He wants them to do.
00:15:41.60\00:15:43.41
So, the real
question is whether God grants
00:15:43.44\00:15:45.81
that kind of free will.
00:15:45.84\00:15:47.18
They have another definition of
free will that, for most of us,
00:15:47.21\00:15:50.08
intuitively doesn't match
up with what freedom means.
00:15:50.11\00:15:51.98
I won't get into
the technicalities
00:15:52.01\00:15:53.42
of that discussion here.
00:15:53.45\00:15:54.95
But the question is,
does God grant us free will
00:15:54.98\00:15:57.12
of the kind that we can
actually depart from His will,
00:15:57.15\00:16:00.99
that we can actually do
otherwise than what He wants?
00:16:01.02\00:16:03.83
And one simple way of asking
and answering that question
00:16:03.86\00:16:06.63
from the Bible is to ask,
00:16:06.66\00:16:08.20
does God always
get what He wants,
00:16:08.23\00:16:10.57
or is God's will
always fulfilled?
00:16:10.60\00:16:13.34
And there are a
number of passages
00:16:13.37\00:16:15.00
that answer that
question clearly.
00:16:15.04\00:16:16.64
So, I wanna look at a few of
them, just three of them here,
00:16:16.67\00:16:19.71
first, beginning
with Luke 7, verse 30.
00:16:19.74\00:16:22.84
>>Eric: "But the
Pharisees and lawyers rejected
00:16:22.88\00:16:24.88
"the will of God for themselves,
00:16:24.91\00:16:26.82
not having been
baptized by him."
00:16:26.85\00:16:29.68
>>John Peckham: So,
you notice in that passage,
00:16:29.72\00:16:31.02
it just says explicitly
00:16:31.05\00:16:32.35
they "rejected the
will of God for themselves."
00:16:32.39\00:16:36.52
And that is one of the primary
Greek terms for "God's will,"
00:16:36.56\00:16:40.56
"boulé," or just for any "will,"
but also used for God's will.
00:16:40.60\00:16:43.80
And they directly
reject God's will.
00:16:43.83\00:16:45.70
So, explicitly in that
text, God's will is not done.
00:16:45.73\00:16:49.04
Then in Matthew 23, verse
37, you have Jesus Himself
00:16:49.07\00:16:53.11
lamenting over
Jerusalem and saying this,
00:16:53.14\00:16:55.41
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
the one who kills the prophets
00:16:55.44\00:16:59.51
"and stones those
who are sent to her!
00:16:59.55\00:17:01.88
"How often I wanted to
gather your children together,
00:17:01.92\00:17:05.09
"as a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings,
00:17:05.12\00:17:07.22
but you were not willing!"
00:17:07.26\00:17:11.23
And in that
verse, that's the other
00:17:11.26\00:17:13.53
primary Greek term in
the New Testament for "will"
00:17:13.56\00:17:15.66
that's used both when it
says "how often I wanted"--
00:17:15.70\00:17:18.73
that's of Jesus' will, "theló"--
"but you were not willing"--
00:17:18.77\00:17:22.77
and that's the
same verb, "theló,"
00:17:22.80\00:17:24.11
just with a negative particle.
00:17:24.14\00:17:25.71
And so, Christ
explicitly wills one thing,
00:17:25.74\00:17:29.14
and they will the opposite.
00:17:29.18\00:17:31.11
So, again, quite
clearly, humans have the ability
00:17:31.15\00:17:33.55
to will otherwise
than God actually prefers.
00:17:33.58\00:17:37.19
And this is nowhere more clear
than when it comes to salvation.
00:17:37.22\00:17:41.22
God wants to save everyone, but
sadly, not everyone is saved.
00:17:41.26\00:17:45.06
We see this in, for
instance, 2 Peter 3:9,
00:17:45.09\00:17:47.40
which is one of my
favorite verses in Scripture.
00:17:47.46\00:17:50.80
>>Eric: "The Lord is not
slack concerning His promise,
00:17:50.83\00:17:53.34
"as some count slackness,
but is longsuffering toward us,
00:17:53.37\00:17:57.27
"not willing
that any should perish
00:17:57.31\00:17:59.21
but that all should
come to repentance."
00:17:59.24\00:18:01.48
>>John: He's not
willing that any should perish.
00:18:01.51\00:18:04.45
And yet, sadly,
tragically, we know that,
00:18:04.48\00:18:06.58
according to Scripture,
some will finally perish
00:18:06.61\00:18:08.82
because they
exercise their free will
00:18:08.85\00:18:10.79
otherwise than God desires.
00:18:10.82\00:18:12.49
So, these are just three
examples of many in Scripture
00:18:12.52\00:18:15.66
that teach very
clearly that many things happen
00:18:15.69\00:18:19.46
that God does
not want to happen.
00:18:19.49\00:18:22.13
That means God has
unfulfilled desires.
00:18:22.16\00:18:24.70
And the only way
that could be possible
00:18:24.73\00:18:27.30
is if humans or other creatures
00:18:27.34\00:18:29.30
are acting differently
than God actually prefers
00:18:29.34\00:18:32.71
that they will act.
00:18:32.74\00:18:34.04
And that's just
explicitly taught in these texts
00:18:34.08\00:18:37.01
and many other
passages of Scripture.
00:18:37.05\00:18:39.65
God wants only good.
00:18:39.68\00:18:41.52
Whenever someone does
evil, that's always an example
00:18:41.55\00:18:44.85
of His unfulfilled will.
00:18:44.89\00:18:47.22
And that's helpful for us
when we think about providence.
00:18:47.26\00:18:49.46
Even if we don't know much
more than that at the beginning,
00:18:49.49\00:18:52.53
we can at least take
confidence in the fact
00:18:52.56\00:18:54.50
that God doesn't want
things to be this way.
00:18:54.56\00:18:57.60
There are so many
people who struggle with evil,
00:18:57.63\00:19:00.44
and they think
of God's providence
00:19:00.47\00:19:01.77
on the one-dimensional
view and they think,
00:19:01.80\00:19:03.10
"Well, why is God doing this?"
Or, "Why is God allowing this?"
00:19:03.14\00:19:06.61
Or, "Is there something
that God is trying to teach me?"
00:19:06.64\00:19:09.48
And while it's true that
God can sometimes bring good
00:19:09.51\00:19:13.65
as a follow-up after
evil, that's not the same thing
00:19:13.68\00:19:18.49
as God Himself causing
the evil or wanting the evil.
00:19:18.52\00:19:21.79
We can be clear that God doesn't
want any of those things,
00:19:21.82\00:19:24.66
and it's not
supposed to be this way.
00:19:24.69\00:19:27.30
>>Eric: So, what would
be some of the dangers,
00:19:27.30\00:19:30.07
the theological
pitfalls of taking the position
00:19:30.10\00:19:34.77
that absolutely
everything that occurs,
00:19:34.80\00:19:37.17
even tragedies, are a
direct result of God's will?
00:19:37.21\00:19:41.94
>>John: Yeah, here
again, I think there's no way
00:19:41.98\00:19:44.55
to escape the conclusion that
it makes God culpable for evil.
00:19:44.58\00:19:49.35
Not only that,
you have the problem
00:19:49.38\00:19:51.72
that this is going
to kind of baptize,
00:19:51.75\00:19:54.79
if you will, all
the kinds of evil things
00:19:54.82\00:19:57.83
that humans and others do.
00:19:57.86\00:19:59.69
And so, you can even look
at the history of the world.
00:19:59.73\00:20:01.70
All kinds of atrocities
are done in God's name,
00:20:01.73\00:20:04.07
and then
whoever's a victor in war
00:20:04.10\00:20:06.60
or in any kind of atrocity,
00:20:06.63\00:20:07.94
well, God must have
been on our side, right?
00:20:07.97\00:20:09.94
Because otherwise
these things wouldn't happen.
00:20:09.97\00:20:11.71
And so, you have a
lot of consequences
00:20:11.74\00:20:14.24
for the way you
think about history,
00:20:14.28\00:20:16.41
the way you
think about providence,
00:20:16.44\00:20:17.85
almost anything is
justifiable because after all,
00:20:17.88\00:20:21.12
it's God's will,
and He would prevent it
00:20:21.15\00:20:24.12
if He didn't want
it to be that way.
00:20:24.15\00:20:25.82
And here I think we need
to introduce a distinction
00:20:25.85\00:20:29.42
between God's ideal will
00:20:29.46\00:20:32.73
and between what we might
call God's remedial will, okay?
00:20:32.76\00:20:36.67
So, sometimes Scripture
speaks as if everything happens
00:20:36.70\00:20:40.84
according to God's will.
00:20:40.87\00:20:42.17
This is one of the teachings,
for example, in Ephesians 1:11,
00:20:42.20\00:20:44.67
talks about God's plan
and how He works all things
00:20:44.71\00:20:47.34
after the counsel of His will.
00:20:47.38\00:20:49.21
How can that be
true at the same time
00:20:49.24\00:20:52.41
that we have all these
passages we already read
00:20:52.45\00:20:54.85
where God often does
not get what He wants?
00:20:54.88\00:20:57.85
His will is
often not accomplished.
00:20:57.89\00:21:00.29
And this is
possible if you recognize
00:21:00.32\00:21:02.22
that sometimes God's
will is talking about
00:21:02.26\00:21:04.29
what He actually
prefers to happen,
00:21:04.33\00:21:06.76
what He would prefer
from any time forward;
00:21:06.80\00:21:08.96
we can call that
God's ideal will.
00:21:09.00\00:21:11.33
And at other times it's
talking about what we might call
00:21:11.37\00:21:13.90
God's remedial will.
00:21:13.94\00:21:15.64
And God's
remedial will is God's will
00:21:15.67\00:21:18.17
that takes into
account other factors,
00:21:18.21\00:21:21.18
including the free
decisions of creatures.
00:21:21.21\00:21:23.55
And so, that will
is not His ideal will
00:21:23.58\00:21:26.31
because creatures
often make bad decisions,
00:21:26.35\00:21:28.65
but then God makes a plan
to bring out the best outcomes,
00:21:28.68\00:21:32.22
given those decisions,
00:21:32.25\00:21:33.56
including their
bad consequences.
00:21:33.59\00:21:35.72
Now, some that are watching
this, they might be familiar
00:21:35.76\00:21:38.56
with some of those
cooking competitions
00:21:38.59\00:21:41.00
that are sometimes on television
00:21:41.03\00:21:42.80
or other places where
you have a number of chefs,
00:21:42.83\00:21:44.93
and they're in a competition.
00:21:44.97\00:21:46.50
And sometimes they're given
a specific set of ingredients
00:21:46.53\00:21:50.54
that they must use. They
can make any dish they want,
00:21:50.57\00:21:52.94
but they have to use
this set of ingredients.
00:21:52.97\00:21:54.44
Then they can
add other ingredients
00:21:54.48\00:21:56.28
and make
whatever dish they want.
00:21:56.31\00:21:58.28
Now, in that analogy,
most of the ingredients
00:21:58.31\00:22:01.32
are gonna be chosen by
them, but there's going to be
00:22:01.35\00:22:02.95
some set of ingredients
that they are not choosing.
00:22:02.98\00:22:05.29
In a somewhat analogous way, if
God grants creatures free will,
00:22:05.32\00:22:08.89
and human decisions
00:22:08.92\00:22:10.26
and other creatures'
decisions have consequences,
00:22:10.29\00:22:12.53
that means there's gonna
be a number of ingredients
00:22:12.56\00:22:14.36
in history, if you will,
00:22:14.40\00:22:15.80
that God
Himself is not choosing.
00:22:15.83\00:22:17.50
And so, in God's remedial will,
He is causing a lot of things,
00:22:17.53\00:22:21.50
and He's adding a lot
of things that He chooses,
00:22:21.54\00:22:23.61
a lot of ingredients,
if you will, to history.
00:22:23.64\00:22:26.04
But there's
also the consequences
00:22:26.07\00:22:27.68
of all the
decisions of creatures,
00:22:27.71\00:22:29.28
including the bad
ones, that are also gonna be
00:22:29.31\00:22:31.68
ingredients in history.
00:22:31.71\00:22:33.01
And here, that is what we
refer to as His remedial will.
00:22:33.05\00:22:36.48
So, we can both say often
His will is not fulfilled,
00:22:36.52\00:22:39.09
if we mean by
that His ideal will,
00:22:39.12\00:22:40.79
and yet His remedial
will, which takes into account
00:22:40.82\00:22:44.03
what creatures will freely do,
00:22:44.06\00:22:45.73
that will
finally be accomplished,
00:22:45.76\00:22:48.03
and God will bring
about the best good
00:22:48.06\00:22:49.86
that can be brought about,
given everything that He knows.
00:22:49.90\00:22:52.50
Now, one example, I
think, of this can be found
00:22:52.53\00:22:54.97
in the story of Joseph.
00:22:55.00\00:22:56.30
And if we read a particular text
there, Genesis, 50 verse 20.
00:22:56.34\00:22:59.81
this text is often interpreted
in a couple different ways,
00:22:59.84\00:23:02.78
but I think we've seen
enough evidence already
00:23:02.81\00:23:04.61
as to which way we
should interpret this passage.
00:23:04.65\00:23:06.95
>>Eric: "But as for you,
you meant evil against me;
00:23:06.98\00:23:09.22
"but God meant it for good,
00:23:09.25\00:23:10.95
"in order to bring it
about as it is this day,
00:23:10.99\00:23:13.59
to save many people alive."
00:23:13.62\00:23:15.82
>>John: So, this is Joseph,
who was actually speaking
00:23:15.86\00:23:18.73
to his brothers after
they come and he's in Egypt.
00:23:18.76\00:23:21.43
He'd been sold into
slavery by his brothers,
00:23:21.46\00:23:23.53
and through a series of
events and God's providence,
00:23:23.57\00:23:25.67
he had been elevated
to be a leader in Egypt
00:23:25.70\00:23:28.24
and actually had
prepared through dreams
00:23:28.27\00:23:30.37
that God had given, and
he's put in place to prepare
00:23:30.41\00:23:33.01
to set aside a
bunch of food for famine
00:23:33.04\00:23:35.54
that ends up
sparing not only Egyptians
00:23:35.58\00:23:37.41
but many surrounding nations,
00:23:37.45\00:23:38.81
including the
covenant people of Israel.
00:23:38.85\00:23:40.95
And so, finally
the brothers come,
00:23:40.98\00:23:42.58
it's revealed who Joseph is,
00:23:42.62\00:23:43.92
and of course, by that time
they've learned their lesson,
00:23:43.95\00:23:46.02
they are repentant,
00:23:46.05\00:23:47.36
and Joseph says this to
them: "You meant it for evil,
00:23:47.39\00:23:49.89
but God meant it for good."
00:23:49.92\00:23:52.39
And you can see God's providence
working in this story,
00:23:52.43\00:23:54.93
that even though
there are evil events,
00:23:54.96\00:23:56.90
like his brother
selling him into slavery,
00:23:56.93\00:23:58.87
God works around
those and with those
00:23:58.90\00:24:01.67
to bring about good in the end.
00:24:01.70\00:24:04.67
Now, there are some determinists
who read this text and say,
00:24:04.71\00:24:06.57
"Oh, this is evidence
that God caused everything."
00:24:06.61\00:24:08.84
But I would say, I
think actually we have
00:24:08.88\00:24:11.48
good reason to
believe the opposite,
00:24:11.51\00:24:12.98
not only because God
doesn't cause evil things,
00:24:13.01\00:24:15.32
but also because God
wouldn't need to work
00:24:15.35\00:24:17.59
in this circuitous way
to save people from a famine
00:24:17.62\00:24:20.69
if He was causing everything.
00:24:20.72\00:24:22.02
He could just
directly provide food,
00:24:22.06\00:24:24.06
if there was no
other impediments,
00:24:24.09\00:24:25.39
or not have a famine.
00:24:25.43\00:24:26.73
He wouldn't need Joseph
to be sold into slavery,
00:24:26.76\00:24:28.73
unless there's a number of other
factors that He is working with.
00:24:28.76\00:24:31.87
And I think the story
itself shows that God is working
00:24:31.90\00:24:34.14
even with the bad decisions,
but then He works to bring about
00:24:34.17\00:24:37.47
the best outcome He
can out of that situation.
00:24:37.51\00:24:40.14
>>Eric: Let's talk for a
moment about omnipotence.
00:24:40.18\00:24:42.71
It's a word that we
regularly associate with God,
00:24:42.74\00:24:45.25
and I think rightly so.
00:24:45.28\00:24:47.15
How do we reconcile
this idea of omnipotence
00:24:47.18\00:24:50.79
with human free will?
00:24:50.82\00:24:55.22
Does God limit His own power,
His own influence on things
00:24:55.26\00:25:01.53
if He is omnipotent,
but there is free will,
00:25:01.56\00:25:03.53
and we've got all these
different dynamics going on?
00:25:03.57\00:25:05.80
>>John: Yeah, so first
we should be clear that
00:25:05.83\00:25:07.84
the Bible does teach
that God is all-powerful.
00:25:07.87\00:25:10.81
So you have text
like Jeremiah 32:17
00:25:10.84\00:25:13.17
that says there is
nothing too difficult for Him.
00:25:13.21\00:25:15.51
You have texts in Revelation
that over and over again
00:25:15.54\00:25:18.31
God is just called the Almighty,
and there's a Greek term,
00:25:18.35\00:25:21.08
"pantokrator," that
just means all-powerful.
00:25:21.12\00:25:24.25
And so, there's no question
about God being all-powerful.
00:25:24.29\00:25:26.72
And yet to the extent that
He grants creatures free will,
00:25:26.76\00:25:30.56
that's going to
morally limit His action.
00:25:30.59\00:25:32.86
Because if God makes a
promise, will He always keep it?
00:25:32.89\00:25:37.53
Of course He will, right?
00:25:37.57\00:25:38.87
In fact, it would
be impossible for Him
00:25:38.90\00:25:41.00
not to keep His promise
because of His character.
00:25:41.04\00:25:43.00
This is just the
teaching of Scripture.
00:25:43.04\00:25:44.81
We can see, for
example, 2 Timothy 2:13.
00:25:44.84\00:25:47.38
>>Eric: "If we are
faithless, He remains faithful;
00:25:47.41\00:25:50.38
He cannot deny Himself."
00:25:50.41\00:25:52.41
>>John: He cannot what?
"He cannot deny Himself."
00:25:52.45\00:25:55.95
So, He cannot do anything
that goes against His nature.
00:25:55.98\00:25:58.19
And His character, His
nature is love. It is goodness.
00:25:58.22\00:26:02.32
The Bible also teaches
very clearly in Titus 1:2
00:26:02.36\00:26:06.76
that God cannot lie.
00:26:06.80\00:26:10.17
And finally in Hebrews
6, verses 16 through 17,
00:26:10.20\00:26:14.17
you have this
statement that effectively says
00:26:14.20\00:26:17.27
that it is impossible
for God to break His promises
00:26:17.31\00:26:21.41
or impossible for God to
lie, given His perfect nature.
00:26:21.44\00:26:25.61
So, this means if God
makes a promise or a commitment,
00:26:25.65\00:26:29.08
His future action is
gonna be morally limited
00:26:29.12\00:26:31.99
in keeping with those
promises or commitments.
00:26:32.02\00:26:35.46
And the God of the Bible is
nothing if not a covenantal God.
00:26:35.49\00:26:38.59
And over and over again,
in Psalm 89 and other places,
00:26:38.63\00:26:41.23
God says, "I will
not break my covenant.
00:26:41.26\00:26:44.50
I will not allow
my word to fail."
00:26:44.53\00:26:47.97
And so, if God makes a
commitment or a promise,
00:26:48.00\00:26:49.97
it's going to
limit His future action.
00:26:50.01\00:26:51.84
That's sometimes
called divine self-limitation,
00:26:51.87\00:26:54.08
but it doesn't
remove His sheer power.
00:26:54.11\00:26:55.48
He still has the power,
but He morally limits Himself
00:26:55.51\00:26:58.58
to act in
accordance with the promises
00:26:58.61\00:27:00.48
and commitments
that He has made.
00:27:00.52\00:27:02.62
>>Eric: So, we have
taken a substantial dive
00:27:02.65\00:27:05.62
into this subject today
00:27:05.65\00:27:07.42
and one that I think
is going to at least spark
00:27:07.46\00:27:11.09
an interest in people to
dig just a little bit deeper
00:27:11.13\00:27:13.76
and go a little further on,
00:27:13.80\00:27:15.66
especially as we
continue our studies
00:27:15.70\00:27:17.73
through this 13-lesson journey.
00:27:17.77\00:27:21.04
But the lesson
doesn't end today.
00:27:21.07\00:27:23.51
The studies don't end today.
00:27:23.54\00:27:25.31
We are continuing on as we
look at God's love and justice
00:27:25.34\00:27:29.98
and how these two concepts,
how these two ideas co-exist
00:27:30.01\00:27:34.68
and how they can help us
to understand more clearly
00:27:34.72\00:27:37.45
that God is indeed a God
of love and a God of justice.
00:27:37.49\00:27:41.09
We're glad that you are
joining us on this journey,
00:27:41.12\00:27:43.39
and we look forward
to having you join us
00:27:43.43\00:27:45.93
once again next week
as we continue delving
00:27:45.96\00:27:49.30
into this incredible subject,
as we continue learning more
00:27:49.33\00:27:52.90
and more about God,
His character of love,
00:27:52.93\00:27:56.50
His power, His justice,
00:27:56.54\00:27:59.87
everything that helps us
to understand who God is.
00:27:59.91\00:28:03.51
And we look forward to
having you join us again
00:28:03.55\00:28:06.38
when we come together next
time here on "Sabbath School,"
00:28:06.41\00:28:09.42
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:28:09.45\00:28:11.42
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