Brethren... Pray for Your Leaders !

The longer I serve as an elder/pastor, the more I realize that no good thing ever happens apart from God’s direct involvment. No person has the power to change a human heart. No one can explain Scripture well enough to convince another person to believe it. No one can hold a diverse group of people together in harmony year after year. Such blessings will be had only if God himself gives them.  A wise man once told me... “if God is in it... it will succeed.”

We are fully dependent on God’s grace and goodness in leading His Kingdom before His return. We can orchestrate no good work, no blessing on our own. This does not mean, however, that blessings cannot be had from the hard work and perseverance of faithful, humble and spiritual men in leadership. On the contrary, Jesus teaches us: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11). This verse can only mean that God will give blessings when his people are faithful and persistent in asking Him.

Personally, I am never more aware of this need to seek Him than when I prepare sermons and preach His Word. I plead to God,asking Him to bless his Word as I proclaim it.  I pray that the message is His and only mine in the sense that I prepared it using His Word as my only source and guide. I pray for insight into his truth, into his people, into what to say and how to say it. I ask him to make His power known in my weaknesses, fumbling and stumbling. Every time, God is gracious far beyond anything I deserve. I shudder to think what would happen if I didn’t ask Him to help me speak His Truth that honors and glorifies Him, not me.

As significant a responsibility as it is to proclaim God’s life giving truths, it is not only the preacher who has responsibility in this work. The church is responsible to prepare for worship, gather together, be attentive and receive with “hearing ears” [and hearts] the truth being spoken. The church also has a significant responsibility to ask for God’s blessing on the man preaching the gospel and the words spoken.  No preacher wants to  feel that his words of truth spoken on behalf of God, go in one ear and out the other of listeners.

Corporate responsibility, shared amongst the flock, for the gifts of preaching is one reason the apostle Paul asked often for prayer from the churches. He requested prayer for success in his proclamation of truth. His requests for prayer were not directed merely to other apostles, or to elders or deacons. They were directed to entire congregations. 

And his requests for prayers were not for personal glory or accolades, but that his words would lead everyone into a deeper stronger walk with Christ. That his words would “stick” and touch the hearts of seekers who would turn and give their lives to Christ.  His words were spoken as are all words spoken by preachers... for the cause of Christ... to seek, inspire and save souls!  

Paul asks the Ephesian church to “Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). To the Thessalonians he says, “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2).

Every believer has a responsibility regarding the proclamation of the truth and the spread of the gospel. It is a responsibility that cannot be met without prayer. When the Word of God abounds and increases in the hearts of people, it is not because one man has prayed, but because many [all] have done so.

“Brethren, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

Is the Church an Autocracy?

There are relatively few church members who push the idea of “benevolent dictatorship” as a God-given model for the church. There are, however, quite a few church leaders who seem to have a strong preference for that model. There are also more than a few church members who are willing to defend it if the particular leader involved has been able to fill the building with people or generate other exciting “results.” Like other forms of church structure, this one needs to be examined in the light of Scripture.

Autocratic leadership is often the default position of churches that reject majority rule after having had it for a significant period of time. Those who have “suffered” under what they perceive as the tyranny of the majority are often ready to give the “right” leader all the responsibility and power just to end whatever it is they want to bring an end to. 

They may have experienced the negative consequences of leadership, in elders and maybe even the preacher-minister, who are not spiritually qualified to lead; or good hearted men but just not effective leaders.  So the congregants begin grumbling as a way of stimulating change, or some other option.  Often, the flock grows tired of the same men in leadership.  They don’t understand why being an elder/pastor should be a role held until the man for health or some other legitimate reason decides to step down.

In other instances, men of less regal character maneuver themselves into the position of full individual authority because they want that kind of power. Churches have various reasons for allowing or even desiring such an arrangement. Those reasons often center on perceived results or simple convenience.

From an earthly perspective, autocratic churches sometimes seem to work well. However, the arrangement is not healthy for the church or for the leader involved. This approach is fraught with danger and should be avoided for the sake of everyone involved.

The Apostle John references one potential result of autocratic leadership in 3 John 9-10. He states, “I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, neither does he himself receive the brethren, and he forbids those who desire to do so, and puts them out of the church.” 

Here was an autocratic leader who was out of control, refusing to be taught, to listen to others, isolating himself from believers and even excommunicating some of the faithful believers, no doubt for challenging him. One may well ask what can be done when a man who has been given all the power takes such a turn. Even with apostolic authority to rebuke this leader, this was clearly a difficult situation for John the Apostle. It was even worse for the church family. The problem might easily have been avoided if the church had refused to allow this man to put himself (or to be put) in a position of such unbalanced power.

The autocratic system of church polity is based on the idea that God has given to each church a single elder at a time. The lead pastor is said to be that exclusive elder. He is given sole elder authority to oversee the entire function of the church.

Elder authority is clearly taught in Scripture. Elders are to have actual power to lead, make decisions and guide the general functioning of the church. What is not established as a standard of Scripture is for this authority to rest on one man only when it is possible to have multiple elders in a single congregation. Churches should pray and work toward having multiple elders who share the responsibility of oversight.

Rule by two or more elders working together in a single church is clearly established as the objective for New Testament churches. James 5:14 says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” James use of the “plural” for elders and the singular for church. These words put together this way can only mean that there were two or more elders in the single church mentioned.

In Philippians 1:1, Paul writes, “Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.”   “Overseer” is a title used interchangeably in Scripture with the term “elder.” The church at Philippi had more than one overseer (a body of leaders distinct from the deacons).

In 1 Timothy 5:7, Timothy is instructed, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.” Since Timothy was the lead pastor of a church, we may conclude that he was receiving instruction on how the elders (plural) were to be treated within the single congregation where he served. (The same situation applies in 1 Timothy 5:19-20). More than one elder per congregation is clearly the expected standard in Scripture.

What if you don’t have any elders?

If a church declines and looses elders for health reasons, job transfers or even death, is it no longer a biblical church when it gets down to one elder? Is it unbiblical to begin a new church with less than two elders? Is it possible for a church to embrace elder rule, but having no biblically qualified elders yet, to be a biblical church in spite of this lack?

The book of Acts provides definitive answers to all of these questions. In Acts 13 and 14, Paul preached in the cities of Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. Many people were saved in those places as God blessed the preaching of the gospel. Since no new convert is ever to be made an elder (1 Timothy 3:6), those new congregations had no elders for a time, Paul had moved on to new places of service without appointing elders, since no one was yet qualified. In Acts 14:21-23, we are told that Paul returned to those same cities and appointed elders for them in every one of their churches. Sufficient time had passed to observe who was gifted and qualified, and elders were appointed. But for a time, these were biblical churches, but had no elders until such time as God blessed those men seeking to serve as spiritual leaders. 

In new churches or struggling churches where no man, or only one man, is qualified to be an elder, the church need not disband or consider itself unbiblical over its lack of two or more elders. Special care must be taken until the leadership can rest on more than one man. This is a challenging time that carries specific dangers for a church. However, this temporary condition is not necessarily sinful. 

Men in the position of being the single elder of a small church must be careful to remain accountable to others within the flock. Seeking input from other biblical churches is a great help. By God’s grace, he carries his people through such times. Churches must trust God as they diligently pray for and seek to have biblically qualified elders to share the leadership load.

There is a significant distinction between a church that temporarily has fewer than two elders and a church that chooses an autocratic system of church government as an intentional objective. 

A period of development for raising up an elder body is a normal part of growth for a new church and may be a necessary part of strengthening an existing church. 

An intentionally autocratic system is not a normal or healthy condition for any church and will be rejected by wise leaders and wise church-members alike.

Is the Church a Democracy?

Is the Church a Democracy?  You know, should congregants vote on such matters as leadership appointments?  Many denominational groups believe the church must operate by congregational vote.  Majority view prevails, and whatever is voted on with a winning percentage of the voters, becomes law within the body or congregation.  

The question though should be... is that the church is designed by God to function by majority rule through the voting of members of the congregation. As the phrase “democratic process” implies, each member in good standing has equal input in decision making. 

Congregational voting among early denominations, dates back at least to the mid-seventeenth century. At that time, most Christian congregations selected their leaders by popular vote. From a human perspective, this is a very long history. But is it long enough?

Is congregational voting the biblical model for church function?

In answering that question, one must distinguish between a consensus and a vote. It is clear that Scripture encourages a consensus among church members. We are commanded to have one mind. Philippians 1:27-28 says, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents.” Having one mind must be the standard for God’s church on matters of doctrine and certainly in the area of leadership.

In the New Testament, we see this pattern worked out in the church at Jerusalem. In Acts 6, when men were selected for the distribution of food to the Hellenistic widows at the recommendation of the apostles, it says, “And the statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch” (Acts 6:5).

This passage clearly indicates congregational involvement. It clearly indicates that there was a consensus, since “the statement found approval with the whole congregation.” It also clearly indicates that a choice was made. What the passage does not mention is that a vote was taken in order to make that choice. Nor was the action initiated by the congregation. That was done by the apostles (men who held their positions without any human vote having taken place).

Churches tend to assume a vote was the means to reaching the consensus in Acts 6, but this assumption does not hold up well under scrutiny. Even when voting takes place, the vote never produces a consensus and seldom reveals one. In practical reality, a congregational vote is a choice of “yes” or “no” to a proposal that has been made. That proposal may not address the concerns of many in the congregation. Discussion is limited to the distilled idea about to be voted on. In casting a vote, the voter is sometimes choosing the lesser of two offensive options and will not be satisfied with any outcome. When the church’s vote is not unanimous, congregational voting may well create disharmony rather than consensus.

Consensus is far more likely to be reached through good communication between leaders and the congregation, without Roberts Rules of Order interfering with open discussion, and without limiting the content of the discussion to a single motion or the duration of the discussion to a single meeting. If a statement finds approval with an entire congregation, the leaders and the people will know it without a democratic process.

In Acts 15, the Jerusalem counsel reached a consensus regarding Gentile believers. Acts 15:22 states, “Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.” This passage, like Acts 6, lacks any statement to indicate that a vote was the means of reaching consensus within the leadership body or the congregation as a whole. They did what seemed good to them as a group. When they had worked through all the questions and reached a consensus, everyone knew it.

Scripture is conspicuously silent on the issue of voting. It was not a part of the cultures of the Old or the New Testament. It was not imposed on those cultures by commands of Scripture, as a good many other concepts were. It is not called for by Scripture. Church voting comes from western tradition, not from Scripture.

To this rather clear reality, many congregations respond that voting is not prohibited, so churches are allowed to use it as a helpful tool. In the absence of a command for churches to vote or not to vote, is there anything in God’s revelation by which one may decide the question?

One consideration is the frequent error of the majority. Throughout the history of ancient Israel it is demonstrated that the majority is often horribly wrong. This is true because the majority of people have not been gifted by God specifically to deal with the demands of leadership or qualified for leadership by the process given by God. As a result, they tend to be led astray (in large groups).

The biblical model for leadership within God’s church involves qualified and tested leaders making decisions on behalf of the body. This does not take place without the body’s involvement, but it does take place without granting equal power to those who have not been biblically qualified as elders. First Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are clear regarding qualifications and duties of these leaders. If equal input is given to those who have not been biblically qualified, the church in question is simply rejecting God’s commands regarding the function of his church.

The reason that voting is absent in Scripture may well be that voting itself is in conflict with the God-given structure for the church. Hebrews 13:17 commands, “Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.” A vote that would remove decision-making responsibility from qualified leaders is in direct opposition to the command of this text.

Majority rule cannot bear the test of a careful study of Scripture. It is a system which stands in opposition to God’s design regarding church leadership and church function. As such, it is a concept that can be gently laid aside by the believer who is willing to test everything by the Word and to adjust his life accordingly.

Judgement Day as reasoned from the Scriptures

Eschatology is a Christian term for the study of the end of history from a religious perspective. Probably more obscure theological text has been written on this topic than on any other belief in Christendom.

The Bible contains many prophecies about the future. The Christian Scriptures (New Testament) in particular talks extensively about the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. This is usually called his "second coming," or "parousia." The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 24, is devoted to this topic, as is much of the book of Revelation, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

Unfortunately, these and various other Biblical passages predicting the future are ambiguous. The events themselves are open to many interpretations. There is no clear indication of either their timing or sequence. Some Christians believe that "millennium" does not mean a time interval of exactly 1,000 years. Rather it refers to a long interval of time. Some Christians interpret events mentioned in the Christian Scriptures as descriptions of real happenings in our future; others interpret them symbolically and/or as events that have already occurred mostly during the first century. 

A lot of denominational strife has resulted from disagreements about end time prophecy. For example, the Millennium, described in Revelation as an important interval lasting for 1000 years when Christ rules, is fractured into many variations based on who is doing the interpretation.  

You have... Historical Premillennialism; Dispensational Premillennialism; Amillennialism; Postmillennialism; Preterism; No Millennialism; Pre-Tribulation Rapture; Post-tribulation Rapture; Mid-Tribulation Rapture; Pre-wrath Rapture; Partial Rapture; and probably more if you search around.  Are you confused?  Why would God cause such confusion about something so important in the future for His followers?  Seems illogical that God would be the cauee of such disharmony (1 Corinthians 14:33).  However man is very capable of clouding simple truth with complex and convoluted theories based on ideas not even found in Scripture.  Everyone who loves the Lord, is affected by what they are taught to believe about Christ’s second coming.  Maybe life’s most compelling question... What will happen when Christ returns?  You cannot be a Christian, a lover of truth without being concerned about future events surrounding Christ’s return and the ominous period known as Judgement.

Growing up, immersed in the study of God’s Word, I was deeply troubled by the concept of God’s Judgement time.  Fearful to say the least. I felt like the deck was stacked against mankind and every little thing you did, intentional and unintentional sins and one’s faithful living, would be recorded – your life in shades of good, bad and works of faith.  You would be judged accordingly.  Your life poured onto a giant scale and weighed to determine your reward of eternal life or something far less appealing.  I thought for a very long time that even knowing the love and mercy of God would not be enough to outweigh the rules of right and wrong, and His righteousness and justice would prevail, and many would be cast into everlasting punishment.

I also thought as many Christians do today, that one by one, billions of souls will be brought before the throne of God. There, the scales of His righteousness and justice would reveal the judgment to be passed on each individual based on a record of one’s life. 

However, as I matured in my faith, and succeeded in clearing my head of the many interpretations of the End Times,  I realized the Bible paints quite a different picture of this fearful period of time, we know as Judgement Day. I strongly believe God’s Word portrays it, not as a terrifying time, but as a time of extraordinary hope and restoration.  Let me explain, because a comprehensive portrait of what Judgement Day will be, is also a revelation of when it will happen. 

At Revelation 20:11-12 we read the apostle John’s description of Judgment Day:   “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”  Who the Judge described herein, is an important aspect of framing the Day as one that brings hope and restoration.

Almighty God, The Father,  is the ultimate Judge of mankind. However, he delegates the actual work of judging. According to Acts 17:31, the apostle Paul said that God  “he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” This appointed Judge is the King Jesus Christ. (John 5:22)  

So to the specific question on every Christians mind... When, does Judgment Day begin? If you ask that question you also need to ask how long will the “Day” lasts?

I see in the book of Revelation, that Judgment Day begins after the war of Armageddon, when Satan’s system on this earth is destroyed and he and his demonic hoards are restrained in an abyss for a thousand years. (Rev.16:14,16; 19:19–20:3)

I do not see Judgment Day as some hurried event lasting say 24 hours, 6 months or even 1 year. I believe it will last a thousand years.

During that thousand-year period, Jesus Christ will “judge the living and the dead.” (2 Tim. 4:1) “The living” will be the survives of the cataclysmic events of His return and the cleansing of earth... Armageddon. (Rev. 7:9-17) The apostle John also saw “the dead . . . standing before the throne” of judgment. As Jesus promised, “those in the memorial tombs will hear [Christ’s] voice and come out” by means of a resurrection. (John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15)  An important question raised earlier... on what basis will everyone be judged?

According to the apostle John’s vision, “scrolls were opened,” and “the dead were judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds.” (Rev. 20:12) Are these scrolls the record of people’s past deeds? No, I do not believe the past will entangle resurrected people restored to life on the New [cleansed] Earth.  

The judgment will not focus on what people did before they died. Is that a defendable assertion?  I think it is.  The Bible says: “because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:7) Those resurrected come to life with a clean slate, so to speak. The scrolls must therefore represent God’s further requirements. 

To live forever, both Armageddon survivors and resurrected ones will have to obey God’s commandments, including whatever new requirements God might reveal during the thousand years. Thus, individuals will be judged on the basis of what they do during the Judgment Day [period].  

We must remember, God never had the opportunity to work with humankind to develop in them the essentials for everlasting eternal life.  I know that sounds a bit odd, but when you build creation with “freedom of choice” you must then offer humanity a sustained period of time to develop the capacity to evaluate situations and determine to make perfect choices.  Adam and Eve cut that process short by their sin.  Therefore, its seems logical and reasonable that during the 1,000 years of earthly peace, without sin and Satan’s influences, all mankind will be able to grow in spiritual strength and fortitude to withstand any threat to their fully developed capacity to make perfect choices.  There is a huge difference between human perfection and making perfect choices that are always in line with God.  Adam and Eve were perfect and never had to die...  but they "skipped class lectures” and didn’t learn the lessons of obedience which always leads to perfect choices. 

If any theological interpretation of God, His Word and His plan to redeem mankind does not recognize the above mentioned necessity, then said theology presents God as a master puppeteer, manipulating mankind into pre-determined and predestined outcomes. 

Judgment Day will give billions of people their first opportunity to learn about God’s will and to conform to it. This means that a large-scale educational work will need to take place. Prophetic of this time period, Isaiah said... ‘the people of the world will learn righteousness.’ (Isaiah 26:9)  However, not everyone will be willing to conform to God’s will. Isaiah 26:10 also says: But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the LORD. These people who are rightly viewed as “wicked” will be terminated [permanently] during the long Judgment [Day] Time.

By the end of Judgment Day, surviving humans will have “come fully to life” as perfect humans. Judgment Day will see the restoration of mankind to its original perfect state. (1 Corinthians 15:24-28) Then a final test will take place.  Seems unfair that humanity would have to endure another go-round with the Devil. 

Satan will be released from his imprisonment and allowed to try to mislead mankind one last time. It will be the same test set before Adam and Eve… who will be your God… who will you serve?  Unlike Adam and Eve, we will know all there is to know… good and evil…. and know the true power structure of the universe.  It feels like God has set this up so its almost impossible to fail. (Revelation 20:3, 7-10) Yet even then, many will make the wrong choice! In the grand finale... those who resist Satan will enjoy the complete fulfillment of the Bible’s promise: “The righteous will possess the earth, and they will live forever on it.”  (Psalm 37:29) 

The forgoing description of Judgment Day, is what the Bible really does say about life on this earth after the return of Christ.  When it begins [not the day or hour] and how long it lasts and its pure and true purpose... a time to build, restore and develop in each lover of God what you might call “perfect choice resilience.”  Judgement Day is not to be feared for it shall be the greatest of blessings to all faithful mankind.

Defeating the Root of Bitterness

Bitterness starts out small.  An offense burrows its way into our hearts. We replay it in our minds, creating deep ruts that will be hard to build back up. We retell our hurts to any available listener, including each sordid detail. We enlist support, pushing us further into our resentment. We hear the offending person's name and cringe.

We decipher the offense as intentional and our offender as full of spite. We look for other reasons, both real or imagined, to dislike our villain. With each new piece of information, we form another layer of bitterness.  

We fool ourselves into thinking no one will know, but anger and resentment have a way of seeping into everything. Resentment is like a beach ball we try to submerge in the water. No matter how valiant our efforts, it pops up with all its vitality, splashing everyone around.

Romans 12:18 says, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." So how can we do that? How can we prevent bitterness from moving into our hearts? How can we deal with our feelings instead of letting them grow into bitterness?

Know that God requires forgiveness. God knew it would not always be possible to live at peace with some people. That's why Romans 12:18 says, "If it is possible …" But God does require that we forgive others (Ephesians 4:32).

This is where the rubber meets the road. Our lack of forgiveness is why we choose to hold onto bitterness, letting it ripen into full grown resentment. While it looks like we are unable to forgive, sometimes we need to face that very fact... we are unwilling.

In the parable of the man who was forgiven a great debt (Matthew 18:24-35), we see the forgiven man immediately demands payment from someone who owes him a fraction of what he himself owed. Though he was shown mercy and grace, he was unwilling to extend it even in a small way.

Understand that we are to forgive because we are forgiven. You can discern a person is trapped when their first response is, "You don't understand what they did to me."

We may not understand, but Jesus Christ does. He lived a perfect life, but was beaten, mocked, spit on, and hung on a wooden cross to die a cruel death. Yet, John 3:16 says that he loved the world enough to go through the torture and finally death on the cross. Sometimes we mistakenly think he died only for us, but when he died, he died for the world—including whoever offended you. We are told to forgive others just as Christ forgave us. Do they deserve it? No. Do we deserve it? Again, no. But still, he hung on that cursed cross because of his love for each of us.

When we have an unforgiving spirit, our eyes are not on him; they are fixed on ourselves. Once when I'd been hurt, I told God, "Someone should pay for this." And in his kind, loving, tender way he said to me... "I paid."

Pray for those you can't forgive.  Pray for yourself, that you will forgive. God already knows what's going on inside of you. He knows your thoughts and he knows how the other person hurt you. He is your witness.

We don't have the capability in ourselves to easily forgive others. But God can empower us to forgive those who have hurt us (Philippians 4:13).  Rely on His power, depend on His strength.

With a blank piece of paper before you, ask God to bring to mind anyone you need to forgive. If you recall a name or two or ten, start praying for those on your list. Keep a journal dedicated to this prayerful purpose.  Pray every day until you feel the bitterness and resentment you've been holding onto melt away.  You may even discover that you cannot recall with clarity the wrong that was done to you.

You will find it is impossible to be unforgiving toward those you are praying for. It's not easy to start praying for them; it's one of the hardest things you will ever do. But when you make that person an object of prayer, you open the door of your heart a little wider so that God can come in and begin to soften your hardened heart, melting the icy resentment and roots of bitterness that are there.

God is in control. What does it mean?

“No worries, God is in control.” It’s a phrase we use often, mostly as an easy excuse when something goes wrong. “God is in control,” we say when someone dies; when we lose our job; when our health fails; when something doesn’t workout the way we expected or wanted.

But what does it really mean when we say this?  Do we mean that God controls every decision, every event; every single thing that happens?  Is God a puppeteer, controlling every aspect of our lives? The color of the socks I wear, the speed of the cyclone, the actions of my boss?

That thinking falls inline with Muslim theology. Inshallah. Nothing happens without the direct, intervening hand of Allah, willing it to be as it is.

But Christians don’t believe this, or should not believe such a view of God. We hold firmly to the power of free-will, personal choice. We are free to decide how we spend our money, how we drive our cars, who we marry, what career path we follow, and the everyday choices we make... some good ones and some not so good.

So herein lies the thorny theological paradox. How does God’s sovereignty and human free–will interact? It’s a debate that’s older than time. Paul in his all-over-the-place discussion of this as it applies to salvation of the Jews and Gentiles, declares it a mystery and proclaims: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out!!” (Romans 11:33)  So what exactly does this phrase mean? Here’s what we can be sure of:

1. God is not controlling. God does not control us. He does not give us free–will then take it away by predetermining our choices. He offers us blessing and cursing, life and death. He gives us options. He says; ‘Stay faithful to the covenant life’, but doesn’t hit us over the head with a sledgehammer when we don’t.

2. Not everything that happens is God’s will.  If everything that ever happened on earth was God’s will, there would be no reason to pray; “Your will be done on earth as it heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). Much of what we see here on earth are not God’s choices for humanity. Earth is not heaven and is certainly in harmony with God’s plan at this point in time. Sometimes I think using this phrase can be dangerous. It can lead us to blame God and avert taking our own responsibility for the choices and decisions we make.

So,  if I chose to drink and drive a car while intoxicated, and some is seriously injured,  was God in control of that?  If I don’t pay my bills on time, recklessly spending away my money on luxuries and go bankrupt, saddled with crippling debt, was God in control of that?  If I don’t resolve the failings of my relational behaviors, learn to manage my anger, and my marriage falls apart as a consequence, was that God’s doing?

Maybe it would be a good idea to re-work that statement a little. I wonder if we should change the default line from “God is in control” to; “God is always good. He is always able to bring good from any situation as we trust him.”

Yes, his awe-inspiring, miraculous and mysterious, all-knowing sovereignty means while I make my choices and they have consequences, a life consecrated to God means that my not so good choices and unfortunate consequences can bring glory to Him.  

How is that possible?  When we stay faithful to God through our failings in life, not blaming Him, persevering, knowing things will get better because He promises as much, then we can endure our “self-inflicted”  hardships brought on by pride, self-assurance and our fumbling weaknesses, and God, His ways, His promises, are raised up above ourselves and He and His way is glorified. 

It means that when people do wrong to us and the consequences of those decisions fall upon us, we don’t miss out on His favor. We bear no grudge, no root of bitterness forms, and no matter what happens to us that is outside God’s perfect will, he is able make all things work together for those who love him.  

God does not control humans, nor does he manipulate them into doing things that would we counter to His love and desire for us to experience peace.  He persuades us through his Word and Guidance to live and act in ways that protect us from making choices that can be harmful to us. Keep on Keepin’ on... the path to glory.

If God knows our free will choices, do we really have free will?

I've always been puzzled by the notion held by some people that if God knows what we are going to choose in the future, then we really don't have free will.  We are little more than pre-programed robots.

They say that if God knows we are going to make a certain "free will" choice, then when it is time for us to make that choice, God already knows what we are going to choose. Therefore we are not really free to make a different choice, change our minds, and God's foreknowledge of events big and small, means we really don’t have freedom of choice at all. 

Quite honestly, I do not see this as being a legitimate theological issue. Let me explain. Let's work with the basis that we are “free-will creatures” and that God knows all things, even our future choices. Furthermore, let's define free will as the ability to make choices, reverse direction, change our minds, regardless of a person's sinful nature. Given these conditions, is God's omniscience and our free will incompatible, as those who claim God does not know all things before they happen?

By analogy, knowing what will happen does not mean that we are preventing or causing that thing to happen. The sun will rise tomorrow. I am not causing it to rise, nor am I preventing it from rising by knowing that it will happen. Maybe a more human illustration... if I put a bowl of ice-cream and a bowl of cauliflower in front of a child, [they sort of alike] you know without much debate which one is chosen – the ice cream. Knowing an expected outcome ahead of time does not restrict a child from making a free choice when the time comes. 

Logically, God knowing what we are going to do does not mean that we can't do something else. It means that God simply knows what we have chosen to do ahead of time. Our freedom is not restricted by God's foreknowledge. Our freedom of choice is simply realized by God ahead of our action. In this, our natural ability to make another choice has not been removed any more than my choice of what to write and how to write this article is controlled by God, word for word.  Before typing any part of this text, I pondered which words to write. My pondering was my doing, and the choice of words was mine. How then was I somehow restricted in freedom when choosing what to write if God knew what I was going to do? No matter what choice we freely make, it can be known by God, and His knowing it doesn't mean we aren't making a free choice.

Part of the issue here is the nature of time. If the future exists for God even as the present does, then God is consistently in all places at all times and is not restricted by time. This would mean that time (as we know and understand time) was not a part of His nature, to which God is subject and that God is not a linear entity, that is, it would mean that God is not restricted to operating in our time realm and is not restricted to the present only. 

If God is not restricted to existence in the present, our present, then the future is known by God because God indwells the future as well as the present (and the past). This would mean that our future choices, as free as they are, are simply known by God, not pre-programmed choices and outcomes. Again, our ability to choose is not altered or lessened by God existing in the future and knowing what we freely choose. It just means that God can see what we will freely choose, and therefore knows what our choice will be.

Scripturally, God inhabits eternity. Psalm 90:2 says, "Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.  But this verse, and others, do not declare that God lives inside or outside of time. 

Rather, the Bible tells us that God is eternal. The Bible teaches that God has no beginning or end. Nevertheless, the Scriptures are not definitive on this issue, and we can only conclude what they do say, namely, that God is eternal, without beginning, without end and that He can accurately and precisely predict what will happen.  "As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place," (Dan. 2:29).

We can reasonably conclude from our limited understanding of God’s nature that time, as we know it, is not applicable to God's nature. In other words, God has no beginning, and since "beginning" deals with a logical event in time, God is outside of time.  Essentially, time has no relevance to God, while time is man’s enemy, up to the return of Christ when eternal life becomes a reality for the faithful.  So, in relation to our free will and God's predictive ability, there is no Biblical reason to assert that God's foreknowledge negates our freedom of choice.

Furthermore, there is no logical reason to claim that if God knows what choices we are going to make, that it means we are not free. It just means that the free choices we will make are made independent of any cosmic manipulation or coercion... they are just known ahead of time by God. 

If we choose something different, then that choice will have been eternally known by God. Furthermore, this knowledge by God does not alter our nature in that it does not change what we are--free to make choices. God's knowledge is necessarily complete and exhaustive because that is His nature... to know all things. 

Why? Because God always knows all things: " . . . God is greater than our heart, and knows all things," (1 John 3:20).