Cancel Your Plans: God Has Something Better for You

Freedom comes with responsibility.

Parabol

 

IF YOU ASK me, one of the great mysteries of human existence is the tension between freedom and the sovereignty of God. I have strong opinions on the matter, but even the most studied scholars would be foolish to claim they've unraveled the matter in totality; the wisest among humans is still a fool compared to God.

Some sects claim free will is an illusion. God controls everything like a master puppeteer or perhaps a computer programmer. Though it seems like we can decide things for ourselves, we can't.

Others reside on the opposite end of the spectrum. They say God does not intervene or regulate anything in our reality. Everything is up to us.

One Reason for Encouragement in Dark Times

God can restore all things.

Ben Hershey

If you've ever started reading the book of Job but neglected to finish the book, you're doing yourself a serious disservice.

The last chapter is the most critical.

In then end, what happens? God restores Job. He doubles his fortune, he blesses him with more children, and Job lives a long, happy life.

This resolution is crucial because it demonstrates the divine, omnipotent power of God to set things right. To our modern sensibilities, the last chapter of Job might sound too neat. It might seem like some sort of deus ex machina—an unrealistic ending to the story.

Why Didn't God Create a Sinless Reality from the Beginning?

Simon Matzinger

Did you know I write a monthly article for email subscribers?

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This month we discussed a deep philosophical question I'm probably unqualified to answer. Nevertheless, I took a stab at it and even included an awkward middle school story. What could be better?

Here's a snippet:

If, as I asserted last month, we humans will be sinless yet have free will intact when we go to heaven, why didn't God simply create such a reality from the beginning?

The short answer is this: It's not possible. 

Whoa, are you saying something is not possible for God? 

To achieve the end result God desires, yes, it's not possible. Hear me out. 

The first fact we have to establish is that created beings cannot be perfect. I know what you're thinking, Didn't we establish last month that we will become perfect? Yes, but here I mean perfect in the way God is perfect. That is, omniscient, omnipotent, and so on. 

To put it another way: any created being must be a non god. 

Why? Because by definition, God is not created. 

Why is it important to establish this fact?

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Is Sin Possible in Heaven? No, Not If You're Perfect

If you're new around here, you might be interested to know I write a monthly article just for my email subscribers.

This month we wondered about the possibility for free will and sinlessness to coexist in the context of heaven. Or, worded in a less obtuse manner, we asked, Is Sin Possible in Heaven?

Johannes Plenio

But rather than just tell you about it, here's a short excerpt from the piece:

To answer the question we turn back to Revelation. In the twenty-first chapter, right after the defeat of Satan and the final judgment, Scripture tells us that "[God] will wipe away every tear from [his people's] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev. 21:4).

This verse provides a definitive answer to our question: sin is an impossibility in heaven. Were sin possible, mourning and crying and pain would surely still take place. 

Therefore, we must ask, How? 

How is it possible for created, limited beings to have both free will and never sin? 

This answer is a bit murkier, but scripture does provide us with several clues and explanations. 

But before we dive in too deep though, I must confess something.

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Will We Have Free Will in Heaven?

Nghia Lee

Did you know I write a monthly article for my email subscribers?

These are just like regular posts on this blog, but for members only. (It's a pretty elite club!)

Anyway, this month I wondered whether we will have free will when we get to heaven. Here's a snippet:

A couple of years ago, my dad and I met for breakfast at a diner in the early morning. At that time we were meeting once a month, and we would discuss anything from sports to parenting, from politics to money. But inevitably Dad would ask me about my writing. I'd tell him what chapter I was on or which subject I was turning over in my mind. 

As a former pastor, he always has good insight into ministry and theology. And on this particular late summer morning, while we ate our eggs and toast, we came up with a doozy of a question. Will we have free will in heaven? I believe the question arose from a discussion of some of the concepts pastor Daniel Sweet and I were writing about in The Last Lessons of Christ. 

And, of course, the question behind the question: If we do have free will in heaven, doesn't that open the door for sin?

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