“God is in control of everything” There is perhaps no more damaging lie than the belief that God is in control of everything and that he is the reason everything happens. You hear stuff like this all time: “I got cancer but God is sovereign. He permitted this to happen to teach me something.” “God took my baby. I guess he needed another angel in heaven.” “I lost my job. Perhaps God took it because I was enjoying it too much.” Statements like these are ignorant. How many people did Jesus give cancer to? How many people did he rob or kill? Jesus did none of these things yet some think his Father does them on a regular basis. Jesus went around healing the sick, raising the dead, and preaching good news to the poor. If God were making people poor, sick, or dead, then the Father and the Son are a house divided. But he isn’t and they’re not. If God was in control of everything, then he would be responsible for all the evil in our world – all the wars, killings, disease and destruction. But contrary to what some misguided souls in the Old Testament might claim, God is not the author of evil. In him there is no shadow at all. The Bible never says God is in control. Instead, it says stuff like this: We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. (1 Jn 5:19) Much of the world is under the influence of evil. It remains captive to what the New Testament writers called “the power of darkness.” Yes, Satan was defeated and disarmed at the cross, but his influence persists wherever the light of the gospel is not seen. The problem with thinking “God is in control” is it makes us passive spectators in the ride of life. We’ll just sit there and take whatever life hands us saying, “C’est la vie. God is in control. It’ll work out.” Can you imagine how short the New Testament would be if Jesus and the apostles believed that? The truth is that God is not in control of everything. The good news is that his sphere of influence increases as we, his children, shine in a dark world. He has given us his authority to resist the devil and his evil influence. We have been empowered to heal the sick, raise the dead, drive out demons and otherwise reveal the gospel of his kingdom in dark places. So....when do we start??
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 03:05:42 +0000
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