Beth-El Baptist Church

01/06/2008

Greg Tomlinson


How could an all powerful and all knowing God create men that would sin?


There are many people who have a great difficulty in believing, trusting, and loving God seeing that the Bible teaches that God is all knowing and all powerful but created men that He must have known would sin against Him. Could a God that truly knew that man would sin truly be a real God and worthy of honor, praise and worship?


  1. What about the creation of man would help us to understand God's view of man?

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7-8, 16-18 Psalm 100:1-5

Isaiah 45:18


Unlike any other creature that God created, man was created in the “image” and the “likeness” of God Himself. We were created to be like Him in nature and character as well as physically. We are the height of His creation. We were given His commands and He created a companion (helper) that was comparable or compatible with the man. We were created to praise and to serve Him because only He is worthy of praise and honor. All of creation was created for man. The earth was created to be inhabited, the planets to give us ability to keep time. The animals for food and help in many ways. God looks lovingly upon man and desires the best for him.


  1. Did God know that man would sin against Him?

Revelation 13:8; 17:8 Matthew 13:34-35; 25:33-34, 41

John 2:23-25; 10:14-18, 27-30; 17:24-26 Ephesians 1:3-6

Hebrews 9:24-28 1 Peter 1:18-21


The scriptures are very clear that even before the earth was created, God knew that a salvation plan would be necessary in order to save men that he would be creating. He established the plan and decreed those that would be saved. Note that before the foundation of the world, the book of life (believers) was already written.


  1. Is it possible to know that God actually loves the created man?

1 John 3:16-18; 20:31 Deuteronomy 8:2-3; 13:1-5; 30:19-20

John 3:16; 14:28-31; 17:25-26 Psalm 40:16-17; 97:10-11;

Romans 8:28-33; 9:22-23 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

2 Corinthians 5:14-18 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12

1 John 5:12-13


It is very possible to know that God actually loves the created man. It is God that loved us enough to allow us to sin against Him so that He could demonstrate the greatness of His love through the forgiveness of sins. If it were impossible for man to sin against God, there would be no true love of God toward man but He would be selfish. God desires man to obey out of pure heart of love toward God and not out of compulsion. While it is true that man can only love God as God intervenes in the life of man and enables man to obey. This only shows the greater depth of God's love in that He knows that man is by nature a sinner against Him and yet He loves man enough to help them to love Him even as God loves the man.


  1. How does God's love for man relate to our ability to sin against Him?

Hebrews 12:7-11 John 14:15-17; 15:10-12

1 John 5:2-4 1 Peter 2:21

Joshua 24:15 Judges 2:20-23

Psalm 51:1-6


It is God's love toward man that allowed man to sin against God in order to demonstrate man's great need for God. As man recognizes that he is personally responsible before a holy, righteous, just, and perfect God against whom man has greatly sinned, the reality of that love will drive the forgiven sinner closer to God and love Him more because of the forgiveness of sins.



Summary:


God created men that could and would sin against Him in order to demonstrate the true depth of His love. It was not God that CAUSED men to sin, but it was God that ALLOWED men to sin. Man chose, and continues to choose, to sin against God because of the reality of selfishness, evil, and desires that are contrary to God's will in the heart of man. God's love for man was great enough that he allowed man to depart from Him and it is great enough that He is willing to overcome their frailty and give to them life. The reality of God's loving kindness is found not only in God's willingness to be merciful, gracious, and forgiving but also in God's willingness to allow man to “choose life or death”.