Does our lack of faith place limits on God?

[JimB]

I would say that lack of faith/trust puts limits on our ability to receive from God rather than limit the sovereign God from doing what is best.

\o/

 

[Trish1947]

There has been so many new Christians, that have been injured by someone telling them, they must walk by faith, and take this or that, go here or go there. And it turns out to be a total disaster in their life. What some are leaving out is to listen to the council of the Holy Spirit. The answer might be No. Not that God is withholding a thing from us. He knows the details, we don't, and He will give you council, we are to listen to His leadings. But to some, this looks like your not walking by faith, and you most certainly are, if your willing to have the Holy Spirit's leading in your life.

 

[ThankfulServant]

[Trish1947]There has been so many new Christians, that have been injured by someone telling them, they must walk by faith, and take this or that, go here or go there. And it turns out to be a total disaster in their life. What some are leaving out is to listen to the council of the Holy Spirit. The answer might be No. Not that God is withholding a thing from us. He knows the details, we don't, and He will give you council, we are to listen to His leadings. But to some, this looks like your not walking by faith, and you most certainly are, if your willing to have the Holy Spirit's leading in your life.

Thank you Trish.... You have summed it up beautifully

 

[xsynerinc]

I like that..... but.... in light of VW's post which clearly highlighted some of the things that God Himself said He cannot do, I'm not sure how what you said works. Or is it that God can do them but chooses not to? Mmmmm.....

what scenario are you refering to?

1) God can. i have faith. God does.
2) God can. i have faith. God chooses not to.
3) God can. i lack faith. God chooses not to.
4) God can. i lack faith. God is limited.
5) God can. i lack faith. ask for help with lack of faith. God gives. i have faith. God can.
6) other

So if I therefore lack faith in any area, eg. healing, then does that mean God will never heal me? Or will God overlook my lack of faith and heal me anyway?

im in that place.
so i start with the Biblical Truth that i am already healed. that it was done when Jesus hung on the cross. 1pet2:24

i believe in whatever area that we lack.. God gives.. so that our faith in His word is sufficient to bring the desire to pass.


when the man lacked, he said, "i am willing, help my unbelief."

when the woman used the wrong method, Jesus got her in faith when she said, "even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the masters table!"

when we're weak and weary of waiting.. God gives strength and renewed hope.


i believe that as i humble myself under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt me at the proper/due time. 1pet.5:6

 

[inrsoul]

So the crux of the matter is the need to feed your spirit with Faith food... Edify it with what God says about you in the Word!

 

[lismore]

He can do all things. But God does have certain limits:


2. He cannot lie (Hebrews 6:17-19).
5. He cannot save one soul apart from grace and faith in Christ (Romans 3:26; John 3:16).
.

Doesnt think God is limited by anything:

1 Kings 22:20 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die20 there?’ One said this and another that. 22:21 Then a spirit21 stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord22 said, ‘Deceive and overpower him.23 Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 22:23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.

Jeremiah 4:10 In response to all this21 I said, “Ah, Lord God,22 you have surely deceived the people of Judah and Jerusalem.23 You have said, ‘You will be safe.’24 But in fact a sword is already at our throats.

Isaiah 6:6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 6:7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven2

 

[victoryword]

Doesnt think God is limited by anything:

1 Kings 22:20 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die20 there?’ One said this and another that. 22:21 Then a spirit21 stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord22 said, ‘Deceive and overpower him.23 Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 22:23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.

Wow, you know, a lot of skeptics and atheists use that very same Scripture to prove that the Bible is full of contradictions. That way they can declare that the Bible is a man-made book and cannot be the Word of God.

Some Calvinists use the same passage to make a case that all things are controlled by God, inlcuding the actions of men and devils.

It is true that God does use the evil that men propose for His own plans (Acts 2:23; Gen. 50:20), but such should not be considered the norm.

I have learned several rules of Bible interpretation. One of those rules is that all Old Testament Scripture should be interpretted in the light of the New Testament. For example, God says in the New Testament that He does not tempt men to do evil:

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (James 1:13, 14)


​

Scripture must be seen as progressive revelation. The Old Testament writers, though inspired by God, did not have as much light concerning God and His nature as that which is revealed later. Furthermore, some scholars believe that some Old Testament passages are better interpretted in a permissive sense. Rotherham was one of them I believe. I also heard that Young had a handbook stating this though I have never been able to find it.


Understanding the above will keep us from falling into erros concerning God and His nature when we read the Old Testament.

Jeremiah 4:10 In response to all this

21 I said, “Ah, Lord God,22 you have surely deceived the people of Judah and Jerusalem.23 You have said, ‘You will be safe.’24 But in fact a sword is already at our throats.

I think you should keep the Scripture in context. Remember, this is Jeremiah talking, not God. God inspired all Scripture and had everything recorded. That does not mean that He endorsed every statement in the Bible and not every statement can be quoted as a word from God. There are statements recorded by wicked men, by Satan, and by demons. God would not want us quoting those statements as though they were His words.

Jeremiah was complaining here and God had the complaint recorded. This does not make what Jeremiah said to be true.

Isaiah 6:6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 6:7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven2

Not sure about your purpose here. Isaiah did confess his sinfulness here. Such is a prerequisite in order to receive salvation and forgiveness of sin.

 

[Theophilus7]

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Wow, you know, a lot of skeptics and atheists use that very same Scripture to prove that the Bible is full of contradictions. That way they can declare that the Bible is a man-made book and cannot be the Word of God.

Some Calvinists use the same passage to make a case that all things are controlled by God, inlcuding the actions of men and devils.

It is true that God does use the evil that men propose for His own plans (Acts 2:23; Gen. 50:20), but such should not be considered the norm.

I have learned several rules of Bible interpretation. One of those rules is that all Old Testament Scripture should be interpretted in the light of the New Testament. For example, God says in the New Testament that He does not tempt men to do evil:

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (James 1:13, 14)




​

Scripture must be seen as progressive revelation. The Old Testament writers, though inspired by God, did not have as much light concerning God and His nature as that which is revealed later. Furthermore, some scholars believe that some Old Testament passages are better interpretted in a permissive sense. Rotherham was one of them I believe. I also heard that Young had a handbook stating this though I have never been able to find it.



Understanding the above will keep us from falling into erros concerning God and His nature when we read the Old Testament.



I think you should keep the Scripture in context. Remember, this is Jeremiah talking, not God. God inspired all Scripture and had everything recorded. That does not mean that He endorsed every statement in the Bible and not every statement can be quoted as a word from God. There are statements recorded by wicked men, by Satan, and by demons. God would not want us quoting those statements as though they were His words.

Jeremiah was complaining here and God had the complaint recorded. This does not make what Jeremiah said to be true.

Not sure about your purpose here. Isaiah did confess his sinfulness here. Such is a prerequisite in order to receive salvation and forgiveness of sin.

I should like to add to victoryword's thoughts here another concept that may be useful in interpreting these passages. I put it to you that God is willing to harden those who have hardened themselves and to plunge into further deception those who have already given themselves over to error. To the Thessalonians Paul speaks of God sending "a powerful delusion". Why? Because they had persisted in refusing the truth. They were already self-deluded. In another post elsewhere, I wrote the following on the concept of God hardening people, which may be pertinent here:

Many Christians do not think God only selected some for salvation and some for wrath, and would remind the Calvinists that all scripture must be read in the light of other scripture. For exmaple, regarding Pharaoh, the Bible clearly states that he hardened his own heart in Ex. 8:15; 8:32; 9:34. It is in chapter 10:1 that the Bible tells us that God hardened his heart this time. This, I think, illustrates the principle very well: People begin by hardening their own hearts, and there comes a point when God simply finishes them off, as it were, forming them into a vessel of His own design to bear His wrath. They will serve His purpose in this way, even if they were unwilling to serve Him as an act of free will. So God gets all the glory in the end.

Again, the same principle is alluded to in Jeremiah, which ought to create the backdrop for the scripture you quoted, which is in Romans. In the book of Jeremiah, the clay refuses to run in the potter's hands (18:4), so he reworked it into "another vessel" instead - a vessel for wrath and judgement. Because Israel hardened themselves, because they wouldn't run in the potter's hands, the Potter hardened them Himself and reworked them into "another vessel". No one will have the right to say to him, "why did you make me thus?", because God as Creator had the right to do this to those who would not cooperate. After all, He made us, and He owns us. If we will not be used willingly for God's purposes, God can still make use of us in other ways. All things are His.

So you see, the clay is given its chance to freely cooperate - to flow in the Potter's hands and willingly submit to His designs. But when it refuses to do this, God will use it just the same, but it will be a vessel of wrath, and not the vessel of glory He would make of all who would willingly come to Him - "for God is not willing that any should be lost, but that all should come to repentance" (2Pe. 3:9).

 

[victoryword]

I should like to add to victoryword's thoughts here another concept that may be useful in interpreting these passages. I put it to you that God is willing to harden those who have hardened themselves and to plunge into further deception those who have already given themselves over to error. To the Thessalonians Paul speaks of God sending "a powerful delusion". Why? Because they had persisted in refusing the truth. They were already self-deluded. In another post elsewhere, I wrote the following on the concept of God hardening people, which may be pertinent here:

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Excellent Points Theo. Never considered that perspective. Thanks.