Posted on 04/15/2008 10:31:33 PM PDT by perfect stranger
Why Did God Allow Adam and Eve to Sin? By Billy Graham, Tribune Media Services Q: Why did God allow Adam and Eve to sin? He must have known what they were going to do, and it seems to me that it would've been better if He had just stopped them. The world was already perfect, so why didn't God keep it that way? I've always wondered about this. -- R.M.
A: The opening chapters of the Bible tell us what happened when Adam and Eve committed the first sin -- but they don't tell us exactly why God allowed it to happen. We must be careful, therefore, not to blame God for something that is ultimately beyond our understanding.
At the same time, the Bible does tell us two very important truths about Adam and Eve's sin. First, it tells us that they were completely free to love God -- or to reject Him. In other words, they weren't robots! God's warning was clear: "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17).
But what if they had been robots -- that is, what if they didn't have any will of their own, and all they could do was love God? Then their "love" for God wouldn't have been love at all -- because love always involves a choice or a decision on our part. God took a great risk in creating them with a free will -- but only then could their love for Him be real.
The other truth the Bible tells us, however, is that while sin's consequences were great -- God's love is even greater. The proof is that He sent His only Son into the world so we could have our sins forgiven. Have you turned to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness and new life you need?
Seems like mankind has paid a heavy price to make a point to Satan and his followers.
Read “A Course in Miracles”.
Keep an open mind and enjoy. The book had a major impact on my life and spiritual program.
Mankind was given a higher status than the angels, though, seems like Satan lost a high prce to sin, and the angels who didn’t sin are amazed that people believe when they cannot see.
I don't have to imagine a sinless life: I can see one in my Lord Jesus. He Is not at all "plant-like".
Sin is decidedly NOT what makes life worth living. I'll gladly relinquish my freedom to sin forever when I meet my Lord face-to-face.
Its simple... “Free Will”.
God could demand our behavior of his laws at all times, and not give man any choice in the matter. Or deny human beings free will. He could simply demand and enforce that we worship him at all times and in all ways... but a gift that’s demanded is no gift at all.
What father has never faced a situation where their child is going to make a bad decision? When they are young, we simply prevent it.. but there comes a time when, we have to quietly sit back and let them err... and its one of the toughest things as a parent you have to do sometimes... but it is done out of love, not spite or anger or a desire to see them fall.. but because there is a time when the absolute protection of the parent must let go so that the child can begin to become who and what they are meant to be.
The question could be expanded. Why did He allow his #2 Lucifer and his followers, to go against Him? This causes me concern, that sin is still possible in Heaven.
I think a better question would be, why did God allow Satan and the fallen angles to sin?
Well, until then....
It would be an interesting study, however, but I still have to believe God knew Israel would reject Jesus, and therefore the next few thousand years of history were in the bag.
Even for non- believers, that would have thrown Nostradamus off his numbers. LOL Then there is those Mayan calender thingies.
Nah, I think I'll stick to plan "A".
There are endless "What if's" you could consider, but I have to trust God that He already knew the outcome before we were even created. What if Jesus asked the Father to let this cup pass from Him and the Father said........"OK". That would have set everything from Genesis on up as gobbelty gook. This is the main reason I believe Jesus was the only "perfect lamb" ever born. No one could have died in our stead and took away our sin, other than Jesus. If even one person could live a sinless life, then Jesus would not have had to die on the cross. There is no flesh that is sinless other than Jesus. It had to be Him.
I suppose if the Jews accepted Jesus then, that would have also thrown the numbers off in Daniel.
God desires all of His attributes to be on display, His omniscience, His glory, His power... Without sin, there would not be a way to display His supreme self sacrificing love.
Perhaps this is the way that God is dealing with the potential of future sin by allowing us to possess the knowledge of good and evil now.
Seven
/sigh... “Free Will”....
It is the astonishingly loving secret hidden since the foundations of the world that God gives His nature to those who will ask Jesus to deliver, to be their deliverer, to 'parent them' into the family of God. Faith is an action word. Paul says plainly that the 'law' was given as a teacher ... teaching the lesson that ONLY God is righteous. The Gospel of God's Grace in Christ Jesus is that His righteousness will be counted for you or for me as we 'faithe' in His promise to us resurrected in Jesus. The law proved just how much we need Grace to have His required righteousness. We cannot have it except by 'faithing' in His promise.
Well said! ... Even Peter, who walked with Jesus and ate with Him following the resurrection, marveled that people believe so fervently yet have not had the intimate experiences with the resurrected Jesus.
Refined, "Liberty".
God did not want us to be robots, he wanted us to love him freely. That free will thing.
God created humankind because He was lonely. He created us in His image, to be "like" Him on some level in many ways. Angels and Satan are not created in His image; they cannot relate to God. Humans, by the very act of being made in God's image can relate to Him. Therefore, how could God not allow Adam and Eve the choice to sin? There is no true "relationship" when one party comes to the relationship by force or by lack of other options.
Watch out, FRiend, a lot of people have been banned when they got into really nasty fights on the Religion Forum over free will vs. Calvinist predestination.
I don’t get your point. Calvinists believe in Free Will.
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