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On the advice of another poster, thought I'd start this thread that kind of began in another thread to see what other people think. The original issue was about a non-believer who was married to a believer just to give you a little background on why it came up. Here is the original postings, chime in on your thoughts...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reformed Liberal
Stay in there. You were meant to be together, God made it that way, it is His will. He is working on you through your marriage.
Posted by Buckeye in SC I find this comment quite interesting, and I'm not just picking on you, I hear it from a lot of other people too. But I struggle and don't always think that is true as you say it is that regardless of our decisions, it's God's will that they were meant to be together. I think that God works through our wrong decisions to make the most of where we are if we seek His guidance afterwards, but I don't necessarily think that it was God's intention to begin with - to me that's part of having free will.
Without knowing much about this marriage it's hard to really speak much on whether they should or shouldn't have gotten married. But the Bible is quite clear when it says that a believer should be equally yoked to another believer in marriage, now if his wife knowingly married this guy who is not a Christian, then there are consequences that result i.e. what this guy is dealing with now and I'm sure the wife is dealing with some hard issues as well. If she got married, then became a believer, well that's a different story.
All that said, I'm not saying that God can't and won't work in their marriage, but there is a chance that the guy won't ever become a believer and that their marriage will always have this wall in it. B/c when we don't follow Christ and what the Bible says there are consequences that result from our decisions. I personally don't know how I could be married to someone who was not a believer having become a follower of Christ while I was single - marriage is hard enough w/out having to deal w/a different set of values, beliefs, etc. constantly between partners.
Location: In the North Idaho woods, still surrounded by terriers
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If this were not in the Christian forum, but in the religion & philospohy forum instead, I would be more inclined to reply. I have opinions but I am not Christian so I hesitate to say a lot on the topic here.
Suffice to say...no, "god" did not will the bridge to collapse, and the people who died as a result of it were not chosen by "god" to die. It was their time to pass over, and the bridge collapsed due to human error.
If this were not in the Christian forum, but in the religion & philospohy forum instead, I would be more inclined to reply. I have opinions but I am not Christian so I hesitate to say a lot on the topic here.
Suffice to say...no, "god" did not will the bridge to collapse, and the people who died as a result of it were not chosen by "god" to die. It was their time to pass over, and the bridge collapsed due to human error.
Well you are wrong but since you are not a Christian then those words will fall on deaf ears.
I revert back to His sovereignty - if He is sovereign, there can be nothing that occurs without His will being accomplished.
Romans 8:28 is used to describe the walk of the believer, Isa 45:7 is on a grander scale; but the bottom line is He has all of eternity to bring fruit from what we see as evil or calamity.
I personally do not believe that everything that happens is God's will, but rather that He will use mistakes that we make and our shortcomings for His Glory. God knows us for who we are and even when we stray, even though He does not wish for us to do so, He can help us to see things in a better light based on the situation at hand.
Case in point:
A 21 year old has stumbled and no longer attends church, that 21 year old is engaging in premarital sex with their boyfriend. The 21 year old gets pregnant and realizes that it is time to grow up and stop living in sin. The 21 year old begins to go back to church and reconnects with other Christians, she realizes that the path she was on led to distruction and is very thankful that she did get pregnant, because she probably would never have come to this realization in time had she not gotten pregnant.
The 21 year old continues to grow closer to God, has her child, marries her boyfriend and ceases to live in sin.
Was it's God's will that the 21 year old engage in premarital sex?
I don't believe so, but His will was accomplished because one of His lost sheep came home!
It's called His Sovereign will as little elmer pointed out so accurately. If God is is ALWAYS in control, then didn't He know that bridge would fall and if He knew, then He could have stopped it but He chose not to. Why?
He MAY OR MAY NOT have caused that bridge to collapse but He DID allow it. So how is that not God's will?
I personally do not believe that everything that happens is God's will, but rather that He will use mistakes that we make and our shortcomings for His Glory. God knows us for who we are and even when we stray, even though He does not wish for us to do so, He can help us to see things in a better light based on the situation at hand.
Case in point:
A 21 year old has stumbled and no longer attends church, that 21 year old is engaging in premarital sex with their boyfriend. The 21 year old gets pregnant and realizes that it is time to grow up and stop living in sin. The 21 year old begins to go back to church and reconnects with other Christians, she realizes that the path she was on led to distruction and is very thankful that she did get pregnant, because she probably would never have come to this realization in time had she not gotten pregnant.
The 21 year old continues to grow closer to God, has her child, marries her boyfriend and ceases to live in sin.
Was it's God's will that the 21 year old engage in premarital sex?
I don't believe so, but His will was accomplished because one of His lost sheep came home!
A couple of cases I consider:
1) A powerful man commits murder to steal the wife. She then marries the murderer/adulterer. A baby is stillborn in payment for their sin. A second baby is born to the couple:
They called him Solomon, and the Lord loved him. (2 Sam 12:24)
2) Two separately married Christians work in an office. Their affair lasts for years. The unknowing spouses suffer in silence. A child is conceived from the relationship:
They called him "little elmer", and the Lord loved him.
The product of our sin isn't what we bring from it, but rather what He does with the content. The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. (Prov 16:33)
Location: In the North Idaho woods, still surrounded by terriers
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Reformed Liberal
Well you are wrong but since you are not a Christian then those words will fall on deaf ears.
Ah, but you see, that's only your opinion. Instead of simply stating "You are wrong" (I believe I am right) and assuming you need not present your position is what tells me that you are the one with deaf ears.
Ah, but you see, that's only your opinion. Instead of simply stating "You are wrong" (I believe I am right) and assuming you need not present your position is what tells me that you are the one with deaf ears.
Actually you are wrong because you are not a Christian and know nothing of God, His nature, His desire nor His sovereign will. It's the bible's opinion.
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