Does God tempt us to sin?
In Genesis 22:1, the Hebrew word translated “tempted” is the word nacah, and it means “to test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test.” Because it has so many possible synonyms, we must look to the context and compare it to other passages. As we read the account of the event, we…
Does God make mistakes?
God makes no mistakes. His perfection and greatness disallow mistakes: “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” (Psalm 145:3). In the original language, the word translated “fathom” incorporates the thought of “possible to find out or enumerate.” In other words, God’s greatness is infinite. This statement cannot…
Is God selfish?
The Bible does not directly address the question of whether God is selfish because it probably never occurred to anyone in ancient times to ask it. It is a thoroughly modern question. In recent years, it has become fashionable to accuse God of being selfish, even egotistical. Often, this accusation is leveled by people who…
Is Richard Dawkins’ caricature of the God of the Old Testament accurate?
In his 2006 book The God Delusion, and in countless speeches, Richard Dawkins has said, “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic,…
Why does God allow evil men like Hitler and Saddam to come into power?
The Bible says that God is sovereign. This means that He is ultimately in control of everything, not just some things. He is in control of the weather (Psalm 148:8), life and death (Psalm 104:29-30), and even seemingly inconsequential happenings (Proverbs 16:33). God’s sovereignty extends to the rulers of nations. “Wisdom and power are his.…
Why doesn’t God heal everyone?
It is not always God’s will to heal a person physically. A person may sincerely pray and truly have faith that God can heal, but if it is not God’s will to provide the healing at that time, then no healing will come (see 1 John 5:14). Sometimes God’s blessings come in other ways besides…
If God knew that Satan would rebel, why did He create him?
This is a two-part question. The first part is “Did God know Satan would rebel?” We know from Scripture that God is omniscient, which literally means “all-knowing.” Job 37:16; Psalm 139:2–4, 147:5; Proverbs 5:21; Isaiah 46:9-10; and 1 John 3:19–20 leave no doubt that God’s knowledge is infinite and that He knows everything that has…
Why did God order the killing of people in the Old Testament?
From the beginning, God assigned exceedingly great value to human life: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, NLT). God told Noah that He would “demand an accounting for the life of another human being” because “in…
Why do the wicked prosper?
The prophet Jeremiah grappled with the issue when he asked the Lord: “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts” (Jeremiah 12:1–2).…
Why does God allow the innocent to suffer?
There is so much suffering in the world, and it is felt by everyone to one degree or another. Sometimes, people suffer as the direct result of their own poor choices, sinful actions, or willful irresponsibility; in those cases, we see the truth of Proverbs 13:15, “The way of the treacherous is their ruin” (ESV).…