THE THINGS THAT GOD CANNOT DO
Part 1
“Can God make a rock that He cannot move?” How many times have you heard this nonsense question from someone who considers himself to be clever, and thus foolishly believes that in his imaginary brilliance he has stopped the mouths of Christians, and finally settled the existence of God?
God is not a circus performer. He is the Almighty Creator. It is He who sets the questions for men to answer and it is He who holds men accountable. Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? (Romans 9:20)
God has a few questions for you. Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? (Job 4:17) but how shall man be just with God? (Job 9:2) God also makes a statement concerning your foolish reply “If I justify myself mine own mouth shall condemn me:” (Job 9:20) You, who dare question God with foolish questions — answer God’s questions!! Can you make yourself pure and clean? “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.” Job 14:4 “What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?” (Job 15:14) Out of your pride and arrogance, I dare you to say that you are not a sinner! I dare you to say that you can approach an Almighty God in your pride, sin and arrogance. I dare you to say that God will accept you on your terms and conditions —He will not — because God has set and purposed His terms and conditions for you. I dare you to say that God will accept you on your terms and conditions —He will not — because God has set and purposed His terms and His conditions for you.
For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD. Isaiah 55:8
For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9
There are many things that ignorant man mistakenly declares about God, but now in this article I want to concentrate on things that God cannot and will not do. Do not mistaken God’s compassion towards the ungodly for acceptance of the ungodly. Luke 6:35 for he (meaning God) is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Most mankind (the churched and well as the unchurched) know very little about God, nor do they care to delve into the knowledge of the holy. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
We hear very little of God’s hatred and wrath because of the doctrinal and political corruption in the religious world, nor is it acceptable to spiritually deaf people. They say, ‘Tell us about the love of God, write about how God is love.’ We are a people who desire to be cuddled and cradled from birth to death outside the realities of life, and outside the reality of a Righteous God. We crave a God who will wink at our sins (we call sin our shortcomings or mistakes). God is not one dimensional, nor the Santa Claus of gifts and presents, nor the “guy in the sky.” God is not two dimensional, He is not a coin or a piece of paper with two sides, even a piece of paper and a coin has depth. How dare any finite creature take it upon themselves to say what the Almighty God can and cannot do. God cannot and will not lower His standards to fall in line with the ever changing and ever degrading moral standards and values of His sinful creatures. God is beyond all man’s attempt to measure Him, to define Him, to limit Him, to contain Him, and to control Him. He is the Sovereign and Creator of the universe, and we are His creatures, we are His handiwork to show forth His Majesty and His Glory.
To those whose mantra is “God is Love,” and cry out “God is Love” while waving their little posters outside a penitentiary, or outside a church protesting against this issue or that issue using the banner of love only reveals their complete ignorance of God and His Holy Word. Out of 773,692 words in the Bible, they know only 3 little words, and to boot, out of context — golly gee, I’m impressed! I am willing to venture that these same knowledgeable and loved filled individuals would be unable to locate these words if their lives depended on such a harrowing task. So, I totally disregard these willingly lost souls to their delusions of knowledge of the Holy. Yes, God is Love, and the truth of God’s Love of who He loves will be dealt with in another article, but this particular article is solely concerned with the Biblical principle of the things that God cannot / will not do.
Scripture contains principles from the first word to the last word, every chapter contains basic elements that are sometimes repeated to enforce the importance of the principle revealed. These unchanging and absolute principles are presented in a way that all can understand. These principles are foundational in Genesis and come to fruition in the book of the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God the Holy Spirit wrote a book so that all could comprehend. It is not a book of mystery; it is not a book intended to be kept away from the uneducated and opened only to scholars. Just the contrary, it is in a simplistic use of language and a powerful style divinely designed so that all man throughout all ages could understand A universal book for a universal people. From the 1st century to the 21st century seekers of the truth have all been blessed by the Bible, whether in bits and pieces of parchment or by one book, God has kept His Word, True and Faithful.
The following are just a few principles in light of our current subject.
One principle is that Holiness and sin cannot dwell together.
Now, let us address the issue of things that God cannot or will not do.
GOD CANNOT LIE
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)
As God cannot die, He cannot lie. He is incapable of deception; He cannot deny Himself. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:13 It is almost ludicrous that any creature (such as I) should make an attempt to describe the essence of God in human language and thought. God is beyond our total comprehension, how then to describe the very core of the depth of God? because He cannot be dissected and scrutinized. He, who is All in All, Creator and Sovereign of the Universe and all that is within it, cannot deny who He is, cannot deny His attributes, cannot deny Himself for the approval of His creatures. Scripture affirms many times, that He alone is the potter, and we are the clay. He does with us as He wills. This principle is difficult if not impossible for the natural man to understand because he has been trained to believe that he (man) alone is the mover and controller of his own destiny. What is the natural man but foolish and arrogant. It is only through the new birth, that natural man becomes a new man; born into the family of God and thus, a child of God and now with a mind, heart and soul open to God and His Sovereignty.
Yes, God cannot do many things and one thing that He cannot do is to deny Himself. He cannot do anything that is inconsistent to and with His nature — He is Holy, He is Truth, He is Perfection, He is Faithful, He is — and the list goes on and on. He is El Shaddai — God all-sufficient.
“whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.” saith the Lord in Job 41:11a
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJV)
© 2016, Copyright by Mary Haigh
This article may be freely used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
Part 2 of Things That God Cannot Do will follow soon.