It Matters

He already put in motion for me things on the other side of that for my good. My steps are ordained, and I’m so grateful for His ability to do that.

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I’m not a theologian, nor do I care much for religious rhetoric. In fact, I really wish I didn’t find myself muddling through so much frustration regarding religion and church-related issues. I wish I could just sit back and enjoy this time of still being in between churches, but stepping outside of one local body has continued to affect my view, bringing clarity and challenge.

Often, when you stay in one place under one teaching for an extended period of time, though the teaching can be wonderful, your view of the Body as a whole can be skewed, leaving a narrow-minded view.

Taking a fresh look at many different denominations, many flavors of church and seeing the Holy Spirit at work and moving in all of them has been very refreshing and has helped me to examine what I really believe from new perspectives.

One controversy that greatly affects the way we view God and ourselves is the battle between traditional theism versus open theism.

After reading several articles on the subject, it seems that open theism is gaining a lot of ground in many churches across the board, but this has only been a concept in the last decade. You may, like me, be asking, “Well what is that, and why does it matter?” It really does matter what we believe because slight changes can make a huge difference.

My former pastor’s wife often gave the example of an archer hitting the bullseye. She said a slight change in the direction you are pointing your bow can throw off an arrow’s trajectory by miles. We must keep our aim on the target.

Much of what follows comes from a conversation I had with someone who has studied this out. Following that, I confirmed it through other sources.

Theism means that you believe in a god.

Traditional or classical theism is the belief that the Scripture is inerrant and that canonized Scripture is the foundation of our belief system about who God is, who man is, etc.

It holds that God is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere at once), etc… God is bigger than the canonized Scripture; therefore, you can experience things that are extra-biblical, like heavenly experiences, etc., but everything must still be judged against the character and nature of God as found in the canonized Scriptures.

This gives you a target, a true north, a foundation; an unchanging bullseye, when our sights are set on it, will keep us going in the right direction. Since the character and nature of God are unchanging, immovable, eternal, it is a sure foundation upon which to stand.

God is good. God is light. God is love. God is justice. God is jealous. Many, many more unchangeable attributes of God are described in Scripture.

Because God is omniscient, He has the playbook. He wrote the story and already knows the beginning and the end. He is Alpha and Omega: the beginning and the end.

We do have free will in that, but He already knows the choices we will make, and the story from heaven’s viewpoint, though it is still happening, has already happened. We aren’t puppets, and we have relationship with God, but His view is far above those choices.

This is why it was so important for Jesus to fulfill all the prophecies of the Old Testament. There is much about Scripture we don’t understand, but that doesn’t mean they are irrelevant or in error. A classical theist can be ok with new ideas and revelation as long as the foundation is still intact.

Open theism basically says that, though God is ultimately in charge, He can change His mind, thus changing the story, and that our free will holds the playbook. God chooses not to have foreknowledge of our choices, thus leaving the story and how it is played out up to us. Its focus is on a relationship with God, but in that relationship, God is changeable.

This is based on Scriptures where Abraham pleads for God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and the story of Moses changing God’s mind on destroying the Israelites.

I would argue God valued the relationship but still knew the outcome. In fact, many times in my own life, I have felt God has wanted to know what my opinion was on something; however, even allowing my choices, He already put in motion for me things on the other side of that for my good. My steps are ordained, and I’m so grateful for His ability to do that, putting us in the right place at the right time.

Open theism says God doesn’t have to be true to what is in the written canonized Scripture. In essence, His nature is changeable.

There is no true foundation, nothing solid to stand on because it seems they are saying that, though there is God, we are the masters of our own destiny because we have free will.

I agree we have free will, but in the mystery of that, God already orders our steps and weaves His story because He already knows the choices we make. To me, that makes God far greater and wiser than any man controlling his own destiny. In fact, the whole idea reeks of the influence of humanism. “I am my own God.”

Ultimately, if we believe in open theism, we have no bullseye. This can lead to people saying they heard from God to do things contrary to the character and nature of God as outlined in Scripture and it be acceptable.

For example, “God told me to divorce my wife because she’s not on the same spiritual level as I am anymore.” It doesn’t matter that God’s Word says to lay down your life for your wife and love her like Jesus.

Another example might be, “God told me to curse this other church.” It doesn’t matter that God’s Word says not to curse your brother but to love your brother as yourself.

It also leads to no accountability for prophetic words. If I say God told me something but it doesn’t come to pass, then I can just pass the buck back to God, saying that He must have changed His mind.

Never does the consideration come that I may be fallible or may have misunderstood the timing or meaning of what I heard. It leaves no room for the fact that we are in error; therefore, we have no reason to ask for forgiveness and try to make things right. This leads to shattered, disillusioned souls who thought God said but then God changed His mind. Nonsense.

To believe this way opens ourselves up to all manner of deception, twisting, and going far off course.

Last evening, I listened as a gentleman explained that he was concerned for a friend who was ingesting new beliefs that were contrary to Scripture. His friend’s comment was “I don’t care as long as it leads me closer to God.” I’ve heard similar things over and over again recently.

My dear friends, what “god” are we seeking to get close to then? And for what benefit? Ourselves?

Yahweh of the Bible through His Son, Jesus, said in John 14, “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” His commandments, His character, His nature are first and foremost revealed through His Word. If we are going against His Word, then we are going against Yahweh.

I love fresh revelation. I love experiencing a close, intimate relationship with my Creator. But He is still God and still holds all of His unchanging character traits. I love that I have free will, and I’m not made to do things, but I’m also grateful I don’t hold my destiny in my own hands, that He weaves my story together for good and already knows the outcome of my life. When He calls me more than a conqueror, I can trust Him because He already sees me as being that.

Whether a person is in church leadership or not, check what they are saying against the written Word of God. I didn’t for a long time in my walk even though, sometimes, things said from Christian leaders didn’t settle well with me. We cannot afford to do this anymore. What we believe matters!

 

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on wholeheartedwomen.org

Featured Image by Aaron Burden 

The views and opinions expressed by Kingdom Winds Collective Members, authors, and contributors are their own and do not represent the views of Kingdom Winds LLC.

About the Author

I am a beautifully, broken daughter of the King. A mom to three, bride to one, author, artist, but most importantly, lover of Jesus. Come walk with me, as I walk with Him!