Free Will – Is God evil to Judge as in apostle Paul’s case?
No!
Please consider:
Here’s another example
Not quite in the case of Paul either, the Bible says something else.
Namely, apostle Paul was given that messenger of Satan in the flesh to “buffet him” (for his own good due to his own weakness in the flesh).
That’s why Scripture maintains that God didn’t remove it, because it Was for Paul’s own “Good” (NOT evil, implying God didn’t DO evil) as it is written:
“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me– to keep me from exalting myself!” (2 Corinthians 12:7)
The “Good” is so that apostle Paul doesn’t “exalt himself” causing his own fall. God “allowed” that “Judgment” (evil, 1 Corinthians 10:13) from Satan for “Good”. God did not “do” that evil but “allowed” it agreeing to Isaiah 45:7, with 1 Corinthians 10:13 & James 1:13 too.
It’s a different case from the “evil” not accounted for in ‘any’ of the verses you have quoted namely, the “evil” which has “no purpose” But just creation’s will to do that Evil such as a “rape or murder”.
It matters to see these distinctions for these are different cases & God never “does” evil (James 1:13) & that case is creation’s free will to be judged for it (Ecclesiastes 3:17) too.
To view all as one case is a common shallow Fallacy and misconception contradicting especially James 1:13.
As apostle James warned, “Do not be deceived” (James 1;16) by thinking otherwise.
Apostle Paul’s free will is not meant by determining the thorn in the flesh but that he could exalt himself.
If apostle Paul did not have free will, then God could have just removed his ability or choice to exalt himself instead of causing an external influence to judge or buffet him. The external influence to keep him at bay instead of forcing a change from within Paul itself proves Paul’s free will in his action (to become proud) but not free from the consequence of his choice which leads to “Judgment” Thus explaining the reason of control given.
Why doesn’t God do likewise to all as He did to apostle Paul then?
That’s a simple answer, it’s not monotonically homogeneous for God to do such for all.
He has His reasons and will reveal it on Judgment Day why He intervened on Paul’s case but not in all cases likewise.
Create evil is what’s written in Isaiah 45;7 and not do evil.
The inability to see the definition to this level of accuracy causes the misunderstanding.
By creating evil, He gives a choice and freedom for creation to do evil without Judging or stopping the evil done immediately (the meaning & limitation of “free” in free will). Creation will be judged later for it.
How to understand evil with regards to God’s Ways?
His ways regarding evil are defined by James 1:13, 1 Corinthians 10:13 and Isaiah 45:7 too where He “creates” (a choice due to it) and “allows” (its action to be carried out by Creation’s free will choice, 1 Corinthians 10:13) with no influence of His on it (James 1:13, not to be confused ‘with Judgment verses’, a different case) & judges creation accordingly for it even for their own influence toward each other on it (Matthew 7:21, Ecclesiastes 3:17)
If all things operate according to the counsel of his will then man so-called choosing to do evil is also God’s will. Right?
Nope. This is another common Fallacy.
That verse proves that He does His Will to correct evil done despite evil done by Creation and not through creation’s evil as commonly erred in understanding simply because creation’s evil is not His Influence nor His Action as written in James 1:13 but only His Allowance agreeing to 1 Corinthians 10:13.
As even Job understood evil with regards to God “creating & allowing” it but “not that God does it” Even whilst facing tremendous evil as it is written:
“In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1:22)
Influence of Evil is NOT from God (please read James 1:13 carefully to understand this).
Influence to do evil exists (yes, but it’s from other creation, Satan or Spiritual wickedness in the spirit realm, Ephesians 6:12, Psalm 82 & 2 Corinthians 4:4 – the source of evil by their exercising of their will with “no” influence from God either upon them, James 1:13).
Influence doesn’t eliminate creation’s responsibility over its own actions to do evil because it’s not allowed beyond its choice to do it (1 Corinthians 10:13) assures this always though we cannot see it & those who do the evil always lie (or claim otherwise) to make them look helpless or innocent so they can blame it on God or their mental illness (I was such before too) just to escape the consequence of their actions deceiving those who believe them.
I will rather stick to Scriptural facts “as it is written”.
I have nothing more to say, it’s all clear.
Thank you for the cool dialogue too presenting both sides of the view sir, cheers
We are “free” to disagree (free will there) .
How about the official definition of free will?
That definition Doesn’t bother me as I see it with the way described in Verses quoted & explanations given here.
Their own rendering of it unaffects what’s discussed here.
How about men being slave to sin when committing sin?
Slave to sin when committing sin and Not to God
Slave to God only if one does God’s Will which consists of “no” evil.
Sin is not obeying God’s Will nor fulfilling God’s Will but being against it by choice of our own imperfections and actions (free will clearly implied here, again).
To be delivered from our ‘free will’ to do ‘evil or sin’ permanently, we need Christ our Saviour to set us ‘free’ from this ‘bondage of corruption (serving sin, evil)’ due to this temporal ‘vanity’ as it is written too (Thanks be to God our Saviour for that):
“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:20 – 21)
*True freedom is ‘freedom from sin’ and not ‘freedom to sin’ as ‘vanity of free will teaches’
