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THE FOURFOLD WILL OF THE SOVEREIGN GOD (Part One) By Bob Myhan Can an individual know the will of God? Can the will of God be defeated? Are tragic accidents and birth defects the will of God? The answer to these questions depends on what one means by "the will of God." There are at least four aspects to God’s will—His ideal will, incidental will, circumstantial will and ultimate will. GOD'S IDEAL WILL This is what God desires man to be and/or do as the ideal. It is God’s “ideal will” that no human being ever sin, even one time. In Genesis we read, Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Gen. 2:15-17) God did not want Adam and Eve to ever eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Likewise, God desires that Christians never sin. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. (1 John 2:1) God desires that all men fear and obey Him always. This, in fact, is the reason man was created. Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.... Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. (Eccl. 7:29; 12:13) To deny that this is God’s “ideal will” would be to impugn God's holiness. To defeat God’s ideal will is to sin. Man can—and does—defeat the ideal will of God. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). (To be continued) Who Needs To Obey The Gospel? By Kenneth E. Thomas The "great" or "worldwide commission" as given by Jesus Christ Himself, assumes the fact that "every" (responsible) creature" is in need of Christ and the gospel which He gave its power by His life, death, resurrection and exaltation to the Father’s right hand where even now He rules as both Lord and Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 2:32-36; 17:30-31) Not fully realizing this causes some to make such statements as the following: "Balancing Out the Scales of Life" A good friend of mine made a statement to me recently which is the occasion behind this lesson. He said as best as I can recall "I think I’ll be alright with the Lord since the good that I’ve done probably outweighs the bad." While I will have to admit that my friend does indeed do a lot of good things for his fellow man, what he and others must come to accept is that the sins we have committed are not offset by the good that we may have done. Goodness nor good deeds will not erase the effects of even one sin, it takes the shed blood of Jesus Christ, "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Also, one must learn how and when this precious blood is applied to one’s sin stained soul before that blood will cleanse. Every one who has reached the proper mental capability to make conscious choices, has sinned and is in need of "obeying the gospel" (Romans 3:10, 23; Ecclesiastes 7:20; James 1:13-15; 1 John 3-4; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10). 1. Devout Jews needed the gospel (Acts 2:5, 22-38, 40-41, 47). 2. A queen’s treasurer, who worshiped God, needed the gospel (Acts 8:26-39). 3. A devout God fearing Gentile who gave much alms to the people had to send for Peter who would tell him words whereby he and His house would be saved (Acts 10:1-4; Acts 11:14). 4. A devout Pharisee who tried to destroy the church of Christ needed the gospel (Acts 9:1-6; 22:16; Romans 6:3-6). 5. Some, who were taught wrong and baptized with an outdated baptism, needed to be taught and baptized properly (Acts 19:1-7). 6. Idol worshipers, although "very religious," had to learn of the one true God and His Son as well as the judgment to come, had to repent and believe the gospel of Christ (Acts 17:22-31). 7. If you haven't, YOU too need to hear, believe, repent, and confess faith in Jesus as the Son of God and be immersed into Christ to have your sins forgiven. NOW! (Titus 3:3-5) &
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