And now the LORD says,
Who formed Me
from the womb
to be His Servant,
to bring Jacob
back to Him,
so that Israel is
gathered to Him
(For I shall be
glorious in the eyes
of the LORD,
and My God shall be
My Strength)
Isaiah 49:5
Isaiah writes the inspired words of God to the people of Israel, and this writing has been held complete, lacking nothing, for all people to read especially those of Spiritual Israel, the Church of God, the called out ones, those chosen before the foundation of the world. Jesus is the Servant of God and is the means for God to accomplish His purpose to have a holy people living for an eternity with Him and all that He plans for those people. Yet, so many people, even in the circles of theologians have views and theories that are opposed to the Scriptures and must be acknowledged for what they are and from that knowledge be able to defend the faith. This ideology, and theology that man is endowed with the power to produce effects is absolutely true, this I would agree with as we have a rational mind. Some theologians and philosophers theorize that there are no such things as physical forces outside of God, the ever operating will of God, therefore, the our mind is apart, (separate yet controlled by God), from the the mind that created it, and furthermore there is no efficiency in the universe unless God in His continued Providence puts forth that efficiency. It is true that cause has the power to produce effects. The one doing the causing is the one doing the effects. Man has the power to cause, therefore it is man producing the effects. It is not to be assumed that God does not by His Providence control all effects, but God is not the author of all causes. God may decree a certain event or cause, but a decree is not the cause. If God decreed, which He did, that death would come to Adam, and all his progeny if he sinned, and he did sin, was not caused by God, rather by Adam's own nature, the ability to choose right from wrong. It was the cause of Adam that death entered God's creation. God is not the author of death or of evil. Causation of man is due to his consciousness of efficiency. Carefully I tread at this point so that you do not mistake what is being said; The mind is not all that there is and is the only thing that exists and is the only causation of events in the universe, this is not true. An example will aid: Our mind is a cause, every sentient individual would admit to that fact, it is to be found in our experiences. but because the mind is a cause does not give proof that electricity may not be a cause.
Why, and how, do I come to that conclusion that there are different causes? Are we not conscious of efficiency, the power to produce effects? Yes! When we exercise this power to produce effects our intuition rises to the occasion and gives credence to the fact that every effect must have an appropriate cause. The law of reason when applied to the various effects of different kinds refer to the fact that there are different causes of different kinds. Man will and does assume that physical causes account for physical effects. Why then do some philosophers and some theologians choose to ignore the reality of cause and effect and admit only that God is the sole cause of all events? First and foremost, it is a way of escape from those difficulties of life and the most difficult question of God's relation to the world. Devoted men of God have had difficulty with this question(s), such as, what is matter, and what is force; they attempt then to merge these questions into God. It is unthinkable that the Sovereign God, the Good God, has in His Will that certain things are permitted and are according to His decrees. Remember this fact, not all things are done according to God's pleasure even if His patience exists and is in control of all things, sin is not His permission. We are sinful, totally depraved, and we cause effects that are not in harmony with His will, but God did not cause us to do that which is displeasing to Him, we cause, and there are effects; God will take all effects, no matter the cause, and work out His will and purpose without usurping our nature. God is not the only agent in the universe, there are angels, demons, and Satan; further, there is us. By the very constitution of our nature, which we cannot altar, we can observe the universe and believe in its reality, that there are forces within this universe, even if we cannot understand such forces, as we cannot understand the mind of God and how He through His Providence, acts upon and controls such forces, for His purpose and our good, yet we know and we attribute that Sovereign Providence to God.
Lastly, to admit that there is only efficiency in the mind is to admit that the only Mind, that creator of the mind, is God, making God then the author and cause of all effects. We can conveniently leave our responsibility at the foot of God. Whatever causes and effects that we produce are only due from the efficiency of God working through us. How nice, that is, we can do what we want, what we desire, and blame God for all that occurs, both the good and the wrong. We shout, God made me do this, or that Satan made me do that, and you have no control over those causes and effects, therefore, it is not you doing either good or bad, it is those other forces. Go about your life, leave God out of the picture, that is that He gave to man the ability to make decisions even in their Total Depravity. The only decision that man cannot make from Himself is salvation. That is the work of God, that is the Biblical position, and man has not the power to choose God unless God draws him and enable him. If you are drawn to God, enabled by God you will know it for all that you do in life is from the knowledge of Him and the power of the Holy Spirit operating in you. Lean on Him, not on your own understanding in regards to salvation, but do not remove your responsibility that man has been given in regards to everyday events, you are the cause of the effects that occur. When those causes of effects that are sinful, repent, turn around, God is faithful to forgive true repentance. It is this Sovereign God who is Love, and that Love was shown to us in the Person of Jesus Christ. True children, chosen by God become devoted to Jesus Christ. Their lives change for the better as they become sanctified in this life. Do not follow those false philosophers, and those false teachers and pastors who admit only that God is the cause of all effects. That false teaching will lead to lives that are not in harmony with Scripture and the will of God.
The LORD was ready
to save me;
therefore we will sing
my songs with stringed
instruments all the days
of our life, in the
house of the LORD.
Isaiah 38:20; cf. Psalm 23:6
Delight In Him
Richard L. Crumb
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