Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Faith, Fatalism and the Great Cop-Out

  1. #1

    Faith, Fatalism and the Great Cop-Out



    Faith, Fatalism and the Great Cop-Out
    By Joe Dallas Published on October 8, 2016
    https://stream.org/faith-fatalism-an...great-cop-out/

    “It is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond!” –
    Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China and Thailand

    There’s faith and then there’s fatalism.

    Faith is a gift (Ephesians 2:8) whereby we trust the promises of God (Galatians 3:6) based on consideration of His nature (Luke 12:28) and abilities. (Hebrews 11:19) It enables our confidence in Him to do what we cannot, without avoiding our commission to do what He’s commanded.

    So the evangelist who’s called to preach first prepares, then delivers, a message. He doesn’t sit back and “trust God” to do the talking. Instead he trusts God to bless the sermon, convicting and drawing people to Him through it. He believes in God to do what he can’t, yet obeys God by doing what he should, thereby exercising both faith and stewardship.

    Fatalism is another matter. Webster defines it as “the belief that what will happen has already been decided and cannot be changed.” It can show up in the conversations of Christians who avoid their responsibilities by saying, “The Lord will take care of that.”

    We Still Have Real Responsibility

    Well, sure, He can. But when we apply that phrase to things we’re responsible to manage, there’s no assurance that He will.

    If I neglect
    to eat the right foods, although the Lord could take care of my body, He probably won’t. I’ll get fat and sickly, not because God can’t take care of me, but rather, because He commissioned the stewardship of my body to me, and I failed.

    God can likewise save my neighbor, but if I’m the one commissioned to share the Good News with him, should I really presume that if I don’t, God will save him anyway? If I refuse to train my children, should I figure God will shape them into responsible citizens despite my negligence? Or, for that matter, if I withdraw from the political process, am I really right in saying, “Well, whoever God wants running the country will wind up running it?”

    Surely God can save my neighbor, shape my offspring, and raise up leaders without me, no argument there. But it’s foolish to count on Him fulfilling commands He gave to me. A Biblical worldview can’t be founded on presumptions that if we neglect God-given responsibilities, He’ll somehow fill the gap and cover for our sloth.

    Is Everything That Happens God’s Will?

    Which raises the question of whether or not everything which happens is God’s will. I don’t for a nanosecond think it is.

    Much of what happens, in fact, is the outcome of man’s wrongdoing, and I think it’s a holy cop-out to say “God allowed it so it must be what He wants.” ...
    This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind, having the understanding darkened...
    (Ephesians 4:17-18)

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
    (Psalm 1)

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to GodismyJudge For This Useful Post:

    Colonel (10-08-2016), Quest (10-10-2016)

  3. #2
    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Oslo, Norway
    Posts
    14,487
    Thanked: 5793
    Quote Originally Posted by GodismyJudge View Post


    Faith, Fatalism and the Great Cop-Out
    By Joe Dallas Published on October 8, 2016
    https://stream.org/faith-fatalism-an...great-cop-out/

    “It is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond!” –
    Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China and Thailand

    There’s faith and then there’s fatalism.

    Faith is a gift (Ephesians 2:8) whereby we trust the promises of God (Galatians 3:6) based on consideration of His nature (Luke 12:28) and abilities. (Hebrews 11:19) It enables our confidence in Him to do what we cannot, without avoiding our commission to do what He’s commanded.

    So the evangelist who’s called to preach first prepares, then delivers, a message. He doesn’t sit back and “trust God” to do the talking. Instead he trusts God to bless the sermon, convicting and drawing people to Him through it. He believes in God to do what he can’t, yet obeys God by doing what he should, thereby exercising both faith and stewardship.

    Fatalism is another matter. Webster defines it as “the belief that what will happen has already been decided and cannot be changed.” It can show up in the conversations of Christians who avoid their responsibilities by saying, “The Lord will take care of that.”
    Faith and fatalism have nothing to do with each other. Faith is specific. When it doesn't have a specific promise from the Word to rely on, it has an understanding of God's character to rely on. When that isn't sufficient, it has the unction of the Holy Spirit to rely on. That unction may be less than a feeling or an emotion, it may be nothing more than a color or direction in the tangible anointing that is there. But it is still real and it is specific.

    Fatalism accepts any result as being of fatalism because it doesn't trust God to do anything at all other than be God and then for God to do whatever he wants. The theistic or Christian version may trust God to preserve his saint but usually nothing more than that. Real faith accepts a result that is according to what has been revealed to faith and which it relies on coming to pass.

  4. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Colonel For This Useful Post:

    GodismyJudge (10-08-2016), Quest (10-10-2016)

  5. #3
    Super Moderator Quest's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Ashville, Alabama
    Posts
    5,920
    Thanked: 3402
    Blog Entries
    2
    Both posts are well stated and I appreciate them..they speak to what the Lord has been leading me into in my 'journey' posts. The church has embraced this fatalism or passivity and, IMHO, it is rooted in self will...I will do what seems right to me and believe it is God unless HE stops me...

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Has your Hyundai Elantra warranty expired? Get a fast online quote from CarWarrantyUS today. Enjoy the open road and leave the repairs to us.