Cc32. Is God the Great Causer of All Things?

Does God Cause Everything? 

What Does Free Will TRULY Mean? 

Download this study to read OFFLINE.

Does God Cause Everything?

Where in the Bible itself does it say that God is the Great Causer of All Things?

Here is a quote from an article that one of my readers sent to me, asking for my opinion. The emphasis is mine.

God does know, because God is the great Causer of all things which you, or I or your friend will ever do. The same is true for every other person who lives, has lived or who ever will live.

If any of us has an uncaused ‘free’ will, then why are we told:

Proverbs 16:1. The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Here is my understanding that refutes that false teaching of Calvinism and Reformed Theology.

When Christians follow teachings of the many church denominations, then they form their own thoughts and beliefs based upon the teachings of that particular church denomination.

Like it or not, they are “indoctrinating” themselves to that particular belief, which is why I started this Bible study with the question, “Where in the Bible itself does it say that God is the Great Causer of All Things?”

There is absolutely no such words or phrases as “God is the great cause of all things” found anywhere in the Bible.

Therefore, that misguided understanding is an "interpretation” of the Scriptures, such as the one quoted above in Proverbs 16:1.

So, let us read the context to learn what that verse is actually intended to be understood in the light of the whole word of Almighty God.

For you see, other verses like James 1:13-16, clearly teach us that God does NOT cause us to SIN.

James 1:13-16.

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man: 

James 1:14. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 

James 1:15. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. 

James 1:16. Do not err, my beloved brethren.”

Now, I could end this study right here and now, but I want you to see this same TRUTH in James 1:13-16 is also being taught in Proverbs 16:1, when you correctly understand that verse in the light of its CONTEXT.

Proverbs 16:1-9.

“The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. (In other words, what is the ANSWER to an evil heart filled with PRIDE?

Jesus said that from the “abundance” of the heart the mouth speaks. 

“Luke 6:45. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth SPEAKS.”

And thus, the evil man brings forth evil, and the righteous bring forth good, if they fill their heart with the answers that are from Yahweh, and NOT with the answers that are from Satan.

In other words, God’s ENEMY is also preparing the hearts of men to be made in his own image, and that is why God created the Son to destroy the works of the Devil) 

Proverbs 16:2. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weighs the spirits. (Why would Yahweh even bother to weigh the spirits if He is the supposed cause of all evil in the world?

Also, the Hebrew word “translated” as weighs can just as easily have been translated as, “...but Yahweh BALANCES and EQUALIZES the spirits” Therefore,)

Proverbs 16:3. Commit your works unto the LORD, and your thoughts shall be established. (Now, God instructs us in His word for us to COMMIT our works unto Him. And the action of obeying God directing us is our own choice, our own “WILL”.

Jesus even said to his God and Father, not MY will, but Your will be done.

Jesus was given the freedom to choose to call a legion from heaven to deliver him, but he CHOSE to submit his own will to his God and Father to obey what Yahweh asked him to do.

The Hebrew word “translated” as established also means to BE FIXED. 

In other words, God desires to fix the evil thoughts in the hearts of men by creating in us a NEW heart.

So then, in TRUTH, God is in the process of ADJUSTING the evil thoughts in men’s hearts by way of each individual person waking up to COMMIT their life into the hands of Yahweh, so that He can DESTROY the works of the Devil in the lives of men) 

Proverbs 16:4. The LORD has made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. (First of all, the English word “THINGS” is not in the Hebrew text.

And thus, a more correct translation and understanding is that Yahweh made the ALL for Himself.

And since the context is speaking about the hearts of men, then Yahweh made all MEN for Himself.

And Psalm 8:1-6 tells us the very reason for WHY God made man and the Son of Man. So, please read the study called Psalm 8:5 Jesus Was Made a Little Lower Than the Elohim!

But God’s ENEMY sowed the TARES to choke and kill the wheat.

Now, the word “evil” in the Bible literally means the exact opposite of what God DESIRES. 

A good example of this is that the 10 spies in Numbers 13:32 brought back an EVIL report saying that they could not take the land, when God told them to go and take the land. 

But the 2 spies who brought back a GOOD report were the only two people of age 20 that entered into the land promised to them by God.

So then, the Day of evil is referring to the final Day of Judgment when the WICKED shall be destroyed in the Lake of Fire.

And, according to Ezekiel 18:32, and Ezekiel 33:11, God takes NO PLEASURE in the death of sinners.

But rather, God is PLEADING with sinners to turn from their wicked ways so that they can LIVE. Read the whole context of those two passages of Scripture)

Proverbs 16:5. Every one that is PROUD in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. (Now, an abomination is DISPLEASING to Yahweh, which again proves that Yahweh is NOT the great so-called “causer” of all things. 

For you see, God does all things for His PLEASURE, according to Ephesians 1:4-11. 

And again that proves that God did NOT create evil and darkness. 

Please read the study called Isaiah 45:7 Did God Create Evil?

For you see, the CONTEXT is about God NOT creating the earth void and without form)

Proverbs 16:6. By mercy and Truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. (So then, the PREPARATIONS of the heart to PURGE men from evil and to reverence Yahweh so that men will DEPART from evil is FORM Yahweh.

But all of the EVIL thoughts of men’s hearts are are form God’s ENEMY, Satan, the Devil)

Proverbs 16:7. When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Do the WICKED ways of man PLEASE Yahweh?

No! Absolutely NOT! And thus, God is NOT the CAUSE of the wicked ways of man, Satan is)

Proverbs 16:8. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.(In other words, it is better to be poor and walk in righteousness than to be “fithly” rich and walk in unrighteousness) 

Proverbs 16:9. A man's heart devises his way: but the LORD DIRECTS his steps.”

In other words, God desires ALL men to be saved and that NONE should perish, which is why God PREPARES the heart and gives is the ANSWER upon the lips, of those of us who SEEK Him and COMMIT our lives into His hands, to speak His DELIVERANCE from the dominion of sin.

You see, God can DIRECT us to obey His word, but that does not mean that all men will OBEY the directing of God in their life.

Before we continue examining this Calvinitic, Reformed Theology article let’s look at some verses that clearly teach “free will”.

1 Chronicles 29:17.

“I know also, my God, that You try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy Your people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto You.?

1 Corinthians 9:17.  

“For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”

One more verse for now that teaches free will and our freedom to choose to do good or to do evil.

1 Peter 5:2.

“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;”

The word “willingly” is found 25 times in the King James Version of the Bible, which you can look up for yourself.

Here is another quote from the article sent to me to read and give my opinion.

Your friend and all orthodox Christianity denies this truth. Here is how they would rewrite God’s Word. “The Lord has created all things good and man’s free will has created evil men forcing upon God a ‘day of evil.'” This lie of the Dragon and the beast which is within your friend and within all orthodox Christianity, denies the Truth of this next scripture also:

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me [ where is anything about man’s fabled ‘free’ will in these verses?]:
Isaiah 45:6. That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. [ Where is this ‘free’ will?]
Isaiah 45:7. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Now, I already have a full in-depth study on Isaiah 45:7, which clearly shows that this verse was incorrectly translated.

And thus, it should have been translated as follows:

The CORRECT translation of Isaiah 45:7.

“I form the LIGHT, and CUT DOWN darkness: I make PEACE, and CUT DOWN evil: I Yahweh do all these things.”

You can click on the following link to read the study showing WHY I came to this conclusion.

Isaiah 45:7 Did God Create Evil?

For now, let us move on to the next argument presented in that article on God being the great Causer of all things. 

The emphasis highlighted in green is mine. And the comment is Times Roman font are mine as well.

In the National Cathedral, immediately following the bombing of the World Trade Towers, Dr. Billy Graham, a man many Christians consider to be one of the most prominent spiritual men of our day, proclaimed before all the world that Isaiah 45:7 was a lie. 

“God does not create evil!” proclaimed Dr. Graham. (I absolutely agree that Isaiah is incorrectly “translated”, and thus, that incorrect translation is a deception and lie influenced by Satan, the god of this present age)

I for one choose to believe God’s Word over the words of Dr. Graham and over the words of all orthodox Christian ministers. 

But I choose so for the same reason they choose not to believe those words of God. 

You and your friend and I and all of orthodox Christianity, believe what we believe because “the preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” 

It is definitely not from some unscriptural ‘free’ human will. 

Man’s will is so easily influenced because we were created so weak and carnal. 

Yes, that is how we were created “in the Potter’s hand.”

Before we get into my explaining the correct understanding of the following verses, notice that he admits that man has a WILL and that man’s WILL is easily INFLUENCED.

And I agree, that Satan is the greatest DECEIVER, who has deceived the whole world, according to Revelation 12:9.

It is NOT Almighty God the Creator who influences man to be DECEIVED as the Muslims teach in their Quran.

Psalm 51:5. Behold, I was shapen [“In the Potter’s hand] in iniquity; and in sin did my mother [Creator] conceive me.

Again, I already have an in-depth study on Psalm 51:5 showing that it is a Prophecy of Jesus praying to his God and Father after perceiving that the Scriptures testify of him as being the Messiah.

Here is the correct translation and understanding of Psalm 51:5.

Psalm 51:4,5 being correctly translated by the Holy Spirit! 

“Only, I BEAR (Or I ALONE BEAR) the evil done in Your sight: THAT (Or so THAT or in order THAT) You mightest be justified when You speak, and be CLEAR when You judge. 

Psalm 51:5. Behold, I (Messiah, Jesus) am to BEAR the PUNISHMENT of INIQUITY; and FOR the PUNISHMENT of SIN did my mother conceive me.” 

When you look up the meanings of the Hebrew word that is translated in the KJV as “shaped”, you will find that it also means to BEAR. Behold, I am to BEAR iniquity.

Here is how the concordance in E-Sword defines this Hebrew word.

H2342

חִיל    חוּל

chûl    chı̂yl

khool, kheel

A primitive root; properly to twist or whirl (in a circular or spiral manner), that is, (specifically) to dance, to writhe in pain (especially of parturition) or fear; figuratively to wait, to pervert: - bear, (make to) bring forth, (make to) calve, dance, drive away, fall grievously (with pain), fear, form, great, grieve, (be) grievous, hope, look, make, be in pain, be much (sore) pained, rest, shake, shapen, (be) sorrow (-ful), stay, tarry, travail (with pain), tremble, trust, wait carefully (patiently), be wounded.

And Jesus was indeed wounded for our transgression to BEAR our iniquities, as in, to bear the PUNISHMENT of iniquity, which is DEATH. 

When I saw these other meanings, I was impressed by the Holy Spirit to look up the meanings of the Hebrew word translated as “iniquity”, and here is what I found.

H5771

עָווֹן    עָוֹן

‛âvôn    ‛âvôn

aw-vone', aw-vone'

From H5753; perversity, that is, (moral) evil: - fault, iniquity, mischief, punishment (of iniquity), sin.

And Jesus did indeed bear the PUNISHMENT for our iniquities.

Now, some Christians may argue that you cannot pick and choose which meaning fits your own belief. 

And I say, why not, for you see, that is what all translators of the Bible do, if we are truly honest with ourselves and with God. 

They pick and choose which meaning fits what they BELIEVE.

My main point is that Psalm 51:5 does NOT say, “Behold, ALL HUMANS are shaped in iniquity…” But yet, Calvinist Christians, Reformed Theology Christians, and Christadelphian Christians READ INTO Psalm 51:5 to mean that ALL humans are shaped in iniquity. 

The pronouns “I” and “me” do not mean every single human being.

And to me, neither was David nor Jesus brought forth from the womb to be SINNERS. 

For you see, the VERY NEXT verse teaches us that God desires TRUTH in the inward parts. 

And, to me, that speaks of God’s NEW creation of new creatures prophesied to be created in Psalm 102:18.

And here is the link to the study so you can see how I came to this understanding by allowing God to correct the man-made understanding of that verse of Scripture.

Psalm 51 is a PROPHECY of Jesus Making RECONCILIATION for SIN!

Now, I do not yet have a study on Jeremiah 18:1-6, so I will write a brief study right now after we read through the following Calvinistic understanding of this passage of Scripture.

The emphasis is the Calvinistic Christians bolding and underlining.

Jeremiah 18:1-6.

Jeremiah 18:1. The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Jeremiah 18:2. Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

Jeremiah 18:3. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

Jeremiah 18:4. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Jeremiah 18:5. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Jeremiah 18:6. O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Your friend and all of orthodox Christianity would answer, ‘Absolutely not!’ to the Great Potter. 

‘What are you saying? Are you saying we are nothing but a puppet on a string?’, is their constant retort to this question by a Potter who informs them that they are deliberately marred in His hand. (Now, in all honesty, would a human potter DELIBERATELY damage the vessel he is making just so that he can destroy that vessel and then make a new vessel out of the same clay? 

No! Absolutely NOT! And thus, the correct understanding is that the vessel being MARRED was never INTENDED by the potter.

But after seeing the flaws in the vessel the DISPLEASED the patter, then the potter chose to make a NEW vessel. 

And as the potter made a NEW vessel, so also is God making whosoever believes in Jesus a NEW creation created in Jesus Christ)

But what says the Great Potter to man’s beastly claim to some fabled ‘free will?’ 

Is man indeed a ‘puppet on a string?’ No, the Great Potter gives man no such dignity as a puppet: 

“Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”

First of all, God is using an illustration as a picture to show us hidden prophecies of Jesus.

In other words, God used a human potter to teach Jeremiah the prophet something.

Jeremiah is a figure of Jesus.

The name Jeremiah means to rise. And when you research the root words, then you can see the full meaning of the name Jeremiah as being; “he who shall be raised and set on high or highly exalted”, which is a picture of Jesus, the Messiah, after the cross and resurrection.

To say this another way, God was teaching his future Messiah, which we know is Jesus, that He, Almighty God, the Father is going to create a new creation of righteous people in His Messiah.

Let me see if I can explain this a little simpler by being the Creator’s voice speaking to Jesus.

“Jesus, my Son, you have just seen how the potter was not pleased with the vessel of clay that he was making.

You saw how the potter reshaped the clay with his hands until he was pleased with how the vessel turned out.

The whole house of Israel is likened to clay in My hands and I am not pleased with them.

So Jesus, go to the house of Israel and say;

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

So then, the passage of Scripture in Jeremiah 18:1-6 is about the house of Israel and NOT about every single human being in the whole world.

Dr. Billy Graham, Hank Hanagraff, Pastor Adrian Rogers, Pat Roberston, Paul Crouch and all of God’s widely acclaimed ‘great men of God’ need to get with God and inform Him of their ‘free will,’ which God just seems to have forgotten about in all these and all other scriptures that appear in His Word on this subject.

Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

Again, all false teachings are based upon verse taken out of their context.

There are two different groups of people or men being spoken of here is Jeremiah chapter 10.

In Jeremiah 10:1, Yahweh is talking to Jeremiah to go and speak with the house of Israel, which is a specific group of people and not every human being.

In Jeremiah 10:2, Yahweh is saying to Israel to NOT LEARN the way of the heathens, which clearly teaches us that we are not BORN totally depraved as some Christian wrongly teach.

Then in verse 8 we see that THEY, the pagan idol worshippers are vain in THEIR understanding. So do not LEARN THEIR ways.

And in Jeremiah 10:16, we see Yahweh saying that the portion of the people who are Jacob are NOT LIKE THEM.

Jerermiah 10:16.  

“The portion of Jacob is NOT like THEM: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.” 

Jeremiah 10:21.

“For the pastors have BECOME brutish, (And NOT the pastors were BORN brutish) and have not sought the LORD: therefore, they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.”

Now, with the context in mind, let’s read verse 24 again in the light of the mercy and grace of God UNDERSTANDING that man is not as TRULY as himself when man LEARNS the ways of the heather to direct his own way.

In other words, God understands that man BECOMES deceived and He desires to CORRECT our ways when we STRAY from His way.

Jeremiah 10:23-25.

“Jeremiah 10:23  O LORD, I know (Or I UNDERSTAND) that the way of man is not in  himself: (Or is not truly himself) it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 

Jeremiah 10:24. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing. 

Jeremiah 10:25. Pour out Your fury upon the heathen that know You not, and upon the families that call NOT on Your name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.”

So again no, this verse in Jeremiah 10:23 does not teach that Almighty God is the great CAUSER of all evil as the writer of this article I am quoting from CLAIMS.

Let’s move on to his next argument for BLAMING God for all the evil in the world.

Again orthodox Christianity argues with their own Creator that ‘It IS in man himself to choose what steps he will take. 

It IS in man to freely decide whether to obey God.’ What happened to that orthodox Christian teaching of man’s ‘free will’ here in this verse? 

Where is the scripture for such a doctrine? Is it to be found in these Words of Truth?

Proverbs 20:24. Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

Proverbs 21:1. The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

No, it is not in those verses either. So where is the scripture for the doctrine of the free will of man? Surely here is a verse which proves beyond any doubt that God has given man a free will:

Again, the context of Proverbs 20:24 is about corrupt men and not the GOOD men that Job 23:10-12 teaches us about.

Job 23:10-12.

“Job 23:10. But He knows the way that I take: when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 

Job 23:11. My foot has held His steps, His way have I kept, and not declined. 

Job 23:12. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”

And Yahweh tells Satan to consider Job who is RIGHTEOUS and eschews evil.

Job 1:1.

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”

Again, in the context of Proverbs 21:1 we read in verse 16 that men WANDER out of the way.

“The man that WANDERS out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.”

Now, do not CORRUPT the word of God by trying to use verse 16 to wrongly teach that is a Christians sins even ONE time, then they will remain DEAD in their sin.

My point is that to CORRECTLY understand the verses that man-made false teaching have taken out of context to twist their true meaning, then we must consider what the WHOLE word of almighty God teaches us.

The TRUTH of the matter is that many of these verses are actually PROPHECIES of God teaching us that without His HELP to empower us to live without sin, then it is not in us in our own strength to overcome sin.

Hebrews 9:14 and John 5:19, plus many other verses of Scripture clearly teaches us that even Jesus overcame sin THROUGH the power of the Eternal Spirit dwelling in him.

Again, my point is that the WHOLE word of God teaches us that God is GOOD and in Him there is no darkness at all.

So, to BLAME God as being the CAUSER of all evil based on Scriptures being interpreted OUT of their CONTEXT is MAKING a LIE against the rest of God’s word.

And Revelation 22:15 gives us a warning about loving but yet making a lie.

Revelation 22:15.  

“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, AND whosoever loves and makes a lie.” 

Now, in almost every verse of Scripture that the writer of the article that blames Almighty God as the CAUSER of everything, are passages of Scripture that teach us about the bigger picture of allowing Israel to FALL so the God can SAVE the Gentiles.

And for that reason I am going to skip over those verses, not because I cannot explain them correctly in the light of the whole word of Almighty God, but because this brother’s pious attitude repulses me.

He is speaking out of ignorance of God’s word when he claims that PROPHECIES about the nation of Israel apply to ALL of mankind.

The prophecies referring to the Messiah are NOT applicable to ALL men, and neither are the prophecies referring to the Jewish people applicable to ALL men.

In a nutshell to sum up the rest of his article, he definitely believes very similar to what Calvinism and Reformed Theology teaches.

However, he differs from Calvinism which teaches that God has predestined certain people to be LOST and there is nothing that they can do to be SAVED.

He on the other hand believes that EVERYONE will be saved,

One one his readers emailed him with a story about a hard core radical communist who got saved and totally change his life. And he did his best to get his dad to accept Jesus us his Savior but he kept refusing.

Then one day the Lord said to him, go ask your dad to accept Jesus again. So he did and his dad emphatically said no and he dropped dead as soon as he denied Jesus.

Now, due to the false teaching that this brother was taught, he was inclined to agree with this Calvinist brother, thinking he was COMPLETELY a Calvinist.

Then the one who wrote this article that God is the great CAUSER of everything shows us that he believes that EVERYONE will be saved by quoting the following verses out of their context. Here is what he says to the one he is debating with.

I’m having trouble finding one verse of scripture for which you do not have a carnal anecdote and reason to refuse to believe. 

This story tells me that you have virtually no use for this verse of God’s word:

1 Corinthian 15:22, For as in Adam all die [ did you freely choose to be “in Adam?”], even so in Christ shall all [ including Dan’s old dad] be made alive.

1 Timothy 2:4, Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 4:10. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ not exclusively] of those that believe. 

2 Peter 3:9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

1 John 2:2. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

I guess that story about Dan’s dad just nullifies all these verses of scripture. 

I guess that in reality Christ’s propitiatory death only covers our sins if we of our own free will choose Christ in this life. 

J___ will have to decide whether to believe you or all these plain statements of God’s Word.

Can you not see that this brother in the Lord has absolutely NO CORRECT understanding of God’s word.

The TRUTH is that no one is chosen by God until they BELIEVE and not all people will BELIEVE in Jesus to be saved.

For further studies that clearly show why God is not the cause of ANY evil and why everyone will NOT be saved, here are some links the read the true God intended many of those verses in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.

** Cc-0. Is CALVINISM BIBLICAL? **

** Bb-0. WILL EVERYONE BE SAVED? **

Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.

Brother Mark.