There are some things God just flat out can't do. Before you guys shoot me, or gather up a mob for a lynching, let me clarify myself. I am not disputing His sovereignty. I'm not saying that He is incapable. I'm not saying He's smaller than He claims to be or less powerful than His Word tells us He is. I believe God is able to do much more than we could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Our God is not an impotent faceless blob floating in outer space. He is not a man who lived and died and was deified by friends. He is not an old man with a beard, sitting on a throne who looks down with disdain at us meager humans. He is not an uncaring or inactive God.
He does all good things. He loves. He saves. He heals. He restores. He redeems. He rescues. He corrects. He chastises. He gives mercy and grace. He leads, guides, directs, teaches, comforts, and instructs. James 1:17 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation and shadow of turning." This scripture tells us that all good things come from God. So if it is good, He can do it. But this scripture also tells us something God CANNOT do.
1. God cannot change.
the second half of James 1:17 says "with whom there is NO VARIATION and SHADOW OF TURNING." So...if there is no variation in God, that means that he CANNOT CHANGE. Malachi 3:6a demonstrates this further: "For I am the Lord, I do not change." I dont' know about you, but I'm convinced. I mean, this is coming from the Lord's mouth, through the prophet Malachi. Pretty sure that makes this an inarguable truth.
What else, then, can God NOT do? If James 1:17 displays that all good things are from God, then we can infer that all BAD things are not from God. And, all bad things are SIN. So, it's not a stretch, by any means, to say that God CANNOT sin. But that is a broad statement, so I'll break it down.
2. God cannot lie.
"Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." Hebrews 6; 17-18. Now, that's pretty straightforward. It is impossible for God to lie. There's no arguing the black and white of that statement.
3. God cannot relent without intercession or repentance.
"And also the Strength of Israel will not lie and relent. For He is not a man that He should relent." 1 Sam 15:29. Now, this scripture also says that God will not relent...and this is true when there is no intercession. However, we see several times in scripture where men of God intereceded when the Lord was angry at a nation because of sin, and God relented. (See Exodus 32:15-35; Jonah 1:1-3, 3:1-10). But, without repentance or intercession, God will not relent.
4. God cannot fail.
"Behold this day I am going the way of all the earth. and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed." Joshua 23:14. In fact, God is so completely unable to fail, that He has already succeeded in all things to which He set His hand. "Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37. And how can we be conquerors unless our God has already succeeded and won?
5. God cannot renege on His promises.
"Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses." 1 Kings 8:56. If that's not enough, here's another scripture: "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." 1 Cor 1:20
6. God cannot renege on the giftings He gives us.
"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." Romans 11:29. His gifts are freely given. Our talents are ours to use as we so decide. There are hundreds of thousands of musicians on earth. They were gifted with the ability to play a chosen intrument. Some play for the Lord. Many do not. But God gave those abilities to each man, and has not and cannot revoke those gifts because we have chosen in our free will to use those gifts for things other than His glory.
7. God cannot be tempted, and cannot tempt.
"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." James 1:13. Pretty self-explanatory. So, the next time you're tempted to do something wrong, or you're in the middle of wanting to do the wrong thing. Remember, this might be a test to see what you'll choose, but God is not tempting you to do the wrong thing. He's testing you in an attempt to help you learn to do the right thing.
8. God cannot be mocked.
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." Gal 6:9. I read that as meaning that God will not put up with people who mock him. Time and time again in the Word and even in modern society, there are stories of people who mock the Lord receiving the recompense of their mocking. Bon Scott, the deceased lead singer of AC/DC, is a prime example of that. Just look at two of the group's most famous songs: "Highway to Hell" and "Hell's Bells." Scott died at age 33, shortly after recording "Highway to Hell."
So...you see, there really are some things that God flat out CANNOT do. And, I for one, and very glad He cannot do them. If He could do them, He wouldn't be a God worth serving or believing in, would He? Because what would make Him any different from any other God...or any other human being that walked the earth? And I don't want to serve or worship a man who will disappoint or become petty or lie or cheat or change his mind. I want to worship an unchanging, loving, infallible God whose promises are true and gifts are free.
Thank God there are some things He cannot do.
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