Well of course we all know God is sovereign, which means He is clearly in charge and He does as He pleases. But you know, this is only one side of the story. I’ve noticed that people tend to get theologically ‘lopsided’ from time to time. By being lopsided I mean that we can drift into forcing the rest of the Bible to fit our own view.
I mean, is it all about sovereignty or all about free will? I prefer the term ‘responsiblity’ over the term ‘free will’— but in any case issues such as these turn out to be about mystery. It may seem like a cop-out, but the mysteries are best held as such. Jesus…God or man? Yes! But I say this by way of admitting a mystery that I can’t (yet in this life) explain. I affirm both elements without having to RESOLVE THE TENSION.
The Bible does this in many spots, and in this sense reminds us of Art and not Philosophy. Art holds tension (such as in the use of irony), while Philosophy mostly does not (it must fit well as a system / answer objections). In Art, the Mona Lisa can smile. In Philosophy, we have to define smile and explain her motives (which means we guess)!
So what about luck?
Well, here’s the verse—
“But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by CHANCE a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:29-31, ESV)
I emphasized the word CHANCE so it would be easy to see. Yes, here is Jesus Christ telling the famous story of the Good Samaritan and sticking luck right in the middle of it! Is this really a word that means luck?
Basically, it just means what we think it means; by happenstance, a priest came upon a man after he was attacked, beaten, and left for dead. Things really do ‘just happen’, though I’m sure this happening is not without the permission of God in how He ordained the universe. Personally, I don’t like it because this world doesn’t seem to work right. And yet, I hold out that this isn’t the best world God can make (the next world will be the best world); but that in the meantime, we can give folks a taste of the world to come as the Samaritan did.
Jesus talked in truthful and plan language. Clearly God is not obsessed with over-controlling every detail. Surely we have free will responsibility…how else can we explain what we wear on most days!
Good luck…stuff happens…but the Lord is still above it all,
Fred Lybrand
Fred, does it matter that Jesus was telling a fictional story and might have used the word “chance” to convey a certain meaning to the hearers of the story. Undoubtedly, it doesn’t change the message of who are neighbor is, but maybe it doesn’t convey God is in the “luck” business either. Just a thought.
Hey Scott,
Good observation. Of course, I’m aiming at the fact that it is mentioned rather than it is a real thing in contradiction to God’s sovereignty.
I’m not sure that we can be sure it is ‘fiction’…though it probably is…and yet, it is a fiction that fairly represents something the Lord was trying to communicate.
I’m at a loss as to how Jesus could have mentioned ‘chance’ but known that it is not true. It goes to an argument Dr. Geisler used to mention of the Lord being a ‘benevolent liar’ (Geisler didn’t believe in this idea)…but it does seem that is what he’d have to be.
If we can dismiss parts of a parable as untrue-but-fiction, how will we keep from picking and choosing?
Of course, a parable has a single point— but the elements have to be in an it-could-happen scenario. True?
Grace,
Fred Lybrand
Hey Fred, what a wonderful find! I will find this most enjoyable to employ the next time I speak with a regeneration prior to faith type who are so often offended by the thought of something happening that isn’t directly ordained.
Kev
…hadn’t thought about that…but good point. Most of the problem with hyper-calvinists and hyper-arminians is that they functionally deny mystery. At least, that’s my observation.
FRL
Wow, thanks for pointing that out! I’m with Kevin, that really raises an eyebrow at the idealist viewpoint that God directly ordains EVERYTHING, every detail even.
Great post. I wish I had written it. 🙂
Mmmm, so would you say it was chance that all three men passed by and saw the man? I will not conclude that Jesus was misleading others, or that anything Jesus said was untrue, but it seems to be odd that, in His parable, He would say the meeting of these three men was not God’s doing. Each person meeting this man on the road serves a purpose (priest, Levite, and the dreaded Samaritan), how could it be “chance” in the story? I am not asking God to be involved in my choice of clothing, but there seems to be a fundamental loss to the story if we conclude Jesus was implying God was not involved. That seems more important than the hairs on my head.
Scott,
I like your questions, but it seems that you are having a hard time admitting that the word ‘chance’ was used in the parable. I resonate with this hard time. I clearly said that God is sovereign, but I clearly believe that—according to the Lord Himself—there is happenstance, and especially from the human vantage point. Jesus is clearly acknowledging this fact in the narrative.
I make sense of this by appealing to mystery…I’m not smart enough to figure it out, and I don’t have God’s full view of reality and the future.
I won’t insist that He is so busy over-controlling every detail such that ‘happenstance’ has no place. Nor will I elevate happenstance so as to nullify God’s sovereign control.
For me, Romans 8:28-29 really explains it best when it describes Him “working all things together for good”…if it mean what sovereignty-only-theology means, then it would say “God causes all things for good…”
Of course God is involved in who comes along on a road and how He ordains things to happen, but my point is that Jesus feels very comfortable speaking of chance— so I say we can be comfortable speaking of it as well.
Grace and peace,
Fred
I think you are right. My problem(s) is that I struggle to see God who is eternal and has knowledge of all things from the beginning explaining an important point by employing forces other then His sovereignty. Additionally, I tend to want to find answers to all things. I think from the human point of view, certainly chance can and does play a part in our lives. On the same note, I was reading about the Hebrew propensity to cast lots to decide issues. Many times it is written, “cast lots before the Lord.” This seems to have more of a reliance on God to make the decision. Is that your read as well?
Scott,
I think that is a fair summary…it’s just when we face God’s rulership we know He’s in charge, but that He doesn’t make us sin (at least)!
I guess we’ll get the mystery solved in His presence!
Blessings,
Fred
The Lord could have caused those people to be on that road, just as He can cause lots to land a particular way. However, He says that the priest and likewise a Levite were on the same road by chance.
It is of note that the Samaritan is said to be there “as he journeyed” not “by chance.”
This leaves two possible reasons for his being there – God willed it, or he purposed to be there. Either is consistent with working within the will of God as a follower of Him.
Makes me think of Prov 16:9
Kev