Seven Things God Cannot Do
Strongly as we believe and preach God’s total sovereignty, we do not, and we must not, press the issue of God’s sovereignty beyond the bounds of Holy Scripture, to the exclusion of or in contradiction to that which God has revealed in his Word. Here are seven things the holy, sovereign, Lord God cannot do.
1. God cannot change
or be changed (Mal. 3:6; James
2. God cannot lie (Tit. 1:2). This places no limitation upon the Almighty. It is simply the necessity of his character. If God has said anything, promised anything, or threatened anything, you can bank on it. God cannot lie. And Paul tells us plainly that God promised eternal life to some people before the world was made.
3. God cannot save a
sinner without a suitable sacrifice (Heb.
4. God cannot take
anyone to heaven who is not perfectly righteous in his sight (Matt.
5. God cannot send
anyone to hell for whom Christ suffered and died at
6. God cannot save a
sinner apart from the preaching of the gospel. He cannot because he will
not (I Cor. 1:21-24; James 1:18; II Pet. 1:23-25). I hear men say, “God can
save men with the use of means, without the use of means, or in spite of the
means used. He is sovereign. He can do whatever he will.” God is sovereign. He
can do anything he wants to do. But God cannot lie. He cannot do that which is
contrary to his Word. He cannot do that which he has said he will not do.
Neither can he fail to do what he has said he will do .
And God has said that the gospel of Christ is his ordained means of
communicating saving grace to dead sinners. God will not save anyone apart from
the preaching of the gospel (Rom.
7. God cannot fail to
save any sinner who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, his dear Son (John
Don Fortner