"Peterlag, posted
Even I can make all the decisions at my job for my employees and I'm not in control of all that happens. Why does it have to be God in control of everything when the whole world from every culture since the beginning of man has spoken about gods, angels, demons, and Satan? Even the Buddha speak about the realm of angry spirits. This the invisible society of spirits do seem to be behind much that occurs in the physical world.
We are often told that people suffer because they deserve it. And we seem to be able to go into great explanations expressing a confidence in God's absolute sovereignty, defined here as control, that seems to provide many believers with a great deal of security. We teach in our churches that everything is under God's control, and thereby everything is proceeding as divinely planned, and that somehow it all fits together.
This concept did not attain the status of a universal explanation for evil until years after a man was born on the planet who was called Augustine. It's indeed historically true that what has constituted the most frequent explanation in the church and in western culture for why people suffer is due to the fact that a man was born on the planet called Augustine.
And so this concept of God being in control of both good and evil is why we often consider a secret "divine blueprint" behind everything that is both good and evil being somehow an extension of God's good (but very mysterious) will. This is the biggest reason why we have trouble accepting the truth concerning the good and evil of the world we experience. A murder is more real to us than devils because the churches do not teach that the world we live in is involved in a state of war that is spiritual..
1. The difference is that God is omniscient and you are not. He declares the end from the beginning and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure (Isaiah 46: 10). He created heaven and earth with his infinite wisdom, understanding and knowledge, therefore, he has complete knowledge and understanding of his creation. There is no secret moves or deals of men that do not come to his knowledge neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight for all things are naked and opened unto him (Hebrew 4:13). Because you are operating in the flesh, you do not have complete knowledge of all events but know only in part, hence, you cannot control all variables both conceivable and non conceivable. God is not man that he can err in judgement. When you cleave to him as a belt cleaves to your waist, he will reveal to you all you need to know to make perfect decisions.
2. There is only but one God and beside him there is none else. We know that there are people who make idols or graven images, worship and serve them and call them their gods. For some, these so called gods have been in the family line or tribe for so long and are inherited from generation to generation. They have become part of their culture or tradition. As Christians, our faith tells us that these so called gods are not God and have nothing in common with the God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth. ( See Jeremiah 10:4,). It is as a result of these practices among other evils that our Lord Jesus came to redirect our feet to the right path.
3. The scripture talks about the existence of angels, devils and Satan. Angels are God's ministers. (Hebrews 1: 14).
God gave us dominion over Satan and the demons. Because of our lack of understanding of who we are in relation to our God Almighty, Satan uses our ignorance to bamboozle us. We perish for lack of knowledge the bible says. Jesus tells us, I have given you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy (Satan being the greatest enemy) and nothing shall by any means hurt you. He understands Satan as a liar and father of all lies, no truth abides in him (John 8: 44). He fought off Satan's temptations by the iconic word "It is written'' and with that the devil left defeated. In addition, the bible tells us to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11, 13 - 18). The devil has no power of his own.
If we yield our God given dominion over to the devil and he takes control, we start believing his lies. When we believe in falsehood, our life revolves around it that the only thing we see and take as truth is the lie embedded in that false life which we live that nothing else matters to us. The lie becomes our truth. We cannot blame God for the outcome of our failure. His sovereignty over his creation remains intact , notwithstanding the activities of the devil. We are encouraged to fight the good fight of faith.
4. Thou shall not judge, the bible admonishes. . God judges because he has perfect knowledge of events in his creation and therefore judges right. So, people say somethings out of ignorance. We cannot base the truth on what they say.
5. Yes, all things work together for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28) because our faith comes into play. It is our love for and faith in God that works things out for us through his grace. He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 (old KJV) For, I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Of course, if we love him, we dwell under his canopy and we feel safe because we know God is with us. But, this does not demand complacency on our part. We must continue to work out our salvation by remaining in sync with the Lord.
God has revealed to us his plan or program of life on earth and his sovereignty. If we try to explain his sovereignty without realizing the human action in the process, we err.
6. We have to know as Christians that any universal explanation that is in contrary to the word of God does not merit the attention of believers. If as you said, Augustine was the first to understand clearly the Sovereignty of God, then he must have been inspired by the Holy Ghost.
7. We perish for lack of knowledge and not because of our stand on the sovereignty of God.
Some Pastors err in their interpretations of the scripture, that is why, we must study the bible on our own to make ourselves approved.