Scripture Reading: Galatians 6:6-10
OPENING: Does everything happen for a reason? There are several known factors that help answer this question: the law of cause and effect, the law of grace, and the doctrine of the providence of God … These factors demonstrate that everything does happen for a reason, not just by coincidence by random chance …
The Law of Cause and Effect:
First, there is the natural law of cause and effect, better known as “reaping what we sow” … In Galatians 6:7-8 Paul said: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” … This means that in every action we take or word we speak, good or evil, results will follow …
First, there is the natural law of cause and effect, better known as “reaping what we sow” … In Galatians 6:7-8 Paul said: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” … This means that in every action we take or word we speak, good or evil, results will follow …
Colossians 3:23-25 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
All that we do is geared toward one of two things: An investment in the flesh or an investment in the Spirit … We will reap whatever we have sown, and it will be in proportion to how we sow it … In 2 Corinthians 9:6 Paul warns us: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” … The believer who walks in the Spirit and “sows” in the Spirit is going to reap a spiritual harvest … If our sowing has been generous, the harvest will be bountiful, if not in this life, defiantly in the life to come …
Those who “sow” to the flesh are going to reap a life without the full love of God, both in this life and the life to come:
All that we do is geared toward one of two things: An investment in the flesh or an investment in the Spirit … We will reap whatever we have sown, and it will be in proportion to how we sow it … In 2 Corinthians 9:6 Paul warns us: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” … The believer who walks in the Spirit and “sows” in the Spirit is going to reap a spiritual harvest … If our sowing has been generous, the harvest will be bountiful, if not in this life, defiantly in the life to come …
Those who “sow” to the flesh are going to reap a life without the full love of God, both in this life and the life to come:
Jeremiah 18:10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
2 Peter 2:10-12 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
Jesus in Matthew 5:45 makes it clear that God “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” … In other words, God reveals His love to everyone by allowing the sun to rise and rain to fall on both the evil and the good, the righteous and the unrighteous … Romans 2:11 For God does not show favoritism.
Jesus in Matthew 5:45 makes it clear that God “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” … In other words, God reveals His love to everyone by allowing the sun to rise and rain to fall on both the evil and the good, the righteous and the unrighteous … Romans 2:11 For God does not show favoritism.
The Law of Common Grace:
This next passage refers to physical blessings on earth, not spiritual, those blessings are given without respect to merit. If they were, no one would receive them … This is the law of “common grace” … meaning that God is indiscriminate in His benevolence … His divine love in some ways benefit everyone, even those who rebel against Him or deny His existence:
Psalm 145:13-16: “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing” … This is why we sometimes see good things happen to bad people and bad things to good people …
However, the Psalmist continues in Vs. 18-20: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy” … While God is indiscriminate in the common grace He bestows upon all, we have to realize that God will curse those who disobey His commands:
However, the Psalmist continues in Vs. 18-20: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy” … While God is indiscriminate in the common grace He bestows upon all, we have to realize that God will curse those who disobey His commands:
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse-- the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today … We reap God’s reward for obedience or His curses for disobedience, both now and hereafter …
The Providence of God:
The Providence of God:
The doctrine of providence is God quietly working through the law of cause and effect in the natural world to manage events … The miracles of God differ from His providence in that God’s miracles exceed the boundaries of known natural laws … some examples are instantaneous healings and the raising of the dead …
Providence, is a term theologians use to express the conviction that God works out His purposes through natural processes in the physical and social universe … Every effect can be traced back to a natural cause … Within this law of cause and effect there is no hint of miracles … The best that man can do to explain the reason why things happen in the course of natural events is to point to “coincidence.”
However, believers proclaim that God not only intervened in, but arranged these “coincidences.” The unbeliever derides such ideas because he believes each event can be traced back to natural causes that “fully explain” what happened without reference to God … Followers of Christ are wholly assured of this one truth:
Providence, is a term theologians use to express the conviction that God works out His purposes through natural processes in the physical and social universe … Every effect can be traced back to a natural cause … Within this law of cause and effect there is no hint of miracles … The best that man can do to explain the reason why things happen in the course of natural events is to point to “coincidence.”
However, believers proclaim that God not only intervened in, but arranged these “coincidences.” The unbeliever derides such ideas because he believes each event can be traced back to natural causes that “fully explain” what happened without reference to God … Followers of Christ are wholly assured of this one truth:
Romans 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”
The book of Esther illustrates the truth of divine providence by identifying “coincidences” which led to the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them … Although this is a book about providence, God is not mentioned … The list of coincidences, leading to their deliverance, is so convincing that God’s work in the end is obvious …
We also learn from the book of Esther that God is always at work in the lives … The “coincidences” that define our lives are not simply products of cause and effect or of random chance … The coincidences that mark our lives are ordained by God and are intended for our good … It was only when looking back that Esther and Mordecai could clearly see the hand of God in what had happened to them … We often fail to sense God’s hidden guidance or protection as events in our lives unfold … When we look back, we are able to see His hand more clearly, even in those times when such events or circumstances appeared as tragedies in our lives … I choose to call this providence “Godincidences” and not coincidence …
The book of Esther illustrates the truth of divine providence by identifying “coincidences” which led to the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them … Although this is a book about providence, God is not mentioned … The list of coincidences, leading to their deliverance, is so convincing that God’s work in the end is obvious …
We also learn from the book of Esther that God is always at work in the lives … The “coincidences” that define our lives are not simply products of cause and effect or of random chance … The coincidences that mark our lives are ordained by God and are intended for our good … It was only when looking back that Esther and Mordecai could clearly see the hand of God in what had happened to them … We often fail to sense God’s hidden guidance or protection as events in our lives unfold … When we look back, we are able to see His hand more clearly, even in those times when such events or circumstances appeared as tragedies in our lives … I choose to call this providence “Godincidences” and not coincidence …
CLOSING: When we look back and study those coincidences that changed our lives, we discover that God has been there all along … As believers, we must examine those incidents and realize that God was at work in each one … Even those incidences brought suffering or included what we thought were unanswered prayers … The doctrine of providence tells us that God is at work in the life of His people … It may seem that His activity is hidden but it is very real …God is working for us right this very moment, right where we are … But, more importantly, we uncover the glorious confirmation of His unending love …
Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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