[Christianity] God's "Divine Plan"

To begin, I beseech thee to not let the philosophy of the world shape the words of the Lord. Instead, as Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Many hate this doctrine, shaping a philosophy into the Bible, instead of letting the Bible shape the philosophy. With this, many have become examples of the Psalm of David, which tells us, "with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous" (Psalm 18:26). God establishes for us that He is the one who shapes the hearts of men. Psalm 33:13-17 reads as follows: "The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue." The key point is that God fashions all the hearts of man. Every heart has been formed by God, even those of wickedness. Moreover, Proverbs 21:1 establish for us this fact even further, saying: "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will." With this being said, we can even understand that Hitler had his heart shaped by God, He who fashions the hearts of all men. Jesus later informs us that all deeds and works come from the heart. Luke 6:43-45 reads as follows: ""For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." In fact, this is one of the ways we are told to tell of a true believer (Matthew 7:15-20): "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." Thus, we know that God shapes every heart of man, which produces every deed, which in the divine foreknowledge of God and of the plan of the Lord. In fact, Ephesians 1:11 tells us that God works all things according the counsel of His will, In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will". Our passage does not say that God works, or operates, a few things. It does not say some things. And this does not say most things. It says all things are worked, which is the same word as 'operated,' by God. Romans 8:28 tells us the same thing: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." In this, we know that God works all things for the good of those who love Him, those who are called according to His purpose. Therefore, we know that God is sovereign over all things. Everything is in His hand, Him working everything. But, does this deprive one of moral accountability? No. Genesis tells the story not only of the creation of the universe, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but it also tells the story of Joseph. After having been sold into slavery, by his brothers, a famine hits, which causes everyone to eventually come to Egypt for help. Joseph's brothers are among those asking for help from him. In the following passage, Joseph reveals himself to them, telling them that not only did they sell Him into the slavery, but God sent him. In other words, if Joseph were asked, "Who made you to go to Egypt?", he would respond with a "both... and..." answer. So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt (Genesis 45:4-8). In fact, after Jacob's death, Joseph's brothers fear him, knowing that they have done evil, thinking that he was simply holding back for the sake of his father. Thus, as it is written: But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today (Genesis 50:19-20). With this, we can know that they did in fact do evil against Joseph, though God worked it for good. In this, God is innocent of it, but the brothers are guilty. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Moreover, at Exodus 7:3 God tells Moses that He will harden Pharaoh's heart. "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt". This in fact happens multiple times; God hardens Pharaoh's heart, but Pharaoh is also given moral accountability for having sinned: "But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servant" (Exodus 9:34). Yet again, we have a "both... and..." answer. If one were to be asked, "Who hardens Pharaoh's heart?", one would have to respond by saying that both God and Pharaoh did it. Pharaoh was guilty of it, having sinned, though God was innocent of it. He did so as recorded in Exodus 9:16, reading, "But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth." This is later quoted by Paul in Romans 9, which is right after the Romans 8:28 verse, the one saying that all things work for the good of those who love God. Here is partially the passage of Romans 9:13-23, which reads as follows: As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory" So, it was repeated in both the Old and the New Testament. Furthermore, there are many more passages about this type of thing. One more would be Isaiah 10:5-12, reading as following: Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. But he does not so intend, and his heart does not so think; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few; for he says: "Are not my commanders all kings? Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images?" When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. Thus, when Acts 2:23 says, "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men", and when Acts 4:27-28 says, "for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.", we can know that the crucifixion was evil for those men who did it, along with Judas, but God was innocent, being the executioner of Jesus; "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21), reflecting back to Isaiah 53. One hopes to understand this.