Article March 27, 1915 Issue

"Your Father's good pleasure"

WILLIS F. GROSS

In a somewhat vague and indefinable way most persons believe in the omnipotence of God. The general religious belief of mankind admits, theoretically at least, that "with God all things are possible." If one were to declare it to be his honest conviction that God does not possess all power, he would at once be marked as one whose religious views are not worthy of consideration.

Human theories are oftentimes very inconsistent, and it may not be readily apparent wherein they fail to acknowledge the omnipotence of God; yet the imputation that they in any way question God's power would be strongly resented. The average person believes he is as thoroughly convinced that the Supreme Being has all power as he is that this Supreme Being exists. It is not God's power that is questioned, so much as His willingness to help humanity. Few persons, if any, would say that God is not able to heal the sick; but there are many who believe He is unwilling to do so. There are some who go so far as to say that God could heal the sick if He were so disposed, and since this work is not accomplished, sickness and suffering must be in accordance with the divine plan. Even when disease results in death, it is believed that this is the divine will, since God could have prevented the fatal result if it would have been for humanity's good.

It is just as necessary for mortals to realize that God is willing to save, as it is for them to understand that He is able to save. It is a fundamental teaching of all Christian religions that faith is necessary to salvation. Jesus frequently said to those who appealed to him for help, "According to your faith be it unto you." Erroneous belief limits the power of God and robs humanity of untold blessings; it also limits God's willingness to help and prevents the enjoyment of the good already bestowed. There was a time when many believed that even though God was able to save all men from sin, He was unwilling to do so. It was an accepted teaching that some were foreordained to be lost, and they could not be saved, no matter how deserving of salvation they might become. This theory as to God's willingness to save some, while He permitted others to be lost, is now almost if not quite generally rejected; but so long as it was accepted it had a depressing effect on the world's spiritual progress. It is now almost universally believed by Christian people that it is God's will that all men shall be saved from sin. There has been no change in the belief as to God's power to save, but simply in the thought as to what constitutes God's will. All will admit that this change of belief has worked out good for mankind, and no one has been injured thereby.

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