God’s Regret and Ours

On Sunday June 2, we considered the seemingly contradictory statements that God is not a man that He should have regret (1 Samuel 15:29) and that He regretted making Saul king (1 Samuel 15:11). In the sermon (available soon at this link) I highlighted three reasons that we humans regret our past actions:

  1. First, we make sinful decisions. Sometimes we make the decision knowing it is wrong; other times we do not realize the decision is sinful until later. In either case, we may come to regret the decision itself.
  2. Second: We make unwise decisions. Given the information we have at the time, we should have made a different decision.
  3. Third: We make decisions that, given the information available at the time, are right and wise, but then unexpected events occur that make us wish we had made different decisions. A trivial example: Driving home recently from an evening bike ride in Concord, I checked Google Maps, which told me the quickest way home was via I-85 and I-485. But on the way home I discovered that the Harrisburg exit on I-485 was closed for repaving, so going on that route took much more time than the alternative. I regretted making that decision – though given the information available, it was the right decision.

God is not a man, and thus He does not regret in any of those three ways. He never does wrong. He is all-wise. And He knows all things, even the end from the beginning, so nothing surprises Him (Isaiah 46:9-10 among many other verses).

But what about the case of Saul? This first king of Israel played a role in God’s great plan of redemption. Saul’s sin was no surprise to God, no new information. For it was always God’s plan for the Messiah’s kingly ancestors to be from the tribe of Judah, David’s tribe, not from the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s tribe (Genesis 49:10). In the event, all events happened according to God’s plan. In that sense, God did not regret making Saul king.

So in what sense does God regret? What does the statement in 1 Samuel 15:11 mean?

God hates sin. He hates the sin itself, as well as the pain the sin inflicts on those around the sinner. So God hates Saul’s rebellion against Him. God hates Saul’s fearing the people instead of fearing Him. God hates the impact these sins had on the nation in that day. In that sense, He regrets making Saul king.

And yet, Saul is part of God’s perfect plan – as Judas and his betrayal of Jesus is part of God’s perfect plan. God uses even the sinful acts of sinful men to accomplish His righteous purposes (Acts 4:27-28, Revelation 17:17). God did not sin, He did not make an unwise decision, He was not surprised by what happened. He was always working out His perfect plan.

Consider the following analogy, which I think comes as close as possible in human experience to this type of regret:

Imagine that you and your spouse have a daughter, whom you raise in the faith. You are diligent, loving, grace-filled parents. When the time is right, you teach her about God’s good plan for sexuality and how it is for His glory and our joy to delay sexual relations until marriage.

And yet when she is in her late teens she comes to you, confessing her sin and telling you she is pregnant.

You love her. You weep with her. You pray with her. You meet with the young man. After prayer and further counsel from others, they decide to marry. Your daughter gives birth to a baby girl.

Though there are struggles in the marriage, in the end by God’s grace it is solid and strong. They are good parents. Your granddaughter is a delightful young girl who brings great joy to her parents and to you.

Do you regret the pre-marital sex?

Yes. Your regret of the pre-marital sex is similar to God’s regret for Saul’s kingship. The act was sinful, as the couple harmed themselves and were rebellious against their Creator and Savior.

And yet God used this sin for good for all involved. You can rejoice in God’s plan, in His superintending of all events, even while you regret the sin that initiated those events.

God does not change His mind. He does not look back and see how He could have managed events better. He is all wise. So trust Him, and be confident that in His sovereign reign He is working all events together – even sinful acts that in some sense He regrets – for His glory and His people’s good.

(Thanks to Bill Teal for helping me to think of this illustration during our service discussion and prayer time Tuesday morning. We’d be delighted if you would join us and participate in the discussion: 6:30am Tuesdays, Panera Bread, J.W. Clay Blvd, University City. )

What a Gospel!

Consider what Peter says about the recipients of his first letter:

He writes to those chosen “in accordance with the foreknowledge of God, through the setting apart [for God] of the [Holy] Spirit, unto obedience to Jesus Christ and [unto] sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2, own translation).

If you are in Christ, how did you get there? “In accordance with the foreknowledge of God.” That is, God the Father knew it and planned it long ago. He orchestrated all that happened in history – from the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus to the migrations of your ancestors and the meeting of your parents – to bring it about. And He orchestrated all that happened in your life to bring it about – from your siblings, friends, and schools to your encounters with believers and the Word. You are in Christ “in accordance with the foreknowledge of God.”

And you are in Christ “through the setting apart for God of the Holy Spirit.” That is, at exactly the right time, when all had been prepared, including your hearing the Word of Truth, the Gospel, the Holy Spirit picked you out of the mass of humanity headed for destruction, setting you apart for God. He opened your eyes to the hopelessness of the path you were on, to the empty promises of sin, to the beauty of Jesus, and to the joy of following Him. He surgically removed your heart of stone and transplanted a new heart of flesh. By His grace, you joyfully chose to repent of your sin, to take up your cross, and to follow Jesus. And that same Spirit continues to conform you to the image of Jesus.

What was the purpose of all this work by God the Father and God the Holy Spirit? It is all “unto obedience to Jesus Christ.” That is, all this took place so that you could glorify God by obeying all that Jesus commands, just as He obeyed all the Father commands. So our obedience is not optional, an extra add-on that might be good to do if we are saved, but is not essential. No! We are saved “unto obedience”! Our obedience is of central importance.

So we are chosen in accordance with the foreknowledge of God, through the setting apart for God of the Holy Spirit, unto obedience to Jesus Christ. Wonderful! But there’s a problem. You know what it is. In this life, our obedience is always imperfect. Chosen and saved for the purpose of obedience, we fail to live up to our purpose. We sin. We rebel. Yet God, having orchestrated all things to bring about our salvation, has dealt with this problem too. Peter says we are chosen and saved not only unto obedience but also “unto sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ.” God chose us not only to glorify all persons of the Trinity through our initial salvation, but also to glorify Himself through our being sprinkled, cleansed, covered time and again with the forgiveness that only comes through Christ’s death. In Christ, our disobedience doesn’t lead to our being excluded from Him – because God chooses us “unto sprinkling with the blood”.

Ponder that last paragraph. Realize: By the grace of God we fulfill our purpose even when we fail to live up to our purpose. Obedience is central – we are saved in order to obey! And our failure to obey is covered – Jesus’ blood is sufficient!

What grace! What mercy! What a Gospel!