Many individuals have become obstacles in their faith by believing God makes mistakes, depriving themselves and those around them of all God has to offer and harming the relationship between faith and belief.
God can never make errors. Numbers 23:19 says so in verse 19 “God does not lie; nor do His thoughts alter.” We need to understand that He remains unchanged!
1. He is perfect
God stands apart from humans who only possess limited knowledge and make mistakes due to limited understanding, as He possesses infinite wisdom with no mistakes whatsoever. Scripture confirms this truthful statement by proclaiming He is perfect in everything He does and His ways are judgment. Hence the passage says: ‘He is the Rock; His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment: A faithful God Who does no wrong, just and upright is He’ (Deuteronomy 32:4)
Assuming God makes mistakes can damage our relationship with Him by suggesting He has weaknesses or is untrustworthy; and questions whether He will always be there when needed. Furthermore, believing He makes mistakes may cause us to stray away from faith altogether and leave Him behind.
Although life may sometimes appear unfair and unfairly designed by God, not everything that seems like He made mistakes should be seen as evidence. Adam and Eve disobeying Him did not constitute an error on His part.
According to Scripture, God knew from the outset that his creation would sin against him. Thus he put into place a tree of good and evil as an intentional punishment against their transgression and to draw them back towards himself. He did this not out of pure ignorance but as a means of redirecting their efforts away from sinful actions towards him again.
God may appear to make mistakes at times; one such instance was when He allowed a flood that resulted in the destruction of all mankind except Noah and his family, according to Genesis 6:6. Yet this wasn’t an error because He knew from before that Earth would become overrun with sinful humans that He wanted removed with only those chosen for salvation remaining as exceptions.
God wasn’t taken aback by humanity’s actions; rather, He was frustrated that his plan hadn’t come into fruition sooner. Therefore, His destruction of mankind wasn’t accidental but intentional in order to fulfill His ultimate plan here on Earth.
2. He is all-knowing
The Bible teaches that God knows all things (Genesis 3:24). This knowledge, known as omniscience, derives from Latin words omnis meaning all and scientia meaning knowledge. Additionally, He knows everything that has happened, will happen, or has occurred – also referred to as foreknowledge – so He never makes mistakes with His foreknowledge!
Though God seems like He never makes mistakes, at times it may appear He does make errors in judgment. Many find it hard to accept that an all-loving being would allow someone they cared for to become blind or have cancer; many argue that if He knew such tragedies were going to occur anyway He should intervene somehow to stop them happening.
However, it can often be impossible to comprehend how God could avoid making mistakes. Scripture often uses metaphors and similes that are difficult to interpret literally; for instance when talking about regretting or repenting God it usually refers to human feelings that cannot be explained without using metaphors and similes.
God often permits events to happen as He has a plan for them. For instance, when Scripture speaks about His displeasure at people’s sin or His anger over their unrepentant sinful ways being regrettable to Him or having His wrath directed against them, this could be because He intends to accomplish some goal through them – either teaching future generations how serious He views sin or setting up His coming salvation plan.
One problem with this approach is that it reduces God to an impersonal computer storage bank: He just knows all of the facts, without anything more interesting or significant being known by Him. Furthermore, many believe God only possesses propositional knowledge, not procedural or experiential ones, meaning He only knows what is true and not how something should be done or experienced – an unusual claim and difficult for Christians to reconcile with Scripture.
3. He is all-powerful
God may be all-knowing and all-present, yet He does not always intervene when things go wrong – known as “The Problem of Evil”. This has long been a subject of debate. Some argue it is wrong for Him to allow human evil such as death and suffering when He could easily stop it if He wanted; while others view his lack of intervention as divine love. Both sides make valid points; unfortunately neither one fully addresses this challenge of evil.
To answer this question, it’s important to first define what it means for a being to be all-powerful. According to Scripture, God is described as being “omnipotent”, meaning He controls every aspect of existence at all times and in every situation–including physical universe as well as living organisms. God can do anything consistent with His nature or reasons known only to Himself–such as making two plus two equal five–while remaining moral and rational at all times.
The Bible also records instances when God grieves over human misdeeds, not because He made mistakes when creating them, but because their choices between good and evil were saddening Him. It is essential to keep in mind that He does not make errors like any mortal being might, nor change His mind (Numbers 23:19: “God does not lie or change his mind”): rather He always acts according to His plan at all times.
If He does have limits, they come only from Himself; He doesn’t succumb to outside forces that would dictate He do only what is right; therefore, although He is all-powerful, His actions are guided by righteousness and love rather than pure force.
4. He is unchanging
Psalm 18:30 beautifully depicts God as perfect, emphasizing both his greatness and perfection. One way this is done is described in Psalm 18:30 when we read “Our Lord is great, mighty in power; his understanding is infinite.” As an unchanging being, His unalterability means that He cannot make errors: changing his mind would go against what was already decided from eternity past; forgetting planned future projects or misinterpreting written Scripture are out of the question for Him.
God regrets two decisions made throughout Scripture, yet these should not be seen as indicators that He made an error in judgement. Genesis 6:6 records God’s sentiment regarding humanity – He felt grief at their sin and decided that humans would ultimately destroy themselves without intervention, so He decided to flood the Earth excluding Noah and his family.
God expresses regret in 1 Samuel 15:35 by noting His regret over choosing Saul as king over Israel; this regret stemmed from what happened to Saul rather than something He did wrong himself.
God clearly lamented what had occurred and desired different outcomes; however, He never made a mistake due to His foreknowledge of what would transpire and having already planned accordingly in His plan for humanity’s future. Much like how teachers know who will pass or fail an exam yet still give exams; similarly God’s plan has been established from eternity past and He won’t change His mind; regardless of what comes our way in future years He won’t alter His course!
