Jonathan Cronin and a co-speaker examine whether God sent COVID-19, using Job's story to argue the devil causes calamity with God's permission, not God directly. They trace disease back to sin entering the world through free will, and point to Jesus healing the sick as evidence God wouldn't send mass disease.
We want to talk to you about a question we've actually been getting. Did God send COVID 19. That's something I think a lot of people have asked, and actually there's been very little answers. And so we just want to share what the Lord kind of spoke to us. Because I was recently reading Job, and some of you are thinking, oh, he's in the Old Testament. You know, that's kind of, you know, God also burned people up or did a bunch of crazy things in the Old Testament. But this particular scripture was where is in chapter one, where the devil had gone to God because Job was the most upright man on the face of the earth. But the devil said, the only reason he's upright is because you keep giving him all kind of stuff. You keep blessing him. And so God said, okay, well, do whatever you want. And, you know, just don't kill him. The devil goes out and just sends fire and does all kind of stuff. Job's friends come back to him, come back to Job and say, the fire of God just consumed all your stuff. And immediately the Holy Spirit highlighted that scripture and said, people attribute so many things to God. That is not God. It's not the fire of God. It was the devil that did it. Now, God did give permission. God gave permission there. So you can say that brings up other questions. And it does. I mean, what does it look like for God to give permission?
Yeah, and I think when you're asking that question, okay, why did God give permission? We have to go back to. To Genesis chapter one or the beginning of mankind, and really ask ourselves, okay, well, why did God allow us to sin? You know, why did God allow the choice to sin? And I think we have to realize, like, God gives us the choice to love him, and that's the reason why there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is because without choice, there cannot be love. And if God wanted us to be robots and wanted to force us to love him, then that wouldn't be true love. And when sin entered the world, you know, when sin came, death came, sickness came, disease came, all these things, hatred, like the knowledge of good and evil came.
If you're going to ask the question, did God allow. COVID19 did God allow these bad things to happen? You also have to say, did God allow sin into the world? Did God allow people to sin? Why would God allow Covid. Why would God allow sin? Why would God allow people to commit crimes, commit to people, to lie, for people to cheat, for people to commit adultery, for people to murder? For people to do all these things. Why would God do that? Well, here's the answer. Because he doesn't want robots. He wants you to have the ability to choose to love him. That's the answer. And also in the New Testament, Jesus has given us a commission to heal the sick. With that being said, I don't believe God's giving us a commission to heal the sick and simultaneously sending massive diseases on the earth. We're not warring against God here, but we still are in a fallen world, a fallen nature. Like Jess said in Genesis 1, where we sinned and now our world. There's death entered into the world. We were supposed to live forever in the garden, but sin entered and now we're in a fallen world. We're not in heaven yet. So for those who are struggling with the idea that God sent this thing, want to encourage you. It's definitely a valid question. But if people are going to ask the question, did God sin bad? Why did bad things happen to good people? Why did blah, blah, blah. Why does God allow sin to happen? Because he wants you to have the ability to choose him and not be forced into loving Him.
We bless you guys and we love you. And if you have any thoughts or questions, we'd love to chat with you. Guys.
