God can do whatever He wants.
The end.
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
Psalms 115:3, ESV
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Now, I absolutely could end it there and everything in the article would be absolutely true, but let’s go over a few particulars when it comes to that phrase.
What does it mean that God does all that He pleases, as we read in the Psalm above? Some try to use this doctrine against those who believe in the absolute reign and sovereignty of God. They take the truth of Godly freedom and try to put it against the litmus test of fallen humanity. “Why would we want a capricious god that does anything he wants?” Then, they balk at the audacity of Scripture, when it clearly says God does exactly that.
But why would we want a God that does whatever He pleases? Wouldn’t that mean He could treat someone unfairly if He but desired to? Wouldn’t that mean that He could change His mind on a whim, as we do? Wouldn’t that mean that He can choose to not live up to His promises, if He grows tired of a rebellious people?
No.
God must be good and faithful and just, and all other attributes associated with His perfect, holy name. Now, God must do these things not because He is bound by any set of laws or statues which hold Him to a perfect standard. Instead, God must be good because we define the word good by how close to the standard of God’s goodness something is or isn’t. Let me phrase that another way.
God is not bound by a set of moral statutes which abide over Him. We get our concept of morality from God’s unchanging character.
So, to say that God is free isn’t to say that He is free to sin, or that He is free to change. Because He isn’t really free to do those things, they’re contrary to His unchanging nature. This is not a limitation, that God cannot sin. It’s a strength and foundation for our hope and assurance. We can know that the God we relied on yesterday is the same God we can rely on tomorrow.
God is free to be God, and He is free to do whatever He pleases.