Can God Create a Rock That He Cannot Lift?

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

“Can God make a rock so big that He cannot lift” is a classical skeptical challenge. It is based on the following line of thinking: “The Christian God is omnipotent, which means he can do anything. But God cannot create a rock so big that he cannot move it, therefore the Christian God is not real.” The challenge is based on ignorance of the Bible’s teaching about God. The simple answer is that God cannot make a rock so big that He can’t move it because He is all-powerful (Job 42:2; Je. 32:17; Mt. 19:26; Lu. 1:37), and God would not make a rock that He can’t move because He is all-wise (Ps. 147:5; Isa. 40:28; 1 Jo. 3:20). There are, though, things that God cannot do. He cannot lie or repent of His spoken Word. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Nu. 23:19). This means that the following Word of God will prove to be true in the life of every skeptic: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

(Friday Church News Notes, April 12, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

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