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Three Things
God Cannot Do

Quick Look: There are three things God cannot do. First, God cannot violate His own nature—meaning God is perfect, holy, and incapable of sinning, thus setting the ultimate standard of goodness. Second, God cannot allow sin to go unpunished; due to His perfect justice, every sin must face consequences. Lastly, God cannot judge forgiven sin; through the sacrificial act of Jesus Christ, a believer's sins are transferred to Jesus, preventing God from enacting double punishment. These "limitations" ensure dependability, a sense of justice, and liberation from guilt, forming the cornerstone for faith and trust in a Divine Being who remains consistent and just. For greater details, read the article below.

Can your God do everything? There are three things God cannot do... for which we should be very grateful.

We often think of what God can do and believe that nothing is impossible for God. That is true, but there are three things God cannot do. These are general categories that could be broken down into more specifics.

Three Things God Cannot Do
Number One

The first of the things God cannot do is violate His own character and nature. God is holy [Is. 6:3, 57:15] For God to be holy means that He is perfect and without any sin. He is the standard by which all else is judged. If there were a standard higher than God by which God could be judged, then there would be someone higher or greater than God. This was the mistake Eve made. She thought she could be the standard to judge between good and evil. In so doing, she placed herself above God. This is the position the humanists are in when they charge God with wrongdoing. They are, in fact, making themselves gods and claiming to be greater than the real God. Even Christians sometimes fall into this trap when they begin to doubt the goodness or wisdom of God when hurtful things happen to them or their loved ones.

In a practical way, God's holiness means that God cannot sin, i.e. He can never do wrong. For example, God cannot lie [Num. 23:19]. You could expand this to cover any sin - God cannot cheat, God cannot steal, God cannot be cruel, etc. but you get the idea.

Food For Thought: If it were possible for God to violate His nature or character, then He would no longer be God. If He were not God, He would not exist. If God ceased to exist, then everything He made and maintains [Acts 17:24] - which is everything! - would also cease to exist.

Three Things God Cannot Do
Number Two

The second of the things God cannot do is allow sin to be unpunished. Sin is a violation of the Person of God. When we experience a violation of our person or property, know someone who has experienced it or read of the horrible things human beings do one another, we feel righteous anger. Something is not just. Someone has been hurt; their freedom has been violated. Our hearts cry out for justice, for the perpetrators to be punished and for the victim to be restored. It angers us when the humanist court system simply gives a “slap on the wrist” or even fails to prosecute. [Recently, in Canada, sexual offenders have been allowed to "time out." It has taken too long to prosecute them, so charges are dropped, and they are released without trial to find more victims.] Those feelings of righteous anger and the desire for justice are a dim reflection of God’s image in us. God feels it in perfect clarity.

All of us are born with a sin nature and commit various sins to which we become callous. We no longer feel them and probably don’t even think of them. But God does not have a sin nature. He is not callous to any sin. Every sin causes Him pain and violates His very being, whether it is a juicy piece of gossip or a murder. We cannot even begin to imagine the depth of pain and horror that God feels every day at all levels of sinful activities of human beings.

Because God is perfect in His nature, He must be perfectly just. He cannot allow injustice to go unpunished. No matter how small, every sin is first a violation of God and, often, secondarily, a violation of someone or something else. Justice must be served. God cannot allow it to be otherwise.

Hell represents the perfect justice of God. It was not initially designed for human beings but for the angels who rebelled against God [Jude 1:6]. When Adam joined them in their war against God, it also became the destination of rebellious human beings [that’s all of us!]. In perfect justice, God must sentence every rebellious angel and every human being to hell. We have no defence, for we are guilty and deserve it.

Three Things God Cannot Do
Number Three

Jesus on the Cross with light breaking through the clouds

The third of the things God cannot do is judge forgiven sin. When we come to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, one of the things that happens is that God makes a legal transaction [Col. 2:13-14]. He takes all of our sins - past, present, future - and puts them on the account of Jesus Christ. Then, He takes all of the righteousness of Jesus Christ and puts it on our account. When Jesus went to the cross, He paid the penalty for all those sins. The justice of God was satisfied. He cannot double collect; that would be unjust.

For example, let’s say Jim stole $5 from Bob. Larry pays Bob back the $5 on behalf of Jim. It would then be unjust for Bob to try and collect another $5 from Jim because the debt is already paid. If Jim refuses to allow Larry to pay his debt, then Jim is still liable for it.

Jesus Christ paid the sin debt on our behalf; however, we must accept His payment on our behalf [by accepting Jesus as BOTH Lord and Saviour]. If we do not do that, then we are liable to pay the sin debt ourselves. Because our offence is primarily against the Eternal God, to be just, our punishment must also be eternal. Therefore, anyone who does not accept that the Eternal Son of God paid the price on their behalf will be paying it themselves forever in hell. Once a person is locked into hell upon physical death, there can be no escape, no end and no change [i.e. second chance]. This is one reason why accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour is vital now before death. St. Peter will not call your name for some reason you cannot explain. It is either Jesus Christ or nothing.

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Is. 43:25, NIV

Some people think that when they are forgiven, their sins are erased from God’s memory. That is technically incorrect; otherwise, God would not be omniscient. The word “remembers” in the above verse is the same word as when God “remembered” His covenant. It does not mean God forgot about His covenant and then suddenly remembered it. It means He brought it to mind because it was time to do something about it. In the same way, the above verse does not mean that God has no conscious memory of what happened but that He will no longer bring our sins up to deal with because they have been dealt with at the cross. Our sins are no longer held against us; we are free to move on in Christ.

We should rejoice that there are three things that God cannot do. If God could violate His own nature, then He could be kind one moment and cruel the next. We would not be able to depend on His faithfulness or trust in His Word. Life would be meaningless and hopeless. If God allowed sin to go unpunished, then injustice would reign for all eternity. Victims who have not received justice in this world would have no hope of seeing justice in the next one. And we could not trust a God who ultimately would allow evil to win. If God were to keep bringing up sins that have been forgiven, then we would constantly be living in guilt, fear and shame, unable to move forward and build the new life that Christ has for us. Thank God there are things He cannot do!

Three Things God Cannot Do
Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Why Is Understanding God's Nature Essential To Our Faith?

Answer: We need to work on understanding God's nature because it allows us to know Him better and gives us confidence in life. Too much of modern Christianity is man focused instead of being God focused.

Question: In What Ways Does God's Inability To Violate His Nature Affect Our Relationship With Him?

Answer: Because God is good and He cannot change, we can have absolute confidence in His faithfulness and love. Even when things appear to go against us, we can know that God is behind the scenes working out everything for good. We can have faith in His promises, knowing He will keep His word.

Question: How Does The Concept Of Justice Relate To God's Nature And Our Salvation?

Answer: God cannot be unjust. Every sin must have an appropriate consequence. Hell is real. But because of His great love, in the Person of Jesus, He took the punishment for our sins on Himself. In perfect justice, God cannot punish the same offence twice.

Question: What Implications Does The Inability To Judge Forgiven Sin Have For Believers?

Answer: Because God cannot judge the same sin twice, believers can have a dynamic relationship with God, walk in freedom from guilt and embrace an exciting future. We do not have to live in fear of God or of Judgment Day because our sins have already been paid for. However, any person who thinks this gives them a licence to sin with consequences may not be a genuine Christian. Real Christians may fall into sin, but it is not their desire.

For more information about Glenn Davis, see our About Glenn page or visit Glenn Davis Books.

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