Is It God's Will For A Woman To Be Raped?

Yeah, here is one of those dam-you-say and dam-you-say-not situations where Christians need be smarter in their reply especially when it is going to be disseminated to the general unsaved public.

The answer this man gives is both right and wrong. Let me explain:

The bible mentions that God's will can be broken down into three key areas:

His decretive will, his preceptive will, and his permissive will.

God's decretive will

Nothing, absolutely nothing occurs without God's overall permission and will. All the bad as well as all the good occurs as part of God's will -- i.e. His sovereign decretive will.  There is no such thing as any maverick situation or circumstance that occurs in the universe that God does not will for it to happen. If we are to acknowledge Him as the sovereign ruler of all things, than we must be prepared to embrace all that is to be meant and believed. If there is anything that occurs without God's will or knowledge, then God is less than what the Bible says He is and therefore, He is not to be trusted.

The decretive will can have no other effect, no other consequence than what God sovereignly commands. He did not request the light to shine (ex. Gen. 1). Neither did He coax, cajole, or woo it into existence. It was a matter of absolute authority and power.

No creature enjoys this power of will. No man’s will is that efficacious. Men issue decrees and then hope they will bring about their desired effects. God alone can decree with the necessity of consequence.

Psalm 115:3 “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Isaiah 40:23 “who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.”

Second Chronicles 20:6 “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.”

Zechariah 4:6 “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2)

Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ (Isa. 46:9-10)

Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps - Psalm 135:6

So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills - Rom. 9:18

The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble - Prov. 16:4

Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? (Lam. 3:37)

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord (Prov. 16:33)

I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things. (Isa. 45:7)

God's Preceptive Will

The preceptive will of God relates to the revealed commandments of God’s published law (i.e. all His commandments recorded in the Bible). When God commands us not to steal, this decree does not carry with it the immediate necessity of consequence. Where it was not possible for the light to refuse to shine in creation, it is possible for us to refuse to obey this command. In a word, people steal and can get away with it.

We must be careful not to make too much of this distinction. We must not be lulled into thinking that the preceptive will of God is divorced from His decretive will. It is not as though the preceptive will has no effect or no necessity of consequence. We may have the power to disobey the preceptive will of God. We do not have the power to disobey it with impunity. Neither can we annul it by our disregard. His law remains intact whether we obey or disobey it.

In one sense, the preceptive will is part of the decretive will. God sovereignly and efficaciously decrees that His Law be established. It is established and nothing can disestablish it. His Law exists as surely as the light by which we read it.

One great passage in the Bible about God's perceptive will is found in Psalm  19.

The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
    reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right,
    bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
    giving insight for living.
9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,
    lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
    each one is fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
    even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
    even honey dripping from the comb.
11 They are a warning to your servant,
    a great reward for those who obey them (vv. 7-11).

God's Permissive Will

In ordinary language the term permission suggests some sort of positive sanction. To say that God “allows” or “permits” evil does not mean that He sanctions it in the sense that He grants approval to it. It is easy to discern that God never permits sin in the sense that He sanctions it in His creatures.

What is usually meant by divine permission is that God simply lets it happen. That is, He does not directly intervene to prevent its happening. Here is where grave danger lurks. Some theologies view this drama as if God were impotent to do anything about human sin. This view makes man sovereign, not God. God is reduced to the roll of spectator or cheerleader, by which God’s exercise in providence is that of a helpless Father who having done all He can do, must now sit back and simply hope for the best. He permits what He cannot help but permit because He has no sovereign power over it. This ghastly view is not merely a defective view of theism; it is unvarnished atheism.

The motive behind this flawed theology is virtuous. It is fueled by a desire to exonerate God from any culpability for the presence of evil in the world. I am sure God is pleased by the sentiment but repulsed by a theory that would strip Him of His very deity.

If we are in any just way to speak of God’s permissive will, we must be careful to notice not only the word permissive but also the word will. Whatever God “permits” He sovereignly and efficaciously wills to permit. If I have a choice to sin or not sin, God also has a choice in the matter. He always has the ability and the authority to stop me from exercising my will. He has absolute power to restrain me. He can vaporize me instantly if it is His pleasure. Or He can keep me on a long leash and let me do my worst. He will only permit me to do my worst if my worst coincides with His perfect providential plan.

In the treachery perpetrated by Joseph’s brothers, it was said, “You meant it for evil; God meant it for good.” God’s good will was served through the bad will of Joseph’s brothers. This does not mean that since they were only doing the will of God the acts of the brothers were virtues in disguise. Their acts are judged together with their intentions, and they were rightly judged by God to be evil. That God brings good out of evil only underscores the power and the excellence of His sovereign decretive will.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to (God's permissive will) gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me" (man's rebellious will that God permitted to occur, Matt. 23:37).

So then when asked the question, "Is it God's will for a woman to be raped?" The answer: NO!

Note: You are affirming God's "preceptive will (one aspect of God's will that the Bible declares). Don't try to be cute and smart by trying to explain before unregenerate minds (1 Cor. 2:14) God's decretive and permissive wills.  Just affirm the will of God that rightly corresponds to the question.

Then you can take the offensive stance and say, "Let me also ask you a question.  Is it God's will for you to live antagonistically and in unbelief before God?" If the answer is "yes," then the person just affirmed God's permissive will which helps to illustrate the rape question. In the same way God does not want you to live in unbelief, but you choose to do so anyway, because you have your own will to choose to do so, so it is with rape. God is not willing for any woman to be raped. But evil people make their own choices to do so.

That's it! Nothing more needs to be said. Do not try to give unregenerate man the whole buffet of the theology of God's will and expect it not to be twisted and misconstrued before the world. Keep your answers simple and remember, the real issue is not God's will toward rape, but His will toward your unbelief in the saving power of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection for your soul.