What God Cannot Do – And Why That Makes Him Trustworthy

Editor’s note – Every believer eventually meets someone who scoffs at a talking donkey or a man swallowed by a fish, yet accepts far stranger claims without blinking. The author’s point is simple: if God is truly God, the miracles aren’t the hard part – what’s hard is admitting there’s anything God cannot do. That short list of impossibilities, it turns out, is exactly why His promises can be trusted.

Is Anything Impossible for God?

What is the greatest miracle ever performed? In my humble opinion, it’s when God created the universe out of nothing (ex nihilo). So, is there anything in the universe that it’s not possible for God to do? Yes, there are several things that God cannot do: He cannot lie; He cannot sin or be tempted by evil; He can never stop being God; and He cannot allow unforgiven people into Heaven.

So if God is God, then by definition He can perform miracles like creating the universe. Since that is true, it’s hard to understand why some people have trouble believing in some of His other miracles. The most popular ones that skeptics love to joke about include God making animals talk, keeping a man alive inside a huge fish, causing the sun to stand still, and taking people to Heaven who haven’t died. I wonder if these skeptics realize that when they believe in macro-evolution (one kind evolving into another kind), they believe in talking animals too, since they believe human beings evolved from lower forms of animals.

Editor’s note – The aside about macro-evolution deserves a second look. Anyone who believes all species descended from a common ancestor has already accepted something stranger than a talking serpent .

Why trust God?

Some of the unique attributes of God include His omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), omnipresence (present everywhere), immutability (unchanging), eternality (exists outside time and space), and aseity (self-existent). Because God is love and created humanity in His own image, people can love, be holy and just, show mercy and compassion, and be faithful.

One reason Scripture unequivocally states that God can be trusted is because of these things He cannot do. Since He cannot lie (because it would contradict His nature), every word He speaks is faithful, and every promise He makes is certain.

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. [Titus 1:2]

Because of the unchanging attributes of God, we can be confident that we can trust His character to always be holy, reliable, truthful, and faithful. It’s deeply comforting to know that God’s promises don’t rely on changing circumstances, human reliability, or wishful thinking. When He promises forgiveness, eternal life, justice, and final restoration for His people, we can count on the fact that He will fulfill His word.

Does God contradict Himself?

God is perfectly holy, and He isn’t attracted to evil. Evil doesn’t entice Him or have any power over Him. He also never tempts anyone to do evil.

When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. [James 1:13]

So what about Satan, you may ask? Didn’t God know beforehand that Satan would rebel against Him and become evil? Of course He knew, just like He knows every person who will accept or reject Him. But foreknowledge isn’t the same thing as causation. God created a good angelic being called Lucifer, with the same free will He gave humanity. This heavenly being, whose name God changed to Satan, chose to rebel because of his pride and was responsible for his own sin. He was allowed to sin, just as we are; however, Satan has never been, and never will be, outside God’s authority.

God doesn’t cause or approve of sin, but He may permit His creatures to act in sinful ways, which He will use to bring about good in the end. The perfect example of this is the cross. God used the evil actions of the people who crucified Jesus on the cross of Calvary to accomplish His saving plan of redemption for mankind.

So no, God cannot contradict Himself because His own nature is the perfect, unchanging standard of truth and goodness. He is eternally one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because of His eternally holy character, He cannot act in contradictory ways, such as making truth false, holiness sinful, or Himself not God.

Editor’s note – Notice the careful line drawn between foreknowledge and causation. God knowing Satan would rebel is not the same as God causing that rebellion – the choice, and the blame, remain Satan’s alone.

Why can’t God overlook sin?

He can’t, because if He did, He would deny His own holy Nature. If evil were treated as no big deal, and if the guilty were declared innocent, there would be no just basis for forgiveness. If God didn’t punish sin, He certainly wouldn’t be loving. It’s not loving or fair to allow baby torturers, mass murderers, thieves, liars, and all other evil people to escape punishment for their evil acts and gain access to eternal paradise in Heaven.

Sin is rebellion against God, offends His justice, and separates people from Him. Scripture teaches that nothing impure will enter into God’s holy presence.

But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. [Revelation 21:27]

It’s not that forgiven people deserve Heaven; it’s that forgiven people have turned from their sin and trusted in Christ, who bore the punishment they deserve for their sin. Because God sent Jesus Christ to Earth to bear sin’s judgment (death) at the cross, people can be forgiven, cleansed, and made righteous through His sacrifice. They are covered by His righteousness, never their own. The Gospel is such good news because people can be forgiven and restored in their relationship to God, not by their own efforts but through God’s grace.

Conclusion

If God is God, then His power isn’t limited by creation, natural laws, or even by the things He can’t do, such as lie, deny Himself, or call evil good. God, who is outside the universe and who created all things, is fully able to accomplish every purpose He has decreed. Even though the circumstances He allows to happen are sometimes terrible and tragic, they do have a purpose that our finite minds may not understand until we live in eternity. However, we know these limits don’t weaken God; they assure us that He is eternally holy, true, unchanging, and utterly trustworthy.

A Word from the Editor
None of this shrinks God – it’s exactly what makes Him safe to trust. A God who could lie, or change His mind, or excuse sin without a payment would be no better than us, just bigger. The limits this piece names aren’t cracks in His power; they’re the reason His promises never run out.

Editor Comment: You show that God's unchanging character is exactly what makes His promises unbreakable, and that truth steadies anyone who has ever doubted whether grace really holds. Ending with the cross as the place where justice and mercy meet gives readers a concrete picture of a hard doctrine.

This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.