Here is a brief (and belated) response to a comment on my post on the justice of God.
Morsec0de wrote: “You have two people who live identical lives. The one and only difference is that one is a believer, and the other is not. Do you view it as just that one of those be tortured for all eternity and the other not? I’m sorry, but that is an absolutely revolting concept, and the being who instituted it would be despicable. I’m quite glad there is no good evidence to support such a being actually existing.”
My response:
I quoted from Romans chapter 9 in my last post concerning God’s choice of Jacob over Esau and I think that shedding further light on this will answer Morsec0de’s question. Readers be warned, this answer will probably not be a popular one, but it is a biblical one. Continue reading
In my last post, Are We Justified by Actions or by Beliefs? which was in response to the post prior to it, Will Atheists go to Hell? I received further comments from a couple of atheists questioning the goodness and justice of God in sending people away to eternal punishment. I will attempt to answer their objections here.
I wrote, “If my justification depended on my actions I (and everyone else) would be doomed to damnation.”
Morsec0de wrote, “Doesn’t that suggest too high of a standard?”
My response:
Yes! That’s the whole point of the biblical tension between law and grace. Logically, one leads to the other. Here are a few biblical facts about the law of God: Continue reading
In my last post where I related a conversation with my daughter concerning the eternal fate of atheists who persist in their belief system, I received a few respectful responses from fellow bloggers of the atheistic worldview. I decided to place my reply in a post because the commenter asked several good questions and I thought my response was a little long for the comment section. The gentleman takes issue with the concept of God’s judgment being based on belief rather than action. He asks:
“Are you okay with people being judged on belief rather than actions? Are you comfortable with that? Does it seem just to you?”
Thursday morning I was shaken out of my mundane weekday routine by a surprising question from my teenage daughter on the way to school. It surprised me for a couple of reasons:
1. In the past my daughter has not been open to conversing about spiritual matters.
2. None of us are morning people. No one is usually talkative, much less thinking about deep theological issues at 7:30ish. I’m certain my children’s morning moods are genetically assigned by their dear old dad. I am not conversant or even pleasant company until around 10:00 most days.
So, imagine my surprise when my daughter blurts out of the blue, “Mom got mad at me the other day.”
I only offered a muffled “Mmmph” as a reply: an indication for her to continue the thought.
“I told mom I didn’t believe atheists would ‘go down there’”, she pointed her finger downward ominously. “She got really mad at me for saying that. What do you think?” Continue reading
I have featured this atrocious video before but it is so theologically bankrupt that it bears another look. I saw this again recently on You Tube and was disturbed to find many people actually defending it. Sadly, this song sums up the soteriology of a large segment of Evangelicalism today. I have listed below the lyrics to ‘I Give You Freedom’ or ‘The Whippoorwill Song’. A few observations will follow. Blatant heresy has been bolded for your convenience.
I set the boundaries of the ocean vast,
Carved out the mountains from the distant past,
Molded a man from the miry clay,
Breathed in him life, but he went astray.
CHORUS:
I own the cattle on a thousand hills,
I write the music for the whippoorwills,
Control the planets with their rocks and rills, But give you freedom to use your own will.
And if you want Me to, I’ll make you whole,
I’ll only do it tho’ if you say so.
I’ll never force you, for I love you so,
I give you freedom – Is it “yes” or “no”?
I hold the waters in My mighty hand
Spread out the heavens with a single span,
Make all creation tremble at My voice, But My own children come to Me by choice.
(chorus)
Even the oxen knows the master’s stall,
And sheep will recognize the shepherd’s call I could demand your love – I own you twice,
But only willing love is worth the price!
(chorus)
Here is a great quote from an unknown source. If anyone can identify the author for me I would greatly appreciate it. Whoever penned this piece of divine wisdom should be given due credit.
“We pray for courage in times of tribulation – then question our Commander’s battle plan. We pray to be made perfect – then run at the first sight of the refining fire. We pray for brokenness – then flee the Potter’s hands. All too often our Savior’s merciful act of sanctification is met by our doubt when we discover that His path may lead us down the valley of the shadow of death. How foolish it is for us to demand peaceful green pastures, as if we expect to be carried to Heaven’s skies on “flowery beds of ease.” We erroneously see these valleys as periods of abandonment, when they are actually demonstrations of Christ’s perfect love. Our Father gives only good gifts to his children: this is His character, and as such is not subject to change. The man that proclaims his gratitude only when “the Lord giveth” has much to learn. When “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away”, man often forgets gratitude and screams injustice has befallen him. He searches for any visible exit, then sprints toward escape. But God did not design these tests so man could cheat. He designed these tests so man could be made more like the image of His Son. When we finally see God as truly good and merciful beyond compare, we will not flee. We will instead fall face down in the valley before the Lord of perfect love and worship His majestic sovereignty. This humble submission is where peace and joy can be experienced; the misery comes when we lean on our own understanding and attempt to climb out of the valley. My Commander will give me His strength, and I will stay in the valley He has ordained. When I pray to be made perfect by God’s grace, I will welcome His refining fire. When I pray for brokenness, I will rest in the Potter’s outstretched hands. Only then will I be able to repeat, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” – Unknown.
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