Here are two scenarios:
A pastor stands at a pulpit in anywhere U.S.A. The music from worship has just faded and he has begun his message. As he ends he says, “God is love, and has a wonderful plan for your life. I promise that once you except Christ nothing bad will ever happen to you. Christ died to make you happy. Christ wants to know you today, and so, if you want Him, come forward and pray this prayer with me.”
Another man enters into his pulpit, the classroom. He is a professor at one of the top universities in the country and he thinks Christianity is ridiculous. “How could men believe and want to worship a god who is tyrannical monster?”
What is do both of these men have in common?
They are committing the sin of idolatry. Purposefully or not, they are casting an image of God they are comfortable with worshipping (or not worshipping in the second case.)
The first paints God as all loving, one who sent Jesus for the sake of men.
The second paints God as a monster who murders thousands of people for the fun of it. He paints a picture that God could never be good, and evil exist.
Why can’t God just destroy all evil? Isn’t He Holy?
Yes, God is Holy. The first man, subtracts God’s Holiness to where it is hardly mentioned, while the second misunderstands and misinterprets God’s Holiness and twists it too change the worlds view. He also tries to make God an object that can be understood and can be consumed in an idea or thought. When this is quite the opposite of how God is. But, lets remember that God is unchanging (Hebrews 13:8) and our opinions or our understanding of Him doesn’t change the Truth of His nature or His existence. (Acts 17:24-31)
God is also all powerful, but I pose the question to the questioner, “What IS evil?”
Is lying evil? Stealing? Lust? Murder?
Well, have you ever done these? Lied, even a little white one? Stolen, even something small? Jesus said that, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. “ (Matthew 5:27-28)
Have you ever looked with lust?
Do you agree that murderer shouldn’t get eternal life? Well, so does the Bible. But, the Bible also says that he who hates, murders. (1 John 3:15)
Ever hated anyone?
Listen, men who question the goodness of God, WE are the sinful ones, WE are the evil ones.
Listen, you who paint a false picture of God, here is the true Gospel.
That if one done even one of the above things, we are under the Judgement of God. We are sinners. We’ve already established that we have done evil, we’ve broken God’s Law (the Ten Commandments), and God is the Judge of what is good and evil. He is a perfect, Holy Judge and the wage for sin is eternal death. Hell. (Romans 6:23) Hell is a place of torment and terrible suffering, just look in the end of Luke 16, where it is described in detail.
But, what the first man did have is right, is that God does love us. He gave us another option, eternal life. He doesn’t want us too go to Hell, He wants all men to come to be saved from this (2 Peter 3:9) So, God sent Himself in the form of a Jesus Christ to save men. Instead of destroying all evil, He paid the price for it. 2,000 years ago Jesus went to the Cross, suffered and died, paying our fine by becoming sin in our place!
(2 Corinthians 5:21)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ~ John 3:16
To the first man, yes, God is a God of love, but also of judgement. Know that praying a prayer, or any kind of work, will not earn anyone eternal life. Only faith and repentance will bring one into the right relationship with God. Through Christ our evil is cleansed and we may have eternal life. This was not just done for us, but for the God’s own Glory! Repent of your idolatry, and trust in the true Gospel!
To the second man, open your eyes! The god of this age has blinded you too the Truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). Know that to not believe in God must be excepted on faith in what you don’t know, you have excepted the words of men by faith as well. Know that there is absolutes that you walk by faith in your every day life. I charge you too strongly consider your position, and repent and trust in Christ and He will forgive every blasphemy, doubt and idolatry!
Eternal life is available to these men and it is available to you who read this post now.
Repent of your sins and trust in Christ. Once you’ve done that, get into God’s Word and learn more about Jesus and all He did for you, and find a Biblical church, that will build you up and help you grow.
Any questions or responses, email me! Much love, God bless you!
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