The Gift we would rather not claim

Yesterday I was watching a program where a girl found out she would not be able to have children because there was something wrong with part of her reproductive system. She was a teenage girl and was involved with the youth at her church. She became angry and blamed God saying He is not good. She told her mother that she was never going to attend church again. 

It was her way of getting back at God for not loving and being there for her - in her mind.

This young girl's resentment toward God is nothing new. People are yelling, screaming and cursing God every day when things go wrong in their lives. Once again the proverbial question is, "If God is so good and loving and He has all power, then why is this happening to me? I don't deserve it!" 

This is the time when a person should do a very careful inventory of their lives. Because I see two possible scenarios. 1) The person is in sin and has refused to repent and ask for forgiveness so they are being punished. 2) They are in a furious season of trial and tribulation and their faith has to be tested.

Admittedly when we are going through trials, we often do not understand or like what is happening to us. None of us want pain in our lives. We hate it. It frightens us. Even mature Christians forget that we are still in the hands of The Almighty during our darkest times. He seems so far away. What is most aggravating to us all is that when we call on God and He does not respond when we believe He should, we feel abandoned by Him. Listen to the cry of David in Psalm 10:1, "Why O Lord do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" 

David was stressed because He saw the wicked oppressing the poor and defying God. He wanted God to take vengeance on his enemies but to David God could not be found when he needed the Lord the most. 

When we are feeling and thinking like this - with fear, anger, and despair, that is the time we need reassurance. When we are emotionally and spiritually drained, we need the well of God's word to quench our thirst.  That's right. We need revival!

Now, back to the title question. What is the gift that we rather not claim? It is the gift of suffering. Wait a minute! Suffering is a gift from God? I know it sounds hard to believe but yes. I'll prove it. Philippians 1:29 says, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ (emphasis added) you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake.” Jesus said to the disciples, "In this life, you shall have tribulation or trouble but be of good cheer I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33)

The apostle Peter writes in his first letter to the saints that they are rejoicing due to their living hope in Christ although at the present time they were being afflicted by various trials. Why? This reason is very key, so that the genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, these next words are absolutely powerful and beautiful, "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:6b-9).

This is what we must place in front of us at all times, God's word so we do not lose our way in this life. It is so very easy to forget the promises of the word when we are going through trials in our lives, but we must hang on to God's promises so that we do not lose heart and stop running the race and fighting the good fight of faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

Once we know that we are in a spiritual war, we understand that difficulties are necessary to test our faith which is our trust in God to see us through our fiery trials. Although it seems like hard times will never end when we are going through them, they will. And although it seems like we cannot endure them, we can if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). Jesus is there. He loves and cares for us and feels what we feel (Hebrews 4:15). 

Its a win-win for the child of God in the overall. How? If God decides to bring us through the affliction, then we can rejoice in the Lord's faithfulness to us. If He providentially decides to allow our sickness and pain to end our natural lives, then it's far better because we have graduated to eternal glory where there is no more pain, sickness, and death- ever (Revelation 21:4).

Suffering under God's tender hands is a blessing although the temporary trials by which He administers them are painful. We must remember that we go through is not for nothing. Suffering for Christ's sake is the instrument by which God has decided His children will glorify Him. If we keep this perspective, then we do not have to be ashamed of what we are going through for there is a reward when we endure the trials God has set before us - the crown of life (James 1:12). 

So let us endeavor to endure the hard times with joy. We can only do it in the Lord.

Arguments Against Predestination and Election

For those readers who are not familiar with the doctrine of Predestination and election, it is the teaching where God before time began decided of His own initiative to chose those whom He wanted to be recipients of His saving grace for His own glory. Paul in Ephesians 1:4 said those who have been chosen were chosen before the foundation of the world. 

Well, obviously if there are those who are chosen, then there are those who were not chosen. This is where the tension begins when dealing with this contentious yet Biblical doctrine. Those who militate against this doctrine will continue to cry out, "Why would God chose some and not all? That's not fair!" Since when do we believe we have the right to determine for God what is and what is not fair? God never needs our approval or denial to do anything.

Romans 9:20-21 says, "But who are you O man to reply back to God? Will the thing formed say to Him that formed it why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? Bottom line, God does whatever He wants with human beings because He made us. He is the Potter and we are the clay.

Be careful. If someone desires fairness from God, that means you will receive justice. Divine justice for the wicked is equal to God's judgment. 

Election is not fair because

It appears God is a respecter of persons. For most, it is emotionally unfair for a loving God to choose some individuals for His kingdom and pass by others. God is never a respecter of persons. The reason why this is true is because the ones chosen have done nothing to merit the grace of God in deciding to choose them. God chose whom He wanted because it pleased Him to do so. Nothing more. God did not look down the corridors of time into the future to see what man would do and then elect them based on His prior knowledge of what He knew they would do. If He chose based on that premise, God would be choosing us after we chose Him in eternity past. God does not respond to a pre-incarnate faith and repentance because they do not exist. 

Another issue that arises is the fact if God has chosen the elect for salvation does that mean He has chosen the non-elect for damnation? In other words, is predestination double? Are some predetermined for salvation, and are others predetermined for damnation? The best way the writer knows how to answer that question is this: God knows in advance who will never believe in Jesus so they are already condemned because they will never believe in the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). We do not know who the non-elect and the elect are, that is why we must preach the gospel to all people.  It is not that the non-elect cannot choose to believe; nothing or no one is preventing them. They do not want to repent because they love darkness rather than light and their ways are evil (John 3:19). God does not seal their doom before they are born, they seal their own doom when they refuse to believe in Christ.

God is active in salvation, He is passive in reprobation. In other words, when God redeems a life, God chooses that person before the foundation of the world. God is reactive to the sinner who rejects Him in judgment. 

An important truth to remember is this: No is saved before they are born (the elect). And no one is damned before they are born (the non-elect). One person receives saving grace from God whereas the other person receives divine justice from the same God. Why? Because the Lord is sovereign and He does whatever He wants to do (Psalm 115:3).

We must remember that all men are guilty of sin before God and are deserving of God's wrath elect and non-elect alike. It is God's divine prerogative to save some and punish others. Election is God's transcending love on lost sinners to save them since we cannot obtain salvation through human achievement. If election did not exist, the Father never would have sent Christ to die for sinners so that many could be saved.

But Christ died for the sins of everyone!

This is where we enter into the nature of the atonement. What is the atonement? It is the act of where Christ shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins. Most Christians say that Jesus died for the sins of everyone who will ever live - this is what scholars call unlimited atonement. The minority report says Christ died only for the elect that the Father chose before the foundation of the world for Christ to come and redeem - this is what scholars call limited atonement. The latter view is held by those who hold to a reformed view of Biblical theology; or what many would call Calvinists. For the record, the reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) did not invent limited atonement.

If Jesus died for everyone, that means He paid the price in full for their sins. If everyone's sin debt is paid, then that means all will go to heaven and no one will go to hell. But wait a minute! The Bible clearly teaches that many people will die in their sins if they do not believe (John 8:24). So tell me, how effective is an atonement that forgives sins of all but does not guarantee the salvation of all? If all the sins of all people for all time are paid in full yet many die in unbelief, what type of atonement is that and how were their sins paid for? The response this writer gives may offend and produce shock value to the reader but here it is: I would argue that those who die and perish had none of their sins paid for. Why? Because they will pay the price for their own sins eternally in hell. There is never a double payment for sins taught in the Bible. It does not make sense nor is it fair for Jesus to die for the sins of those who die in sin.  Why would God the Father who knows all things before they happen send His only Begotten Son who He loves on a recovery mission that was doomed for failure before the foundation of the world? What you have is only a potential atonement and not an actual one. Why do I say that? Because the plan of redemption becomes a partnership instead of a monergistic work of God. God did His part, and now He is waiting for the sinner to pickup the Paton and activate the deal; that is repent, believe and become saved.

Here is another question the writer needs to present. Which is more loving of God, to send Christ to die for everyone because that is what is fair in the eyes of man yet guarantee the salvation of no one, because He is waiting for a spiritually dead unregenerate person in their sins to activate their own salvation when they're unable and unwilling to, or for Christ to die for those whom the Father gave to Him and actually save all of them (John 6:37)?

This is why predestination and divine election are essential. In order for man to become really saved, God must guarantee it. He did that before the world began. God did not send Christ to die for all men as an expression of His love hoping that sinful man would have the willingness to believe on his own. God knew from before the beginning that evil men would not trust Christ so He predetermined a plan of intervention that would bring about a transformation in man's soul so that when the gospel is preached those chosen would repent, believe and be saved. So you see, God's love is what compelled Him to extend mercy to save an innumerable amount of souls throughout history.

How is the gospel offer valid to those who are non-elect since they will never believe?

Once again, we do not know whom God has chosen, and whom He has not. That is why we must declare the truth to all people. You see we are all on an even playing field when it comes to sin; we are all guilty before God. Everyone needs the truth. What one does with it is their choice. Here is the big question that needs to be answered, is the word of God in the life of the person who rejects it effective? In other words, when a person rejects the truth, did the word of God return void (Isaiah 55:11)? The answer is no. Why? God's word always accomplishes its intended purpose - even in the life of those who reject it. How? When God's truth is rejected, the result is that it exposes a person's rebellion, unbelief, degeneration which results in righteous judgment. The word of God accomplished its work, albeit negatively in that person. So, the gospel is a valid offer even for those who reject it. It is the only truth that can save or condemn a person and the rule all men must be judged by.

Finally, when dealing with divine election we must remember this maxim in scripture, God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and compassion on whom He will have compassion (Exodus 33:19). What God does for one person He does NOT have to do for another - that is His divine privilege. No one can judge and inprison God by corrupt human fairness. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His way past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever, Amen (Romans 11:33-36).

For God so loved the World...God is angry with the Wicked every day?

So, how do we harmonize the two ideas when they are apparently mutually opposed to one another and both are true at the same time? You see, in the mind of God, He can have perfect compassion for the lost, and perfect anger against the wicked simultaneously. When the Bible discusses the wicked, it is describing people in what they are actively doing versus who we essentially are. You see all men are wicked naturally speaking until that person recognizes they are sinful, lost and in need of a Savior then we become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

The overarching attribute of God is love. However, within His love the Lord does become and displeased and angry, It should be no great wonder about God. We do the same thing in our own relationships. When parents get upset with their children and become angry with them for something they have done wrong, it does not negate their love they have for them, they just have to resort to discipline to correct the bad behavior.

I see God's love and His anger as symmetrical. They are both perfect and complete, They do not contradict one another. Rather, they complement each other. They are constants in God. God will always love because He is love (1 John 4:8,16). He also must exhibit His holy righteous anger against evildoers every day so that He can display His wrath and all may fear Him.

The Bible says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

What is Prevenient Grace?

The word prevenient is a Latin word that means something happening beforehand. So when we are talking about prevenient grace in theological circles, it is making reference to the grace that God grants to those who He will save in time. This grace is distinct from the common grace everyone receives every day in the form of the air we breathe, and the daily provision God provides.  Whenever God decides to save someone, He will use the instrument of the gospel message to inform the sinner why they must repent of their sins. Once the gospel has been effectively preached, God will open the heart and mind of the person so they understand and hear the truth, respond in faith and be saved (Acts 16:14; Luke 24:45). The grace, of course, has to be granted by God before the sinner can respond positively to the gospel message. This grace is the power or enablement that God must give to the sinner or else one can never believe unto salvation.

There are many that believe that God's grace does not always lead to salvation. Why? Because man has a free will and can resist the power of God to convict him of sin so that he repents, believes and becomes saved. To believe this way is to say that God's power to save ultimately lies within the person and not God to save them. In other words, God's prevenient grace removes the depravity of man, but it still does not guarantee that he will repent and believe the gospel.

There have been centuries of debate regarding the matter of what prevenient grace can do. The writer believes the debate exists because you have those that teach that God saves all those He elects or the limited atonement view, or you have the majority report, those that teach unlimited atonement. Limited atonement teaches that God the Father sent the Son to die for the elect alone. Whereas unlimited atonement teaches that Christ died for everyone who will ever live. There are intense debates on both sides. For those who are in what is called the Arminian camp (named after James Arminius 1560-1609), their definition of prevenient grace says that God grants the sinner this benefit, but it does not always lead to salvation. In the Reformed or what many call the Calvinistic camp (named after the Reformer John Calvin 1509-1564), God's prevenient grace always leads to salvation.

So, we must ask the questions, did the Father send Jesus to die just to make all men savable, but guarantee the salvation of no one? Or did the Father send the Son to actually save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21)? You see why there has been and will continue to be such intense debates between evangelicals? I just listened to a podcast last week where a minister said that for Jesus to die just the elect or chosen is "ridiculous"! Why would he say that? Because he is convinced that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). John 1:29 says, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." Those are pretty straightforward texts, right? They mean what they say and they say what they mean. The word world always has to be qualified and defined by the context which many fail to do.

Now here is the question the writer must ask, "If God's sovereign prevenient grace only makes men savable, meaning the grace removes some type of evil restraint from him so that he is in some moral neutral state - his heart is open to receive the gospel, but he still does not repent and believe, how powerful is God's grace if it does not lead to actual salvation? Let me say it another way. Let's view it from the divine perspective. Since God knows all things before they happen because He created the end from the beginning decided in eternity past to send Christ to suffer and die for sinners, what makes more sense, and more importantly what view is Biblically supported, Christ dying and paying for all sins of everyone that will ever live yet most of humanity perishing in hell for their own sins due to unbelief, or Christ dying for the sins of those whom the Father chose in eternity past for Christ to come to earth to redeem? Remember Jesus' words in John 6:37, "All the Father has given to Me will come to Me (emphasis added), and those that come to me I will in no wise cast out."

If one believes that Christ died for the sins of all men but ultimately leaves the final decision to man to determine whether salvation is successful or not, then His death was in vain and God's rescue plan failed. Why? Because natural man will not seek God on his own (Romans 3:11). God must pursue man first. (Luke 19:10). I have written about this in times past, but it bears repeating, God has nor will He ever leave His salvation plan in the hands of evil men to determine whether it succeeds or fails. God in eternity past predetermined the success of salvation before He created the universe! We have nothing to do with it. Man is strictly a beneficiary of God's divine grace when he believes. He is never the cause of salvation becoming a reality.

I would submit to the reader that a prevenient grace that does not lead to salvation is not grace at all. What good is a grace that does not save? Remember the words of Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace through faith you have been saved. It is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast." Paul knew that God's grace is what saved him. It is that same grace that saves all those who place their trust in Jesus' complete atoning work on the cross.

What about those who have never heard of Jesus? What happens to them?

This would be another of one of those age-old questions, wouldn't it? If someone has never been preached the gospel then obviously they cannot believe what they do not know. They can neither accept or reject the truth. So, what has to happen? God has to manifest Himself in some other way to them. When one refers to those who have never heard of Christ, often we are talking about people who live in the most remote parts of the world, far from what we regard as normal civilization. 

God has left His handprint all over the place - on the earth and in the heavens. This is what is known as natural or general revelation. God made absolutely sure all mankind could know Him in the natural sense. The Bible says the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament His handiwork (Psalm 19:1). God has also made Himself known through the conscience. Romans chapter one tells us the things that are made - that we see clearly tell us that the invisible God is real because without Him none of what we see could exist. So scripture shows by two pieces of evidence that God exists: 1) His creation. 2) Through conscience. That leaves man without excuse. If man understands and receives these revelations, then, of course, God can shed more light to him. The Lord has placed in every man the innate ability to get to know Him in a personal way. The Bible says if someone seeks the Lord with all their heart they will find Him (Deut 4:29; Jer 29:13). Most men suppress the truth they know about God so they replace the worship of the true God with falsehood thus sealing their doom (Romans 1:21-23).

What about those with mental incapabilities. How can they believe when they do not understand the gospel?

Many regard someone mentally challenged like an infant. Babies cannot comprehend anything so someone, lest say mentally retarded, cannot understand Biblical truth. Depending upon the severity of their mental disability would determine if they could understand the gospel. If they are unable to, they can never reach the point of moral accountability where they understand the need for repentance of their sins and placing their faith in Christ. I believe God places special grace on them when they die and takes them to heaven. Why do I believe this? Because trusting in Christ is a faith-based decision as well as a moral decision to believe. Adults or children with minds of infants do not even know their right hand from their left or even their name sometimes so how could they be held responsible to choose something they could never understand? You see people in this type of condition are what I call morally neutral. They can neither accept nor reject the gospel due to their mental ineptitude.

Their curse I believe ultimately is their blessing because I am convinced a divine exception is granted to them.

Let me provide a Biblical reason why I believe this.

In II Samuel 12 we read about David's sin of adultery with Bathsheba who was the wife of a man named Uriah. Bathsheba becomes pregnant as a result of the affair. David has Uriah killed in battle so he can marry Bathsheba. When the child is born, the prophet Nathan rebukes David for his sins of adultery and murder. The worst part is Nathan tells him that their son will die. The son becomes ill by God's hand (not due to the child's sin because he had none, but as a result of David's sin which was forgiven, but he suffered painful temporal consequences the rest of his life). As a result, David fasts and prays hoping the child will get well but he dies. David then gets up washes and anoints himself changes his clothes and worships the Lord. Afterward, he eats. His servants see this behavior as strange - why he is eating now? David said to them, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that my child may live?' But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me" (II Samuel 12:15b-23).

Why did David make that statement? Because he knew where his deceased son went and where he was going when he died. It was David who said in Psalm 23:6, "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."  David's son went to heaven and that is where David is now. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (II Corinthians 5:8). David is in heaven because he was a righteous man. His son was granted a divine exception and taken to glory because he had no mental or moral capability to believe God regarding anything.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:13, "Let the little children come to Me and do not forbid them; for such is the kingdom of heaven." Children who have not reached the age of what is called accountability are extended grace and granted salvation by God if they die very young. It does not mean they deserve salvation because they are still sinners by nature, but for whatever reason(s) unknown to us, their lives are cut off prematurely due perhaps to an illness suffered at birth or they are tragically killed.

Concluding, those who have never heard the gospel will eventually receive it in one form or another; through creation, conscience and finally the full gospel itself (Christ). God will hold a person responsible for what light and truth has been revealed to them. God saved the Old Testament saints without them hearing the name of Jesus Christ. How they were justified is they believed the word of God they heard and knew at that time (Genesis 15:6). Their justification is just as valid as those of us who have received the full gospel truth. The only differences in their justification and ours are time, and amount of revelation presented. Their justification was granted to them as a credit because it was before Christ went to the cross; Jesus had not come yet (pre-incarnate) to purchase their redemption and physically pay for their sins (again Genesis 15:6). Our justification was granted to us as a deposit because Christ  (incarnate) has already died and risen and paid the price for our sins with His blood (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; Heb 9:12;13:12; 1 John 1:7; Rev 1:5). The Old Testament saints were looking forward to the cross anticipating the redeemer; while we in the New Testament are looking back at the cross loving and praising the redeemer for what He has already done for us.

If God is so good…

A subject my wife and I discuss frequently is that if you're looking for flaws in people you're sure to find them - guaranteed! That is the view of the pessimist. They always look at life from a negative point of view. Think about it for a moment, if people criticize God 24/7 and He is absolutely perfect in every way, how much more do you think we will be criticized? 

Just a thought.

Back to the subject at hand, "If God is so good, then why"....everyone can fill in their own blank(s). This is an age-old question that for most has not been answered satisfactorily. I recently heard a person on social media raise this question from those who do not attend church because they do not see the need to worship a God who allows death and tragedy every day. Believe me, I understand the frustration and disenchantment people are experiencing. We want things to be better. We want the world at peace and harmony. We want to cure every sickness and disease and get rid of world hunger and poverty. We want to save the planet and protect wildlife. We need to stop polluting our air and oceans. We must preserve and protect our natural resources. We must go green and be Eco-Friendly. We want everyone to love one another with all of our religious, philosophical, political, and ideological differences. Unfortunately, the extremists will try to do this at any cost - even to the point of killing those who resist their agenda. Of course, we call those type of people terrorists.

Well, none of the things I mentioned above has happened completely. Guess what? It will never happen by the hands of sinful mankind. We cannot make things better. Sorry to burst your bubble. We are masters of making things worse though. That is why we must call on God. But what is God's problem? If He is so good as you Christians say, why is He taking so long to fix things? He must not be real or He simply does not care, or He does not have the power to fix the world's problems.

It is amazing to me how blind and short-sighted the world is. We are definitely the offspring of our first father Adam. Let me explain.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God asked Adam did he eat the fruit the Lord commanded him not to eat. Adam responded, "The woman who You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate" (Genesis 3:12).

 Do you see what Adam did? First, he blamed his wife then God for what he did wrong. Not once did he blame himself for disobeying the command of the Lord. That is what scholars call the "Adamic (pronounced A-da-mic) Nature" or the sin nature. You see the sinner blames everyone for their problems except themselves. So it is natural or in our nature to blame God for the problems of this world. Just like it was Adam's fault he ate the forbidden fruit, it is our fault the world is in the misery and pain it is currently in. Sadly, we cannot and will not get out of our own way and call upon the Lord in humility and contrition to deliver us from the pain we are in. The world keeps trying to fix what it was never designed to fix. What has been the net result, we are making things worse and worse. Who gets the blame ultimately? God does.

The world is defiantly saying to God after continuing to ruin things, "Why don't You fix this mess You have made?" When He does not fix it on demand, God is not good in the eyes of those who are usually the greatest offenders in the world.

Is God serving us or should we be serving Him?

Understand this, the Bible says God is good and His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136). That is forever true because God is immutable. So when someone says, "If God is so good why does He allow bad things to happen" etc, that is not God's problem, It is ours. Evil in this life never diminishes the goodness of God, rather evil is the magnifying glass that should show the world clearly its own wickedness. Sadly, it usually does not which reveals to the writer the abysmal depths of man's hopeless depravity apart from divine intervention.

The idea that God sent His only Begotten Son to pay the price for our sins is the ultimate love.  Better question(s) we should be asking is, "Why does God cause wonderful things to happen to us when we do not deserve them? "Why would God send Jesus Christ who was/is perfect die for those who are hopeless and guilty and deserve to go to hell? Why would a good God send His perfect Son to die for wicked human beings; forgive their sins when they trusted in Christ and adopt them into His family as sons and daughters? On top of that, why would God give them an eternal inheritance and seal them with His Holy Spirit claiming them as His own (Ephesians 1:5-14)? Why in the world would a good God do all of these things to those who hate Him?"

Answer? God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son. That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

You see God has already taken care of all of our problems when we trusted in Christ. We are victorious and more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). We as believers realize that the way things are now will not remain. This hopeless world is passing away with all the evil that is in it. We as Christians are looking forward to new heaven and earth where eternal peace will dwell (Isa 65:17;2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1).

One must have an eternal perspective to see there is a blessed eternal hope past this life of sin. When one has this hope, they have victory because this is not all there is. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says that we are not to look at the things that we see, but on the things that we do not see. For the things that we see are temporary, but the things we do not see are eternal. That is our blessed future inheritance for those of us who are children of  God.

My God is so good that He promised that the present sufferings of this life are not to be compared to the glorious future that awaits us (Romans 8:18).

So the pessimist will continue to ask, "Why does God allow bad things to happen?" The writer's reply is, "Because of the wickedness of man and sin has to run its course". One can also think of it this way, as long as evil exists, it is a clear indication of God's mercy on full display toward sinners. God can very easily get rid of evil. You know how? Get rid of everybody and immediately evil would be gone! Do you see the point I'm driving at? Evil and calamity exist because we are here. Want evil gone? Then we have two choices: 1) stop sinning completely or 2) die.

So, what do you think about evil now?

You want your evil forgiven forever? Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for your soul salvation. Once you have been forgiven, you can then look at the wickedness in the world and not blame God for the evil that He graciously allows because He desires that all men repent and not perish.

God has already solved the problem of evil forever through the sacrificial atoning death of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. There is no other solution to mankind's problems. This is what makes God not only good but what I would call Omnigood (or all good)! One day God will get rid of all evildoers so that this world will return to Eden paradise it was in the beginning.

In God's timing, all will be made right. Just wait on Him (Isaiah 40:31).

What is Justification by Death?

I realize this is a question that many are not familiar with so I will explain it. When someone dies and they are eulogized at their memorial service, what you often hear is "Well they are in a better place." Sometimes this is true, but it is not always true.

In other words, if we believe that everyone goes to heaven when they die, we believe in a false doctrine called universalism, or justification by death. What this means is many believe that a person automatically goes to heaven because they are dead - their death justifies or makes them righteous in the sight of God. Why do so many people believe this? Because of their ignorance of Biblical truth. In the world's eyes, their loved one who was a loving, kind, giving soul who would not harm a fly is just the type of person God would (or perhaps in their eyes should) welcome into His kingdom. While this is a novel and heartwarming sentiment, it is a master deception by the enemy. Mankind continues to make the perpetual mistake of thinking they have the right to determine for God how His kingdom is to run.

There is no such thing as justification by death. It is a false doctrine whether someone knows it or not.

I understand those who are not Biblically minded will emotionally and mentally default to this pseudo-ideology.

Justification is the act whereby one is given a declaration of righteousness by God when one trusts in Jesus Christ as their sin bearer. We are given a divine pardon and acquittal from God. In God's eyes He treats us as if we had never sinned! How? Because Jesus took the punishment for our sins (Isaiah 53:5). An incredible reality! 

We have to realize the implications of such a belief system. For those that believe in justification by death, you automatically deny the reality of the clear teaching on the doctrine of hell and eternal separation from God which is undeniably taught in scripture. Who taught on hell more than anyone else? Jesus! While I can cite numerous passages that teach the reality of hell, I will only point out some. 

Mark 9:45-46

• And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched - where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

Matthew 23:15,33

• verse 15: Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
• verse 33: Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the damnation of hell?

Matthew 25:41-43

• Then He will say to those on the left hand (the goats), Depart from Me into the everlasting fire prepared the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food. I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and did not visit Me.

While I understand that it is heart wrenching to many - including Christians who are unfamiliar with this truth, there is a really horrible place called hell. Anyone who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ will end up there when they die. Don't hate me because I told you the truth (Galatians 4:16). Love always tells the truth (Ephesians 4:15).  We should be way long tired of fake news by now. We also need to stop telling ourselves lies about death and the afterlife to make us feel better. Like someone wisely said, "Eternity is a very long time to be wrong!"

Let's know the truth and be set free (John 8:32). 

This is one of those sacred cows I needed to kill. Those of you who have been following the blog should know my pedigree by now. My endeavor is to bring nothing but the truth.

To believe that everyone automatically goes to heaven when they die destroys the entire Bible. There would no point in preaching the gospel. Jesus came to the earth to preach repentance and ultimately died in vain. There would no need for the church, missionaries or pastors. Christianity would not exist. Why bother with any of this if when we die we go to heaven anyway? We can do whatever we want if justification by death is true.

You see how the world is hopelessly duped? Why? Because lies are more alluring than the truth. When Biblical truth goes against someone's worldview, they take the path of least resistance - the popular path, the wide gate which is the path to destruction (Matthew 7:13)! 

Let's be willing to uphold Biblical truth even to the point of ridicule, and persecution by all. This position will distinguish between those who are true soldiers in the Lord's army and those who are not.

Remember, we are in a truth war. It ain't for the faint of heart!