The Gospel Of Repentance

Justice means just behavior or treatment. Fairness and equity. I would also add respect and equality among every citizen crossing racial, cultural, and religious barriers.   A Biblical definition of justice is God administering righteousness to His people which is  fulfilled  in the salvation provided through Jesus Christ. In this sense, God’s holy justice eternally justifies sinners. Biblical justice is salvation by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9).    Negatively it is divine judgment on unrepentant sinners.   I  supplied  the answer before discussing the problem. Now I want to discuss the problem of why human justice can never fully be obtained.   Due to the total depravity of man, we can never experience complete justice in our neighborhoods, cities, counties, states, and nation. There are many who do and will not see all people as equals. The rich oppress the poor. The strong dominate the weak. The arrogant ...

We read in 2 Samuel 11 that David committed adultery with Bathsheba who was the wife Uriah, a man in David’s army. Bathsheba lets David know that she is pregnant as a result of the affair. David decides he will try to conceal his sin by putting Uriah in the most dangerous place in the battle so that he is killed. Once this happens, he marries Bathsheba who of course is already pregnant with his son. All appears good. God is angry and sends Nathan the prophet to rebuke David of his heinous sins. David up to this point behaved righteously with all the people of Israel – executing justice for the innocent and punishing the guilty. Sadly, David does the opposite because of his lust for Bathsheba. He punishes the innocent (Bathsheba and Uriah), and he justifies himself who at this point is guilty. David deserved death for what he did.   So, why didn’t God end his life?   Because of God’s mercy and grace. According to the law David should have been executed, but ...

Providence - When God from heaven invisibly navigates human affairs on earth so that ultimately His purposes are accomplished. Sovereignty - Means ultimate rule. One who has absolute power of over all things. Although God is invisible, He is very much involved in the activities of men. Nothing escapes His eyes. God sees everything happening here on earth all at the same time. For most people that is an unnerving thought - that God is watching everything they do. That is why so many people claim to be atheists. If they determine that God does not exist, then they have no one to be accountable to. That gives them comfort. It is however the most deceptive assurance one can have. Wishing God out of existence is a fantasy. Providence is a very powerful attribute of God. What is so amazing about this virtue is that all of mankind’s actions in the earth are somehow woven within the tapestry of God’s will. Through all the choices we make no matter how wicked they are, God knows ab...

From a personal and a reader’s perspective it is essential that we pay close attention to when the Bible says that God repented or regretted a decision that He made regarding mankind. It’s not that God can make a mistake, but its important that we try as much as humanly possible try to probe closely into the scripture and try to experience how God feels when we rebel - it breaks His heart. God’s heart has been breaking now for thousands of years. We know as parents the feelings we have when our children disobey us after numerous times of being warned not to do something, or they fail to do something we have told them to do. How many parents have had their hearts broken because of wayward children. And to be fair, how many children have been brokenhearted because of their parents bad behavior. The pendulum swings both ways. Well God’s pain over the evil of man is a grief we can never imagine. He sees this worldwide evil all at once. There should be no wonder why he destroyed the anc...

In Isaiah 55:8-9 we read, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways”, declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Simply put, we as finite creatures can never comprehend an infinite being. God knew the nation would reject Him and want a human king like the nations surrounding them. God knew that He would reject Saul as king in favor of David due to Saul’s disobedience. Here’s the most intriguing element of the narrative. God tells Samuel that He  Regretted He made Saul king (1 Sam 15:10, 35). That is an interesting declaration from the Lord. From the language it almost seems as if God did not know what Saul would do. But of course He knew all along. The question is why did the Lord choose him? The best reason I can give is that God chose him because He exercised His sovereign right to do so (Psalm 115:3). Although Saul's reign became an epic failure due ...

Why couldn't Adam and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? God was establishing law and order for the human race. Although they were full grown, they had to develop mentally. It was important that God placed boundaries on them. To command them not to eat was a necessary prohibition. God placed them on probation - to test them to see if they would obey His command.  God was sending a message to them that they could not do anything they wanted to do - they had a higher authority they were accountable to.  The serpent comes and talks with Eve. He questions God's word to her so as to create doubt. Secondly, he lies to Eve - telling her that she would not surely die if she partook of the fruit (Gen 3:9). They would be like God knowing good and evil (Gen 3:5). Adam and Eve were made perfect without sin, yet they were temptable. When both of them ate the forbidden fruit, the Bible says their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked. It was at this po...

Hophni and Phinehas appear in the beginning of the book of 1 Samuel. Who are they? They were priests, and they were the sons of the High Priest Eli in Shiloh in the land of Ephraim. The Bible says the Lord desired to kill them. Why?  They both showed contempt or disrespect for the Lord's sacrifice. When a person came with their offering, and the meat was boiling in the pot, Hophni and Phinehas would take a three pronged fork and take whatever portion came on the fork from the pot and claim it for themselves. When the one offering the sacrifice protested, the two sons would say that their father (the High Priest) will not accept boiled meat only raw. The problem with this is that the fat of the animal was supposed to be burned on the altar. The evil sons said if the one sacrificing would not listen to them, they would take the offering by force - thus stealing what belonged to the Lord. In addition, Hophni and Phinehas were also sleeping with the women who would bring their s...