a response: an all-loving God
In a recent post, there has been a bit of discussion and some interesting questions have been brought up, such as how an all-loving God could allow for eternal death and suffering. I decided this would be a good opportunity to not only make my first official post in the community, but also to reply with my thoughts collectively, instead of spamming inboxes.
But before we begin, let me tell you a bit of my background and the doctrine I believe.
I am an 18-year-old first year Bible student who grew up with two different denominations: Lutheran and Baptist. In my more recent years, I've considered my beliefs to be mostly Baptist-based, because I do have several issues with the Lutheran doctrine. Otherwise, I'm a Christian and a fundamentalist at that. I believe the whole Bible to be true, with the exception of parts that are specifically used as teaching tools (only when this is clearly indicated, such as Jesus' parables). I also believe that Christ is the Savior, and the only way to eternal life (as opposed to eternal death) is by accepting God's gift of salvation through Christ.
Now that we've got that down, let's get to my response, shall we?
It is a confusing subject, isn't it? God loves everyone, John 3:16 tells us. So why is it that the Bible says anyone who doesn't accept Christ as their Savior is going to hell? Eternal pain and suffering? An all-loving God? Something doesn't quite seem to add up.
Well, actually, I think the problem stems all the way back to the beginning. Yes, the very beginning, even before there was an earth or a universe or anything else besides God and His angels (this is, of course, assuming that you believe Genesis is true enough).
Let's ask a question, shall we (most of my questions are either sarcastic or rhetorical)? What was Hell originally created for? It's a common misconception that Hell was created for sinners (non-Believers). That conclusion would be incorrect, as the Bible tells us that God created Hell for the angels who fell long before the fall of man. As in, Hell was never created for people to suffer eternally in; God created Hell for Lucifer and the angels that he took with him when he rebelled against God. But with Lucifer's fall, something else occurred: temptation. And, as most of us know, temptation leads us to sin, and sin is what separates us from God.
God is, yes, all-loving, but He's also perfect. Therefore, He made a perfect world. So, the situation was perfect once, a long time ago, when Adam and Eve first lived on the Earth. There was no separation from God, no death, no sin. We're the ones who screwed this all up, albeit indirectly. The reason we go to Hell? It's ALL our fault. We prove this every single day we do something against God's Word.
A common verse indeed, Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."
So, why doesn't God just abolish sin and make it perfect again? Even if He did, can anyone honestly say they could stick to that perfect plan?
But here's the really cool thing about all this. God didn't see that His children were sinful and destroy the world. Instead, He went to every end to see to it that we could live with Him. And that's what Christianity is all about. Because God loves us, He's giving us a way out of this filthy nature and eternal death. It's just the opposite of "casting" us into it. He's actually providing a way out.
Hypothetically, it's no one's fault but our own that there even is eternal death. Instead of God being a condemning, hypocritical God, He's actually just the opposite. What more could possibly express love than what God has done for the world? He gave up His only Son to die for us, Who willingly sacrificed Himself so that we may live. And choice, that word pops up a lot in these discussions. So let's put that into perspective like this:
Let's say a father sees that his son is an alcohol addict and that it is slowly killing him. Will the father hold a gun to his son's head and tell him to stop drinking and go to rehab because he's going to die? Of course not. Or at least, I would hope not. The most likely thing that the father would do would be to go to every length to make sure that his son doesn't die. He's going to encourage him and other people in the son's life to bring him to the understanding that he's an alcoholic. So, by not forcing his son to quit drinking [obsessively], he's giving a choice.
Ya'll make choice sound like it's the worst thing God ever did. But really, it's the best thing God ever did.
1 Timothy 2:4 says "...God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth."
So just bear with me for a moment and consider choice to be a good thing, especially those of you who are parents or are in a position of guidance to someone younger than you (refer back to my analogy, poor as it is). If God were to just, I don't know, take sin away, it would abolish any chance we have of choosing what we want. Can you imagine living a life of a robot? Never able to choose what you want to do, but just following your master around all day and doing what he commands. That would just suck, and we all know it.
Of course I realize there will be a number of you who won't believe a word of this. That's alright. It's your choice. ;) I'm not here to preach at you, nor do I claim any of this to be 100% accurate. This is simply what I feel is God revealing to me through His Word and through some wise people I have in my life. So, I guess, being the big mouth that I am, I decided to share it with everyone here. Feel free to hate me for that (ha!).
If you have questions, feel free to ask. I'm not guaranteeing I'll have the best answer for you, but I will refer to God's Word and also some resourceful, wise individuals that I know.
Hope everyone is having a lovely day. Thanks for your time! :]
But before we begin, let me tell you a bit of my background and the doctrine I believe.
I am an 18-year-old first year Bible student who grew up with two different denominations: Lutheran and Baptist. In my more recent years, I've considered my beliefs to be mostly Baptist-based, because I do have several issues with the Lutheran doctrine. Otherwise, I'm a Christian and a fundamentalist at that. I believe the whole Bible to be true, with the exception of parts that are specifically used as teaching tools (only when this is clearly indicated, such as Jesus' parables). I also believe that Christ is the Savior, and the only way to eternal life (as opposed to eternal death) is by accepting God's gift of salvation through Christ.
Now that we've got that down, let's get to my response, shall we?
It is a confusing subject, isn't it? God loves everyone, John 3:16 tells us. So why is it that the Bible says anyone who doesn't accept Christ as their Savior is going to hell? Eternal pain and suffering? An all-loving God? Something doesn't quite seem to add up.
Well, actually, I think the problem stems all the way back to the beginning. Yes, the very beginning, even before there was an earth or a universe or anything else besides God and His angels (this is, of course, assuming that you believe Genesis is true enough).
Let's ask a question, shall we (most of my questions are either sarcastic or rhetorical)? What was Hell originally created for? It's a common misconception that Hell was created for sinners (non-Believers). That conclusion would be incorrect, as the Bible tells us that God created Hell for the angels who fell long before the fall of man. As in, Hell was never created for people to suffer eternally in; God created Hell for Lucifer and the angels that he took with him when he rebelled against God. But with Lucifer's fall, something else occurred: temptation. And, as most of us know, temptation leads us to sin, and sin is what separates us from God.
God is, yes, all-loving, but He's also perfect. Therefore, He made a perfect world. So, the situation was perfect once, a long time ago, when Adam and Eve first lived on the Earth. There was no separation from God, no death, no sin. We're the ones who screwed this all up, albeit indirectly. The reason we go to Hell? It's ALL our fault. We prove this every single day we do something against God's Word.
A common verse indeed, Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."
So, why doesn't God just abolish sin and make it perfect again? Even if He did, can anyone honestly say they could stick to that perfect plan?
But here's the really cool thing about all this. God didn't see that His children were sinful and destroy the world. Instead, He went to every end to see to it that we could live with Him. And that's what Christianity is all about. Because God loves us, He's giving us a way out of this filthy nature and eternal death. It's just the opposite of "casting" us into it. He's actually providing a way out.
Hypothetically, it's no one's fault but our own that there even is eternal death. Instead of God being a condemning, hypocritical God, He's actually just the opposite. What more could possibly express love than what God has done for the world? He gave up His only Son to die for us, Who willingly sacrificed Himself so that we may live. And choice, that word pops up a lot in these discussions. So let's put that into perspective like this:
Let's say a father sees that his son is an alcohol addict and that it is slowly killing him. Will the father hold a gun to his son's head and tell him to stop drinking and go to rehab because he's going to die? Of course not. Or at least, I would hope not. The most likely thing that the father would do would be to go to every length to make sure that his son doesn't die. He's going to encourage him and other people in the son's life to bring him to the understanding that he's an alcoholic. So, by not forcing his son to quit drinking [obsessively], he's giving a choice.
Ya'll make choice sound like it's the worst thing God ever did. But really, it's the best thing God ever did.
1 Timothy 2:4 says "...God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth."
So just bear with me for a moment and consider choice to be a good thing, especially those of you who are parents or are in a position of guidance to someone younger than you (refer back to my analogy, poor as it is). If God were to just, I don't know, take sin away, it would abolish any chance we have of choosing what we want. Can you imagine living a life of a robot? Never able to choose what you want to do, but just following your master around all day and doing what he commands. That would just suck, and we all know it.
Of course I realize there will be a number of you who won't believe a word of this. That's alright. It's your choice. ;) I'm not here to preach at you, nor do I claim any of this to be 100% accurate. This is simply what I feel is God revealing to me through His Word and through some wise people I have in my life. So, I guess, being the big mouth that I am, I decided to share it with everyone here. Feel free to hate me for that (ha!).
If you have questions, feel free to ask. I'm not guaranteeing I'll have the best answer for you, but I will refer to God's Word and also some resourceful, wise individuals that I know.
Hope everyone is having a lovely day. Thanks for your time! :]