Sin and the necessity of accepting God's justice

One of the things skeptics like to bring up about God is the issue of His morality. They decry the Biblical flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the punishment of the Canaanites, and more. How, they ask - demand, more like - can a loving, just God do/order these things?

The issue lies in our fallen nature. Sin corrupts every human being - except Christ, being fully God and Man - and as such our view of it tends to be low. We make excuses, act like its no big deal, pretend to not notice. And yet it is everywhere; it's the reason suffering exists. It's the reason someone goes on a mass murder spree. It's the reason people form rivalries, sometimes deadly rivalries. It's the reason we kill, steal, and destroy - and desire to do such things - just as the devil does.

In short, we take a low view of sin. We also take a low view of the God who is righteously angry about it. As Gotquestions.org says on their webpage on the reasons the Biblical Deluge was just, we ought to shocked over the fact that the fact that God doesn't do the same to us. We ought to be shocked (in a positive way) that God continues to extend grace towards us despite the evils we do, that even saved people do. Sin, all sin, is a capital crime, and if it weren't for Christ's atoning death on our behalf, we would all be doomed to hell, all doomed to the same fate; no one would have be saved from God's just wrath if God Himself had not acted. We also forget that the universe, all existence, is God's creation; all of it. He gets to set the rules, including moral rules. It should be pointed out as well that God is all-knowing; if He says something is evil, then it truly is evil and should be avoided.

We should also remember that God is forgiving, yet eventually He will punish the unrepentant. Abraham asked God to spare Sodom if only ten righteous people were found there (Gen 18:32). Sadly, only three people were able to escape God's judgement upon the city. And this wasn't just an isolated incident; God gives people time to realize what they've done and repent - permanently turn away from - their sin. God gave the Canaanites hundreds of years to cease sacrificing human beings and to turn away from their evil deeds. When Israel came up against them after 40 years in the wilderness (this being a punishment on them for their sin), their time had run out. Even then, God spared those few, such as Rahab, who turned toward Him and aided His people. Noah spent a hundred or more years building the Ark; I think a decent question to ask is, why didn't other human beings repent during that time, so that God might spare them as well? Apparently none did so, other than Noah's immediate family (his wife, his sons and their wives, for a total of seven in addition to Noah himself).

The problem is not God and His judgement; the problem lies with us, our sin nature ever since Adam and Eve, and our rebellion against our generous Creator who rises early to warn and is slow to anger, yet must hate sin due to His justice. We may not even see the things we do as being evil; the fact that people fight for abortion, illegal (and harmful) drugs, and homosexuality to be legal, despite God's Word telling us these things are evil, is proof of this.

I tend to be critical on preaching that is primarily, or only, hellfire and brimstone. However, the people who preach that way have a reason for doing so. We live in an age of moral myopia; we have been ever since Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. It's no secret today that societal morality is falling; there are mass shootings, suicide bombings, unjust wars, and a generation taught to demand more instead of being grateful or what they have, however little or much, and taught to not just love those things God hates, but to hate those who hold to what God's Word tells us about such things.

In such an age, discernment to distinguish good from evil and the determination to see the Christian life through to the end are gifts to be prized, more prized than gold. Even more to be prized is to love God more than all of existence and to love one's neighbors as oneself, enough to tell them both the Good News and bad news alike regardless of how they respond.

I would also point out that the skeptic's job is to disprove God's existence, and His morality can only be questioned if one accepts His existence. I find it odd that those who believe there is no God are often the first to call Him out on supposed moral issues, instead of arguing for His supposed nonexistence. I also find it odd that some of the same people who demand that God judge evil will also condemn Him for judging and punishing evil throughout the Bible.

The true Christian knows that God does exist, of course, and that He is completely good. The trouble is, we love to believe that we are good, and that our evil actions are merely "understandable mishaps." We need to grow out of such a mentality, with Christ as our guide. The truth about our sinful nature and God's righteous justice is a difficult pill to swallow, but it is vital, at least as much as realizing how loving God is and how He will forgive those who love Him and turn away from their evils. No, we can't stop sinning entirely; as I said before, even saved people sin. However, the saved person will despise that nature and be at war with it, and will view reality in light of what God has said about our existence through His Word, not in light of personal emotions or feelings.

Thank you for taking the time to read this entire blog. May the Lord Jesus Christ save us all, and may He aid us in accepting those truths any or all of us have difficulty swallowing.

Comments

[GivingSpider]

The Christian God is credited to be All Knowing.
That means that even if humans have free will; God knows what actions any given human will make.
That means that God knew that the forbidden fruit was going to be eaten. God knew that his first humans would prove incapable of following the rules; God made them that way intentionally, as God does not make mistakes. God chose to punish the species as a whole as punishment for doing exactly what he knew would happen. God would continue to choose to slay humans for displeasing him. God relented only after he made Jesus for the purpose of being sacrificed on our behalf for something God set in motion while knowing it would all happen the way it did.

Notice how I did not question the existence of your God, his omnipotence, or whether or not Humanity’s exile from Eden or other biblical events happened.
I offered no challenge to your sincerely held beliefs or what your God’s sense of morality is. I have not twisted your words or otherwise put any words in your mouth. All I have done is explain how a Non-Christian would interpret some of the things you credit/thank God for.

Now, having said that, consider the following:
God knew that I would say this in response to your post. God knows what you are going to do about it. You are incapable of surprising God, as God is All Knowing. Your free will means you are free to respond (or not) as you wish; but you are limited to whatever God has already conceptualized.

My only question for you on the subject is this:
If everything has come to pass as God knew it would happen; should you be upset with me for what I said, or should you be grateful to God for being given this obstacle?

That is an execution of a Skeptic’s views on the duality of your God’s love and your God’s wrath.
What you described is Antitheism targeted at your faith.

Whether or not you reply, thank you for reading this and Blessed Be.