God claims to be compassionate, but in the Bible we see him
be cruel.
God sends the angel of death to kill all the
Egyptians first-born sons
God claims to be forgiving, but we see him be petty.
God kills a man for touching the ark of the
covenant to settle it when he wasn’t the right person to touch it.
God claims to be gracious, but we see him be harsh.
God commands death for small crimes, such as
picking up sticks on the Sabbath.
God claims to be good, but we see him be evil.
God commands the genocide—killing of men,
women and children as well as animals—of entire nations.
Yes, God is shown to be loving as well.
God delivers an undeserving nation from
slavery.
God forgives a man for murder
and adultery.
God provides food for the
hungry.
God raises children from the
dead.
God pays the debt of a widow.
God establishes a great nation
out of nobodies.
But the very nation God established was patriarchal,
bloodthirsty and warring.
They’re ancestral heroes are lying, cheating and disloyal.
I’d like to say that there is an error in the Bible.
That some events were attributed to God when they really
weren’t.
That people penned God’s name to sayings he never said.
That God experimented in different methods to train humans
to love, and many of them failed.
That God could do what humans could not do because He was
creator.
But these are all excuses for an unloving God, or, at best,
a God that was learning how to love.
A God who did not know what compassion, grace, forgiveness
and good really meant.
Or a God who was sorely, even deceitfully, misrepresented.
Frankly, I just don’t know.
But this I do know:
The God I worship, adore, obey and imitate is displayed in
full glory in Jesus.
Jesus is the perfect demonstration of the love of God.
Jesus is the God who transforms the occasionally harsh law
into pure love.
Jesus is the God who heals the sick and feeds the hungry.
Jesus is the God who supports the poor.
Jesus is the God who welcomes the sinner.
Jesus is the God who sacrifices himself for the sake of the world.
Jesus is the God who forgives completely, without
punishment.
Jesus is the God who exuberantly, abundantly,
enthusiastically loves.
And there is no other God but the God whom we see in Jesus.
Jesus is the complete fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Jesus turns deceit into Truth.
Jesus turns disloyalty into Faithfulness.
Jesus turns selfishness into Sacrifice.
And Jesus turns a broken God into a God broken for us.
In Jesus we see the Compassionate, the Gracious, the
Merciful, the Forgiving.
This is the God I love, the God I seek, the God I pray to.
There is no other.
CHILDREN OF GOD? BY STEVE FINNELL
ReplyDeleteDoes the term"Children of God" include all mankind, regardless of religious belief? Is universal salvation a factual concept? God loves everyone, however, there are requirements and conditions to be accepted as "Children of God."
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
Only those who believe in Jesus have the right to become children of God.
Galatians 3:26-27 For you are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
It is through faith in Christ and being baptized into Christ that men become children of God.
Mark 16:16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Those who have believed in Jesus and have been baptized are "children of God."
Acts 4:10-12 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead---by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
Only those who have been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ are "children of God."
ALL OF US ARE NOT GOD'S CHILDREN!
THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL SALVATION!
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