Last time I ended my post discussing the concept of heaven and hell according to the bible. Heaven is a place of happiness and peace that can only be achieved by living a righteuos life. Hell is the complete opposite and is the consequence for living a sinful life. In this post I will be talking about and attempting to hint at an answer to the question of whether God loves everybody.
The biblical God is a loving God. He loves those that love him, those that don't, not so much. I don't want you to misunderstand what I am saying. Im not saying that God can't love someone that doesnt love him, what I will say is that he cannot love them if they continue to do evil. The bible can be tricky to understand sometimes, especially if you don't read it in its entirety. There are some passages of scripture that labels God as loving unconditionally and there are also, as I said before, passages that describe him as being a jealous and hateful God. How is this so? Im glad you asked.
Christians often generalize and never truly understand certain parts of the bible. One of those concepts is the idea that God loves the world and everything in it, which comes from the book of John, the third chapter, and the sixteenth verse. It says that God so loved the world, he gave his only son to save those who believe in him and offers them everlasting life in heav you take this at face value, one would conclude that God does love everybody because it says that he loves the world however, the context clues around that phrase sheds a different light. Jesus was sent to save those who believed in God. If you don't truly believe, there is no way salvation can take place, also, he cannot love you. What kind of God would He be if he loved evil? Yes he is a forgiving God but, you have to desire refuge. If you ask a Christian if God should let people like Adolf Hitler or Osama Bin Laden into heaven, most would say no. This presumption would most likely be correct. Ask the same person if someone who was a drug addict and stole just to continue their lifestyle would go to heaven. Most would say yes. Why? The answer is simple, they misunderstood the word. In God's eyes, sin is sin. No sin is greater than the next and they all warrant the same punishment however, a lot of Christians miss that point. They think they can live whatever life they want to live and still be loved by God and that just isn't the case. God hates evil, so if you are sinful and do evil things, he will hate you. It's hard to think about it that way and most people would rather not, but this is true. The bible states that God loved Jacob, but hated Esau. Jacob and Esau were twin brothers and polar opposites. Jacob obeyed God and Esau did not. There are also other examples of this in the bible as well. One popular story from the bible is the story of the Isrealites being enslaved by Egypt. God had favor upon the Isrealites but, did not favor the Egyptians. He caused plagues and famine against the Egyptians in order to deliver the Isrealites from slavery. This shows the stark contrast of His personalities. God also choses who he will deliver. One thing many Christians overlook is the fact that they don't deserve God's love, grace, or mercy. Those things are gifts that he gives to those he favors and believe in him, but it is not automatically given. In a sense, a Christian has to earn God's love. He will not love the sinful man because he doesn't tolerate sin. Many times human characteristics take over while the bible is being interpreted and one is left with a blurred meaning of what they read. They take what they want from the bible instead of taking everything, which is a requirement and even when they do get something meaningful, they cloud it with emotion. This is very dangerous because worldly emotions cannot interpret the bible properly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxZKJSNVgqM&feature=related
So, is my God the same God you worship? Considering all the different interpretations of who and what God is, no. Even if we are both Christians, most likely we have different views on God. Deciding which one is correct is the hard part, but at the same time should be relatively easy. The biblical God will reveal himself in the word. The bible tells us who he is and what he is capable of doing. The responsibility of a Christian is to believe in it and live your life accordingly. Don't pick and choose which laws or commandments you want to follow. You have to follow them all if you desire to be loved and favored. It's a concept that is shown and proven time and time again throughout the bible which is why reading the bible in it's entirety slowly and carfully, and fully understanding it is essential in the Christian life.
I posted on your previous entry, and I have some more things I hope you're willing to clarify. Where do you get your definition of hell and the reasons why people end up there? Likewise, where do you get your reasons of why people go to heaven? You make a point of contrasting God's love and jealousy, where do you get that they aren't compatible? Besides the video you posted and that man's claims, where do you personally find the evidence that Jesus only came to save those who already believed in God? (The claim that the word "world" there is talking about Christians is pretty iffy to me when you consider it in the context of verse 17). Where do you get that sinning makes you evil, not just the sin of those who do not claim to be in Christ, but also those who are in Christ? How do you explain Matthew 12:31-32, where Jesus claims that there is only one sin that will not be forgiven? How, while keeping the whole chapter in context, do you get that God judges based on actions from Romans 9? Where do you get that one must earn God's love if we can never deserve it (seems contradictory to me)? And if we do have to earn it then how?
ReplyDeleteAnd to finish this comment off, I would like to point out that I am one of the more out-spoken Christians in my class, and in no way am I trying to mess with you or just fight. I legitimately just want to further clear-up what your beliefs are. That being said, one final question: How would you define a Christian, and where do you get that definition?