Punishment and Reward, by Dennis Swick

Sometimes parents can tell their child, “do this and you'll get that.” This is a way of rewarding a child for good behavior. If the child behaves they might get ice cream as their reward. My son-in-law some times says to his 6 year old son, “if you eat the entire green broccoli on your plate, you’ll get some ice cream for dessert”. This is a way of rewarding my grandson for eating something he dislikes.

On the other hand, years ago a child could be punished by being beaten with a whip. The phrase used in this case was “spare the rod and spoil the child” taken from Proverbs 13:24. It says, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him”. When I was younger a whip wasn’t used but rather a ping-pong paddle. And when I did something wrong and got punished boy that ping pong paddle would hurt a lot on my rear end! So I thought about doing what I did over again a second time!

Today in 2008, they don’t punish children the same way they did 30 years ago. Now punishment is carried out by rewarding or not rewarding children. This is because of what is considered as “child abuse” today. Child abuse today can be defined as suffering neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse or even sexual maltreatment. In many cases it is found that children are sometimes beaten or bruised badly by their parents. (1)

Discipline and Punishment

The word “discipline” and the word “punishment” seem to have two different meanings.

Discipline is defined as “training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character”. (2) It involves the “training or correction” of one’s moral character:

• Job 5:17; Psalm 94:12 – Blessed are those God corrects.
• Proverbs 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go…”
• Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:5-11; Revelation 3:19 – God disciplines those he loves.
• Job 33:19 – God can use sickness and pain to discipline.

The word “punishment” means “suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution: a penalty inflicted on an offender through judicial procedure.” (3) It involves suffering loss as a judicial retribution according to ones deeds.

• Jeremiah 17:10; Ezekiel 16:59 – God gives to those their just deserved rewards. Punishment is one.
• Job 34:11; Psalm 62:12; Matthew 16:27 – God repays according to the deed done.
• Matthew 25:46 – Eternal punishment is separation from God forever. It includes torment (Revelation 20:10).

A reward on the other hand is different from “discipline” and “punishment:” The word “reward” is defined as “something given or received in recompense for worthy behavior or in retribution for evil acts” (4)

• Hebrews 10:35 - Confidence is a reward.
• Matthew 6:1-6- What is done well in secret, God will reward.
• Matthew 5:12 – Heaven and all that is there is a reward.
• Colossians 3:24 – Inheritance is a reward.
• Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 4:40 – Long life is a reward.
• Psalm 58:11 – The righteous are rewarded.

There are consequences for everything we do. Galatians 6:7-8 states, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” What we sow (what we decide to do willfully) is what we reap (the consequences of the decision made). Here is a list of the consequences of sin. Sin can be defined by what James 4:17 says, “Whoever knows what is right to do, and fails to do it sins.”

• It is an enslavement to a sinful nature (1 Corinthians 3:3)
• There is no peace (Isaiah 57:21)
• One is separated from God (Ephesians 4:17-19)
• The suffering of shame and disgrace (Genesis 3:7; Proverbs 3:35; 13:5).
• The consequences of sin leads to death both physically and spiritually (Romans 5:12; 6:23; Galatians 6:8)
• The ultimate punishment is being separated from God forever (Revelation 21:8)

Now the issue of fair punishment and rewards has to be carried out justly. The word “just” is defined as “being honorable and fair in one’s dealings and actions; being consistent with what is morally right or what is properly due or merited”. (5) God being just (Deuteronomy 32:4) is at the same time moral (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 145:17).

There are some examples of good and fair men who tried to be just. Abraham Lincoln is one. In the Proclamation of the Thirteenth Amendment, Abraham Lincoln has come to personify a human rights model of justice as he was against slavery. But the greatest example we have of justice is God. He by his very nature is just (Isaiah 30:18). He loves justice (Psalm 99:4; Isaiah 61:8). He shows no partiality in His justice (Deuteronomy 16:19). He cannot change (Malachi 3:6). He is the same past, present and future (Hebrews 13:8; 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 2:6). He is “I am” (Ex. 3:14; John 8:58) so his justice is always the same.

But there is another side to suffering

Job 13:15 says, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”. Job was not reaping for what he sowed in the loss of his children, the loss of his livestock, or the loss of his health. He had sowed nothing wrong! Yet he suffered pain from the loss of his children (Job 1:18), the loss of his sheep and shepherds (Job 1:16), the loss of his camels and servants (Job 1:17), his boils (Job 2:7) and other losses yet it wasn’t because he had done anything wrong. He was suffering because God made a deal with Satan. God said to Satan, after Satan had complained that Job was upright because God had put a hedge around him, that Satan could do anything he wanted to Job “except lay a finger on him”.(Job 1:12).

When something happens to us that we believe we are being penalized for we call it “punishment” because we didn’t do anything to deserve this retribution. We usually say, “It is not fair?” But do we say as Job said, “though He slay me, yet will I trust Him?” Is God unjust in what He does to us or could there be another reason for the pain we experience?

A list of unjust things might be:

• Getting cancer and not doing anything wrong to deserve it.
• Being in constant, terrible pain and not doing anything to deserve it.
• Having a child of yours die and doing nothing to deserve this.
• Going deaf or blind and doing nothing to deserve this.

But in each of these cases and more, God refines us like gold that has impurities in it.

Christ is our example in suffering (1 Peter 2:21). He did nothing wrong but rather was sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22-23). But we see him being whipped and bleeding (John 19:1). The roman solders mocked him and put a crown of thorns on his head (Matthew 27:29). They spit on him and beat him in the face (Matthew 27:30). They made him carry his own cross to die but Cyrene named Simon carried it for him (Matthew 27:32). They hung him on a wooden cross by nails in his hands and feet and there he was to die on a hill named Calvary which was where robbers and thieves died (Matthew 27:33). In his thirst they gave him vinegar mixed with gall to drink (Matthew 27:33). And he died all alone – not even His father God would look at him (Matthew 27:45). He suffered more physical, emotional and spiritual pain than we can even imagine (1 Peter 3:18; 4:1) and he did nothing to deserve it! (1 John 3:4-5). He died for our sin not for his own (John 10:11, 15; Luke 24:46).

There are reasons why Jesus suffered and died unjustly. It is because there was something even more important going on. It wasn’t the fact that he was dying unjustly. It was rather that he paid the price for our sin with his own blood (Revelation 5:9). He was the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He bought back humanity with his sinless blood (Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). But Jesus shed his blood for our sin. He paid our price to be able to have communion again with God (Hebrews 10:19, 22; Colossians 1:14, 20). That is the true reason why he died on the cross. God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (1 Peter 2:24; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4, 5).

And we as Christians can suffer unjustly. We are Disciples of Christ and we will suffered what he suffered (1 Peter 2:21). We must share in the sufferings of Christ (Romans 8:17). He suffered and died and we must be willing to do the same (Luke 24:46), knowing that our reward will be heaven (Philippians 1:21; Romans 14:8; Psalm 39:4; Hebrews 13:14).

And these we as Christ’s disciples can look forward to:

• If we suffer we shall also reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12).
• Suffering for Christ will not separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35)
• Rejoice in fiery trials and suffering for your faith (Romans 5:3; 1 Peter 4:12-13).
• Our faith will be tried (1 Peter 1:7). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
• We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Faith is like a small mustard seed will grow when it is tested and tried (Psalm 81:7; 1 Peter 1:7; James 1:3, 12).

Conclusion

So try to remember that there is punishment and rewards because God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and what we sow we do reap (Galatians 6:7-8). But that does not mean that there does not exist another side to suffering. Jesus suffered death so that we could have eternal life (John 6:47, 50; Titus 1:2; 1 John 5:11).

And we being Jesus’ disciples will suffer just like he did (1 Peter 2:21). But our suffering will purify us (Acts 15:9), give us stronger endurance (Romans 5:3, 4; 2 Timothy 2:3), and we will reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12).

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Sources

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_abuse

(2) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline

(3) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punishment

(4) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/reward

(5) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/just

Is God Free? by Dennis Swick

This topic has been discussed by many and the conclusions have been either one way or the other. Some believe that God is no freer than a robot could be free. Vexen Crabtree on December 31, 2001 states that God “automatically carries out precise action of doing perfectly good” (1) so that means that God has no free will. This is because God is perfect and perfect in everything He does (Deuteronomy 32:4; Matthew 5:48; and James 1:17). So if He is perfect and cannot change or be immutable (Mal. 3:6), then obviously He would be limited by His own nature in what He could do. He has no choice. He cannot choose.

The other factor to consider here is God’s Omniscience meaning “He knows everything”. Bible verses that can be used are: Hebrews 4:13; Psalm 139:1-4; I John 3:20. He knows everything. No one can teach Him (Isaiah 40:13, 14). He knows the future before it happens (Matthew 6:8).

It is like the interesting question, “Can God make a rock bigger than Himself since He is all powerful (Matthew 19:26; Job 42:2)?” to which the answer would be, no! He can’t do something that goes against His very nature and being. He is over everything (Daniel 4:34-35; Deuteronomy 10:14; Job 42:2)!

On the other side it is stated that God is free and sovereign and can choose anyway He wants to go. But all that He chooses has to be in agreement with His nature and character. So considering that God is three different and separate persons but one God (Deut. 6:4) He must act in one accord (Genesis 1:26; John 14:10). Then looking at these two opposing positions, I would like to know what the Bible has to say about it. So I am going to present the following topics of change and choosing, will, and finally freedom.

The first topic is change and choosing

The Bible teaches that God cannot change. This is taught in the following verses.

• Malachi 3:6 - "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed”.
• Numbers 23:19 – “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”
• Isaiah 31:2- “Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.”
• Psalm 33:11 – “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations”.
• Isaiah 46:10 – “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”
• Hebrews 6:17 – “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:”
• James 1:17 – “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
• Hebrews 13:8 - “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Jesus is God (Rev. 1:8, 17; Isaiah 9:6; John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14; Col, 1:5; 2:9; 2 Peter 1:1; John 1:1). (2)

The Bible also teaches that God doesn’t change his mind:

• Numbers 23:19 – “God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
• Isaiah 31:2 – “Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.” (3)

But in these following verses it seems that God did change His mind:

• Genesis 6:6 – “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” Genesis 18:13 – “And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” (2) Ibid. In this passage it appears that God is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the homosexuality. Genesis 18:20 says, “And the LORD said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous…” Now Abraham responded to God and said in Genesis 18:26-33, if I find in Sodom 50 righteous, then you God will not destroy the city. And God said “yes”. Then Abraham changed the number to 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally 10 hoping that God would not destroy the city. And God told Abraham in Genesis 18:32 that if he found 10 “just” people, He would not destroy the city. So it appears that God changed His mind. But in Genesis 19:24 we learn that God destroyed the city. God knows everything (1 John 3:20), and new there were even 10 righteous people in Sodom, but He allowed Abraham to ask, showing Abraham his patience with Abraham (2 Peter 2:9) and mercy with Sodom (Deuteronomy 4:31; Ephesians 2:4, 5).

But God did not change His mind. Homosexuality is still wrong as is seen in 1 Corinthians 6:9

• Jonah 3:10 – “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” In Jonah 1:2 we see that God is going to destroy the city of Nineveh and says, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” So Jonah took a ship that went to Nineveh but he decided he wanted to go in a different direction because he was afraid of the Ninevites and what he had heard about them (Jonah 1:12-17). But when he was thrown over ship and spent 3 days in the stomach of the great fish, he changed his mind and finally went to Nineveh to prophesy against them. In hearing this message from God, the Ninevites repented (Jonah 3:5) and God did not destroy them. But it is interesting to note that later on in 612 B.C. the city was destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians as described in Nahum 1:14; 2:6-11; 3:19; y Zephaniah 2:13-15. So in this instance it appears that God changed His mind, but He really didn’t. He was only going to destroy the city if they didn’t repent. But they did.
• Genesis 2:2-3 – “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made”. The seventh day is considered a day of rest. It was a Saturday. The word in Greek σάϐϐατον means “rest, peace, tranquility refreshment.” The word can be seen in Psalm 95:10-11 and Hebrews 4:9-11 of “enter into rest”. We see in Exodus 20:8-12 that it was part of the commandments to keep the Seventh day holy as a day of rest. Now when Jesus arose from the dead and appeared to many it was on the first day of the week Sunday (John 20:1). And in the Council of Laodicea (364 A.C.) it was decided that Saturday would be changed to Sunday. Bible verses that talk about Sunday are John 20:19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Colossians 2:16-17; and Romans 14:5. So again it could appear that God changed his mind.

Now concerning the Sabbath day of rest and the meaning of the word in Greek meant that – “rest”. In the New Testament appear all the Commandments that are in Exodus 20 minus Exodus 20:8-10 regarding the seventh day. There is Matthew 14:33 regarding worship and Matthew 15:4 which reproduces Exodus 20:12 which says “honor your father and mother”. And there is the command against committing adultery (Exodus 20:14) that is found in Matthew 5:32. Plus 1 John 3:15 states that murderers do not have eternal life which Exodus 20:13 commands not to murder.

In Matthew 12:1-8 Jesus deals with the Pharisees who are accusing his disciples of picking wheat stalks on the Sabbath. But according to Deuteronomy 23:25 it was legal to pick grains and eat them to satisfy hunger on the Sabbath. At the end of this passage Jesus says “For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.” (Matthew 12:8).

So we see that God did not change His mind about the day of rest and that the first day of the week is still a day of rest as Jesus arose from the grave and was resurrected on that day.

• Exodus 32:14 – “So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.”(4) In Exodus 32:1-10 we see that Moses was late in coming down from the Mount Mariah for 40 days while the Israelites were waiting for him. So they decided to go to Aaron and asked him the make them two calves of gold and they would worship them claiming that they had brought them out of Egypt. With this news, God told Moses to descend immediately. God in the meantime had seen what Israel had done and in his anger and hurt said in verse 10 that He would consume them and make a great nation from Moses line. But Moses repented for the people of Israel (vs.11-13) and Exodus 32:14 was stated. So we see here again that God did not change His mind. Repentance was made (Acts 17:30; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Acts 3:19) and grace followed (Hebrews 4:16; 12:15; Ephesians 4:7; Romans 4:16; 5:20-21).

The next part would be regarding choosing.

Man has a free will to choose with:

• John 3:36 – “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
• Hebrews 11:24-25 – “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;”
• Amos 5:15 – “Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.”
• 1 Kings 3:9 – “Give therefore your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this your so great a people?”
• Joshua 24:15 – “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (5)

God has a free will to choose with also. Even though Vexen Crabtree tried to argue that God has no free will to choose with, we can see some examples of his choosing. The word “elect” means to “select or choose out”. This particular example will appear at the end of the list below.

• Numbers 16:5, 7; 17:5 – God chose Moses to be the leader of the nation of Israel.
• 1 Samuel 10:24 – God chose Saul to be king.
• 2 Samuel 6:21; 1 Kings 11:3 – God chose David to be king.
• 1 Chronicles 28:53 – God chose Salomon to be king.
• Deuteronomy 7:6-8 – God chose the nation of Israel.
• Luke 16:13; John 13:8 Acts 1:2, 24 – Jesus chose the disciples.
• Matthew 20:16; 22:14 – Many are called but few are chosen.
• Mark 13:20; Romans 8:28-39; Ephesians 1:3-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:9-10 – the “elect” or “chosen ones”.

The second topic is regarding Will.

The Bible teaches that God has a will.

• Numbers 16:5, 7; 17:5 – He chose Moses to be the leader of Israel.
• I Samuel 10:24 – He chose Saul to be the King of the Jews.
• 2 Samuel 6:21 – He chose David to be the King of Israel.
• Deuteronomy 7:6-8; Acts 13:17; Romans 9:11 – God chose Israel.
• Luke 6:13 – Jesus chose his 12 disciples.
• Mark 13:20; John 15:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Rev. 17:14 – the “elect” are chosen.
• 2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some people understand slowness, but is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to perish, but wants everyone to repent.” (6)

It is interesting regarding what 2 Peter 3:9 says that God is not willing that anyone “perish”. It states in 1 John 4:8 and 2 Corinthians 13:11 that God’s nature is love. He loves mankind and demonstrates his love by sending Jesus to pay the penalty for sin (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). Obviously not everyone is going to become saved. Some have stated that John 3:16 really is focused on the “elect” and that Jesus only died for them. They translate “the world” meaning only the elect. But looking at 2 Peter 3:9 it should be obvious that God does not want anyone to perish, not even the elect. And if He chose the elect it makes no sense why He would state “He does not want anyone to perish”. Why would the “elect” who He chose perish?

Determinism comes into play here. Determinism is the notion that all propositions, whether about the past, present or future, are either true or false. It is the thesis that God determines all that humans will do, either by knowing their actions in advance. This is achieved by His Omniscience. The problem of free will of man, in this context, is the problem of how ones actions can be free, if God has determined them for man ahead of time. So those who hold to the theory of Predestination would be Determinists. (7)

Another way of defining free will is this: it emerges from the interaction of finite rules and deterministic parameters that generate infinite and unpredictable behavior. For example, God could determine what man will do given God’s Omniscience but His Free will and man’s free will could generate infinite and unpredictable behaviors. That doesn’t mean that God wouldn’t know what would happen, but it does mean that having a free will would generate decisions made that might not be so predictable for man.

Continuing on with the topic regarding the Will.

The Bible teaches that Angels have a free will.

• Jude 6 – “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (8)

The Bible teaches that man has a will.

• John 3:36 – “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
• Hebrews 11:24-25 – “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;”
• Joshua 24:15 - “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
• 1 Kings 3:9 – “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” (9)

Now it is interesting think about man’s “will” in regards to him making a choice that will affect him or having a choice made that he doesn’t make that will affect him. Examples:

Man making a choice:

• He can choose to believe that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus paid the price for his sin with perfect blood, that he can repent for his sin and that by believing he can be saved from his punishment. (John 1:12; 3:36; 1 John 5:10-12).
• He can choose the person who to marry (Proverbs 5:18).
• He can choose to do good and not evil (Amos 5:15; 1 Kings 3:9).
• He can choose who he will follow (Joshua 24:15).

A choice that he has no control over:

• Where he was born?
• Who his parents are?
• What his DNA was like when he was born?
• Being born with AIDS or some other disease.

The last topic is regarding Freedom

Is it possible for God to be free if He is perfect in everything he does (Genesis 1:21) and He wants us to be perfect as He is perfect (1 Peter 1:16). Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Catholic Philosopher of 1225 to 1274 A.D., argued that the mind of God is immutable (it doesn’t change). If He is perfect and He does what is perfect and He is Omnipotent (all powerful: Ephesians 1:19, 20), Omnipresent (everywhere: Psalm 139:2-12), and Omniscient (knows everything: 1 John 3:20), so then why would he be free?

Defining the word “free” it means: “unobstructed, not restrained, not controlled by obligation or will of another, not bound or attached.” (10) So using this definition we see that God is unobstructed, He is not restrained, He is not controlled by obligation or will of another (like the angels or man, even though the roles of the three persons of the Trinity are clearly defined in what they do), He is not bound except by what He is (His nature) but what He does has no boundaries, and He is not attached to anything. “He is” --past, present and future (Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 43:13; Deuteronomy 33:27; Isaiah 44:24; Acts 17:25; Exodus 3:14; John 5:26; 8:58).

The freedom of man

• John 8:32 – “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
• John 14:6 – “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
• John 8:36 – “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
• Romans 6:22 – “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”
• Romans 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
• Galatians 5:1 – “Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
• Romans 6:7 – “For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (11)

Jesus, who is God (John 8:58), said that he can make man free (John 8:32, 36). And by making man free, man is free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:32). Sin and death control man. He will sin as he was born in sin (Psalm 51:5), he inherited sin (Genesis 3:1-19), he serves sin (John 8:34) and he will die in his sin (Romans 5:12; 6:23; Galatians 6:8). So if God is free, then man can be free as well if he chooses to believe in Christ.

We have seen that God cannot change but He can choose. He chose already outside of what we in our limit minds could comprehend (Job 12:13; James 3:17; Romans 11:33). He does whatever pleases Him (Psalm 135:6). There is no way to resist God’s will (Romans 9:19). He is perfect in all His ways (Matthew 5:48; 2 Samuel 22:31). He chooses according to His pleasure and His nature (Numbers 16:5; Acts 13:17). Since He has a “will” and that “will” is to be followed just as we see in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus had his own will but did the will of the Father (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36). So with that will, God chose and in having a choice God is free in making choices. But He does all these things outside of what we can fully understand with our limited minds and our limited understanding (i.e. He knows everything about me -Job 31:4; He can measure the heavens and knows the earth - Jeremiah 31:37; He knows everything that is secret -Matthew 6:4, 18; He knows everything about everything - 1 John 3:20; Who can resist God’s will?- Romans 9:19).

Pastor John Crandall writes, “Constraint of nature does not equal the lack of freedom. It is, indeed, the ultimate freedom to do as one is.”

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Notes

(1) http://www.vexen.co.uk/religion/god_has_no_free_will.html

(2) http://scripturetext.com/, http://www.biblegateway.com/

(3) Ibid.

(4) Ibi

(5) Ibid.

(6) Ibid.

(7) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism

(8) http://scripturetext.com/, http://www.biblegateway.com/

(9) Ibid.

(10) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/free

(11) http://scripturetext.com/, http://www.biblegateway.com/

God is Just, by Dennis Swick

I have the impression looking at some information that I see, read in newspapers, or hear on the radio that people in general do not take seriously the fact that God is furious, shows indignation, and is angry about sin. And it is interesting to me that people in general do not like the word “sin”. To some it must seems like a word used back in the Dark Ages or Medieval Times.

The human race seems to be more tolerant today of things that are bad. Things like Prostitution, Abortion, Partial Birth Abortion, Homosexuality, or even Divorce have become more acceptable. Everyone seems to be involved in these things, even Christians. And the truth is that they have been around for a long time. Many think just because they were frowned on centuries ago doesn’t mean that they can’t be accepted today. And the argument used is: “man has evolved. He has gotten better and is more tolerant of things.”

Yet when we delve into some of these things, instead of finding a man happier in living and a better person for it, we find a man with even more problems than he had before and his life sometimes seems “on the skids”. Sure he can handle the issues, but his life isn’t better but rather worse. And what does this all have to do with? Hasn’t he “evolved” and gotten better?

God set up the requirements for man in the first place. And God himself doesn’t need laws, borders, margins, or limits. God is limitless (Psalm 139:2-12). God is (Ex. 3:14; John 8:58). He has no past, present, or future (1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 2:6). He is sovereign over all (Psalm 103:19). He controls everything (Isaiah 46:10). In Him everything holds together (Col. 1:17). In Him we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

And despite the fact that God is long suffering with our sin (Psalm 86:15; Joel 2:13; Isaiah 48:9; Exodus 34:6; and Psalm 103:8) and does not want anyone to perish (1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 3:9, 15), God is Just (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 89:14). It says in the Bible these things about God:

• God pays us back for what we deserve (Ezekial 16:59)
• God pays us justly (Job 34:11; Psalms 62:12).
• God is angry with sin (Gen. 39:19; Numbers 11:33; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 6:17).
• God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16)
• God hates lying (Psalm 119:104, 128, 163).
• God hates evil (Psalm 45:7; 97:10)
• We are saved from God’s wrath because Jesus paid our debt for sinning with his own blood and by dying for us on the cross. It is by God’s mercy and grace that we are not consumed (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 1:7; Hebrews 10:19, 22; Deut. 4:24; Hebrews 12:29).

We have been saved from God’s wrath because of what Jesus did for us (Romans 5:9).

The Bible says that we in the beginning, before accepting what Jesus did for us, were “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:15).

And as Hebrews 10:31 says, "It is a horrendous thing to fall into the hands of living God.” So with this thought, I still don’t understand how people can take God so lightly!