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!

God is not the same as His Laws, by Dennis Swick

A blog on the internet states,

"The laws that govern the Universe must exist before the Universe, therefore..."

But who said the laws that govern the universe must exist before the universe? If there was no universe, why would there need to be laws to govern it? To state this, one would have to say that laws and God must be the same thing. But this is not true! The laws were created when the universe was created. The laws were created to control or put boundaries on that which was created.

1. God created out of nothing, i.e. Ex-nihlo.
2. God existed before the universe was created – Col. 1:16, John 1:3.
3. God is perfect – 1 Peter 1:15.
4. God is orderly – James 1:17, 1 Cor. 14:40.
5. God cannot change – Mal. 3:6

But to assume that God and his laws are one in the same is not true. Example, the law of gravity does not mean that God dealt with gravity before creation occurred. Gravity was part of creation. It had no reason to exist before. There was nothing except God and God is not laws! God is past, present, future (Ex. 3:14; John 8:58 Deut. 4:35, 39). There is nothing like Him (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 145:3; Isaiah 44:24; 55:8, 9; John 4:24; 1 Tim. 1:17; Deut. 4:35, 39).

Should you forgive even though no confession is made? by Dennis Swick

Some say yes, that you should forgive those who do not ask forgiveness. Others say no, that the person shouldn’t be forgiven until they repent and then you can forgive them.

Those that say you should forgive an unrepentant person use verses like Colossians 3:13 that say, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Or Luke 23:34 when Jesus was dying on the cross and he said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do...” Or Acts 7:60 where Steven was being stoned by the Jews and he cried out “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” and as he had said this, he fell asleep (died). (Acts 7:60)

On April 18, 2007 there were three Christian Protestants that were cruelly assassinated in the city of Malatya, Turkey by young men who were members of the Islamic Foundation Ihlas of Malatya. One of those assassinated was German. In this terrible crime, the wife of one of those assassinated named Susanna Geske said, “as a Christian, I forgive the assassins.” (1)

On the other hand, there are those that don’t believe the person that doesn’t ask for forgiveness should be forgiven. But, after they do confess the sin, and have a change of heart and show a true repentance, then they are to be forgiven. According to them a Christian should forgive when a confession is made: Matthew 6:12, 14; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13, and Acts 17:30.

Forgive

The word “forgive” en the Greek is άφεσς meaning “release, forgiveness, pardon of sins of letting them go as if they hadn’t been committed”. It also implies “to omit or let go a debt, i.e. to remit or forgive”. The Greek word χαριζόμενοι means “to show one’s self gracious, grant forgiveness, bestow”. Forgiveness presupposes guilt and with guilt comes moral consequences and responsibility.

There are instances of forgiveness in the Bible:

• Esau forgives Jacob – Gen. 33:1-17.
• Joseph forgives his brothers – Gen. 45:1-15.
• Moses forgives the people of Israel – Exodus 32:11-14, 30-33.
• Moses forgives his sister Miriam – Numbers 12:11-13.
• David forgives Absalom – 2 Samuel 14:21, 33.
• David forgives Shimei – 2 Samuel 19:18-23.
• Salomon forgives Adonijah – 1 Kings 1:52.
• Paul and the church in Corinth forgive a brother who sins – 2 Corinthians 2:5-11. (2)

In Genesis 33:1-17 we see Esau’s forgiveness of Jacob prompted by Jacob’s recognition of guilt and his humility and good will.

One of the verses used is Matthew 18:15-17. Here it states, “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses’. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

Now looking at these verses, several things come into view:

1. This is a sin that the brother has committed. As Christians we could say, well this is a sin but it really isn’t that big – like making one sin “mortal” while the other sin is “venial”. But here we see the word “sin” and it doesn’t say if it is big or little. But it obviously must be big to have it affect the brother so much. In Exodus 20:1-17 we see some major sins that God hates. In this list we find things like worshipping idols, murder, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting. And then in Mark 12:30-31 it says, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength’. And the second (commandment) is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” So sinning would be not loving God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and not loving your neighbor as yourself. This would be sin!
2. Now forgiving sin is a judicious matter. It involves a situation where one person does something wrong and has a debt to be paid. The relationship is broken and it needs to be restored. Restoration means fixing something broken. Matthew 18:15-17 gives the steps in fixing a relationship broken by sin. By following what Matthew 18:15-17 says the debt owed should be taken care of.

In the Old Testament when a crime was committed a price had to be paid. For different crimes there were different fines.

• For committing adultery the fine was death (Leviticus 20:10).
• For committing a homosexual sin of one man having sex with another man, the fine was death (Leviticus 20:13).
• You were not to steal (Exodus 20:15; Leviticus 19:11; Deuteronomy 5:19) and if you did the fine would be what is found in Exodus 22:1 that states, “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.”

When we sinned against God, as non-believers, there was a debt to be paid. This doctrine is called Soteriology and states the following:

• God being Just (Deuteronomy 32:4) demands that blood be paid for the sin (Hebrews 9:22).
• Sin can be defined as something that is contrary to God’s nature and character. It is his opposite.

1. Sin is disobeying God – Romans 5:19; Joshua 23:6; Psalms 119:45; Ephesians 6:6; John 4:34; 1 Peter 1:14; John 8:51; 1 John 2:17; 1 Samuel 15:22.
2. Sin is knowing the right thing to do and not doing it – James 4:17.
3. Sin is seen in the following infractions: injustice, fornication, being perverse, full of envy, homicidal activity, being argumentative, deceitful, detractor, gossip, haters of God, perverse, proud, inventors of evil, disloyal, without natural affection, without mercy, and ruthless – Romans 1:29- 31.
4. Sin is disobeying God – Exodus 10:28.
5. Sin is not obeying God’s law – Romanos 7:7; Exodus 20.
6. Everything that does not come from faith is sin – Romans 14:23.
7. Sin comes from our evil desires - James 1:14.
8. All wrongdoing is sin – 1 John 5:17.

• The blood to pay for the sin debt has to be perfect because God is perfect and has no sin (1 Peter 1:15; Hebrews 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 2:22-23).
• Jesus paid for the sin and paid the debt with his own blood (Matthew 1:21; Hebrews 9:28, 10:10, 19; Acts 10:39-43; Ephesians1:7; 2:8-9; 1 John 1:7).
• Because of Jesus paying the price, the debt has been canceled. A debt in the Old Testament and New Testament was a very important issue that it had to be paid (Deuteronomy 24:15-15, Matthew 18:27-32; Romans 13:8). The debt had to be cancelled (Deuteronomy 15:2, Matthew 18:23-27).
• Those believing by faith in Jesus Christ and what he did for them by paying the price for their sins are declared “righteous” (Romans 3:21-24; Philippians 3:8 – 9).
• Jesus paid the debt and his blood covers the sins of the past, present and future (Acts 10:43; Romans 6:1-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:2; 2 Peter 2:1; 2 Corinthians 5: 18 - 19; 1 John 2:2; Hebrews 10:11 – 14. Ephesians 4:32 says that Christ forgave, which in the Greek is “echaristo” (“forgave” is in the aorist and means “once for all time, not needing to be repeated”).

3. In Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28- 30, and Luke 12:10 list one sin that will not be forgiven by God. It says in verse 31, “And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” Now then if that is true, Acts 7:60 and Luke 23:34 where Jesus hanging on the cross said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" the sin of blasphemy was not committed.
4. And in Matthew 18:15-17 we see the sin is committed by a “brother”. In Acts 7:60 and Luke 23:34 obviously those sins were not committed by a “brother”, but rather “enemies”. The same is true with Susanna Geske. The assassin wasn’t her “brother”(or a Christian).
5. We as Christians are commanded to love (John 13:34 - 35). We are to even love our enemies and pray for them (John 15:12 - 13; Luke 6:27). The word “love” in the Greek is “agape" which means "to do what is justly right".

Now there is a belief that the blood that Jesus shed does not cover for present and future sins and these verses are used to support this belief:

• Matthew 6:14 – 15 which says, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins”.
• Matthew 18:23 – 35 which Jesus said at the close of the parable, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
• Mark 11: 25 – 26 which says, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins.”
• Luke 6: 37 which say, “Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Now with these four passages one can conclude that they imply forgiveness to the one who never repents or confesses anything is wrong. But this is not the case! Repentance is a condition to be forgiven.

Let us consider Matthew 18:23- 35 where above the whole parable is not given. It briefly states that a King wanted to settle his accounts with his servants. And one of the servants owed him 10 thousand talents which were about several million dollars in 1978 (according to the New International Version footnote). This servant fell on his knees (repentance) and asked the King to be patient with him and he would pay back everything he owed. Then this servant found another of his servants who owed him a hundred dinarrii (a few dollars) and he grabbed him and chocked him and this servant repented and said on his knees “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back”. But instead of being gracious, he refused and had this man thrown into prison until he could pay back the debt. And when the King found out about this, he was very angry and that is why Jesus concludes stating in verse 26, “if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins.” So we see that confession and repentance came first, and forgiveness comes after. “A person who seeks forgiveness but does not forgive others hardly knows what he is asking for and is not worthy of it”. (3)

And this being the interpretation, these 4 verses do not conclude that sin is not forgiven in the present nor the future. As Ephesians 4:32 states, Jesus forgave “once for all time”.

So we see now that we have been forgiven for our sins in the past, in the present and the future. But then we must by faith believe that Jesus paid for our sin and receive Him as our Savior (John 3:14 – 17; 5:24; 6:29, 47: 11:25 – 26; 20:31; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8 – 9; John 1:12; 14:16; Acts 4:12; and 1 Timothy 2: 5 – 6). Then this debt that we have is paid for. Once this takes place we are declared “righteous” (Romans 3:21-24; Philippians 3:8 – 9). And we must forgive others in the same way we were forgiven (Matthew 6:12, 14; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13; Acts 17:30). In the case of Colossians 3:13 it says, “Bear with each other (Christian brothers not non-Christians) and forgive whatever grievances you may have against each other. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” The word “forgive” en the Greek is χαριζόμενοι and can be found in Ephesians 4: 31 - 32 as well which states,” Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving the other just as in Christ God forgave you”. We are to forgive the same way we were forgiven. We first had to repent of our sin which Luke 24:47 states clearly that there is repentance followed by forgiveness. We were forgiven by confessing our sin first and repenting of it and then receiving forgiveness by being declared righteous (Romans 10:9; Exodus 10:127 – 19; Proverbs 28:13; Mark 1:5; and Luke 5:8; 15:18).

Repentance and Forgiveness

Now there are passages of Scripture that fail to specify repentance as a ground for forgiveness. These are the following examples: Psalms 65:3; 85:2; 86:5; 103:3, 10; Isaiah 46:12; Jeremiah 31:31-34; 33:1-18; Ezekiel 36:16-38; Micah 7:18-20; Acts 13:38; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; 2:13; 1 John 2:2. (4)

But in other passages it is clearly presented the repentance precedes forgiveness: Leviticus 26:14-45; 1 Kings 8:46-50; 2 Chronicles 7:14; 30:18; Psalms 32:3-5; 51; Isaiah 1:27; 55:6; 59-61; Jeremiah 18:7-11; 26:3; Lamentations 3:42; Ezekiel 18:31; Zechariah 1:3; Malachi 3:7; Matthew 4:17; Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 5:31; 8:22; 1 John 1:9. (5) The omission found in the first section maybe due to the fact that it was understood that repentance took place before forgiveness was granted.

The other verses regarding repentance are 2 Chronicles 7:14; Proverbs 28:13; Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9; Matthew 3:1 -2; and Acts 3:19. Repentance comes before forgiveness. Confession of sin and repentance is necessary to be forgiven and declared righteous or “fixed”. In Acts 17:30 God commands repentance and in 2 Peter 3:6 He desires that all repent. So the argument that no repentance is necessary does not make sense according to the Bible. But once the repentance transpires, the Christian should forgive! He should not let the “debt owed” cause him “bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” which could happen!

Emil Brunner also emphasized the need of repentance as a condition of forgiveness in his book, The Divine-Human Encounter, on pages 98 and 149. Those that were in agreement with his position were Rudolf Bultmann, Frederick C. Grant, H.R. Mackintosh, Ernest F. Scott, Vincent Taylor, and Benjamin B. Warfield as well as the Westminster Confession of Faith (ch. XV). (6)

Now as to being free from the clutches of anger and resentment and hostility when someone hurts you, I think that it can be dealt with by "loving" the person and "heaping coals" upon their head (Rom. 12:20). And you could call it "forgiving a person" in that you hold no debt against that person. But there still is a debt, and it still has to be paid, and it still needs to be confessed in order to be "forgiven". So you should love the person (agape) but you should not let what they did control you. You should be "free" from its control over you. And just follow through with Matthew 18:15-20. But he must forgive without measure (Matthew 18:21- 22).

And as a Christian, with a repentant heart and attitude, they would want to make restitution for what they did wrong. Numbers 5:7 talks about what full-restitution is. Zacchaeus’s made full restitution in Luke 19:8 when as a tax collector he said that he would give half of his possession to the poor “and if I cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” That is true repentance! But in any case, Christians are commanded to forgive those who repent.

Conclusion

So in conclusion we could say that “forgiving sin without requiring repentance would be like condoning sin or being indifferent to it”. (7) If a Christian Brother will not repent and have a change of heart regarding the sin that has broken the relationship, then forgiving him for it is not Biblical. We have seen in Luke 23:34 and Acts 7:60 that a non-Christian was forgiven, but for a Christian we do not see that in Scripture. So what a Christian should do in the case of his brother sinning against him but not confessing it or even repenting of it would be to love the one who has caused him pain (John 13:34-35) and try to "heap coals" upon their head, i.e. “’If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head’. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”. (Rom. 12:20-21).

---

Sources:

(1)http://www.protestantedigital.com/new/leernoticiaUH.php?5661

(2) The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 2, Zondervan Pub., 1975.

(3) Ibid.

(4) Ibid.

(5) Ibid.

(6) Ibid.

(7) Ibid.

Unspeakable Joy, by Dennis Swick

One of the main things that Pastor John McArthur said that describes being in heaven is JOY. The word "joy" has a much deeper meaning than just happiness. To be happy can change so quickly. It can come and go in a moment. But joy is different. It is a deep seated contentment. Everything is right! No sorrow or grief. No pain or suffering. There is only joy. Heaven is a joyful place. That is hard for me to imagine... Everywhere I look around me, I see so many problems, issues and unresolved conflicts. But in heaven, they won't exist anymore. There will only be joy because my sins have been paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ, and God the Father has forgiven me because I have repented of my sins and accepted Jesus blood as the payment for them (Gal. 3:13). Because of what Jesus has done for me I now have joy that is unspeakable (1 Peter 1:8). When a sinner repents, there is great joy (Luke 15:22-24, 32). When I go to heaven I will enter into the joy of the Lord (Mt. 25:23). There is joy in the presence of the Lord (Luke 15:10). He is in heaven. My sorrow will be turned into joy (John 16:20). And no man will take my joy from me (John 16:22). My joy is in the Lord now on this earth (John 16:20) and in heaven (Philemon. 1:20).

And another thought is regarding the fact that God takes no joy in the judgment of sinners (Deuteronomy 30:9-10). God in his character is Agape or love (1 John 4:8). He is not joyful when man disobeys what He has told man to do. He is just in what he says and does (Psalm 89:14) as He is perfect in everyway (Matthew 5:48, 1 Peter 1:16). It hurts God when man disobeys Him (1 Kings 13:21) and He is not joyful but rather His anger with sin is set into motion (Joshua 23:16, i Sam. 28:18, Rom. 1:18, 2:8, Psalms 7:11, Isaiah 13:9, Rev. 6:17). When man chooses to disobey God, because man has been given a will to choose either good or bad, right or wrong (1 Kings 3:9, Amos 5:15), God is offended and hurt and His wrath has been kindled (Rom. 1:18, 9:22, Eph.2:3). Man can choose to obey God or not, choose for or against Jesus in believing Him and trusting Him for his salvation (John 3:36). But because Jesus paid for our sin with His blood (Heb. 9:22, 28, 10:19), if we choose with our will to accept Jesus blood in payment for our sin, the wrath of God is not against us (Rom. 5:9, 1 Thes. 5:9).

The joy of the Lord is now present (Zeph. 3:17-18). And heaven will be filled with this joy. God is not angry with us anymore. We have obeyed Him and repented of our sin (Luke 15:7, 10, 2 Chron. 7:14, Acts 17:30, Rom. 2:4, Mark 1:15, Acts 3:19, Luke 24:47, Luke 13:3) and received Jesus as our only Savior (Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 2:20, Acts 5:3, 13:23, 1 Tim. 2:5). God's wrath has been taken care of by the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 4:10, Rev. 5:9, Gal. 3:13, 1 Peter 1:18-19). We see that God in his character is love (1 John 4:8), and that Jesus came to this world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). He is the Savior of all men who believe in Him and what He did for them on the cross (Acts 2:23, Phil. 2:8, 1 Tim. 4:10, Matthew 1:21, 1 Peter 2:24), and of the whole world who believe and receive Him (John 3:16, 4:42, 1 John 4:14).

by Dennis Swick

Life Isn't Fair? by Dennis Swick

One day you can be out in the snow, enjoying the warm sunshine and watching the white billowy clouds overhead as they move against the majestic blue sky. And in this moment, seeing with your eyes all beauty around you, breathing the fresh air, and feeling an inner peace inside, the contentment that overcomes you is hard to explain with words.

Now there is another side to how life unravels itself. Here is the sad story about Midi and Nathan, the wife and young son of Mark Mikasa. Read Mark’s story: It turns out that Mark took his sons Lucas and Nathan to school everyday in his van and his wife rode with him. An accident happened involving the van on the evening of January 1, 2008 while the family was driving home from Marks family’s house for a New Years Day family gathering. It was around 9pm. This is Mark’s account later after the accident occurred:

“I had scheduled to go with a Deputy to see the van. I wanted to retrieve some personal items: Lucas & Nathan's backpacks with their names embroidered on them, their jackets, some toys, and the garage door opener. I expected to have a hard time and to break down. My friend/brother Clayton went with me. The van was being kept in a warehouse/lot that was full of wrecked cars in downtown L.A. As we parked and started walking to the lot, I started to feel very uneasy. I was scared of seeing the van. After the deputy signed some papers, the man at the lot escorted us to the van. When I first saw the van, I couldn't believe how mangled it was. Though I was conscious after the accident, I recall very little. At some point I think I went into shock. Visually, I only remember seeing Lucas sitting in his car seat behind me, conscious. I also remember crying to an officer, "Please tell me this is a nightmare." Beyond that, my next memory is being in the hospital.) ***Note: The following is a detailed account of what I saw. The images may be painful to read about. Please skip to the last paragraph if you do not want to know details of what I saw.*** The passenger side of the van was completely caved in. The passenger seat in the front had been pushed all the way into the driver seat. The top of the passenger seat was collapsed like an accordion. About a week ago, I discovered that when the emergency help arrived on scene, Midi was laying across my lap. When I saw how the passenger seat was crushed up against the driver's seat, I could visualize Midi lying across my lap. I wept. I am weeping even now as I am remembering. My wife, partner, and best friend died in my lap.”

“Then I looked in the back. The seat behind the passenger seat, where Nathan sat in his car seat, was also pushed through the middle and into the seat behind the driver's seat, where Lucas was sitting. Though the entire seat was pressed in at an angle, the car seat was remarkably intact. But I saw a large bloodstain on the seat. My sweet son Nathan must have been bleeding from the left side of his head. I sobbed. I am sobbing now. Nathan suffered a fatal injury. At around 7AM the morning after the crash, I held him as he died in my lap.”
( http://mmmikasa.blogspot.com/)

Thinking about this situation, I am sure that countless of other stories come to mind. I for one can give examples of where I got sugar diabetes type 1 at age 5 and had to deal with difficult situations for 50 years, not to mention my family. Or another example is me having brain cancer at age 47 and dealing with that whole scenario. I never remember doing anything wrong enough to deserve it. And I could have complained that “life was not fair!”

Now thinking about examples from the Bible, there are many examples given where life seems to be unfair. For example, there was the life of Moses who floated down the Nile River in a basket as a baby boy because his mother feared that he would be drowned by order of Pharaoh (Exodus 1:22). Was it Moses’ fault that Pharaoh wanted to kill all the baby boys?

Or King David who had committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11) and they had a son from their sexual union. From 2 Samuel 12:18 it says the baby son died the seventh day after being born. So what did the baby do to deserve death? Anything?

People use the argument all the time: “I don’t deserve to go to hell. I am not a bad person. How could a loving God make such a place as hell and have people suffer there for eternity? If that is true…God can’t be love!”

You reap what you sow

It says in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

There are consequences for everything we do. The court room exists just for this very reason! There is a judge, lawyers and jury because of the fact that what is sown is also reaped and it is difficult to define who sowed it? All that man does functions because of boundaries, limits, and rules. If we lived in a world of anarchy, nothing would work. All the atoms of every particle function on the very fact that they are controlled by boundaries, limits, and rules.

Here is a list of consequences for actions that we may have originated:

• Staying in the sun too long could cause skin cancer.
• Smoking cigarettes or breathing bad air could cause lung cancer.
• Not stopping at a stop sign could cause you to have an accident.
• Drinking too much alcohol and driving under its influence could cause an accident or someone could die.
  

(Different kinds of Insurance policies exit just because of these consequences).

Now let us consider just two of God’s laws. The first one is concerning lying. It says in Colossians 3:9, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” (Proverbs 24:28; Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20). Lying itself comes from the heart (Matthew 15:19). God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2). The consequences of lying are:

• People don’t trust what you tell them.
• You loose your credibility when you speak.
• The Lord hates liars. Proverbs 12:22.
• Liars die young. Psalm 55:23.
• Liars are headed for hell. Revelation 21:8.
  

The second example is of stealing. It says not to steal in these passages: Exodus 20:15; Leviticus 19:11; Deuteronomy 5:19. Stealing is considered a form of robbery. It is taking what belongs to someone else and making it your own. It says in Leviticus 19:13, “Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him…” An example of stealing would be committing adultery (Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 18:20; 20:10). You are married legally but you decide to have a sexual affair with someone with whom you are not married. This would be stealing and would be considered adultery. For committing adultery in the Old Testament, death was the punishment (Leviticus 20:10). The persons caught would be stoned to death (John 8:3).

But stealing could be applied to other subjects. Some of the items that could involve stealing are:

• Not declaring properly all the money you made on your Income Taxes.
• Taking credit for something that you really didn’t do.
• Keeping or taking something that really doesn’t belong to you.
• Copying something and acting like it was yours from the start.
  

Now there are consequences for everything we do as Galatians 6:7 teaches. What we “sow” is exactly what we “reap”. Exodus 34:7 teaches, ““… [God] He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation”. So there are not only consequences for what we do, but there are also consequences for what others do way before us. In fact, we are dealing now with the sin of Adam, which was the first man created. His sin was passed onto us (Romans 5:12). Because he sinned, the whole human race is considered sinful except for Jesus (Romans 3:23; 5:13; Psalm 51:5; (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22, 23; Hebrews 7:26-28; 1 John 3:4, 5; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; Hebrews 4:15; and 9:14).

Moderation

It is also important to mention “moderation”. In Philippines 4:5 it says, “Let your moderation be known to all men”. Now the word “moderation” is used in the King James Version, but the word “gentleness” is used in the New International Version. So let us consider some other passages that teach “moderation”. In 1 Corinthians 9:27 it states in the NIV, “No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize”. Here Paul is talking about having “self-control” of his body. In Galatians 5:23 we see the word used of “self-control” which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that indwells us (Ephesians 1:13). And in 1 Corinthians 7:5 the word “self-control” is also used. So we see that it is important to use self-control and to do things in moderation because, as 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 teaches, “…you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

The word “self-control” implies you are in control of yourself. You have control over the amount of food you eat, where you go, or even what you do. There are many people who have “self-control” but that doesn’t mean they all are believers in Christ and are His disciples. Matthew 13:24-30 talks about tares being sown among the wheat. In verse 30 He says, “Let both [tares and wheat] grow together until the harvest…” So there are some that can be observed as controlling themselves, but that doesn’t mean they are true Christians. They may seem to be able to control their weight, control their bank accounts and even control their wives….but that doesn’t mean they are spiritually in control.

According to Ephesians 1:13, after we confess that we are sinners (Mark 1:5; Luke 5:8; 15:18) and receive Christ as Savior (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 1:12) we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. We are dead in sin (Mark 7:21; Romans 6:2), but we are made alive to God (Romans 6:11). The human spirit that dwells with in us is dead to God (1 Corinthians 2:11) but the Holy Spirit that comes and dwells in us is alive because it is God’s Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). So we end up having two natures, an old nature and a new spiritual nature (Romans 8:1-27; Galatians 5:13-26; 6:7-10). These two fight with each other (Romans 7:7-25). But as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) with the Word of God and His Holy Spirit living in us (1 Corinthian 6:9) we abide in Christ (John 15:1-8) and we bear much fruit as branches from a vine should (John 15:5). We need to die to ourselves daily (crucify the sinful nature with its passions and desires - Galatians 5:24) and do the will of God (1 Corinthian 15:31; Romans 12:1; Luke 22:42; Matthew 6:9-13). So self-control is actually giving control to the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, to do the will of God (Galatians 5:22-25). We are not to quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) or grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30).

Now there are those that are involved in eating too much, overdosing on drugs, gambling, sexual acts, and drinking too much alcohol just to name a few things. Most of these are considered to be addictive behaviors, going from something very mild to ending up in tragedy (Romans 1:21-32). And it is obvious that all these issues end up in having serious consequences. Let us just consider the issue of drinking alcoholic beverages. It is interesting to note that one of Jesus’ first miracles was at a wedding where he turned water into wine (John 2:1-12). It also states in 1 Timothy 5:23 that the Apostle Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach and for frequent illnesses. But these two verses don’t advocate that moderation or self-control doesn’t apply! Some of the consequences of drinking too much alcohol could be:

• Hangovers
• Distorted vision, hearing, and coordination
• Impaired judgment
  
• Altered perceptions and emotions
• Heart disease
• Liver disease
• Cancer of the esophagus and larynx.Pancreatitis
  

God is just

The justice of God can be seen in the following verses:

• Deals with earth justly – Genesis 18:25
• Justice is the foundation of His throne – Psalm 89:14
• There is no injustice in God – Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 30:18
• God will not pervert justice – Job 34:12
• God is the Almighty Judge – Job 34:17
• God will judge in righteousness – Psalm 7:11
• God judges all the earth – Genesis 18:25; Acts 17:31
• God judges with equality – Psalm 96:10
• God will judge men’s secrets – Romans 2:16
  
• God does not show partiality – Deuteronomy 16:19
• God loves justice – Psalm 99:4; Isaiah 61:8.
  

We can see from these verses that God is just. He cannot change the way He is (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). He does not change His mind (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Isaiah 31:2). When He gave His laws to man, they could not be broken. His laws are Holy (Romans 7:12) and they reveal the Holiness of God (Romans 7:12). The laws reveal to man what sin is (Romans 7:7). When Hebrews 9:22 says, “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (1Peter 1:19; Hebrews 10:19), that’s what it means. Someone had to pay with blood for the breaking of God’s laws in order to be forgiven. But not just any blood would do. It had to be perfect and holy blood (Hebrews 9). Jesus offered Himself and His blood to pay the price for sin (Hebrews 7:27; 9:28). But Jesus was sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22, 23; Hebrews 7:26-28; 1 John 3:4, 5; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; Hebrews 4:15; and 9:14). Yet He was the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). With His spotless blood (Hebrews 4:15; 7:26) He became a ransom for our sin (Hebrews 8:15). And with His blood, God accepted the sacrifice He made for sin (Hebrews 10:19; 9:22; 1 Peter 1:19). God’s justice is now satisfied and those who believe and are in Christ Jesus are not condemned for their sins (Romans 8:1). They are declared free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

It is interesting when we look at the life of Jesus. We learn several things about Him:

• He was God. Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1; Revelation 1:8; 22:13, 16; John 8:58.
• He was the Creator of the Universe. John 1:3, 10; Colossians 1:16; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 1:2.
  
• He became a man. John 1:14.
• But He not only became a man, He became a servant which was the lowliest form of a man (Phil. 2:7).
  
• He was born in a cattle trough in Bethlehem (Luke 2:7; Micah 5:2) which of itself is despicable for the Creator of the Universe (Colossians 1:16).
• Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) who had no sexual relations with her husband to be.
• He lived his younger years as a carpenter’s son (Matthew 13:55).
  
• He faced temptation just like humans (Hebrews 4:15).
• Then later Jesus went through all kinds of experiences that we can read about in the four Gospels.
• He was sinless. Hebrews 4:15; 7:26-28; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22, 23; Luke 23:15, 47; Matthew 26:60; 27:54.
  
• But He paid the price that God the Father demanded for sin (Hebrews 9:22) with his own blood (1 John 1:7; Hebrews 10:19, 22; Revelation 5:9; Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24). He was accused of being the “Son of God” (Messiah - in Matthew 26:63; Mark 14:64; Luke 22:70; 23:2-3) which He never denied! In fact, He had proven He was “Messiah” by the different things He did like changing water into wine (John 2:1-11); healings (John 4:46-54; Matthew 12:22; Matthew 9:27-31; John 9:1-7); casting out demons (Mark 1:34); resurrecting the dead back to life (John 11:17-44); feeding of the five thousand (Matthew 14:14-21; Mark 6:34-44); miraculous signs (John 2:23; 3:2); walking on water (Matthew 14:24-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21); and even forgiving sin (Matthew 9:2-6; Luke 5:24).And He went through the following things in order to pay for our sins:

1. They blindfolded Him and hit Him. Luke 27:64; Matthew 27:30.
2. They insulted Him. Luke 22:65; Mark 15:32.
3. They spit on Him. Matthew 27:38.
4. They flogged Him with 39 lashes on His back causing Him to bleed severely. John 19:1.
   
5. They accused him of being the Messiah. Matthew 26:63.
6. They crowned Him with thorns. John 19:2; Matthew 27:29.
7. They made Him carry His roman cross part of the way. John 19:17.
8. They stripped Him of His clothes, humiliating Him. John 19:23; Matthew 27:28.
9. They crucified Him on a roman cross along with 2 other criminals. He died considered a criminal. Luke 23:32-34.
10. They mocked Him. Luke 23:36.
11. People sneered at Him. Luke 23:35.
12. They nailed His hands to a roman cross. John 20:25.
13. He hung on the cross for 6 hours, from the third hour to the ninth hour. Mark 9:33.
14. They gave Him vinegar and water on a sponge for His thirst after 6 hours. John 19:29.
15. He died painfully. His heart was literally broken (John 19:34; Matthew 27:46-50).
    

Conclusion

So how could Jesus who is God, perfect and without fault, pay the price for my sin, the sin that I had committed? I ask, “Is that fair? Is that just?” And my answer would be: “of course not!” All that He suffered and died for was because He met God’s demands for justice. God is a just God. He cannot change. His justice about sin and the price for committing it had to be met and Jesus met it by paying the price with His own blood.

Galatians 6:7 says that what we reap was what was sown and we are reaping what was sown. But it was not part of God’s justice that He also displayed His mercy on us. Justice will be paid out at the Great White Thorn Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. And many will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (Hell) for all of eternity because they will be “judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books” (Revelation 20:12). There we read that God will judge fairly and justly.

But His mercy was poured out on those who believe in Jesus, confess their sinfulness, and accept Jesus’ blood as the payment for their sin. To them there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1; Proverbs 28:13). May this be true of you and me!