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What is God like? What kind of God do you believe in? Whether or not you even believe
there is a god, you have most likely formed in your mind an image of God. The Bible
tells us that the Lord God created man in his own image, and ever since then we have
tried to return the favor. I have news for you. Your idea or concept of God is not God. It
may contain an element of truth, but a finite being will never be able to comprehend
much about an infinite creator. Your concept of God comes from your background,
family, church, school, personality, and hopefully, the Bible. Yes, I believe there is a
spiritual element as well God does indeed reveal himself to us to the extent that we can
handle the truth. Even so, our overall impression of what God is like probably falls far
short of His true nature. That's okay because God does not require us to figure Him
out, only that we respond to what He has revealed to us.
The question I pose to you is what kind of God do you believe in? What adjectives
would you use to describe God? Most of the Christian world believes in one of the two
Gods I am about to describe. There is a third option, which I will get to later.
1. The God of Arminianism. We'll call him god "A" for convenience. We'll call his
followers "group A"
2. The God of Calvinism. We'll call him god "B", and his followers "group B"
God A
This is the majority view. God A is a very nice and loving God. Unfortunately, he's either
stupid or weak. Let me explain. God A loves everybody. He sent his Son to die for all
and he truly wants all people to be saved and enjoy him for eternity. But there was a
problem with his plan. You see, God A gave us something called "free will" and we must
use this free will to choose him, and specifically "make a decision to follow Christ" in
order to be saved. If we don't freely make the right choice, we will go to hell for eternity.
Although god A knew that the vast majority of humanity would not use their free will to
make right choices, he went ahead with the plan anyway, hoping to salvage just a small
part of the billions of human souls that would be born and die after Adam. God A is not
really sovereign over his creation. He does not control the end result and he never takes
away or interferes with man's free will, even if our free will sends us straight to hell. Of
course God A never sends anyone to hell. They "choose" to go to hell by rejecting the
salvation offered through Jesus Christ (regardless of whether or not they even heard of
Jesus).
Favorite Bible verses for group A:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn. 3:16)
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9)
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I
will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev. 3:20)
Problem verses (the ones they have to explain away or ignore) for group A:
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit fruit
that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (Jn. 15:16)
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him
up at the last day. (Jn. 6:44)
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the
one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to
decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom. 8:2021)
One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his
will?" (Rom 9:19)
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. (Pr. 16:9)
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who
works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, (Eph.1:11)
What I like about God A
God A truly loves all people and tries hard to save them all from hell. He gives people a
choice a whether or not to serve him and thus be saved. You could say the he plays fair,
and does not arbitrarily choose some people for salvation while never giving the rest a
chance. God A also mercifully exempts from damnation young children and anyone else
who is incapable of "making a decision" for Christ.
Problems with God A
God A does not really give everyone a chance to get saved. Group A believes an
individual must make a decision for accept Christ or say the "Sinner's Prayer" or some
such thing in order to get saved. Of course this leaves out tens of billions of people who
have lived and died without so much as hearing the name of Jesus. So much for free will.
What good is free will if you don't have the option of choosing this Jesus of whom you
have never even heard? If God A's plan was that everyone have a chance to be saved by
hearing the word, then it was a pretty bad plan to say the least. The gospel spread rapidly
in the first few centuries, but to this day it has not reached every person. Couldn't God A
have sent a holy angel to each and every person to tell them the good news? Couldn't he
have arranged that we find the gospel in a box of Cheerios instead of leaving things to
chance? Group A insists that God does not send anyone to hell, they send themselves
they by rejecting Jesus Christ. But just how does one reject someone they've never heard
of? God A leaves us with many other unanswerable questions such as why would God
allow anyone to come into the world in the first place if he knew in advance what
decisions they would make and what their fate would be? In short, God A is loving but
weak. He has the will to save all, but not the power. His plan failed. At the end of time,
when all the souls are counted, Satan wins and god A loses.
God B
God B is mighty, powerful, and sovereign. He is the God of choice among the more
informed and educated clergy. Group B believes in something called predestination. This
means that far in advance he chose a certain number of humans, know as "the elect" to
be saved (not so surprisingly, people in group B always count themselves to be among
the elect how convenient!) Group B also believes in something know as "limited
atonement". This is the idea that the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient only to save the
elect. Christ blood was never intended to save anyone except the elect. The "elect", by
the way, consists of a very small percentage of humanity anywhere from 10 percent
down to less than one percent. The rest of the human race is destined for eternal torment
in hell and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
Favorite Bible verses for Group B
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Rom 8:29)
One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his
will?" (Rom 9:19)
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who
works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, (Eph. 1:11)
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him
up at the last day (Jn. 6:44)
Problem verses for Group B
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn. 3:16)
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9)
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to
a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all menthe testimony given in
its proper time (1 Tim. 2:36)
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the
whole world. (1 Jn. 2:2)
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the
world. (1 Jn. 4:14)
What I like about God B
I like God B's power, wisdom, and sovereignty. God B shows this power and sovereignty
throughout history and into the future. Nothing escapes his perfect plan. His will is
always accomplished. Group B doesn't have to worry about inventing doctrines such as
free will or the age of accountability to try and justify their God. If God does something,
it's his sovereign right and we have no right to second guess him.
Problems with God B
God B is powerful, but he is cruel and has nasty temper. He is just so angry with us poor
sinners whom he created, even though he knew we would end up in this sorry state. He
continues to create human souls at the rate of 200,000 per day. If you do the math, that
means that at least 180,000 of these are destined for eternal torment. Just like group A, I
have to ask why would God B create so many people for the sole purpose of tormenting
them for eternity? How does this glorify God? How does this satisfy God's justice? The
really ugly thing about God B is that predestination means there is no exception for
babies and children who die at an early age. If they are not among the elect, they also
will go to hell for eternity. Group B hates to talk about this, but it's the natural outcome
of their belief system. If the idea of God burning babies for eternity seems unthinkable,
disgusting, and demoniacally evil, that's because it is unthinkable, disgusting, and
demoniacally evil. Of course it's not true either. Even if there is an eternal hell, there is
nothing is the Bible about anyone ever being punished for their sin nature, or for the sin
of being born. All Bible threats of punishment, judgment, and hell are always associated
with specific evil behavior, and there is no punishment for just "being born a sinner"
Lord, Help Us!
Lord, help me. Must I be forced to accept a god who can save all of his creation, but
does not want to, or god who wants to save all of his creation but cannot? There must be
a better option. The real God must be better than what I can imagine, not worse. Enter
God C, the God of the Bible. God C's will is to save all:
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come
to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all menthe testimony
given in its proper time (1 Tim. 2:36)
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient
with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter
3:9)
God C is also able to save all:
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing (Zep. 3:17)
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be
saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all
things are possible." (Matt. 19:26)
I don't know about you, but if I can do something, and I want to do it, it will happen.
God can and will save all of his creation. He has already reconciled all things to Himself:
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile
to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace
through his blood, shed on the cross. (Col. 1:1920)
Believing God can and will save all does not mean I have to ignore or explain away any
scripture. All references to judgment, punishment, condemnation, hell, etc., can easily be
understood in light of God's ultimate purpose to restore all things.
I hope I have piqued your interest. If so, I highly recommend Hope Beyond Hell by
Gerry Beauchemin. Click this link for more information. I leave you with the lyrics to
Every Eye Will See Him by Randy Walterman (Click HERE to hear this song)
I see an army I hear a song
rise in the nations, beautiful and strong.
A song of mercy that shatters pride,
a song of great love that purifies.
I see warriors with hands upraised,
holding no weapon, but their swords of praise.
Strongholds shatter. Kings bow down
before the Master and yield their crowns.
And every eye will see Him as Love wins through at last.
And every heart be drawn unto the Lamb.
Every voice will cry out what every heart will know
and before the throne we stand.
I see the earth now, its groanings cease.
Creation lifts praise to the Prince of Peace.
Wars have ended and weapons fall.
An invitation to one and all.
I see the Church now as a passionate Bride.
I see her Lover with His fiery eyes.
All His longing and her desire
join as one flame in heaven's fire.
And every eye will see Him as Love wins through at last.
And every heart be drawn unto the Lamb.
Every voice will cry out what every heart will know
and before the throne we stand.
I see a kingdom that never ends.
I see a Judge now who calls sinners 'Friends'.
Who gathers rebels and overwhelms
Them with His mercy so He can dwell
in hearts He's captured and rules in love.
He wraps around them a robe dipped in blood.
His tears are washing their fears away
and then He lifts them to see His face.
And every eye will see Him as Love wins through at last.
And every heart be drawn unto the Lamb.
Every voice will cry out what every heart will know
and before the throne we stand.
All will gaze in wonder at the reach of heaven's plan.
How could mercy touch the lowest man?
Drawn from every nation, every voice,
and every tongue, amazed at what the Lord of Love has done.
amazed at what the Lord of Love has done.
I see a King now and I believe.
I hear His voice now and He's calling me.