Please notice that I am
taking the road less traveled; the road that automatically
declares “God is
very real and does exist.” Only a fool would say, or even imply, that there is
no God, but there are many fools who walk the earth.
“The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who
does good.” (Psalms 14:1)
So with the understanding
that God does exist, what is God like? It seems to me there are four classes of
people concerning ones perception of God.
1.
Those who believe
there is no God
2.
Those who see God
as a tyrant
3.
Those who see God
as a doddering old fool and
4.
Those who see God
as a loving Father, Savior and Lord, full of grace and mercy.
THOSE WHO BELIEVE THERE IS NO
GOD
I don’t know the statistics,
that’s God’s territory, but I’m sure most people in the world do not believe in
God. Oh sure, there are many who believe in gods, but not the one and only true
God of Israel and the Church. Even many who say they believe in God don’t act
the part.
If mankind truly believed in
God most of us would act like it, but most do not. I realize that none of us
are without sin. None of us are perfect. If we were, we would not need a
Savior, but thank God, One has been provided. Acknowledging that we are all
sinners, I still must ask, “Why do so many profess with their lips, but live as
if He does not exist?”
Many folks today live in
blatant, open sin without as much as a twinge of conscience. Obviously, many of
those do not believe in God and do not feel they should answer to a higher
being of any kind because there is no higher being (in their mind). Perhaps
those remaining of this group feel that God has gone soft and actually smiles
down from Heaven His approval upon their lifestyle.
In my opinion, none of the
previous generations, all the way back to Adam, have anything on us today when
it comes to unadulterated conceit and outright stupidity. Surely we will be
held more accountable since we have been provided the entirety of God’s Word
(the Bible) and can look back and see how God has moved throughout the ages
past. We can see the evidence of God’s hand at work. We can see His prophecies
fulfilled before our very eyes, but yet our hearts are cold.
These people want nothing to
do with God, so they refuse to acknowledge Him. Their sins are more important,
so they conclude that if there is no God, there is no sin. They are wrong.
THOSE WHO SEE GOD AS A TYRANT
A host of ill-advised people
today can see God only as a tyrant who sits in Heaven waiting for us to fail.
Whatever the reason, maybe they had bad parents, they just don’t believe God
enough to relax and trust Him.
Several of us who write
Biblical articles speak of God’s judgment and our need to be aware of His
warnings. However, we have also written of God’s unending love, His sacrifice
for us all, and His patience that we might be saved. God is not a tyrant. He is
not watching our every move as we would watch a fly we are ready to swat and
kill. The truth is God sits in Heaven yearning for us to come to Him. He truly
wants us to succeed, but the only way to succeed is to come to Him by faith in
His Son Jesus.
“The Lord is not slow in
keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2
Peter 3:9)
These folks want all to
believe that God is always angry at us. He walks across Heaven with a club
ready to beat us into submission. He has a short temper and enjoys making us
miserable. None of that is true of course.
Manasseh was the fourteenth
king of Judah. He reigned 55 years from 687 B.C. to 642 B.C. He may have been
the most evil king Judah had. Please read 2 Chronicles 33:1-9. You will see
that he was no choir boy. God said of him in the ninth verse:
“But Manasseh led Judah and
the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the
LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.”
Now that’s bad. He was worse
than the heathen nations around them that God had to judge.
Manasseh was so rotten God
allowed Assyria to take him captive. After he was carted off in chains to
Babylon with a hook in his nose, he turned to God in true repentance (see
verses 12-13).
Now get this, God had every
right to turn a deaf ear. Think about it. Manasseh sacrificed his own children
upon a red-hot altar. He was extremely cruel. He deserved no mercy. However,
what did God do?
“And when he prayed to him,
the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him
back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.”
(2 Chronicles 33:13)
If God is a tyrant, wouldn’t
this have been a great opportunity to have been one? Instead, He showed mercy
on a truly repentant heart.
THOSE WHO SEE GOD AS A
DODDERING OLD FOOL
The popular thinking today
seems to be that God winks at our sins. We are permitted, by God no less; to
live anyway we choose as long as we seek politically correct avenues and never
ever call anything “sin.” This false gospel is a false misunderstanding of
Matthew 7:1, which says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
This false interpretation has
paved the way for followers of Satan to promote that which is sin as a
lifestyle acceptable by God. Sins that have destroyed other generations and
wiped out civilizations are now acceptable by those who refuse to see any error
to their ways. The atrocities of Satan are being forced upon us all because of
the sinful minds of a few. Unfortunately, the “few” is expanding to become the “many,”
just as the proverbial rotten apple in the barrel infects the other apples in
the barrel.
This crowd wants us to
believe that God is a milquetoast, powderpuff, senile doddering old white
haired man in the sky who goes along with anything we say or desire. Again,
this is not true of God.
Uzziah (or Azariah) was
Judah’s tenth king and reigned 52 years from 767 B.C. to 740 B.C. He was a good
king.
“He did what was right in the
eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the
days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought
the LORD, God gave him success.” (2 Chronicles 26:4-5)
God really blessed Uzziah,
but eventually he allowed pride to enter his heart and got too big for his
britches.
“But after Uzziah became
powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God,
and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.” (2
Chronicles 26:16)
He knew the Law. He knew he
was not permitted to enter the temple of the Lord and usurp the role of the
priest, but he did it anyway. Now see what happened.
“Uzziah, who had a censer in
his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the
priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD’s temple,
leprosy broke out on his forehead.
When Azariah the chief priest
and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his
forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave,
because the LORD had afflicted him.
King Uzziah had leprosy until
the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the
temple of the LORD. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the
people of the land.” (2 Chronicles 26:19-21)
When God says “Don’t,” that
is exactly what He means.
THOSE WHO SEE GOD AS A LOVING
FATHER, SAVIOR AND LORD, FULL OF GRACE AND MERCY
The Bible is replete with
warnings of God’s judgment and just as abounding in His message of love and grace.
It speaks of sin as sin. It cuts no corners. It makes no exceptions. It plays
no favorites. It tells the Truth, and in that Truth is the Gospel that calls
all men to Jesus Christ to be saved. In Him we may be born again, new creations
in God.
SUMMATION
1.
Freiedrich
Nietzche was wrong. God is not dead. He is very much alive, and is the one and
only true God. This is His world. He created everything and His Word is Law,
regardless of what the naysayers may say.
We
can legislate all the laws we want legalizing the murder of babies,
homosexually and homosexual marriage, transgenderism, and any other law that is
an affront to Almighty God, but there is only one Law that matters; God’s Law.
There is only one opinion that counts, and that belongs to the one and only
true God of Heaven and earth.
We
can legislate God out of our midst until we are blue in the face, but He
remains in charge. If we do not return to God, and quickly, we will find out
soon enough if Freiedrich Nietzche was correct. Mr. Nietzche already has.
2.
God is not a
tyrant. His judgment is just, and His mercy is undeserved. However, by His
grace any who are willing may experience His love through His Son the Lord
Jesus Christ.
God
would not be God if He did not punish sin and enforce His Laws. Is He a tyrant?
A tyrant would never go to the lengths God has to provide salvation to all who
will come to Him through His Son Jesus. A tyrant would not die for all so that
all who come to Him through Christ can live.
3.
God is not a white-haired
grandpa kowtowing to our sinful lusts. He is rich in grace and mercy, and He is
also holy and righteous. He is truth and unchanging, meaning He does not change
to accommodate our foolish opinions. Even now He temporarily holds back His
judgment because of His love. He desires that none should perish.
4.
None of us are
worthy to be saved. We are all sinful creatures with no redeeming qualities. We
all deserve to be judged along with Satan and the fallen angels in hell.
Nevertheless, Jesus has paid our sin debt. Any who come to God the Father
through Him will be born again and receive everlasting life. All those who
refuse will suffer in hell for eternity. God is God.
CONCLUSION
God says of Himself in
Malachi 3:6, “I the LORD do not change…” He says also in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
God is not a living being,
document or anything else that changes with the wind. He is always the same. We
are the ones who change, and we are headed in the wrong direction. Going against
God is suicidal. We would have a greater chance of holding back Niagara Falls
with one hand than causing God to change.
“God again set a certain day,
calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David,
as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden
your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7)
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
