Category Archives: God

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August 3, 2021

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Current Events, God, Sexuality

Does God Hate Homosexuals?

Probably everyone has seen images of people carrying signs declaring, “God hates homosexuals.” Is this true? Does God hate homosexuals? The sin of homosexuality is despicable to God. (Leviticus 18:22) Those who live in homosexuality without repentance will not enter heaven. (1 Corinthians 6:9) The spread of homosexuality is the judgment of God upon a nation. Homosexuals are under the wrath of God and their homosexuality is the wrath of God upon them. (Romans 1:25-27) The Bible clearly condemns homosexuality, in the Old and New Testament. However, the Bible never says that God hates homosexuals. The Bible says God hates sin and He hates sinners.

The Bible says God hates sin. Several sins are listed as especially despicable to God, such as: pride, deceit, murder, fraudulent business practices, injustice and homosexuality. These lists of abominations do not single out homosexuality as unique among sins, nor do they minimize homosexuality’s sinfulness.

Yet, the Bible says that not only does God hate sin, He hates individuals. Hosea 9:15, “I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings.” Leviticus 26:30 warns the Israelites that if they did not obey God’s commands then God will say to them, “My soul shall abhor you.” Psalm 5:5 says simply, “(God) hates all workers of iniquity.” So, yes, God hates homosexuals. He hates homosexuals in the same way He hates all those who rebelliously and willfully persist in sin.

If you are still reading at this point you are probably demanding to know how the God who is Love can be said to hate anyone. God’s hatred of sinners is not a petulant or arbitrary hatred. God’s hatred does not in any way restrict the expression of His love. While a complete and satisfying reconciliation of God’s hatred and God’s love is not possible, the Bible clearly declares both. God is love and He hates sin and sinners. We must recognize that God’s love is not contradicted by His hate. The the hatred of God expressed in the Bible must not be confused with the unrighteous animosity common in human hatred. God can love the sinner perfectly while also hating them for their sin. In the end, the love of God for all men is unquestionable and undeniable. John 3:16 declares, “For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God’s love for the world is so great that while we were still in our sin He gave His Son to die for our sin. (Romans 5:8) “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) God’s love extends to all humanity, regardless of their sin.

The reality is that all people are separated from God. No one is righteous. No one seeks after God. (Romans 3:10-11) Every person is naturally alienated from God and an enemy against Him. (Colossians 1:21) Every person is by birth the child of wrath and the child of disobedience. (Ephesians 2:2-2) Despite our sin God in His love gives the offer of salvation freely to all. God in His love gives salvation freely to all who trust Jesus for forgiveness. God does not exclude homosexual from His grace anymore than he excludes those who were once murderers, blasphemers or persecutors of Christ. (1 Timothy 1:12-14)

Homosexuals are under God’s wrath. They are dead in trespasses and sins just like everyone else. As a result, homosexuals are sinners in need of the mercy and grace of God. Because they are sinners they can be saved. They are not outside the reach of God’s love. Homosexuals are no less able to be saved than any other sinners because God loves them.

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June 15, 2021

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God, Jesus, Salvation

Do I Have to Believe Jesus is God to be Saved?

Jesus claimed to be God. The New Testament claims Jesus is God. The early church believed Jesus is God. Jesus is God. The Deity of Jesus is one of several most important truths in all of Christianity. As important as the deity of Jesus is, does a person have to believe Jesus is God before he can be saved? Is the Deity of Jesus something the Christian can grow to believe after salvation?

The gospel message includes a series of significant facts which must be believed for salvation. These facts include the death of Jesus on the cross for sin, the guilt of the individual, the resurrection of Jesus and the willingness of God to give salvation to those who trust Him. The Bible also teaches a person must believe Jesus is God to be saved.

Romans 10:9 connects the confession of Jesus as God with salvation. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Whenever the New Testament always uses the title Lord to refer to Jesus it is always a declaration of His Deity. The title hearkens back Jehovah, the name of God given in the Old Testament. To call Jesus Lord is to declare that He is God. Romans 10 promises you will be saved if you confess the Lord Jesus. Believing the Deity of Jesus is clearly a condition of salvation.

1 John 5 says that those who are born of God are those who believe Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 4:15 says salvation is given to those who confess the Deity of Jesus. “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” John 20:31 says eternal life comes through believing Jesus is God the Son. “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” These verses plainly declare that believing the Deity of Jesus is essential for salvation. No one can be saved without first acknowledging that Jesus is God.

Likewise, any one who denies the Deity of Jesus is not saved. First John is equally plain on this point. “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.” Denying the Deity of Jesus is proof a person is not saved, and those who deny Jesus make themselves His enemies. They are antichrist.

The Bible claims Jesus is God. The New Testament gives an abundance of evidence that Jesus is God. If you believe He is God who died for your sin and rose to life again you can be saved.

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April 20, 2021

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God, Salvation

Did God choose to not save certain people?

The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all things, including salvation. God has mercy on whom He will have mercy. (Romans 9:16, 18) He loved Jacob and hated Esau so that the purposes of His divine election would be accomplished without the work of men but by His own will. (Romans 9:11-13) God is the potter who makes some vessels to honor and some to dishonor. (Romans 9:22) Passages like Romans 9 seem to indicate that God chooses who will be saved.

Jesus said that the way which leads to destruction is wide. The way that leads to life is narrow and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14) This raises a troubling question. If people are saved by God’s choosing, then why are so few saved?

Passages like Romans 9 are only one side of the story. The Bible also teaches that man is fully responsible for his reception of the gospel. Esau made the choice to sell his birthright. He was the one who despised the promises of God. God in no way caused Esau to sin. God does not sin, does not cause men to sin and does not tempt men to sin. (James 1:13) God is the one who draws men to Himself, but none can say God is responsible for their unbelief. God’s sovereign working in salvation is such that it does not negate the responsibility of the individual to respond to the gracious working of God and to receive the legitimate offer of eternal life.

The Bible does not tell us how God does His choosing. Scripture does tell us some things His choosing is not based upon. God does not choose based upon some favoritism which selects people based upon personal qualities that may be advantageous to Him. God is not a respecter of persons. (Colossians 3:25) Nor can it be said that God chose based upon a knowledge of who would believe Him. That is just another form of salvation by works in which the saved merit salvation because God knew they were the only ones who would believe.

None can imagine that God is cruel or capricious in salvation. The Bible clearly says that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, God’s delight is in the repentance of the wicked so they can have life. (Ezekiel 33:11) God is not willing that any should perish. He desires the repentance of all. (2 Peter 3:9) God’s choosing is not evil in any way, but is the outworking of His compassion and grace.

These truths of Scripture are hard to understand. We will not have a full answer to this question until we reach heaven. Right now we cannot fathom the wisdom, grace and glory of God. We do not understand how God chooses or how His sovereignty works in man’s salvation. We know God is sovereign and man is responsible. God’s sovereignty is not limited by man’s responsibility, nor is man’s responsibility limited by God’s sovereignty. Both are true though we may not be able to explain how they can be true at the same time. Just like we cannot explain how the Father, Son and Spirit are each fully God and yet God is One God. Difficulty in understanding a truth should not cause us to refuse to believe it.

The proper response to this problem is to worship the God who is so wise His plan of salvation baffles the greatest of minds. The right response is to praise the God who is so gracious His salvation can be received by the simplest of children. Those who are saved must rejoice in their salvation. They ought to preach the gospel faithfully to all and pray earnestly for the salvation of the lost. Each Christian must glorify the God who chose to save him and who invited him to receive His salvation.

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January 26, 2021

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God, Prayer

Why are my prayers not answered?

In the gospels Jesus gives incredible promises about prayer. One of these promises is, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14) Yet, many people pray and do not have their prayers answered? Why is this? Since Jesus gave broad, sweeping promises about prayer, should not every one who prays get what they ask for? Why are many prayers not answered?

First, the promise of answered prayers is only given to believers. The Bible never promises the unsaved that God will give them what they ask. God may graciously answer some of the prayers of the unsaved, but He does not promise to do so.

Second, every one of Jesus’ promise of answered prayers is conditioned upon the properness of the prayers. The gospel of John contains the most remarkable of Jesus’ promises. The promises in John are all dependent based upon the one praying being in a right relationship with Jesus. This propriety in prayer is described in one place as,“asking in Jesus name.” Asking in Jesus name is more than ending a prayer with “in Jesus name, amen.” Asking in Jesus’ name is asking under the authority of Jesus and in agreement with His character. Sinful prayers or prayers for things opposed to the increase of the kingdom of God will not be answered. The promises of answered prayers are not unlimited promises from God that He will give whatever the person asks for, no matter what. The promises are dependent upon the requests being in submissive obedience to will of Jesus.

James 4 gives another reason prayers are not answered. Requests are not answered if they are never asked.“Ye have not because ye ask not.” A desire for something is not the same as praying for something. To have your prayers answered you must speak to God and ask Him to grant your desires.

Sin in the life of the believer will cause prayer to go unanswered. Sin hinders the Christian’s relationship with God, and if a Christian willfully continues to disobey God he cannot not expect God to grant his requests. God is gracious. He often answers prayers despite our sin and He does not withhold answers because of inadvertent or unnoticed sins. The Christian need not fear that some forgotten sin is keeping God from answering his prayer. Rather, it is when the child of God “Regards iniquity in his heart” (Psalm 66:18) that the Lord does not hear.

One final reason God may not answer your prayer is if your requests are selfish. “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your own lusts.” (James 4:3) This is related to the promise of answered prayer in 1 John, “If we ask anything according to His will He heareth us.” God does not promise to give you whatever you want whenever you ask. He is not in the business of spoiling His children. When the Christian asks for something merely to gratify his own desires, he must not expect God to give it. When the Christian asks for good things, for the glory of God and the increase of the kingdom of God, God promises to give His child the desires of their heart. God answers prayers that are selfless and seeking the furtherance of His kingdom.

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November 17, 2020

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God

Does God Change His Mind?

Theologian Roger Olson says God changes “in relation to creature’s prayers and needs. I have long believed that God does change- voluntarily and only in His experiences and intentions.” How can Christians understand the changeless God described in the Bible who is also revealed to have emotions and answer prayers by intervening in circumstances. Does God change? Does my sin create a new grief in God that was not there before I sinned? Does God start out on one course but change His plans when I pray? These are not easy questions, but understanding God’s relationship with humanity and the Christian’s relationship with God is important.

The Bible teaches that God does not change. In God is no variation or “shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.” (1 Samuel 15:29)

The Bible also says that God repented. “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Genesis 6:6) “The Lord repented that He had made Saul king over Israel.” (1 Samuel 15:35) In Exodus 32 God told Moses to leave Him alone and He would destroy rebellious Israel. Moses pled with God to not destroy Israel, “And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” (Exodus 32:14)

How does the Christian make sense of this? Does God repent, or is He unchanging? Do my prayers cause God to change His mind? When the Old Testament says God “repents” the Hebrews word nacham, translated “repent” in English, reflects an emotional state. Depending on the context the same word is used for having pity on someone or for regretting an action. We can legitimately say, as the NASB translates it, “The Lord was sorry that He had made man.” (Genesis 6:6) God’s being “sorry” does not imply God erred. Instead, the repentance of God shows His tenderness and justice. God is moved with compassion by our need and moved with sorrow by our sin.

Examining the passages that describe God as “repenting” reveals that God Himself is not changing, only His dealings with man are. From the beginning of the Bible God is shown to change in the way He deals with men. He dealt with Adam differently afer sin than He did before man sinned. He dealt differently with Abraham than Moses, the apostles or Christians today. God acts in accord with His changeless character in all His interactions with man, but the expression of His unchanging nature does not always stay the same.

The ability of God to respond to the actions of man does not mean God is taking a new direction different from what He planned. Isaiah 46:9-10 says, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 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:” Acts 15:18 says, “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” God knows all that He will do and He also legitimately and actually answers the prayers of people. He makes what appear to men to be changes in His plans, but in fact God knows all that He will do. Before He created the world, God knew He would destroy the earth in a flood. Before God called Saul to be king, He knew He would take the kingdom from Saul. Before Moses prayed for Israel’s protection, God knew He would not destroy the nation. God has always known all things He will do.

When the Bible says that God does not change it is emphasizing that God always does what He says. (Hebrews 6:17-19) God does not ever go back on His promises. His character, knowledge, nature and being are eternally unchanging. He is exactly the same God today that He was in the eternity before He created all things.

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September 22, 2020

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God

Does God know what decisions I will make before I make them?

God is all-knowing. He knows all the works of His hands (Acts 15:18). He named every star in heaven and knows everyone of their trillion trillion of names. (Isaiah 40:26). He knows the number of hairs on every human head at any given time. (Matthew 10:30) He knows all the creatures on earth and never forgets one, even the least of birds. (Luke 12:6) God’s knowledge is limitless. He knows all that is and all that has been. Does God know what will be? Specifically, does God know the decisions a man will make?

Not everyone believes in the limitless foreknowledge of God. Some say that if God knows everything that will happen then man does not have a will that is truly free. If God knows all that will happen, then man will always do what has already been known that he will do. Foreknowledge then becomes a form of Divine determinism in which every moment of life is preplanned and predetermined by God and all man can do is what has been decided he will do.

Foreknowledge does not necessarily mean predetermination. A fan of mystery novels may read a book and know exactly how the book is going to end. Such foreknowledge does not mean the reader determined the ending. A reader’s knowledge of the author and the literature allows him to understand the story and correctly foretell the ending. This knowledge does not imply the reader is also the author. Foreknowledge can exist without infringing upon the ability of individuals to freely choose.

The Bible says God knows everything that is, was, could be and will be. In Matthew 11:21 Jesus told the towns of Bethsaida and Chorazin that if Tyre and Sidon had seen His miracles they would have repented. He then declared to Capernaum that if Sodom had seen the mighty works He did then it would have turned from sin. Jesus’ words reveal a knowledge of what could have been. His words were not mere rhetoric. Jesus is God the Son. He spake the truth of what could have been because He knows all things, including what might be.

God knows everything about a person before that person knows anything about themselves. Psalm 139 describes the infinite, intimate knowledge of God. Psalm 139:2 says, “Thou understandest my thought afar off.” God knows every thought of man while it is still far from fully formed in the person’s mind. While man is still thinking, God knows all that he is going to think. Psalm 139:16 says that when the person is still in the womb, before he has even begun to form, God knows him. He knows all his days before his days have even begun. God knows what a person is going to do and what that person will be long before he makes any decisions. God knows all the possibilities and He knows the choices men will make. The God of the Bible is all-knowing. His knowledge is unlimited and entire, encompassing past, present, future, what will be, what could be and what might be.