WE CAN ONLY TRUST GOD IF WE KNOW WHO HE IS

To trust God is also to know Him. The reason that I can trust God is because I know who He is. I know what to expect. Without this knowledge, trust would not be able to answer the question, “Trust what?” What if God was only righteous 364 days a year, but on the other day, He’d let down His hair to act maliciously. I couldn’t trust such a God. On that one day, He might decide to destroy me.

Instead, I need to know that God is completely righteous and loving, as Scripture insists:

·       This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5; ESV)

·       Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. (1 John 4:8-9)

However, there are many verses that seem to contradict that He is completely loving and righteousness. These have to be resolved if we are going to have a confident trust in God.

I’ll just deal with one extensive set of these verses – those that claim that God hardens the heart of the non-elect so that they cannot believe and come to Him.

Oddly, Jesus praised the Father for doing this:

·       At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Matthew 11:25-26, 11-15; Isaiah 6:9; John 12:40; Acts 28:26)

Gracious will? Instead, the fact that God had hidden the truth from the “wise and understanding” is troubling. How can this be loving and righteous? Besides, what basis does God have for condemning if they had been blinded them?

Paul gives the same teaching:

·       For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. (Romans 9:17-18; Exodus 9:16)

How can we trust that God is righteous and loving if He “hardens whomever he wills?” Let’s look at one more troubling passage which teaches that God even deludes:

·       The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; 1 Kings 22:22; Ezekiel 14:9; Revelation 17:17)

It seems, at first glance, that God is working in tandem with the Devil to deceive, but is He? Paul answers our perplexity if we look carefully enough. Why does God send them “a strong delusion?” Because they want it! Why? They have already rejected the truth and were taking “pleasure in unrighteousness.” In light of this, God was merely granting them what they wanted. They had wanted darkness, an excuse for their evil, and God gave it to them.

How about Pharaoh? He too had freely rejected the truth and had chosen the darkness, hardening his own heart (Exodus 8:13, 32). It wasn’t as if God had hardened an innocent man to reject the light. Pharaoh already hated the light by refusing to see the light of truth (John 3:19-21).

Elsewhere, Paul explains the process. First, God has revealed the truth to humanity in such a comprehensive and undeniable way as to leave them “without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20). He also has written His laws upon our hearts (Romans 2:14-15). Second, because of our stubbornness, He abandons us to our own desires:

·       Therefore God GAVE THEM UP in the lusts of THEIR hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God GAVE THEM UP to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God GAVE THEM UP TO A DEBASED MIND to do what ought not to be done. (Romans 1:24-28)

Humanity has freely turned to the darkness of the lie. Is God unjust for allowing them to choose what they wanted? Certainly not! Is He unjust for then rescuing certain individuals among those who have rejected Him? Certainly not! He is free to be merciful to whomever. Salvation is not an entitlement program.

Is this troubling? Perhaps, but it’s also humbling and deprives us of any reason for boasting. We are no more worthy of God than anyone else. But why is Jesus thankful that the Father has “hidden these things from the wise and understanding?”

These are people who are “wise and understanding” in their own conceited estimation, people who have already hardened their hearts against God. Jesus, therefore, is merely reveling in the justice, mercy, and wisdom of God.

Why aren’t we similarly reveling? Simply because we don’t understand the Father and His righteousness as He does!

Do I now have perfect understanding of the ways of God? Not really. However, I understand Him enough to confidently and gladly allow Him to remain at the helm of my ship.

Can we trust in God without His Word and His promises, as some claim? Well, which God? Ultimately, without Scripture, this will inevitably lead to a god of our own creation.

Should God Save Everyone?

One skeptic challenged:

• If your God is all-powerful and all-loving – He wants everyone to come to salvation [2 Peter 3:9] - He would save everyone. None would go to hell.

I had to admit that I didn’t have a complete answer to this challenge. While it is true that God calls everyone and that those who refuse his invitation deserve His harsh justice, I know that I also deserved that harsh justice. Nevertheless, He saved me, changing my heart in the process. It would seem that He could likewise be merciful to everyone else.

The Prophet Isaiah struggled with the same question. He acknowledged to God that Israel had a long list of damnable sins:

• All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins. (Isaiah 64:6-7) 

However, Isaiah then issued the same challenge as the skeptic:

• Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. (Isaiah 64:8) 

Although Isaiah was not blaming God for Israel’s sins, he did remind God, as the Master Potter, that He could change Israel, the clay, at will! In light of God’s overwhelming omnipotence, it seemed to Isaiah that God was being needlessly harsh:

• Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people… After all this, O LORD, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure? (Isaiah 64:9,12) 

Isaiah’s struggle is a typical of not only the Hebrew Prophets but also the Christians. We share with Isaiah the feeling that God is not being true to His own character and promises. His answer to Isaiah doesn’t help us:

• All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations-- a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick [to false gods]… I will destine you for the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter; for I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me."  (Isaiah 65:2-3,12)

I would guess that Isaiah wasn’t satisfied with his Master’s answer. He merely reiterated that Israel would receive the justice they deserved. However, He did not address the mercy part – that He is the Potter who could change Israel into anything He so desired. However, He then revealed that there was coming a time when He would play the gracious Master Potter:

• "The Redeemer [the promised Messiah] will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD. "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD. (Isaiah 59:20-21)

• "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more…  (Isaiah 65:17-19) 

Consequently, all Israel will be saved – the very concern of Isaiah. However, it seems that Israel’s God will also save all of the Gentiles who remain after the great battle:

• From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD. (Isaiah 66:23)

This is an indication that, in the end, our Lord will open the floodgates of heaven:

• "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other… Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.'" All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult. (Isaiah 45:22-25; 60:14) 

When our Savior returns, there will be a great outpouring of mercy (Romans 11:12-27), more than has ever been seen. Why then is God not merciful this way now? Well, when Jesus returns, mercy will triumph over justice (James 2:13).

Does this answer Isaiah’s challenge? Not completely! What about those who died prior to Christ’s return or who had died in the great battle? We cannot speak so confidently about them unless they were already God’s saved children.

We aren’t going to get all of our questions answered here. Scripture warns us repeatedly about this:

• Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

There will come a time, however, when our questions will be answered in full. Meanwhile, I think that it is important to realize that we are not in a position to profit from any knowledge. In fact, some knowledge might prove highly destructive if we are not ready for it. For example, are babies who are aborted or who die early going to heaven? Perhaps? However, if we had with such certainty, a loving mother might understandably abort her baby to ensure that she will go to heaven. Therefore, perhaps this is a certainty that our Lord would not want us to have.

There is also another consideration. The skeptic’s challenge contains a hidden assumption – that we are entitled to heaven. However, there is no such entitlement in God’s program. Instead, God’s justice entitles us to only one thing – death as the sinners we are (Romans 6:23). Consequently, it is by His mercy alone that we receive blessings.

Created in the “image of God,” we do have certain human rights, like the right to justice, which is indiscriminate. However, we cannot claim a human right to mercy and heaven. As opposed to justice, God’s mercy or love can discriminate, as we can also discriminate in inviting whomever we want to our party. No one can charge that they are entitled to such an invitation.

Therefore, no one can demand that God should save everyone. He is free to give to whomever He chooses. No one can coherently charge God with violating their human rights, since their rights come from Him and mercy is simply not one of them.

Nevertheless, God does love His creation and will be merciful in ways that He has not fully disclosed, but no one can demand mercy of Him.

Is the Salvation of the Bible Unjust?

The Bible teaches a salvation through a faith/belief that Christ died for our sins (beliefs à salvation). Is this form of salvation – a salvation by mental thoughts - fair or wise? Wouldn’t the Gospel be more reasonable and just if salvation had instead been based on love or at least a doctrine-less trust in Christ?

This is the position of psychologist and professed Christian, David Benner. He rejects the significance of the truths/doctrines of the Gospel in favor of an alternative spirituality:

·       Equating faith with beliefs truncates and trivializes spirituality by reducing it to a mental process. Thoughts are, quite simply, a poor substitute for relationship. Some Christians speak much of a personal relationship with God but assume that this is based on holding right beliefs. Is it any wonder that this attempt to reduce Ultimate Mystery to theological propositions so often results in the principle personal relationship being between a person and his or her own thoughts? Cherishing thoughts about God replaces cherishing God; knowing about the Divine replaces knowing the Divine. Whenever the Wholly Other is thought to be contained in one’s beliefs and opinions, divine transcendence is seriously compromised and personal relationship with the Spirit minimized. (Soulful Spirituality, 6)

Admittedly, at first glance, the Gospel does appear foolish and divorced from fairness or justice. Paul admits as much (1 Cor. 1:25), but also claims that it is the wisdom of God. For one thing, if God used any other criterion for salvation, none of us would qualify:

·       "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12)

Consequently, salvation and everything else we mercifully receive from God can only be received as a gift (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:26-28; Gal. 3:1-5; 5:2-4) – grace - which God grants by changing our heart so that we can believe that we are sinners who need the Savior who died for our sins (God à Beliefs [faith] à Salvation).

In light of this, it is not our thoughts alone that save us. The Devil also has the right thoughts in this regard (James 2:19). Instead, it is the gift of a new heart which opens our eyes to the truths/doctrines of the Gospel and inclines us to receive them.

Meanwhile, Benner’s view is incoherent – illogical. He argues for a faith that only contains a trust in God without an understanding of whom we are to trust! What differentiates our Savior from the god of Islam or the New Age? Doctrines! We can trust in Christ because we believe what He tells us - that we are no longer guilty of sin and that we will be with Him for eternity. Without such doctrines, trust has no foundation! It is without form and cannot be embraced. Consequently, we would simply be trusting in a vague subjective feeling – a content-less faith!

What then should I trust about such a god? I would have to trust in my feelings about him. However, I had been plagued by self-contempt and therefore felt that God also hated me. It was only the Spirit who worked through Scripture who convinced me otherwise! He assured me that my feelings didn’t reflect the truths of God but my own messed-up past.

However, this leaves the Christian faith vulnerable to another challenge:

·       If faith/salvation is a gift from God, and no one can earn or deserve it, it is unfair to condemn those who haven’t received this gift!

While we cannot earn or deserve salvation, we can certainly cry out to God to forgive our sins and to receive us. After all, we all know that we are sinners. We experience guilt and shame. However, instead of dealing honestly with our spiritual brokenness and failures, we deny, rationalize, and justify our sins, as Jesus revealed:

·       This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)

Sadly, this has always been the condition of Israel, as the Prophet Jeremiah revealed:

·       “Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people [Israel] have forgotten me, days without number… On your clothes men find the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say, 'I am innocent; he is not angry with me.' But I will pass judgment on you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'” (Jeremiah 2:32-35)

Israel had been consistently unfaithful to their God. When they sinned, they wouldn’t confess but would deny. When we charge that God is unfair, instead of honestly confessing our sins, we prove that we too are Israel.

God and Election: A Defense

In response to my defense of the doctrine election (predestination), one dear brother wrote:

• It's fatalistic, and, for the reprobate, hopeless. If I'm not a member of the elect, no amount of trying or praying, good behavior, or anything else I can do will save me. I was doomed from the beginning of time by powers beyond my comprehension.

While it is true that the non-elect are doomed, it is not fair or even biblical to conclude that God had doomed them. Instead, Scripture places all of the blame on us:

• As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside. (Romans 3:10-12) 

• For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are WITHOUT EXCUSE.  (Romans 1:18-20)

The Hebrew Scriptures also indicate that God beckons everyone:

• Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity. (Proverbs 1:20-26)

God’s wisdom is available to all, but all reject it! The Prophets consistently proclaimed the same divine indictment on Israel:

• “Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt,    that you rebelled against the Lord your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 3:12-13)

The problem was invariably with Israel and not with their God. This is why He sent them the Prophets, pleading with them to confess their sins, but they would not:

• I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me; The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider… They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. (Isaiah 1:2-4)
  

So many verses indicate that God had given them everything that they needed, and therefore, their rebellion (and also ours) was unjustified. It is not God who led Israel astray, but their own desires and self-justifying lies:

• Thus says the LORD… Because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, lies which their fathers followed. (Amos 2:4)

Why then did Israel disbelieve and rebel? Was it because God hadn’t done enough for Israel? There is no indication of this any place in Scripture. Instead, God had given Israel everything:

• What more was there to do for my vineyard [Israel], that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? (Isaiah 5:4)

What then is the doctrine of reprobation about? It is a matter of God giving us what we want! In contrast, you claim:

• If I'm not a member of the elect, no amount of trying or praying, good behavior, or anything else I can do will save me.

This is just not biblical! Any who truly seek will find:

• But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice.  For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. (Deut. 4:29-31)

• “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) 

However, we refuse to seek (Romans 3:11). We hate the light and love the darkness (John 3:19-20). We are therefore “self-condemned” (Titus 3:11) in rejecting what is already so clear (Romans 1:18-20; 2:14-15).

Therefore, those who are damned are those who want to be damned and removed from the Presence of God:

• For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:17-20)

If Jesus didn’t come to condemn us, how then are we condemned? By our own rejection of the Son – the Light of God! We are self-condemned by our rejection of this Light and our willful embrace of the darkness!

This is where election comes in. While we all rightfully deserve condemnation, God mercifully rescued His elect. However, in the end, there will be swinging wide of the doors of salvation (Joel 2:28; Romans 11:15; Isaiah 45:22-25; 66:22-23; Zechariah 14:16-18; Matthew 24:30), when our Lord will vindicate Himself.