So many people (who do not choose God) make the argument, "God is a forgiving God" (Therefore He will disregard all of my sin and I don't have to worry about it).
But are we not forgetting, God is good and just as well. And because He is just, He will judge everyone. Would a just God not punish those who do evil? If someone murdered your child or family member, showed no remorse, and said they would kill again, would a good judge let the murderer go free. Of course not, the good and just judge will see that justice is served. In the same way God will ultimitely judge everything.
On the other hand, yes God is merciful and forgiving. When a person repents and turns from sin and to God, then yes, He forgives them. They are not condemned.
But if the person chooses not to repent, then what do they expect?
2007-07-19 06:53:59 · 30 answers · asked by Consuming Fire 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
For those who say, God loves us so much that He will forgive even those who don't repent...If that were true, why would He have sent His one and only Son to suffer and die for our sins? Why would He have went through all of that only to forgive everyone anyway?
Just because we abandon justice, who says God has or will?
2007-07-19 07:19:07 · update #1
nspired,
Great answer.
Romans 10:9-10 "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."
2007-07-19 07:21:41 · update #2
Jed,
I like your answer too.
2007-07-19 07:22:51 · update #3
Another point:
Yes God loves everyone and always will.
Yes as a parent you love your children, even if they make a mistake and end up in jail. So you can love your child who is in jail. Then in the same way, can God not love someone who is in hell? He won't stop loving you. He'll just wish you were with Him.
2007-07-19 07:28:52 · update #4
God does not turn His back or abandon anyone. People just pay consequences for their actions. Hell is just another consequence. It just happens to last forever. But it's not God's fault any more than any other self-inflicted consequence. On the contrary, God gave us the way to get out of it in advance. It's spelled out completely in the book of Romans, and the rest of the Bible backs it up.
2007-07-19 07:32:53 · update #5
some people just assume they can do anything as long as they dont get caught ...
2007-07-19 06:58:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
I am in the process of reading an eye opening book called "Driven by Eternity" by John Bevere.
He wrote a parable story with 5 main characters and how they were going to end up on judgment day.
Independent= the atheist
Deceived= a believer who doesn't live according to Gods word and was deceived in believing he could cheat his clients just to get ahead.
Faint heart= a believer who once was on fire for the Lord, but let the lies and slander told about her turned her into a bitter unforgiving person and she was caught up in adultery by a leader of the church. She had a unrepentant heart.
Selfish= a believer who went after the things of the world, money, notoriety, leadership in the community etc.... He was shady in business deals, yet he repented in the end.
Charity= a invisible member in the community who shared what little was given to her with the downtrodden.
The point is that we are all going to be judged in the end by Jesus Christ according to his word. How did we measure up to his word. "Christians" will be the most shocked about who made it and who didn't to heaven.
Wide is the path that leads to destruction, narrow is the was that leads to life, few that find it.
It's not enough to accept Jesus as your Savior and live anyway you want to. You need to live according to Gods word. Obey it and do as it is commanded.
2007-07-19 14:15:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If a person don't repent look what he's missing out on" "For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things" " But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you" Check that out ADDED not a loan, not borrowed, not stealing, All though some people believe once saved always saved. repentance is not in there vocabulary.
2007-07-19 16:41:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The idea that "punishment = justice" is an old energy concept and is not at all enlightened. I thought God is love. Love is ALL forgiving, even of those who don't "deserve" it. Justice that involves punishment is nothing more than glorified revenge. Revenge has nothing to do with love or forgiveness. It's easy to forgive those who have repented, but it is divine to forgive those who haven't.
I think you are underestimating God's capacity to love and forgive, and you are assuming that God is going to see things the way a human would.
2007-07-19 14:10:07 · answer #4 · answered by Tea 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The first words I look for when someone begins their ministry is the word Repent.
Christ spoke of it often, it was John the Baptist's first words, it is woven throughout scripture.
It is a broken and a contrite spirit, the heart, which God accepts.
If someone begins ministry with this message, I can tell they are on the right track.
2007-07-19 14:00:21 · answer #5 · answered by Jed 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You make a very good point. God is just so sin must be punished, but God is love so He made a way for us to avoid that punishment. Jesus took it for us. Now all we need to do is place our trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
2007-07-19 13:59:47 · answer #6 · answered by nspird 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I am not sure that I truly understand the question, but I will respond by saying that a believer does turn from their sinful nature. A murderer stops murdering, a thief stops stealing, an adulterer or homosexual stops their perversion, etc.... Salvation does not come by saying I believe with my mouth, it is saying I believe with my heart.
2007-07-19 14:02:07 · answer #7 · answered by L.C. 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes God is all this, but also he his (according to Christians) a father is he not. and i have seen many parents, no matter what a child has done, stuck with them through it all.
if your child had wronged somebody or did something to land in trouble with the law ,would you abandon them forever. i would not do that for my children. yes they would have to pay the consequences for their actions, but I'd stand beside them 100%. Nor would i ever tell my child that they are not welcome into my house, if they don't talk to me that is up to them, but i will still love them.
i believe that God does stand beside us too. even if we choose not to believe that God is there.
2007-07-19 14:23:04 · answer #8 · answered by terry o 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
People who do not believe are set against the idea of this kind of justice because they enjoy committing their sins with a passion, so they want to deny His existance to make it easier on themselves.
2007-07-19 13:59:32 · answer #9 · answered by Basil 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
well most of us who chose not to be of the religion (i don't mean not to repent, because a lot of us infidels do have moral you know) do so because we don't believe in it. and lots of us just think that if you're god was so nice, then (s)he should forgive us even if we don't believe in it because it's not as if we're complete monsters. we do have very good reason not to believe such crazy things.
2007-07-19 14:00:48 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
This is the same merciful and forgiving god who wiped out the population of the entire planet, except for one family, because he wasn't happy about the way things were going.
Even if your god did exist,I would never bow down before such a monster
2007-07-19 13:59:46 · answer #11 · answered by darwinsfriend AM 5 · 0⤊ 5⤋