Does God really hate man because of the actions of men? The fact is that God loves man so much that the magnitude of his love is almost incomprehensible to imagine. In the past, God stood far off from the sinner, but God’s love is so paramount that he says he loves humans who are actively his enemies.
Certainly, the bible shows that God does not like the actions of men, but God reconciled himself to his enemies while they are still in hostility, although this statement may appear to be strange and impossible, but it is not. These are important words; God’s reconciliation to mankind took place when man was actively his enemy, not after man repented.
An enemy is one that is on the other side of the fence, he is in absolute opposition and his actions are hateful, and it was while mankind was in this state of utter hostility and in direct opposition to God, that we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. God’s reconciliation to man is from God’s side only.
God alone decided to make peace with man, and he did it through the death of his son, while man is still very much ungodly, a sinner, and while man is an active enemy to God. This one-sided reconciliation on God’s part is self-evident proof of God’s superabundant love to man.
As far as God is concerned, he loved us so much that he was willing to let his own son die on for sinful man, and have his son pay all the penalties of our sins, forget our rebelliousness and overlook our hostility, while we were still sinners, still rebellious, and still hostile. God made up his mind to become completely reconciled to mankind before man made any signs of making peace with God.
God has told the world through Paul’s teachings, that he has reconciled himself to them because of his love for them, and it was God alone who did this harmonious act; we have had nothing to do with it, all we have had to do is to receive the reconciliation that God has made with mankind.
God has one-sidedly reconciled himself to mankind through the death of Christ on the tree; all sins and hostility are paid for as far as God is concerned, and it is time all people begin to believe it. No longer do we have to strive to attain and maintain God’s acceptance on the basis of who we are and what we can do.
No longer are our sins held against us, no longer does the death penalty for sin hang over us. The just do, in fact, live by faith, but it is not our sinless lives that allow us to be called just; we do not live sinless lives. True faith is believing that God raised Christ from among the dead, thus, because of the resurrection of Christ, those who believe in Jesus are secure in their redemption.
Justification is an act of God; it is not an action of man. Our justification is secured by the vindicating act of God in resurrecting Jesus. Our possession of Christ’s righteousness is guaranteed by the reality that Christ has been raised from among the dead, for we have been justified through that resurrection.
Sin causes a debt to God so large that it can never be paid by ourselves, but the person who knows what Jesus Christ really accomplished, also understands that those who are reconciled to God through the death of Jesus Christ in which he bore our sin, exist in a completely new relationship with God.
Justification is the judicial act of God whereby he declares us righteous. As we stand before God in his courtroom, the evidence is overwhelmingly against us. Yet, as he drops the gavel, he pronounces no penalty. We are seen as Christ is seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment