| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Most books on basic Christian teaching assume people are
already convinced, persuaded and positive about the subject. But in a culture that has a
predominantly non-Christian or even anti-Christian consensus this is not a good
assumption. The Christian Life: An Owner's Manual is written to persuade. It is sensitive
to those who have a hard time with concepts like sin, the Bible or God's judgment.
The Old Testament predicted that God would come as a Savior who would rule the world. The Jewish people anticipated this Savior as the "Messiah." But there was one serious problem: How could God rule a world that didn't want him?
The barrier is even more pronounced. Suppose God offered to come to earth and save us from ourselves by taking charge. How would we respond? Some folks might say, "Hey, leave us alone! We like things the way they are!" But surely the majority of people would say, "OK, you can run things if you want." Of course in their minds they would think, "Some things, not everything!" Most people would be willing to let God take care of the world's problems but would still want the right to rule their lives their way.
From God's point of view it's not that simple. He can't just come and alleviate the world's problems. He can't just pretend like nothing is wrong. For God, there is the issue of his justice. What is he going to do about the way we treat each other? What is he going to do about all the evil things humans have invented?
If
we were to give God advice, we might say, "Yes, there should be justice. Maybe you
should punish some of the severe sin, maybe even judge some of the more outrageous
sinners. On the other hand, most of the things I do aren't that serious. You could just
let most things slide." That's how we view our own sinfulness. We think some of our
sins may be "kind of" serious. But we've forgotten most of them so maybe God
could too?
But God's justice is not like ours. His justice is pure. His justice is fair.His justice is absolutely just. He cannot pretend sin is not an issue. He cannot simply forget sins. We need to study God's justice, our sin, and how the Bible speaks to this dilemma . . .
| Home | T.O.C. for this chapter | Xenos Home Page |
