The Funny Thing About HOME

My wife and I were sitting at the kitchen table, and she said, “I want to go HOME and see the kids for Christmas.”   A few days later, we were on our way. While we were there, we got the flue and started longing to go HOME. While on the way HOME we ended up stopping in Sheyenne, WY. I was sick and two nights in a nice hotel helped a lot, but I wanted to go HOME. On the way through Nebraska, we had some very long detours because of I 80 closure’s, and we kept saying I want to go HOME, we stopped in Kansas City MO. We thought we had reservations at a pet-friendly hotel. No, they were not pet-friendly, so we decided just to go HOME. We drove another 9+ hours, we were dead tired, but when we saw Home, none of that mattered. We were happy to be HOME.

HOME is not a specific place; HOME is where we grew up, HOME is where we raised our children. HOME is where our grandchildren are raised. HOME is our place of refuge. HOME is and always will be where my wife and I can relax and let go. HOME is so many things you cannot contain it in one location. Home is where anybody and everybody you love lives.

The Order of God's Decree's

I chose to discuss this before we get into the attribute of God’s will. The reason is decreeing reflects God’s will, and there has been a long-running discussion about the order of God’s decrees. To discuss this, we need a couple definitions.

 Definition of supralapsarianism.: the doctrine that God decreed both election and reprobation prior to creation and then allowed the fall of man as a means of carrying out his divine purposes — compare infralapsarianism.

Definition of infralapsarianism.: the doctrine that God foresaw and permitted the fall of man and that after the fall he then decreed election as a means of saving some of the human race — compare supralapsarianism.

These are arguments that theological minds have argued and since it is impossible to know with 100% assuredness, I will not tell you with confidence that I am right about what I believe on this subject. Much holier minds than mine have differed about this discussion.

I am not going to expound on the differences in these two definitions. If you desire to know more about them, you’re going to need to look them up. Instead, I am going to tell you from my limited knowledge of who God is how I justify the fall of man and of angels.

God being God new when He created that his creatures could not be like God and would never be God. Therefore, the creature by nature would fall because the creature cannot keep himself like God keeps Himself. Thus, the fall of men and angels were a forgone conclusion because only God alone can be God. The reason the fall is a foregone conclusion is that pre-fall man and angels had free will. Acting on this free will put the creature at risk of transgressing against God. Having a free will also makes you desire autonomy; therefore, we start to desire equality with or sovereignty over God. It was a foregone conclusion that the creature would fall because it was in our nature from the beginning. All one needs do is read about the rebellion against God in the old testament, you can’t miss it.

What God did decree was how and who He would redeem. If we go back to God’s attribute of omniscience and knowledge, we find that God knows everything all at once. God sees everything and knows everything all at the same time. God did not get surprised at the fall of man or the fall of angels, which would be infralapsarianism. God did not decree the fall of man or angels, which would be supralapsarianism, because their fall was by nature going to happen. These are the arguments of the opposing sides. How God redeemed man and angels is what He decreed.

Elect angels were kept by God, so in God’s decree for the angels, who were each created separately, it was decreed that some would be allowed to fall, and some would be elect. It is an essential distinction between the creation of man and angels, that angels were created individually, and mankind was created through one-man Adam. Because one angel falls all do not fall, given the opportunity, all would have fallen, but God kept some.

All mankind fell when Adam fell because all were in Adams loins at the time of the fall. The sin that caused the angels and man to fall was desiring to be over God. Satan desired to put his own throne above the throne of God in heaven. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit because they desired the knowledge of good and evil, which would, in their minds, makes them equal to God. Two sides of the same sin. No one has ever been born that would have made a different decision then Adam and Eve made. So, put that thought out of your head. We all fell in Adam and rightly so.

If supralapsarianism means that God decreed the fall, then I disagree with this notion. Decreeing and allowing the inevitable is to different things, in my humble opinion. If supralapsarianism means God chose His elect before the foundations of the earth were formed then I am a Supralapsarian. Having said all this, I believe God is in sovereign control of all things. God, being all-knowing and sovereign, would have decreed the circumstances around the fall of both the angels and man. And God, being sovereign, would have decreed the path of salvation and who the elect would be.

Therefore, God is not the author or creator of sin, the natural desire to be like God is, is generated from the creature’s heart completely without the help of God. God did not cause the fall, the creature did, but that does not mean that God was not in control of all the circumstances around the fall.

Now, God willing, we will tackle the will of God. For this, I ask your prayers for me, the will of God and how it works itself out are not to be taken lightly. I will continue to pray for the lost and God willing this blog has an effect on the hearts of the lost.

The Wrath of God

Which of these scriptures indicates that God’s wrath only burns against sin?

Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

Proverbs 11:4, “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”

Ephesians 5:6, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

Romans 2:5, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

Revelation 14:10-11 “He also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

The first statement is a question, and the reason I asked is that it is a popular belief that God hates the sin and not the sinner. We see from the above scripture references that it is not the act of sin that burns eternally; instead, it is the actor. When we say that God hates the sin and not the sinner, we soften the blow of God’s wrath. The statement God hates the sin and not the sinner makes God out to be unjust. The sinner now feels he has cover. God’s wrath is not burning against him; personally, it’s just a general hatred against sin.

The truth is,

^22 “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³ in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:22-23).

God’s wrath is equally Glorifying to Him, equally Just, and without wrath, we would not know His mercy or His love. Because God is perfect in all of His attributes and perfectly balanced in all of His attributes, His wrath is perfectly righteous and just. Wrath is not glorifying to man, at all, His purpose is not to glorify man, but Himself.

The Christian should be Greatfull because,

^3 “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:3).

The Christian has no room to boast. We are by nature children of wrath. This should cause us to look at our friends and neighbors with an understanding and merciful heart and a desire to tell them of the great love of God in the hope that they to will turn and flee from the coming wrath. But what should they flee from if God’s wrath is not burning against them? We must tell the truth; they must know the eternal results of their actions. They need to know that,

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Peter was speaking to the rulers of the people and the elders, about Jesus, so there is salvation only in Jesus, who is the Christ, our savior, and king.

Wrath is another bitter pill to swallow when speaking of God’s attributes. Wrath must be seen in conjunction with His other attributes, like mercy, grace, love, righteousness and on and on. You can not judge the righteous judge of all the creation. If you did try to judge God, you would especially be wrong judging from the limited view of one attribute. Remember,

“But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” (Romans 9:20).

I think we have about four attributes left, and then we will start something new. I am not sure what yet, but I am sure of who is in control. So, I keep praying for you and this blog that you and the blog would glorify God.

God's jealousy

Jealousy in our minds is usually a bad thing. Jealousy is depicted as a green-eyed monster, and that is because our jealousy is tainted by sin. Our pride and arrogance destroy biblical jealousy and makes it next to impossible for us to make proper use of this emotion in our lives.

Biblical jealousy is How the apostle Paul felt about the Corinthians when he said, “I feel a divine jealousy for you” (2 Corinthians 11:2). Paul cared for the Corinthians like a father cares for his children, and in this sense, jealousy is a protective fear for their spiritual wellbeing. I think that is about as good as it gets for humans.

God has jealousy that is so far above ours, it is hard for us to understand, especially, and even if we compare it to the two descriptions of jealousy above. God, in scripture, depicts Himself in this way, always, earnestly and continually He seeks to protect His own honor jealously. I know this sounds selfish, but we must remember the other attributes, and see him as best we can. God is the only one that is worthy of all praise and honor and glory, and so, He rightly protects that. These commandments are part of how God is jealously protecting His honor,

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

⁵ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

⁶ And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

⁷ And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

⁸ And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

⁹ And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

¹⁰ And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

¹¹ And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

¹² Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

¹³ Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

¹⁴ Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

¹⁵ (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 6: 4-15).

God’s jealousy is defined as follows: God’s jealousy means that God continually seeks to protect His honor.

“It is not wrong for God to seek His own glory and honor because He deserves it fully. God freely admits that His actions in creation and redemption are for His honor” (Systematic Theology, Grudem, 206).

When God wants to withhold judgment against His people, He says, “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it…My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 48:11).

Once again, God alone is worthy of all praise and honor and glory.  I agree with Wayne Grudem when he says, “To realize this fact and to delight in it is to find the secret of true worship” (Grudem 206).

For some, this is a bitter pill to swallow. I continue to pray for you.

God's righteousness/Justice

“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— ² that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,^[a] my kinsmen according to the flesh. ⁴ They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. ⁵ To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, ⁷ and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. ⁹ For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁰ And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, ¹¹ though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— ¹² she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it depends not on human will or exertion,^[b] but on God, who has mercy. ¹⁷ 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.” ¹⁸ So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

¹⁹ You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? ²² What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³ in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴ even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As indeed he says in Hosea,

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
²⁶ “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

²⁷ And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel^[c] be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, ²⁸ for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” ²⁹ And as Isaiah predicted,

“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
    we would have been like Sodom
    and become like Gomorrah.”

Israel's Unbelief

³⁰ What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness^[d] did not succeed in reaching that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’” (Romans 9).

I block quoted all of Romans chapter 9 because I wanted all to see it in the context of what is said as we discuss God’s righteousness/justice. Some of this will sound like circular reasoning. What you need to do is remember the other attributes we have already discussed in previous blogs, especially the omnipotence of God, the wisdom of God, and the grace of God.

Righteousness and justice have different meanings in English. In Hebrew and Greek, both words come from the same word groups. In Hebrew, they are from forms of the tsedek word group. In Greek, they are from the dikaios word group. I am no language expert, but I have to trust that my systematic theology book is telling me the truth. So, we will treat both attributes together for this discussion because righteousness and justice are so intertwined that, I feel, it would be splitting hairs to separate them. Because I want this to be very clear, I am relying heavily on my systematic theology book, so there will be lots of quoting.

Definition; God’s righteousness/justice means that God always acts in accordance with what is right and just and is Himself the final standard of what is right and just. (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 204).

“Speaking of God, Moses says, “all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is He” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Abraham successfully appeals to God’s own character of righteousness when he says, “Shall not the judge of the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). God also speaks and commands what is right: “The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart” (Psalms 19:8). And God says of Himself, “I the LORD speak the truth, I declare what is right” (Isaiah 45:19).

Because of God’s righteousness/justice, God must, therefore, treat people in accordance with what they disserve. Now, if God only treated people with what they disserve, we would all be going to hell. Thank God that He has prepared a way for His people to go to heaven. Before the ultimate sacrifice of our Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, God it seems overlooked sin, but this is not true.

“²² What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³ in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory”  (Romans 9:22-23).

God put up with Patience and longsuffering the sins of past generations looking forward to the time of salvation through Jesus who is the Christ and the Son of God, and even now God puts up with the sin of unbelievers preparing for the day of wrath. So, just because it appears that we have gotten away with some secret sin rest assured that without repentance, a day is coming when the price for sin will be paid.

Some examples of God’s Righteousness/justice:

 ^10 “And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, ¹¹ though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— ¹² she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Romans 9:10:13).

My example may sound trivial, but; I have a pack of gum, and I, being the owner of the gum, decide to share the gum with someone. There is more than one other person there, and I give the piece of gum not based on any other reason except I desire to share it. It would be fair if I gave a piece to everyone there. But it is just if I only give a piece to one undeserving individual. No one has a claim to the gum.  God is righteous/just, and He is perfectly righteous/just to choose Jacob over Esau, and no one can say to God you are unjust,

^19 “You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” (Romans 9:19-21)

So, here is the deal; everyone wants humankind to have an absolute free will, especially when it comes to salvation. Why? Because humankind wants control over his life and his death. Well, we already know what happened when humankind had free will, our father and mother, Adam and Eve, chose the lie over the truth, and we, humankind, have been choosing the lie ever since. That is why I implore you at the end of almost every one of these blogs to seek Christ, especially if you are feeling that urge, that calling to seek, and not to give up until you have confidence, eternal security, to know that you belong to God through Jesus who is the Christ.

I will continue to pray that God uses this blog to reach those whom He will and that you are one of those whom He wills.