Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Pt 3: God forming His plan

We must now reflect on the forming of this eternal plan. God, when forming this plan, did so in accordance with His divine and perfect nature. It is therefore inevitable that the plan is perfect in all it's capacities. God must, with respect to His holiness, damn a certain number of people to hell. He must also, with respect to His mercy, choose a certain number of people to heaven. One response to this idea of God choosing is that it isn't fair. This only begs the question: What is fair?

An entire creation and existence relies on a holy and just Creator, does it not? And this holy and just Creator allows sinful creatures to experience moments of joy and happiness despite their consistent rebellion, does He not? If we search the Scriptures for guidance, since our sinful minds pollute our view of God, what we find is humbling.

The book of Romans says that the wages of sin is death. Reflect on that for just a moment. Imagine your place of employment telling you, "Your wages for moving these boxes will be $100," only they refuse to pay you once you have finished. Your first and most apparent reaction would be to say they are not being 'fair' and that they should honor the agreed wage for the task you've completed. Why then, is our reaction reversed when we are taught that God honors the wages due for sin? Think of it this way. Death is the due payment for any sin committed. In God's eyes, the most minute sin is repugnant and deserves due punishment. The simple fact that God does not strike dead every human the very second they commit their first sinful act is an exercise of His mercy.

And we, as sinful and finite creatures, have the audacity to question God sending sinners to deserving punishment? To this many ask, "Why then, does God create men who will only one day end up in hell?" As Christians we should always approach questions upon God that begin with "Why" very cautiously.

NEXT:

PART FOUR: God's Creation Displays His Glory

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