In recent times, people of God out of some love for Him, have tried to defend Him. We are in court as witnesses for God and His Son Jesus. Unfortunately, some of us answer people who question God’s nature or existence with misinterpretations of Scripture. In the end, we try to paint a perfect uncontroversial God while we do injustice to who He has revealed Himself to be in the Scriptures.
Recently, a popular preacher claimed to have derived from Scriptures that God had no wrath. He said, the Bible was written in the language of men who described the absence of God’s backing as His wrath. If you heard him preach, you might be happy that God was GOOD after all (that God is winning the case). But in fact, he was not preaching the one true God. Scripture is filled with evidence that God can indeed be angered and He does punish sin severely. No, not Satan! God has wrath. (Ephesians 5:6, Romans 1:18, John 3:36, Colossians 3:6, Revelation 15:1, Romans 6:7-8) And He declared that Vengeance is His. (Romans 12:19)
Click to watch video of the preacher here
Others try to beautify God by claiming He does not or will not burn sinners in Hell. A more straightforward sermon says that there is no hell or hell is only allegorical at best.
No! Those lies do not settle doubts about God. Even if they did, it is not God’s will that lies defend the Truth. Those assertions are human efforts to create an inoffensive God instead of seek to know Him as He is and be intrigued by His awesomeness. Some call it, sissifying Jesus – which is not pleasing to God.
Such PR work also leads people to refuse that God could ever send punishment on the earth today, or ever did. Wrong! You see, truth is always balanced. Not all that people suffer is punishment from God. But isn’t there evidence in Scripture that God can and does punish people?
Romans 3:7 says “It’s simply perverse to say, ‘If my lies serve to show off God’s truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I’m doing God a favor.'” (MSB)
If we are ever going to be God’s lawyers, we should not defend Him with lies.
‘Of course not! Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say, “He will be proved right in what he says, and he will win his case in court.“‘ (Romans 3:4, NLT)
Scripture says God “will be proved right in what He says“. God wins his case in court because of what He says, not what we say. In defending God, we should use what He says.
It is not our responsibility to paint a good God. Because, to do that, we first define good. Then we create God, and make Him good. Which should not be!
We cannot CREATE GOD!
GOD IS GOOD, JUST THE WAY HE IS.
If anything God did or does, permitted or permits looks evil to you, that’s fine. Because you are not seeing through perfect eyes. You are not good enough to judge God.
“Who are you, a mere human being, to criticize God?” (Romans 9:20b, NLT)
As Christians, we believe God is Just by His very Nature. It doesn’t mean we have all the answers. But whenever we look upon the Lord, it is with faith that He is Good, all the time.
That’s the kind of faith that kept Job all through His trials.
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15a, ESV)
So,
“What kind of God looked on for many children to be killed because of Jesus?”
“What kind of God had to kill His Son in order to forgive our sins?”
“What kind of God killed someone for rescuing His falling Ark?”
“What kind of God destroyed the whole world with flood?”
“What kind of God cursed the fallen couple with suffering and sorrow?”
It is the Good God. I know my God may not look very good to you, but it doesn’t mean He is not Good. And I’m not going to try to change Him, hide some part of Him, twist His Word or dilute it in order to please you.
If we change God and make Him a little more pleasing, we don’t draw people to Him. We don’t win them to Christ. We continue with them, in IDOLATRY – worshipping a God WE created.