Not one of us chose to live on planet earth. It was thrust upon us with all the sadness and sorrow of living and dying here. Not one of us condemns a child born blind or deaf , afflicted with some dreadful syndrome. We are not kinder than God. We can make the best of our sorry situation but it is not fair.
We can bravely say that at the Second Coming all will be righted but what about the present? Does a good future justify a sorry present? Some situations do. Enduring the work of the dentist for a pain free future is worth it. However, in the moral mess we are in, there is no advantage to suffering and finally dying.
What about vindicating God?
Of course, God knows all the above. He sees us with eyes of compassion and understanding. He understands the unfairness of the suffering on the planet. He was the innocent one who was tortured, abused, and executed 2000 years ago. This is the only understanding that makes God moral. He has suffered more than all of us put together. Every human pain is his pain for he loves us as if we were the only person on the planet.
Because God is fair (Romans 3:26) and understands the unfairness of our situation, he has gone to great lengths to correct the consequences of Adam’s choice in our lives. The miracles he performed 2000 years ago demonstrated his desire and ability to save or heal us of our hungers, our afflictions, our sadness’s, and our eventual death.
Join us as we look at the evidence to support these claims.
SHOW NOTES
We did not choose to be born on this planet!
Not one of us chose to live on planet earth. It was thrust upon us with all the sadness and sorrow of living and dying here. Not one of us condemns a child born blind or deaf , afflicted with some dreadful syndrome. We are not kinder than God. We can make the best of our sorry situation but it is not fair.
We can bravely say that at the Second Coming all will be righted but what about the present? Does a good future justify a sorry present? Some situations do. Enduring the work of the dentist for a pain free future is worth it. However, in the moral mess we are in, there is no advantage to suffering and finally dying.
What about vindicating God?
Of course, God knows all the above. He sees us with eyes of compassion and understanding. He understands the unfairness of the suffering on the planet. He was the innocent one who was tortured, abused, and executed 2000 years ago. This is the only understanding that makes God moral. He has suffered more than all of us put together. Every human pain is his pain for he loves us as if we were the only person on the planet.
Because God is fair (Romans 3:26) and understands the unfairness of our situation, he has gone to great lengths to correct the consequences of Adam’s choice in our lives. The miracles he performed 2000 years ago demonstrated his desire and ability to save or heal us of our hungers, our afflictions, our sadness’s, and our eventual death.
Here is the Biblical evidence for the above claims.
Jesus desires that we experience love, joy and peace in our lives.
He describes himself as the Good Samaritan, the Good Shepherd, the Compassionate High Priest, the Saviour of the World (according to angels who spoke to shepherds Luke 2:8-14), The Lamb of God (John 1:29) and the Lover of our Hearts (John 10:10b). All these offices are designed to enable us to experience at least love, joy and peace in spite of our sadness’s.
Jesus does not judge or condemn us
John 3:17; 12:47; Romans 5:8. We are accused by the devil, our own hearts, other people. The Spirit is our comforter and advocates with us to overcome our guilt and shame (John 16:5-11).
God keeps no record of our sins
2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 13:5; Zechariah 3:1- 10.
God gives us a message of reconciliation which is more than repentance and forgiveness
2 Cor. 5:19.
God saves or heals us by Grace Alone
Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:4-7. He does this because he knows we did not choose to be born on this planet.
God gives New life to EVERYONE.
Jesus is the resurrection and the life—John 11:25; Romans 5:15-21; Ephesians 2:4-6; Colossians 2:9-10; 2:13-14; 3:1-4; Jude 24
God has rescued the Whole World
John 3:16; 1 John 2:2; 1 Tim. 4:10
In Jesus we discover our true IDENTITY despite our condition
Romans 8:15-17; Galatians 4:4-7
Peter and Jesus’ dialogue displays unconditional love and acceptance of arrogant sinners in their desperate condition
John 13:36 to 14:3
Our CONDITION is presently dismal
Romans 3:23. But it will not always be this way. We desire to live a noble, worthwhile life and God gifts us with this wonder: We long for forgiveness. God gave us forgiveness before we are born—Ephesians 1:4-8 We long for innocence. God gives us justification or innocence as a gift—Romans 3:24 We long for righteousness. God has given us righteousness. Now the question is, “Can we believe this is true?”
Romans 4:1 NIV What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Almost all English bibles use the term, “righteousness.” Righteousness is far more than forgiveness and innocence. As wonderful as these gifts are, they do not constitute righteousness. Righteousness means to think right, to feel right, to speak right and do right from the moment of birth to the instant of death. Righteousness means to be God-like in every aspect of our being. It is the greatest gift we could ever receive in this life and the life to come. It is credited to our moral account. Amazing. Only God has the loving imagination to be this generous.
Romans 4:17 KJV confirms the above.
Jesus revealed the life we would have lived if we had not believed the serpent’s lie about God
1 Corinthians 1:30; John 6:53; Galatians 2:20; Romans 8:11
Knowing all the above does not lead to licentiousness. It is the greatest motivation to allow the Spirit to work the work of God in our lives (Colossians 3:12 – 17).
Conclusion: We did not choose to be born here but we were. Innocent Adam made a horrific choice, and we his children experience the consequences of this choice. This is reality. The devil believes this is fair and just and wants our planet to continue in this terrible condition. (50 First Dates) God has created a way out through his self-sacrificing love. He could have forced this solution on us but we have choice in the matter. This choice respects our moral freedom and our dignity. He has saved us. This is his reality. Our choice is now between our own sinful reality and God’s reality. We can refuse God’s reality. We are arrogant and stubborn and unbelieving enough to do so. Or, we can also recognize the grace of God and be caught up with his dream for us, now and in all eternity.
“I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
No turning back. No turning back.” Cedarmont Kids