The Devil's Favorite Lie: God Loves Everyone.
Everyone Seems to Know That God is Love.
Is It Heresy to Think Otherwise?
The following is a verbatim comment, ala free-formed poetic style, posted in response to an article I wrote from one who took exception to my position of a God of wrath returning as the Judge of mankind.
The divine mind is at rest, peaceful
Not so human beings
The divine mind has no thought of violence
Humans have anger
The divine mind is not jealous or cruel
Humans envy and hurt
Condemnation is human, not divine
Know the divine will never condemn or punish you
All negativity is a projection of self, not the divine
Decide to become more like the divine
No criticism, punishment or guilt, at peace
To state otherwise is blasphemy.
Whoever wrote this, sure put me in my place. I do wonder what they may have been smoking or could this be the result of a prolonged use of hallucinogenic substances leaving them permanently trapped in another world. Immediately this brought to mind the Ephesians 5:6 passage: “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.”
More importantly, this brings me to the following point: it is the wrath, anger and vengeance of a holy God that is the paramount reason for the world’s hatred of born-again Christians. Per Romans 1, the world knows that their sins are worthy of the death penalty and yet they gladly encourage as many others as possible to follow them in their folly.
It is the Love of God for His Own That the World Hates Most.
Being Hated is Not a Source of Comfort, but Absolutely Necessary.
What an amazing quote by Aquinas: every living being’s eternity hinges upon this single principle. If you love your sin and have zero inclination to relinquish this current love affair, you will hate anyone, including God, for telling you to do otherwise. We know from scripture that any form of love for the worldly is enmity with God of which every born-again believer is guilty in one form or another. We, the true believers, war with this flesh that seeks to hold on to its former lusts and desires for we are learning to love God and to hate sin. Thankfully we have an Advocate in our Lord Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Per Jude 24, our Advocate is able to keep us from falling and will present us faultless before the Father: remember, judgment begins with the Church.
There is no war within the ranks of the lost: a few twinges of conscience, fear of the law or playing at being outwardly religious will keep some desires in check; but as a whole, they have no true regard for God. Per 2nd Corinthians 4:4, the lost of this worldly have been blinded by the god of this world which keeps the Gospel message at bay. Only a direct intervention by the Holy Spirit, can the blindfold be removed, the ears unplugged, and the heart softened to receive the gift of faith leading to belief. When this miraculous event does occur in one’s life, then and only then does one receive the privilege of being hated by the world because of their newfound faith in Christ. This is a promise made by Jesus Himself, in that because the world hated Him, it will hate everyone who claims Jesus as Savior.
It is this relationship that stirs the deep hatred within the lost: we are loved, they are not. They know they are destined for wrath and eternal damnation. The very thought that God would favor one over another is more than they can bear. From the day Jesus ascended and until His soon return, this hatred has and will continue to display itself in the form of persecution and the murder of countless numbers of believers.
The World Has Been Warned: All Are Without Excuse.
To Those Who Believe That God Loves Everyone: He Doesn’t.
We live in a soundbite world, where no one has either the time to listen or the desire to hear the whole message. This is true whether it is dealing with the news, television or internet, a message coming from the pulpit or one’s discernment when reading the Word of God; which by the way, is a lost cause in far too many cases. Most everyone’s minds are already made up and they only glean that which supports their own beliefs; the rest goes into file 13. To satisfy the needs of the sound-biters, here are a few for one’s picking and choosing. For those who love the Lord, these passages should bring comfort and encouragement to read further that we may know Him deeper.
- Psalms 34:21 “Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.”
- Psalm 11:5-6 “The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
- Proverbs 11:23 “The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.”
- Malachi 4:1-2 “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall.”
Remember, 2nd Peter brings all of this into prospective; encouraging the believer to live circumspectly in the face of the coming wrath of God upon a godless world. This is not for us to gloat upon our good grace found in Christ, but for us to live as if we really to care about those we know and love who are lost, that they may be duly warned. The 70th week of Daniel is coming upon the world and many will come to a saving knowledge of Christ while suffering great persecution. May we at least plant the seeds while there is yet light; darkness is coming.
