Below is a post recently submitted to my Old Testament class in a collaboration this past week. Here is the question as posed by the professor (in red) and then my response (in black):
The obvious theme of Psalm 2 is Yahweh’s use of “his anointed” (v. 2) to control rebellious nations. However, not all mentioned in this Psalm are pictured as rebellious and thus as objects of divine wrath. The Psalm closes on a positive note: “How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
Clearly, the Psalmist believes that the wicked will experience God’s wrath, not his grace. On the other hand, those who bow before him will experience blessing. In light of the Psalmist’s presentation, evaluate the statement: “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.”
I believe that we talked about this somewhat in an earlier collaboration for Old Testament II, but I am glad to see singular treatment using the 2nd Psalm as the context. I think the previous collaboration discussion was on the equality of God's love - the thought that God loves the entirety of humanity in the same way, equally. There is a sense that in an individualistic and largely democratic society that we live in today, that the thought of equality is certainly a major factor in our idea of freedom. The Declaration of Independence declares that all men are created equal. This has been the clarion call for all disenfranchised persons in the American tradition and it has also had somewhat of an impact on our view of God's approach to the sinner and sin. We run to John 3:16 and read, "For God so loved the world..." or I John 2:2, "He is the propitiation of our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world", and then say that God LOVES the world and LOVES the sinner. God LOVES you and me. When HE was on the cross YOU were on his mind (and in our minds, there is no qualification to that thought - no limitation). Therefore, God even LOVES the unregenerate sinner. But I cannot go that far. Ephesians 2:3 states that we are by nature children of wrath - all humanity. By nature, all humanity is subject to the wrath of God. This is a holy stance against the sinner! Yes, there is an effacacious condescendence by God through Christ to the world because of God's love for the world so that he might save the elect, but God still must stand in holiness against sin and thus the sinner. God hates sin - with wrath and judgment - and the nature of the sinner is SIN. Therefore, God hates the very nature of the sinner. But this is not an EMOTIONAL hatred that we usually attach to the word in human terms. WRATH is not an emotional response from God - it is a response of holiness and according to the sake and glory of HIS NAME. This HATRED is wrought out of the perfection of God's holiness. The only people that the phrase, "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner" would apply to is the regenerate believer - not the unbeliever.
Showing posts with label Gospel of John. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel of John. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Ye Must be Born Again
This verse opens up the famous discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus, the Pharisee. This statement by Christ in verse 3 is a truly startling revelation. We will talk about one of his other most startling statements (John 14:6) in the next blog, but I do want to highlight that in some regards, this verse is even more abrasive than 14:6. For not only are you to know who Jesus is and what he did to be saved, but one must be born again. Being born again is a requirement for true and genuine salvation. Without the new birth, there is no redemption from sins.
There is no way to fake the new birth, you are either born again or you’re not. You can’t mask your way into eternal security. You cannot pay your way into eternal life. You cannot join your way into eternal life. You cannot do enough good works to earn eternal life. You cannot deprive yourself of enough luxuries to attain eternal life. The only way you can inherit eternal life is through the new birth. As it is stated in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” In order to inherit eternal life, you must be born again.
This seems extremely basic to many of us. I mean, come on, what’s new here? I thought the same thing until election night on November 4th, 2008. As I watched the election returns come in on CNN, something struck me. At various times throughout the evening, they would cut to Bill Schneider and Soledad O’Brien over on a “magic wall” highlighting the exit polling numbers and statistics that they were getting. At one point in the presentation, Bill Schneider was listing about 20 demographics that they were tracking in the voting. One of the demographics was “Evangelical / Born Again”. What was more startling is that they were treating this demographic (which I am proud to be a member of, by the way) as if the members of this demographic were somewhat less than erudite (i.e. polished, full of knowledge and wisdom and instruction). The effect of his words was that he and by implication the “mainstream media” and postmodern society was putting us, the evangelical / born-againers, into our little corner of the world and showing how we voted.
Friends, the world does NOT know what it means to be born again. There are literally millions of Americans walking the streets today that believe the word born again is synonymous with radical religious and Christian fundamentalism. But yet, it is the only way you can come into the
If you are reading this blog today, I want to ask you a question. Do you know that you have been born again? You MUST deal with that question. You have to take care of that before you do ANYTHING else. Are you born again? For if you are not, then you cannot enter the
This is an extremely important passage in the road to conversion. We all must realize that there is but one way to eternal life, and that is through being born again, through being a new creation in Christ Jesus.
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