DOOMED
written by Rod Spade
Question:
How can a loving God allow a person to be born into this world
knowing he is doomed to hell?
Answer:
This is a good question and one requiring an answer because it
implies a contraction or at least an inconsistency in the very nature
and character of God. However, the God of the Bible can be neither
contradictory or inconsistent, otherwise He ceases to be the perfect God
as portrayed in the Bible.
The question as stated presupposes several things about God as well
as about man:
(1) God is a loving God.
This is a true statement. God is by nature love. 1 John
4:8, 16 clearly state that "God is love." The love here spoken
of is a selfless love. It is most practically demonstrated in
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave [i.e.
sacrificed] his only begotten Son...".
(2) People born into this world are doomed to hell.
This too is a true statement. The first man Adam's
disobedience in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3) has affected the
whole of mankind, involving everyone in sin and death (Genesis
8:21; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; Hebrews 9:27.) Romans 5:12
says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passes upon all men, for that all
have sinned...". Here we see the solidarity of mankind. When
Adam sinned, the race sinned because the race was in him. Adam
_was_ the race. What he did, we as his descendants who were in
him did also.
(3) God knows even before they were born, that some will never be
saved from the penalty of sin and therefore are doomed to hell.
This too is a correct presupposition. According to Psalm 139,
God knows everything about me, past-present-future.
However, there are several other basic character traits about God
and man which have a bearing on this question. But, the question itself
does not take into consideration these character traits:
(1) God is sovereign.
God acts on the basis of His own will and not because He is
forced to do so by any outside influence. The Bible itself
begins, "In the beginning God..." (Genesis 1:1.) It does not
begin seeking to prove or defend God's existence and
sovereignty, it simply assumes it by stating a fact. One of
the things God in His sovereignty chose to do was to create
man.
He created the first man in His own image, a perfect
spiritual being capable of having fellowship with Him (Genesis
1:26, 27.) Being a spiritual being created in God's image, man
was given eternal life to be lived in uninterrupted fellowship
with God. It was God's will that man should not know evil,
therefore He forbid man to eat of the tree of knowledge of good
and evil (Genesis 2:15-17.) God has always had man's welfare
in mind.
(2) Man himself, created as a being with a free will rather than as
a robot (for how could a robot fellowship with God or glorify
Him), chose to disobey God (Genesis 3:1-7).
Death is the result of this disobedience; both physical death
and spiritual death (i.e. separation from God.)
(3) God is not only a loving God by nature, but also a holy and
just God.
1 John 1:5 says, "... God is light and in Him is no darkness at
all." God being holy by nature cannot fellowship with those
living in the darkness of sin (1 John 1:6.) However, because
He is a loving, merciful, and kind God, He does want to have
restored fellowship with fallen humanity. This can only be
accomplished if His holiness is protected. Therefore, a way
must be provided for God and man to be restored to fellowship
while God's love is shown and His holiness protected.
(4) God is by nature a just God and His justice demands
satisfaction.
Man sinned against a holy God and God's justice and
righteousness demands that a penalty be paid. God cannot
simply allow our sins to be swept under the rug, for in doing
so He would be tolerating evil and denying His own holy nature.
God's requirement for the payment of sin is the shedding of
blood.
This was the basis of the Old Testament system of
animal sacrifice. The blood of the unblemished sacrificial
lamb of the Old Testament temporarily covered over and also
pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice, namely, Jesus
Christ, The Spotless Lamb of God. Christ's blood not only
covers over but also takes away our sin (John 1:29.) Hebrews
9:22 says, "... and without shedding of blood there is no
remission [i.e. forgiveness]."
(5) God in His mercy and love has provided a way whereby His own
holiness can be protected, His justice satisfied, and we
ourselves restored to fellowship through the substitutionary
death of His own perfect Son.
God has provided the way for our salvation, it is now up to us
individually to life up our empty hands of faith towards God
and receive His gift of salvation to us. Romans 10:9 says,
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved."
Concluding remarks:
God in His sovereignty continues to allow nature to take its
course; people are born, they live, they die. Many if not most die
under the condemnation of this unbelief, not because we have not
received the light, but because we reject the light already given.
Romans 1:20 teaches us that even the creation around us is evidence of
God's eternal power and Godhead (i.e. trinity.)
If man will respond positively by faith
to just this amount of divine light, then God will
reveal more of Himself "from faith to faith" so that ultimately He will
provide the saving gospel of Christ to the seeking individual (Romans
1:16, 17.) However, when God's revelation is rejected, our hearts
ultimately become darker and we turn to worshipping creature things
rather than the Creator (Romans 1:21-23.)
If one is still troubled by the seeming injustice of being born
with a sinful nature because of what the father of the race did; and
being held accountable for the sins that result from disability; and by
a loving God allowing man to be born into such a situation, he should
weigh carefully the significance of our reconciliation as stated by Paul
the Apostle: "... that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Corinthians 5:19.)
The sins committed, that owe their original impetus to the sin of the
first man but which we also are personally responsible for, are not
reckoned against those who have committed them provided they put their
trust in Christ crucified and risen. God takes their sins and gives
them His righteousness. Would we not agree that this is more than a
fair exchange? Must we not admit that God has done more than His part
in providing a way of salvation for rebellious man living under the
deserved condemnation of sin?
HELP FOR NEW CHRISTIANS
OK! New Christian...What Now? | Bible verse for every letter of the alphabet.| Church History Summary.| The Christian Message.| Election. | Is Hebrews 6 a warning? | Seven Incontestable Questions. | Ironside: Agnosticism. | Issues Of The Heart - J. MacArthur. | Natural Laws and God's Laws. | Possession: The Devil Made Me Do It! | The Preisthood Of All Believers. | Why Jesus? | Knowing Why You Believe - Evidence - Bible. | Discussions With Unbelievers. | Inerrancy. | What Does It Mean To Be A Christian? | First Adam; Then Eve; then what? | What Will People Think? | Perfect For All Time. | Jesus Is Lord. | Spiritual Strength And Power. | The Biblical Calendar Of History. | Studying Your Bible. | Computer Analysis Of The Books Of The Bible. | Early Christianity - Is The Record Sound? | The Bible - The Most Popular Book. | Credentials Of The Bible. | Doomed - to Hell. | Faith And Works In The Plan Of God. | Others Can But You Can't. | Impositions - giving to God and by God. | Why Did Christ Die? | The Successful Christian - #1. | The Successful Christian - #2. | Is It What We Say Or What We Are? | Forty-day Bible Study. | Is Baptism Necessary For Salvation? | How To Overcome Sin - Charles Finney. Death. | Why We Reject This Version. | How Does God Keep His Promises? | Radical Genesis Evangelicals.
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