Wherefore God gives them over, in the lusts of their hearts, to the uncleanliness of dishonoring their bodies among themselves.
Romans 1: 24, Concordant New Testament
I present to you a question. Is God the all-knowing creator of all that we see? Is God indeed capable of accomplishing anything according to His will? If you answered yes to these two questions, then you understand just who the Lord is. Now, another question. Knowing God as you do (Or as I am hoping that you do), do you believe that God would tolerate sin among His children? Do you believe that He would simply turn a blind eye to sin while His children do things He sees as wrong? Well, many Christians may not know the Lord as well as they say they do. Far too many believers look at the world around them and wonder why it is that God does not work against the wrong behaviors they see. Others engage in doing wrong without seemingly any fear that God might intervene. We hear them talk of "Siezing the day" and living life on their terms. I have even heard church going believers profess that the Christian life is far too restrictive. They prefer to live the life of the world while claiming to follow the Lord. Sorry, but that isn't how things work. Yet, where is God in the midst of all of this misbehavior? I'll tell you where, the same place He's always been. God didn't change...we changed. Along the way, the Lords creation chose to live their lives according to the lie of the accuser. The problem is that the deck was already stacked against us even before we were born. Scripture tells us that all have sinned {Romans 3:23}. Yes, that means you. For all of our good intentions, we were all born into sin. This is the result of our acceptance of the lie of the accuser in the garden {Genesis 3:5-6}. It is this moment which also demanded that we are in need of a Savior. Make no mistake about it, we NEED Jesus. For while we were all born into sin without a choice on our part, we do have the option to choose to accept Christ and the forgiveness offered to us by the Father. However, what becomes of those who ultimately choose not to accept the offering the Lord gives? Well, in that case the Lord giveth.
In this was manifested the love of God among us, that God has dispatched His only-begotten Son into the world that we should be living through Him.
1 John 4: 9, Concordant New Testament
We need to get one truth straight from the beginning, ALL have been given the opportunity to choose the forgiveness offered by Christ Jesus at the cross. Just as all were born into sin, all have the opportunity to choose Jesus and have their life of sin forgiven. That is our choice. So, what of those who steadfastly refuse to accept Jesus, preferring instead to live life on their own terms? Well, as the apostle Paul tells us, God gave them over to their own behavior {Romans 1:24}. God is still who He is, He simply gave those who refuse His offer of forgiveness up to their sin. God does not condone their misbehavior, He simply allows them to live their lives the way they choose. This is their choice. Our choice is a simple one...Jesus or a life in the world. For those who refuse to accept Christ, the choice is still available to them. There have been countless stories of those who have chosen the forgiveness of Christ Jesus even after a life of wrongdoing. One of my favorite scriptures is the tried and true scripture we find in John 3: 16. That a loving and merciful God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son. That whoever believed in He whom the Father sent would not perish but have everlasting life. We've all read this verse at one time or another. Yet I believe that the real message of hope is found in John 3:17. That Christ did not come to Condemn the world, but that ALL might be saved through Him. That all might be saved. This is why Jesus came to us.
For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only-begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but may be having life eonian. For God does not dispatch His Son into the world that He should be judging the world, but that the world may be saved through Him.
John 3: 16-17, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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