The Lord Knows
This past week has been really hard for me at Seminary. What I thought I knew about God has been brought into question, because of what I learned about last week in Systematic Theology. I learned for the first time about Calvinism and "TULIP." I heard about predestination before, but never really examined the scriptures that Calvin used to present that concept. My mind and heart has been in tangles ever since, because I have always held that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). A chapter before this, however it says, "God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom He wants to harden" (9:18).
I see this agree with Old Testament scripture as well. I just read today from 2 Samuel 24, and the first verse says, "The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He incited David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah." Later, after David does this, he is "conscious-stricken and confessed to God that he has greatly sinned against Him (vs. 10). Then, God gives David three choices for how Israel will pay for David’s sin, and David chooses the plague which ends up killing 7000 people. Why is Israel punished, if God’s anger incited David to take the census? Why was God angry in the first place with Israel?
Now, I don’t know why God is angry with Israel, but He is. I know many times in the Bible God was angry with Israel. When they made the golden calf while Moses was talking to God on Mount Sinai, God responded, "they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them" (Exodus 32:9-10). After Moses sought the favor of the LORD, reminding God of the covenant He made with His people through Isaac, Jacob, and Abraham, we are told that "the LORD relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had threatened" (vs. 14).
Its interesting, because when Moses saw how the people were dancing and worshipping the golden calf, we are told that "Moses anger burned, and He threw the tablets [the ten Commandments] from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain" (vs. 19). Moses then gathered the sons of Levi and said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor" (vs. 27). Man, this is hard to grasp that Moses ordered the people of Israel to kill each other, but this is a result of SIN!! This is a result of how they made a gold calf and said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt" (vs. 4). What a smack in the face of God. No wonder God’s anger burned. This same anger might be what filled Moses with anger, when he saw Israel dancing around the golden calf.
Three thousand people were killed as a result of their dancing around the golden calf! Moses then tells the remaining people, "Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD – for every man has been against his son and against his brother – in order that He [God] may bestow a blessing upon you today" (vs. 29). This gets rid of your childhood, bedside story view of God!! Some people are killed, so the other are blessed? What’s up with that?
Before all this killing took place, however, Moses called out to those who would kill their brothers in this way, "‘whoever is for the LORD, come to me!’ And all the sons of Levi gathered to him" (vs. 26). The sons of Levi were gathered, because they were for the LORD. I am guessing that the other Israelites were not, and that is why they did not gather with Moses. God is just in all His ways!!
This wrath is the result of our sins. I hate how we have been cursed to be sinners, that my every intention of doing good is followed by doing bad. The world believes as long as you live a good life, you will be alright in the long run when you die. I would agree, if we were not already under the curse of sin. Because of that curse, I can never by myself do the good that God requires of me. Do I forget I exist because God made me? Do I forget He is my God, and I am thus called to obey Him, because He is the Sovereign Ruler and Authority over all creation, including me?
To be saved, is not a result of any good I have done or can do. It is by grace, God’s grace, that I am saved. Sin and Satan cause me to always fall short and anger God, but by His mercy and grace, He is forgiving and gives me the chance to be reconciled back to Him through Jesus Christ. As Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast" (vs. 8-9). Calvin believes, that God chose us, by His grace, not to recieve the due wrath we deserve by our sins. Instead, He chose us by grace, that if we believe in Christ, we are forgiven of our sins. Horatio Spafford says it best in his song, "It is Well with my Soul," when he says: "My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"
What I am troubled with, is this: Calvin believes that the opportunity to call on the name of the Lord Jesus and be saved is not for everyone, but only the select that God has called to do so. This is what puts my heart and mind in knots. Jesus said, "for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). I still want to hold that salvation is for the whole world to receive, if they believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I acknowledge it is by God’s great mercy that we can receive grace through faith, when I instead deserve wrath for my rebellious, sinful heart. I want my life to be fixed upon sharing the gospel, so others will have chance to hear and call on the Name of the Lord to be saved, like Romans 10 says. As far as the select, I don’t know. But I am tired of dwelling on it. I know God desires a committed, intimate relationship with us. He desires for us to love Him from the heart, soul, and mind, because He first loved us (Deut. 6:5, & 1 John 4:10).This is something we choose to do, because as far as I know right now, love is a choice. You can’t force some one to love you and have them sincerely love you. But real love comes by you making that decision to commit to love. God desires our worship, our obedience, our love, and our heart! As the psalmist says, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51: 6-7) Maybe this is what is meant by the elect: God knows before we are born, who will choose to accept Him or not. By that, they are predestined to go to heaven or hell.
I don’t know, I am still learning. I know God is still good and Holy, just and righteous, loving and compassionate, forgiving and merciful, faithful, all knowing (as mind boggling as that can be, He is God!!), and Sovereign (complete power and not ruled by another). Praise God we can be saved, through putting our faith in His son Jesus Christ. That Christ died for all, so that all may truly have eternal life. This is what the Gospel message is about. People need to hear about the Gospel, so they can know Jesus Christ and receive His grace by putting their faith in Him. If they don’t, then they will experience God’s wrath, because He is rightly justified for pouring out His wrath on all of us. But thanks be to God, we have a way out of wrath through Jesus Christ!! Spread the Word!!
"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!!" (Romans 10:15)