In my previous post I responded to a post by Rev Sam that argued against Penal Substitution. He responded thus, and in the comments on that post Macrina said “The Christian God cannot be anything other than love poured out, endless compassion”
In my mind the Devil has two main lies.
The first is “God is nothing but a strict despotic tyrant”
The second is “God is nothing but love”
The first lie is used to trap people into guilt, rebellion, and sin. It is sometimes expressed as “You’re too sinful for God to forgive”
The second is to blind people to guilt, rebellion, and sin. It is sometimes expressed as “Don’t worry, God loves you anyway”
The most effective lies are 90% truth.
It is true that God is all-powerful, intolerant of rebellion, punishing those that disobey. He killed Uzzah for touching the ark. He killed Nadab and Abihu for offering unholy fire. He brought plagues on his people Israel, sent snakes among them, war, and finally exile, as punishment for their rebellions. He killed Ananias and Saphira for lying to the church. And in the end he will cast all those judged by their recorded deeds into the lake of fire.
It is true that God loves his creation dearly, and chooses not to hold our sins against us. The Bible’s case-book of forgiveness anecdotes is too long to list here.
The fact is, both these opposite perspectives are true.
Yet how can God be 100% intolerant of our sin, and also 100% tolerant of our sin?
Mystery.
God is trinity. Three in one. Father, Son, Holy Spirit – separate beings, yet one God. This kind of thing becomes possible when you are dealing with infinity – the normal rules we expect don’t apply (as any quantum physicist will tell you)
If God can be three/one, then he can also be tolerant/intolerant.
The fact is, both these opposite perspectives are true, and the real deep truth lies in the interface between them.
It is only in the cross of Christ – a brief moment in eternity – that these eternal characteristics of God meet. It is only in the cross that his love and mercy are congruent with his indignation and vengeance. It is only by the mystery of the cross, where I am in Christ and Christ is in me, that as God punishes me it falls onto himself. It is only in the cross that where God loves himself it falls on me. God takes onto himself my rebellion. And not thus tolerating himself God separated from himself-Christ who cries out for us all to hear that God has forsaken him – yes – impossible, but true. The cost of my sin was Christ’s separation from himself-God – the very fabric of the trinity torn asunder.
So let us not fall for the Devil’s lies.
“You will not surely die” says Snake to Eve – he’s right because he knows God loves. But there is a death because God clothed them in animal skins in the first blood sacrifice for forgiveness of sin. The punishment promised by God – death – still occurred but fell on the substitute. And sacramentally that animal was Christ.
Yet the Devil is also the accuser. “You sinned, now you will die”. But we won’t. He constantly goes to God telling him that Christians have sinned. For God’s word is law, and when the law is broken there must be death, and the devil insists, demands, that God be true to himself and implement his law, implement execution. He’s right - and God does implement execution on those Christians because they are in Christ on the cross.
Brothers and Sisters – our forgiveness is not free. Our forgiveness is not outside the law. Our punishment is paid by Christ-God to himself-God, a terrible blood price, required by law, prosecuted by the devil but with Christ as our advocate. The Judge is satisfied. The devil is defeated, left speechless. Christ-God is Victorious, speaking words of Love.
Hallelujah!
Praise Him!
In my mind the Devil has two main lies.
The first is “God is nothing but a strict despotic tyrant”
The second is “God is nothing but love”
The first lie is used to trap people into guilt, rebellion, and sin. It is sometimes expressed as “You’re too sinful for God to forgive”
The second is to blind people to guilt, rebellion, and sin. It is sometimes expressed as “Don’t worry, God loves you anyway”
The most effective lies are 90% truth.
It is true that God is all-powerful, intolerant of rebellion, punishing those that disobey. He killed Uzzah for touching the ark. He killed Nadab and Abihu for offering unholy fire. He brought plagues on his people Israel, sent snakes among them, war, and finally exile, as punishment for their rebellions. He killed Ananias and Saphira for lying to the church. And in the end he will cast all those judged by their recorded deeds into the lake of fire.
It is true that God loves his creation dearly, and chooses not to hold our sins against us. The Bible’s case-book of forgiveness anecdotes is too long to list here.
The fact is, both these opposite perspectives are true.
Yet how can God be 100% intolerant of our sin, and also 100% tolerant of our sin?
Mystery.
God is trinity. Three in one. Father, Son, Holy Spirit – separate beings, yet one God. This kind of thing becomes possible when you are dealing with infinity – the normal rules we expect don’t apply (as any quantum physicist will tell you)
If God can be three/one, then he can also be tolerant/intolerant.
The fact is, both these opposite perspectives are true, and the real deep truth lies in the interface between them.
It is only in the cross of Christ – a brief moment in eternity – that these eternal characteristics of God meet. It is only in the cross that his love and mercy are congruent with his indignation and vengeance. It is only by the mystery of the cross, where I am in Christ and Christ is in me, that as God punishes me it falls onto himself. It is only in the cross that where God loves himself it falls on me. God takes onto himself my rebellion. And not thus tolerating himself God separated from himself-Christ who cries out for us all to hear that God has forsaken him – yes – impossible, but true. The cost of my sin was Christ’s separation from himself-God – the very fabric of the trinity torn asunder.
So let us not fall for the Devil’s lies.
“You will not surely die” says Snake to Eve – he’s right because he knows God loves. But there is a death because God clothed them in animal skins in the first blood sacrifice for forgiveness of sin. The punishment promised by God – death – still occurred but fell on the substitute. And sacramentally that animal was Christ.
Yet the Devil is also the accuser. “You sinned, now you will die”. But we won’t. He constantly goes to God telling him that Christians have sinned. For God’s word is law, and when the law is broken there must be death, and the devil insists, demands, that God be true to himself and implement his law, implement execution. He’s right - and God does implement execution on those Christians because they are in Christ on the cross.
Brothers and Sisters – our forgiveness is not free. Our forgiveness is not outside the law. Our punishment is paid by Christ-God to himself-God, a terrible blood price, required by law, prosecuted by the devil but with Christ as our advocate. The Judge is satisfied. The devil is defeated, left speechless. Christ-God is Victorious, speaking words of Love.
Hallelujah!
Praise Him!
Well done on a couple of good posts about the atonement. This is the Gospel. Without the cross, we are dead in our sins.
ReplyDeleteYet why did Jesus need to die on the cross at all, if the moderns are right that God is all and only love?!