Bible Question:
I just can’t comprehend that if Judas was created for this purpose, how he couldn’t make it to Heaven. The Lord intended that he do this deed. So he really had no choice in the matter. What if before he committed suicide maybe he had begged for God’s mercy? Also, before Christ died he asked God to forgive them for they knew not what they did. They didn’t know that they did this to fulfill a prophecy. So did God forgive them, as Jesus had asked, and then allow them to enter Heaven? That’s another of my incomprehensible questions. As for Hitler otoh, I don’t believe he was created to carry out a prophecy, or was he? I don’t want to get into the free will debate, but maybe Hitler did (unlike Judas) have a choice in the matter. Since he chose to be an evil person I can understand why he may not have made it to Heaven. I can only hope I wasn’t created to somehow be an awful person and then suffer the consequences after I die. That would be a major no-win situation for me. I don’t think I’m a bad person and I believe that salvation is only possible through God’s grace and hope and pray that I’m on his good list. Beja, the way you put it brought the lights on a little bit. Should I stop beating myself up over this? |
Bible Answer: Alyzza, I'll give you a biblical answer to this. But I can't promise either that you will like it or that it will settle your mind. In Romans chapter 9 it discusses just such a thing as this. Romans 9:17 introduces the situation of Pharaoh in Exodus, "For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth." This refers to in exodus when God specifically gave Egypt its great power and this Pharoah specifically his position, then God actually hardens his heart to make sure that Pharaoh opposes God, all so that God can drastically judge him through many wonders. Paul continues in verse 18, "So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires." Look how clearly Paul states that God is free to raise up and use individuals as objects of God's wrath! Then Paul rhetorically asks the very question we all want to ask in the face of such a thing. Romans 9:19 "You will say to me then, 'why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" Scripture asks this very question about the very same thing you are asking. If ever there was a passage to find your answer it is here, yes? But look how Paul answers the question. Romans 9:20 "On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, 'why did you make me like this,' will it?" What a response! Paul's response is essentially, that God has every right to do whatever He pleases with us! So you asked me, "should I stop beating myself up over this?" My answer is this: will you let God be God? Are you willing to in light of what scripture is saying confess that He not only does this, but will you confess with scripture that He has the right to do it? Many who grasp this aspect of God's sovereignty for the very first time are terrified by it. Let me tell you how I think scripture wants us to respond to it. 1. Submission. Whether we like it or not, God is God, and we bow to His authority even when it scares us. 2. Terror. It should very horrifying to us as we consider the plight of those who will bare God's wrath. Romans 11:22, "Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness" In the words of C.S. Lewis, "God is not a tame lion." And grasping his sovereignty over the souls of men should be terrifying to us. 3. Intense gratitude. Those who have been delivered by the blood of Christ, and been granted to see the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 cor 4:6) should be awed by the grace that has been shown to them if not overwhelmed by it. God's sovereignty over the souls of man is not comfortable! It is humbling to the very core of our being, it is terrifying beyond what we can grasp, and it is grace beyond what we can imagine. Praise be to the Father who has shown us such undeserved mercy in Christ Jesus! In Christ, Beja |