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by pragerfan June 2, 2018 Beware of internet teachers purporting to teach the nature of God. Here is one such teacher whom I believe has seriously gone wrong. This person writes "I started off my talk by telling the youth that if they have not received Christ's work at the cross into their lives, then God is still their enemy."He's taking Romans 5:10 literally, but taking Romans 5:10 literally is very problematic. St. Paul uses hyperbole here to forcefully argue that our fallen human nature separates from God so that we cannot obtain our own salvation. Otherwise, he contradicts Romans 5:8 a couple of verses above (an enemy does not commend love), John 3:16 (an enemy of mankind does not "so love the world"), and so forth. He would further sow discord into the Godhead: for how can Christ, of whom it may be said, "greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his life for his friends," (John 15:13) be the Second Person of a Trinitarian God who is our enemy unless and until we believe in the work of His Son? Enemies desire our harm and our death. But God in His mercy is not willing that anyone should eternally perish but that all should come to repentance and have eternal life. While not everyone will make that choice (we have free will), God's forgiveness is always available to the repentant sinner. His love for us is not predicated on whether we believe a set of dogma (though the dogma are important). He continues to love us even if we do not believe, though sadly, the ultimate fate of those who do not believe is separation from Him. To say that until you receive Christ as your Saviour, God is your enemy, casts God as vindictive or capricious. But above all He is merciful and just, and requires us to act the same (Micah 6:8). |