|
THE GOD NOBODY LIKES
There are gods of men's manufacture whom people like, but God as He has revealed Himself in the Bible is generally actively hated. Those preachers and individuals who preach and teach what the Bible says about God are for the most part hated as well. Only a few individuals whom the Lord has Himself personally taught come to love and submit the God who is revealed in the Bible. “...Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me,” (John 6:45). In Luke 6:26 Jesus said: “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” The dislike and open hatred that the world has for preachers can be and often is a measure of the amount of truth they preach. One reason God is hated is because He has revealed Himself to be sovereign: He does as He pleases and has a plan and is accomplishing that plan. Of Himself He said, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure,” (Isaiah 46:10). Men want a god whom they can get to do as they please, but God does all His pleasure: He is not changed by men. “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35). “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil,” (Proverbs 16:4). Another reason God is hated is because the destiny of every individual is settled. Men who already hate God hate Him even more when they realize that their rebellion against Him will result in their eternal damnation. The Bible says: “...Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy,” (Romans 9:14-16). Because God has mercy on those whom He has chosen to have mercy, men hate Him. They want to live in sin and still go to Heaven. And when men read or are told that Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day,” (John 6:44). They argue that they have free will and can come to Jesus if they want to do so. Such a God as the Bible reveals requires submission to Him. Prideful men refuse to submit and so die in their sins. We urge all men to take their proper place as helpless sinners before the God of the Bible.
|
