Wrath is not an essential
trait of Gods eternal nature. In eternity past, before the entrance of sin into
creation, God never exhibited wrath. However, in eternity past, God is love.
Wrath is a temporary expression of Gods eternal nature of love because the
goodness of His world and His image in this world has been temporarily
compromised resulting in great havoc and injustice within His creation which
was meant to reflect His goodness and love. But once God has finally destroyed
all evil and redeemed creation through the slain Lamb, His wrath will be gone
forever. This is why the Scriptures say "His wrath is but for a
moment" and the most repeated phrase in the Scriptures is "His love
endures forever." God does not just have love, but God is love itself. God
has wrath, but God is not wrath itself.
The wrath of God is
essentially negative in that the only reason it exists is because sin exists.
If wrath was an essential trait to God's eternal nature, then that means for
God to eternally exhibit this necessary aspect of His nature He would have to
eternally create things that violate Him in order to be forever angry against
them. This would mean that an aspect of God's eternal nature would rely on the
existence of evil. For Calvinist Jonathan Edwards ("Sinners In The Hands
Of An Angry God"), wrath was an essential part of God's eternal nature
just as much as love, and this was precisely why God created the predestined
damned who would be forever tormented under God's wrath in hell, so that God
would have an outlet to eternally express His nature of wrath. But not only is
this a horrifying idea, unsupported by Scripture (thankfully), but what did God
do eternally before creating the predestined damned? Wrath must be a temporary
negative expression (because of temporary sin) of His eternal positive nature
of love.
DEATHBED SALVATION? BY STEVE FINNELL
ReplyDeleteJesus said Mark 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved..." (NKJV)
Men say if a man confesses Jesus as the Son of God on his deathbed but does not have time to be baptized in water he will still be saved. If a believer can be saved without water baptism, then why cannot an atheist who was planning on believing in Jesus but died before he had time to believe not be saved?
Do men have the authority to change God's terms for pardon from sins?
THE THIEF AND DEATHBED SALVATION?
The thief lived and died under the old covenant.
To be saved like the thief, a few things have be true.
1. Jesus has to be alive hanging on the cross.
2. You have believe Jesus is Lord and Christ.
3. You have ask Jesus to remembers you when He comes into His kingdom.
4. Jesus has to tell you "today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:39-43)(NKJV)
5. To be saved like the thief, you have to be saved without having received the Holy Spirit. (John 7:39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive ; for as yet the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.) (NKJV)
The thief was not saved under the terms for pardon under the new covenant.
1. The thief was not baptized in water for the forgiveness of his sins. Acts 2:38 Then Peter said, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
2. The thief did not believe that God had raised Jesus from the dead; how could he? Jesus was still alive. Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.(NKJV)
Was the thief on the cross saved ? YES HE WAS. Can men living under the new covenant be saved like the thief on the cross? NO THEY CANNOT.
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