The example of Jesus and the testimony of lovers of Christ throughout the centuries points us to early morning prayer as decisively important… First, it signals to our conscience that this is of first importance in the day. Second, it strikes the first blow in the battle of the day, instead of waiting till we are besieged from all sides. Third, what we do daily and do early shapes the spirit of our minds and brings us into a disposition of humility and trust that will bear better fruit than anxiety or self-reliance. Fourth, since beginning the day with the Word of God is crucial, prayer is equally crucial since the Word will not open its best wonders to us without prayer (Psm. 119:18). Fifth, it is uncanny how Satan can use even good things to squeeze prayer out of our schedule if we miss the early-morning hour. I have seen it again and again. If I say to myself, “I will give some time to prayer later,” it generally does not happen.
John Piper

Doomed to Hell

Doomed to Hell DOOMED written by Rod Spade

Question:

How can a loving God allow a person to be born into this world knowing he is doomed to hell?

Answer:

This is a good question and one requiring an answer because it implies a contraction or at least an inconsistency in the very nature and character of God. However, the God of the Bible can be neither contradictory or inconsistent, otherwise He ceases to be the perfect God as portrayed in the Bible.

The question as stated presupposes several things about God as well as about man:

(1) God is a loving God. This is a true statement. God is by nature love. 1 John 4:8, 16 clearly state that “God is love.” The love here spoken of is a selfless love. It is most practically demonstrated in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave [i.e. sacrificed] his only begotten Son…”. (2) People born into this world are doomed to hell. This too is a true statement. The first man Adam’s disobedience in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3) has affected the whole of mankind, involving everyone in sin and death (Genesis 8:21; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; Hebrews 9:27.) Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passes upon all men, for that all have sinned…”. Here we see the solidarity of mankind. When Adam sinned, the race sinned because the race was in him. Adam _was_ the race. What he did, we as his descendants who were in him did also. (3) God knows even before they were born, that some will never be saved from the penalty of sin and therefore are doomed to hell. This too is a correct presupposition. According to Psalm 139, God knows everything about me, past-present-future. However, there are several other basic character traits about God

and man which have a bearing on this question. But, the question itself does not take into consideration these character traits:

(1) God is sovereign. God acts on the basis of His own will and not because He is forced to do so by any outside influence. The Bible itself begins, “In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1.) It does not begin seeking to prove or defend God’s existence and sovereignty, it simply assumes it by stating a fact. One of the things God in His sovereignty chose to do was to create man. He created the first man in His own image, a perfect spiritual being capable of having fellowship with Him (Genesis 1:26, 27.) Being a spiritual being created in God’s image, man was given eternal life to be lived in uninterrupted fellowship with God. It was God’s will that man should not know evil, therefore He forbid man to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-17.) God has always had man’s welfare in mind. (2) Man himself, created as a being with a free will rather than as a robot (for how could a robot fellowship with God or glorify Him), chose to disobey God (Genesis 3:1-7). Death is the result of this disobedience; both physical death and spiritual death (i.e. separation from God.) (3) God is not only a loving God by nature, but also a holy and just God. 1 John 1:5 says, “… God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” God being holy by nature cannot fellowship with those living in the darkness of sin (1 John 1:6.) However, because He is a loving, merciful, and kind God, He does want to have restored fellowship with fallen humanity. This can only be accomplished if His holiness is protected. Therefore, a way must be provided for God and man to be restored to fellowship while God’s love is shown and His holiness protected. (4) God is by nature a just God and His justice demands satisfaction. Man sinned against a holy God and God’s justice and righteousness demands that a penalty be paid. God cannot simply allow our sins to be swept under the rug, for in doing so He would be tolerating evil and denying His own holy nature. God’s requirement for the payment of sin is the shedding of blood. This was the basis of the Old Testament system of animal sacrifice. The blood of the unblemished sacrificial lamb of the Old Testament temporarily covered over and also pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice, namely, Jesus Christ, The Spotless Lamb of God. Christ’s blood not only covers over but also takes away our sin (John 1:29.) Hebrews 9:22 says, “… and without shedding of blood there is no remission [i.e. forgiveness].” (5) God in His mercy and love has provided a way whereby His own holiness can be protected, His justice satisfied, and we ourselves restored to fellowship through the substitutionary death of His own perfect Son. God has provided the way for our salvation, it is now up to us individually to life up our empty hands of faith towards God and receive His gift of salvation to us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Concluding remarks:

God in His sovereignty continues to allow nature to take its course; people are born, they live, they die. Many if not most die under the condemnation of this unbelief, not because we have not received the light, but because we reject the light already given. Romans 1:20 teaches us that even the creation around us is evidence of God’s eternal power and Godhead (i.e. trinity.)

If man will respond positively by faith to just this amount of divine light, then God will reveal more of Himself “from faith to faith” so that ultimately He will provide the saving gospel of Christ to the seeking individual (Romans 1:16, 17.) However, when God’s revelation is rejected, our hearts ultimately become darker and we turn to worshipping creature things rather than the Creator (Romans 1:21-23.)

If one is still troubled by the seeming injustice of being born with a sinful nature because of what the father of the race did; and being held accountable for the sins that result from disability; and by a loving God allowing man to be born into such a situation, he should weigh carefully the significance of our reconciliation as stated by Paul the Apostle: “… that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Corinthians 5:19.)

The sins committed, that owe their original impetus to the sin of the first man but which we also are personally responsible for, are not reckoned against those who have committed them provided they put their trust in Christ crucified and risen. God takes their sins and gives them His righteousness. Would we not agree that this is more than a fair exchange? Must we not admit that God has done more than His part in providing a way of salvation for rebellious man living under the deserved condemnation of sin?