To Trev Reacts

This is in response to some questions that Trev Reacts posted on his page.

I would encourage you all to read Trev’s article so you can get a bit more clarity on what I am about to discuss. He had some really good questions that I just felt very strongly needed to be answered, but also explained. Trev I hope you read this as well and that you, as well as anyone who reads this, would be greatly encouraged and will open up a lot more questions. Questions are so good. So, these are my answers to Trev’s questions.

1. If Heaven is the cat’s meow and God so perfectly good and loving why were so many of his angels not satisfied being there at his side?

Answer: For your first question regarding the angels not being happy in Heaven, I just don’t have a good answer because we are not told what really took place. We are not told what they were thinking. We are not told a whole lot. We can really only speculate while we are here on earth. Satan didn’t want to leave Heaven. He wanted to rule it in place of God. He hates being kicked out of Heaven. In fact we see him in Heaven in the book of Job. He is walking with the other angles (that have not fallen) in the presence of God.

2. Since God created the angels with every characteristic, including the capacity for envy which was ultimately their undoing, how is God not complicit in their inevitable actions?

Answer: For your second question you hit on a very hard topic. Free will. How can we have free will if God knows and preordained what we will do? I love what a little boy taught Augustine at the seashore. One day, Augustine was walking along the sea shore and came across a little boy who was digging a hole. Augustine asked the boy what he was doing and the boy replied that he was trying to fit the ocean into his tiny hole. Well, Augustine realized that he could no more understand God, then this boy could fill the tiny hole with the ocean. God’s ways are so much higher than our ways. We can never fully understand God on this side of Heaven (Isaiah 55:8–9, 1 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 11:33–36). The only thing we can understand is that we do have a choice on what we do. God does not dictate or force us to act a certain way. He just knows what we are going to do before we do or say it. We have the freedom to obey or not to obey. To love or not to love. The choice is ours.

3. If God didn’t want anyone to eat from this tree why put it there?

Answer: I love your third question. So good. God put the tree there to give us a choice. You see, He wants us to choose Him. He doesn’t want us to be forced to choose Him. If you love someone, you would want them to love you back. You don’t want to force them to love you back because that would not be love. Correct? God wants us to choose to love Him. It is a choice. He didn’t make us into robots.

4. If God knows what we will do before we do it did he not know Satan would successfully tempt Eve with the forbidden fruit?

Answer: I like your fourth question as well. Oh, God knew that Satan would tempt Eve. He knew that they would disobey. That is why we already see the salvation plan in Genesis 3:15. Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophesy when He died on the cross. God’s plan for His people is redemption. He is the only God that actually became a servant for us and died for us (Philippians 2:1–11).

5. Why did God create sin and set such a heavy penalty when he possessed the foreknowledge that Eve would be tempted and fail to remain true?

Answer: For your fifth question, God did not create sin. Sin entered into the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Sin was never part of God’s design. Sin goes against the very nature of who He is. He is holy. He is without sin. He hates sin. He hates the wickedness of mankind (We see this with the great flood and Sodom and Gomorrah). He is also full of patience (Numbers 14:18). He is also the Judge of the world (Revelation 19:11, 2 Corinthians 5:10). Vengeance belongs to Him (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:17–19). He will pay the wicked for their evil ways. There is no heavy penalty for those who belong to Christ Jesus. To those who put their trust in Him. To those that believe that He died for their sins and rose again on the third day. Christ Jesus offers eternal life as a free gift to all who would come to Him and confess that He is Lord and Savior of their life.

6. How is the whole original sin scenario not a straight setup by God himself?

Answer: For your sixth question, God doesn’t set us up to sin. He will test us to see where our loyalty lies (Abraham with the sacrifice of Isaac and the testing of Job). Original sin means that as human beings we are only capable of sinning due to the consequence of Adam and Eve’s first sin. We are all born as sinners. As David says in Psalm 51. Paul also points out in Romans 3:23–27 that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. This is why we need Jesus Christ. He gives us His Spirit (God the Holy Spirit) to live in us and moves us from the kingdom of darkness (the world) into His Kingdom, the kingdom of light. Paul really explains this well in Galatians 5.

7. Did God create a few of us with the inclination to follow and blindly believe to be saved while creating the majority of us inclined to doubt, question and be skeptical to our own detriment for the sole purpose of fulfilling his prophesy of many perishing?

Answer: For your seventh question, you are hinting at predestination. God will have mercy on whom He has mercy on. Again, I must go to Paul for clarification. Paul explains this so well in Romans 9. Some will call the Gospel foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18–21). Only God knows whom He will have mercy on. We, as believers, are called to preach the Gospel to everyone. The rest of the work is done through the Holy Spirit.

8. How can this God described and purportedly quoted in the bible be considered anything other than sadistic and evil being who makes rules he knows most will not be able to follow because he knowingly created them in a specific way that left them unable to follow and then punishes them for being exactly whom he created them to be???

Answer: For question eight, you are trying to understand things that only belong to God. This I know, however, He has given everyone the opportunity to obey Him. Peter explains this in 2 Peter 3:9. God wishes that none would perish, and He keeps us alive so that we may repent and believe in Him. This is His desire for everyone. For everyone was made in His image and likeness. He does not get any joy out of seeing anyone perish. When one sinner repents all heaven rejoices (Luke 15:7). You make a great analogy with the dog and the pizza. The only thing is, is that God never leaves the room. He is always present. Always there. Always watching. It is like Fido eats the pizza right out of your hand and even bites you as he is disregarding you as his master. Would it be wrong to punish Fido in that instance? Or, let’s say you have a teenager and they know your rules about them having the opposite sex in their bedroom, but they come in with their boyfriend/girlfriend and tell you straight up that they are going to go to their bedroom to have sex. What do you do? This is precisely how we treat God. We are in God’s house here on earth. God gives us guidelines to follow while we are living in His house here on earth, but we straight up tell God that He can’t tell us what to do. That we are allowed to do whatever we want and He should be completely happy with that. Would you ever treat your parents that way? Would you tell your dad that you will do as you please in his house? Just a thought.

9. As a Christian, do any of these questions ever bother you or do you just dismiss anything that may not seem to make sense?

Answer: For question nine, the answer would be, yes. Not everything God does makes sense to me and does bother me, as it does you and so many others. Like predestination. How can God harden someone’s heart like He did to Pharaoh in the Exodus? Or how can He allow such evil to happen like people breaking into someone’s house, tying up the husband and forcing him to watch as they ravish his wife and young daughters? I have read Foxe’s book of Martyrs and it is so gruesome. These were God’s children. These were devout men, women, and children to Him. Why did He allow such suffering amongst His own children? Let alone amongst anyone. I wrestle with this, but I must go back to what the Bible says and I must remember who God is. I am but a man. God is God. He knows all, and I know nothing. I just trust Him. Just as I trust my earthly parents to love and care for me as a child. I would do whatever they told me because I know they loved me and wouldn’t hurt me. My Heavenly Father loves me so much more than my earthly parents ever could. I just trust Him.

10. None of us are born with an innate desire to seek Jesus or read a bible. There is generally some event or circumstance that leads us down that path. What led you to Christianity?

Answer: Oh boy. What led me to Christianity? My mom was the biggest influence, but also the way I was raised. My father was an alcoholic and would beat my mom in front of my brother and me. I despised my dad for much of my younger years because I never trusted that he wouldn’t beat my younger brother as he has beat my mom. I felt helpless watching him beat her as well. I really believe that throughout my experiences growing up, He was drawing me closer and closer to Him. I loved His word. It brought me comfort in the midst of discomfort. It brought me hope, when I could not see any hope. I just felt His presence around me. He was my shepherd. Always looking out for me. He is still my shepherd. He has never abandoned me. I can feel Him like I can feel the wind blowing. I can see Him like I can see the wind in the trees. He is everything to me. I love the song by John Michael Montgomery “The Little Girl”.

I pray that this has helped clarify up some misunderstandings, or maybe invited new questions to be asked. I have never been to college or any training on theology, religion, or how to interpret scripture. These are just my own thoughts through my own experiences. I would always be open to discuss anything further with anyone.

Thank you so much for reading. May the Lord use this, as with any of my writings, to further His kingdom and draw others closer to Him.

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