Replies

"How can a Just God not punish sin no matter what the source?"

I agree with this. Sin cannot exist in the presence of a Holy God no matter what the source. But I would also say that a just God cannot condemn someone for being something that they can never be. I dont see justice in punishing a cat for not being a dog. So how are these two reconciled? It is reconciled in the Person of Jesus Christ. He has taken the punishment of sin for us and clothed us in His righteousness, if we only choose to believe in Him (John 3:16). And it is choice that this all centers around. Choice has existed since the Garden of Eden. It is a predominate theme in the Bible. Choose the good and flee from evil. This choice is the lynch pin on which our fate resides. For to choose Christ is to recognize that one is a sinner, wholly incapable of pleasing God or doing good. One in need of a Savior to free them from an eternity apart from God and to save them from the pit of Hell. To reject Christ is to remain blind to the truth about your true nature and consign yourself to an eternity apart from God and suffering the consequences of sin.

Now God in His mercy has given us that choice so that all are without excuse. So that the cat can never say that it was unjust because he was not a dog when God had given that cat the opportunity to be transformed into a dog through the work of His Son.

JM

Thanks for answering my question JM. I appreciate your thoughts.

I agree with this. Sin cannot exist in the presence of a Holy God no matter what the source. But I would also say that a just God cannot condemn someone for being something that they can never be. I dont see justice in punishing a cat for not being a dog.

But He is not condemning them for being something they cannot be. God is condemning them for what they are, which is a sinner. Even we put things down, not because they won't change but because they can't change, for example I just had a family cat put down because it had an incurably fatal disease. The cat had no decision in the matter, it couldn't change, was I unjust for putting it down?

So how are these two reconciled? It is reconciled in the Person of Jesus Christ. He has taken the punishment of sin for us and clothed us in His righteousness, if we only choose to believe in Him (John 3:16). And it is choice that this all centers around. Choice has existed since the Garden of Eden.

Ok, let's visit the Garden of Eden just after the Fall and the pronouncement of the punishment upon Adam, Eve, and the Serpent:

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. - Genesis 3:21

I think we agree that when God did this that it was a picture of Salvation. If so, where was Adam's choice in the matter? The Bible doesn't record Adam making a decision. It just says that God made coats for them and clothed them. Could Adam have rejected the covering God had made for him and his wife?

It is a predominate theme in the Bible. Choose the good and flee from evil. This choice is the lynch pin on which our fate resides. For to choose Christ is to recognize that one is a sinner, wholly incapable of pleasing God or doing good. One in need of a Savior to free them from an eternity apart from God and to save them from the pit of Hell. To reject Christ is to remain blind to the truth about your true nature and consign yourself to an eternity apart from God and suffering the consequences of sin.

I can agree with this statement. What I can't do is agree with you about why people make the decision that they make.