THAT is precisely the sticking point most Atheists and Agnostics choke on. They don't want to allow for the fact that there is a Sovereign God who has not only the ability, but the RIGHT to hold man accountable for his actions, because in so acknowledging, they de-throne themselves from absolute mastery of their own destiny. They cannot accept that in God's eyes, they are flawed, imperfect, and unsuited to be in God's presence, or to even approach Him in their own natural state.
It does no good to quote scripture to one who doesn't believe scripture. That which, for the Christian, answers the question, does not do so for the unbeliever, for he does not accept the validity of the scripture. Without a common frame of reference, neither side can agree, because they have no common ground on which to build. Unbelievers, Atheists, and Agnostics rely on their own observations, their own conceptions, and their own abiltites to discern, decide, and draw conclusions about God. They invariably mold and fashion a God of their own conception, one who behaves (or doesn't behave) according to what they think He should do or not do. They accept no authority outside of themselves, or those who they have deemed knowledgeable in accordance with their own definiton and conception of knowledge. Their belief system (or lack of one) is turned inward on itself as a closed loop, with no outside interaction accepted or wanted. They convice themselves that they are right, because they feel that they are, judging by the self-consistency of their system. The flaw in it is that it is based upon a god who does not exist as they have conceived him. if God did exist as they have conceived Him, then they would be right. The flaw is in the perception of God, who He is, and His Sovereignty. As I said before, God is not what we conceive Him to be, He is what He reveals Himself to be, and the one true religion would be the one who starts with that as it's First Premise, and aligns itself with what God reveals Himself to be, no matter how it may differ from what they think He ought to be, or wish He was.
‘He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.’ (Acts 10:11)
It must be remembered that the sheet was let down from heaven. It did not spring up from the earth. In the last book of Scripture, similar language is employed to picture the city of God coming down to earth out of heaven. The city of God cannot, never will be, fashioned by human hands. We do not have it in us to create a kinship where everyone enjoys complete acceptance. Christ alone can eliminate prejudice.
The good news of deliverance, for me personally, includes the good news of God's rescue of all the others as well-those others who often do not please me. The great moral imperative that stands over us in the gospel is that we who have been so loved, ought to love others similarly.
A lecturer in the United States was traveling through the South. He called for his mail at a post office-it was in the years before civil rights. The lecturer noticed that there were many Blacks standing in line asking for letters. One by one they went to the desk and asked for mail, but none of them received any. The next day they were all there again, standing in line asking for mail. The lecturer asked the postmaster if any of them ever received any letters. 'Oh no', he answered with a laugh, 'they think they should exercise the same rights as the white man, so they stand in line and ask for letters just as he does.' The lecturer was dismayed by what he heard, so he asked the postmaster for names and addresses of some of the Blacks in the town.
When he returned to his home he wrote to them. Among the replies he received was this one:
‘Dear friend, I got you letter yesterday. I tell you I'se mighty glad to git it. I'se waitin' thirty year for your letter. I'se awful glad to git it. But why didn't you send it before?’
Our world longs for a social order in which everyone is of equal worth. This very thing has come into the world through the kingdom of Christ. A day will come when everyone will know of it and be glad. Perhaps some will say, 'Why didn't you tell us before?'
May God help you and me to... love our neighbors.