Warning: These are just my ramblings about someone else’s thoughts about the way God works: You probably will disagree and that is cool.
Here is a quote from Mark Driscoll, founding and teaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle,
“You have been told that God is a loving, gracious, merciful, kind, compassionate, wonderful, and good sky fairy who runs a day care in the sky and has a bucket of suckers for everyone because we’re all good people. That is a lie… God looks down and says ‘I hate you, you are my enemy, and I will crush you,’ and we say that is deserved, right and just, and then God says ‘Because of Jesus I will love you and forgive you.’ This is a miracle.”
wow. did he?? no.
this does not sound like what we hear at church. this is scary. this is a wrathful God. by the way, all these things driscoll is saying about God hating us, comes from the idea that God hates sin. we are all sinful, and God hates and crushes evildoers. (Psalm 36:12, Job 34:22) so we are all evildoers, right?
In Driscoll’s theology (understanding of how God works), God’s holiness is strongly highlighted by God’s strong hatred for sin because of His extreme GOODNESS. The turn that Driscoll makes with his last sentence takes us to God’s love……God says ‘Because of Jesus I will love you and forgive you.’ This is a miracle.”
God’s love and holiness do not make bad bedfellows (can i say that?), they work in the most beautiful way that could ever be possibly created or thought up……Jesus.
For Some readers…..let me clarify…Mark Driscoll is radical…he is kinda crazy, but he is bold and that is why i love him.
a couple things I think we can still learn from Mr. Driscoll’s craziness even if you completely disagree
1. As much that God is a god of love, compassion, and mercy; he is also a God of wrath, who is completely sovereign and Holy
2. Different aspects of God’s character do not contradict one another–they come to a completion in Jesus.
3. Jesus changes everything. The truth about Jesus and his love for humanity changed everything, including God’s interaction with man. Jesus dying on the cross was the culmination of the ages where time stands still and everything changes.
Do the love side and the justice side have to be mutually exclusive? Isn’t part of the awesomenewss of grace that God has every right to look down on us with utter disgust, but CHOOSES to look beyond our faults and see Christ’s substitution?
What a miracle.
understanding how God works — is this possible?
How about this:
Theology = the study of trying to guess at how God works based on evidence and revelation
Correct me if I’m wrong…you’re saying that you believe it should be “Because I loved you, I sent Jesus.” Then you have to ask why Jesus was necessary. Do you think this is where the forgiveness part comes in? The whole issue of why Jesus was necessary for our redemption might make a good follow-up. Just a thought.
Jerm- i am basically right there with you….sorry if i didn’t make it super clear. I just wanted to point out a very different view of Jesus rescue, and for me, (maybe just me) i feel grace is in Driscoll’s words….maybe I am weird
Eric- i completely agree that theology is all working off of assumption and i do not hold to any specific theology, but i love chasing after it. Believers for centuries have attempted to put all their intellect into figuring God out, and i think the deeper I dig into theology, its not putting God in a box, its discovering more and more his infiniteness and indescribability (sp?)….and that is worship for me
for me (and remember this is just me) studying theology is part of worshiping God with all my heart, MIND, soul, and strength.
but to answer you directly….in my life right now i believe that God sent Jesus because it was the most glorious and beautiful way that redemption could be played out. and God would receive the most glory by a humble man (sinless) gave up his life freely to buy back mankind from sin
that makes God look most glorious, in my opinion. but again it changes a lot hhaha
i love the discussion thanks guys
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