Paradox between the love of God and his justice
How can ELOHIM desire the salvation of sinners and eternally condemn them at the same time? Isn't it paradoxical to say that ELOHIM is love and justice at the same time?
Many heathens argue that YAHWEH is an angry, spiteful, cruel and vengeful ELOHIM who sees his creatures as scum. They misconceive the Saving Cross, for according to them YAHWEH abused His own son to appease all the anger He had in human beings. They unite to speak against YAHWEH and claim that YESHUA was a helpless victim unjustly punished and tortured by his wicked Father. Others even say they are more loving than YAHWEH because, unlike him, they would never punish their children indefinitely. They treat Him with disdain and disobedience, and do not want Him to rule over them.
The pitfall of this broad-mindedness is that such reasoning fails to understand the very thing that divine wrath accomplishes.
In the biblical context, justice and love are two fundamental divine concepts not created by humans.
-
Psalm 89:14 "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face."
As image-bearers of ELOHIM, these sentiments are his imprint within our hearts. Hence the desire to love and feel loved, and the need for justice, are constantly present in our human interactions. We are just like Him. Here's a simple analogy to prove that point: someone you love dearly causes you harm, in spite of the love you have for that person, you would still want the misdeed to not go unpunished. Punishment can come in the form of a refusal to speak to that individual, a reprimand, legal proceedings and so on.
-
Romans 2:15 'they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them."
The Love of YAHWEH
As humans, our love for our fellow human beings is either conditioned by affectionate feelings, or the result of an emotional reaction to a situation or physical attraction. All these forms of love, when true and right, are rooted in YAHWEH Himself.
But YAHWEH's love isn't just sentimentalistic, it's an absolute love because He gives us unfettered free will, asking us to just have faith in Him, to respect Him as the Creator and to love our neighbors as He loves us. He has established a covenant relationship with His people, which consists in channeling His love and faithfulness towards them for their good. And in turn, people freely testify their love and loyalty to Him and His precepts. Even when we reject Him, slander Him, give Him no importance, neither seek nor desire our own good or that of others, He does not forsake us and continues to desire what is good for us.
-
Isaiah 30:18 "Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him."
The Justice of YAHWEH
When we think of the word justice, we envision not only fairness and equal treatment of people, but also the good or bad repercussions of our actions.
YAHWEH's Justice encompasses the application of the Law and Judgment:
► His Justice is the foundation and the culmination leading to peace: a state of spiritual fulfillment and well-being for people, individually and collectively.
-
Psalm 119:165 "Those who love Thy law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble."
-
Isaiah 32:17 "The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever."
-
Proverbs 3:1-2 "My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life."
► His Law is perfect in terms of intent and fairness, for without it we will live in a state of complete anarchy, with no ability to distinguish right from wrong.
-
Romans 7:7 "What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
► His impartial and fair judgment produces consequences for our free choices. It is not simply a set of rules and punishments. He is flexible and compassionate in a context of grace for those who have been wronged and for those who are at fault. For us humans, it's impossible to fully achieve this same kind of equitable justice.
If YAHWEH was not wrathful and did not punish sin, then His steadfast love and justice would remain unfulfilled. In other words, the injustice done to innocents upon the earth would forever go unpunished, and those who put their faith and trust in YESHUA would not be forever shielded from evil. But, YAHWEH doesn't explode His anger in a sudden fit of rage. He endures, observes patiently and at length the choices and decisions we make, and warns us in various ways. If He finds a heart willing to love Him wholly and unconditionally, He reveals Himself to that person, guiding and protecting the person in their ways.
-
Psalm 11:4 "The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men."
-
Psalm 33:13-15 "The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From His dwelling place He gazes on all who inhabit the earth. He shapes the hearts of each; He considers all their works."
-
Hebrews 4:13 "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
The saving cross is the focal point of all human history, for it is where two seemingly opposed and irreconcilable concepts were reconciled: YAHWEH's love to save the righteous and the victims, and his justice to condemn the transgressors of the Law. Without the saving cross, the notion of love would be mere sentimentalism, and there would be nothing but judgment and punishment after our physical death.
-
Colossiens 1:19-21 "For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross. Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds."
For these reasons, YAHWEH's Justice and Love are mutually reinforcing and intended to be in complete harmony.
-
1 John 3:10 "Quiconque ne pratique pas la justice n’est pas de Dieu, non plus que celui qui n’aime pas son frère."
Those who try to use YESHUA's sacrifice as an argument to disprove YAHWEH's love, must above all realize that it is YESHUA himself who will severely judge any offensive words spoken against his Father.
-
John 5:21-22 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes. Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son."
-
2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
-
Acts 10:42 “And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.”
Therefore, let's be vigilant in ensuring that our words, spoken without discernment, do not condemn us.
-
Matthew12:36-37 “But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
Is it fair for a loving God to punish eternally for temporal sins committed on earth?
YAHWEH loves his creatures dearly and reaches out to people in multiple ways, urging them to repent and reconcile with him. He has no desire to see anyone thrown into hell. In fact, YAHWEH does not send us to hell but rather we send ourselves there. You may wonder just how?
Human beings are mainly composed of three elements: the body, the soul and the spirit.
-
The body is connected to earth and the material realm. It allows us to differentiate ourselves from one another.
-
The soul which belongs to the spirit does not die. It is the soul that stores our feelings, our conscience and our free will, it is where our personality is forged.
-
The spirit which does not die ties us to YAHWEH.
When we violate YAHWEH's Law, there is an automatic separation between our spirit and that of our Creator. The sinful soul becomes obscured and ashamed because it has violated the holiness of The Most High. In such condition, the sinner will consciously or unconsciously begin to deny, reject and forsake the Spirit of Truth by fabricating all kinds of doctrines, theories and reasons as justification for his or her iniquities and hardens himself or herself in his or her evil ways. YAHWEH in return withdraws His guiding hand and that person is now given over to his own lusts and desires. This is strongly felt by Christians who already have a sound knowledge of the word of truth.
-
Romans 1:21-24 "For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another."
-
Romans 1:28 "Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them."
So when a truly saved Christian, who has received holy forgiveness of his sins and experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, makes the conscious decision to forfeit his salvation and returns to his former life, he now becomes an apostate. By his actions, he is exposing YESHUA to shame.
-
Hebrews 6:4-6 "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age— and then have fallen away—to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame.…"
In His infinite love, YAHWEH sent His only begotten Son on earth to show us the right way and to provide us with the opportunity to be redeemed. Nevertheless, righteousness is the foundation of YAHWEH's throne and in spite of His love He cannot let wickedness go unpunished.
-
Psalms 97: 2 "Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation."
Otherwise why would YAHWEH have established laws and commandments that humans can just violate without any risk of judgement? Why would a parent establish rules under his or her roof if the children can disobey those rules without any repercussions?
When God forbids sin it is because he himself cannot sin. When we sin we "defy" His holiness. Thus, He must punish ungodliness because the sinner has violated His holy character, and if He does not deal with it, then He is condoning what is unholy to Himself.
If you admit that according to our terrestrial judicial system the severity of a crime is not measured by the time it took to commit that crime, but then argue that hell or eternal damnation are too long for temporal sins committed while on earth, your argument is very flawed.
Think about this analogy, if in a split second:
-
You slap your child you will make him or her feel very sad.
-
You slap your mother or father it's a bad, shameful and dishonorable act.
-
You slap your boss, it's a serious offense, you will certainly lose your job.
-
You slap the president of the republic it is a very serious crime, you are liable to imprisonment for a long time.
You have committed the same act in the same lapse of time but the consequences are more severe depending on the status of the person you have slapped. Similarly, when we go up the chain of command to the infinite ELOHIM of the universe, it is not too difficult to see that the consequences are also infinitely amplified.
The reason why YAHWEH would eternally punish man for temporal sins committed on earth is not based on the severity of the sin but rather against whom the sin has been committed, since our offense is against an infinitely Holy God, the consequence is also infinite, and that is why eternal hell exists.
But what about those who don't believe in His existence?
YAHWEH is an objective truth that transcends our own subjective feelings or desires. The Bible tells us that the knowledge of His existence is evident all around us and everything around creation is enough to inform us He does exist. He has put enough intelligence in us to understand that nothingness cannot create anything and to question the evidence that science cannot prove or explain. Therefore, those who ignore or pretend not to believe in the existence of YAHWEH have no excuse.
-
Romans 1:20-21 "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts."
-
Psalm 53:1 "For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile. There is no one who does good."
But what about those who have never heard of YESHUA and the gospel, or who have committed sins of which they are not aware?
Those who think that YESHUA is not the only way to God the Father have a distorted or wrong perspective of the Justice of YAHWEH, for they do not comprehend the importance of the saving cross. All will one day have to stand before the throne of YESHUA even those who have never heard of Him. These people will be judged according to their conscience, the intuitive sense of right and wrong that each person has and the way they have lived. But YESHUA is the ONLY one who can forgive and erase the transgressions of those who have heard of Him, read the Gospel and chosen to follow Him while they were still alive.
To better understand this, let's take the example of indigenous people living in remote Amazonian forests. In order for these natives to live in harmony among themselves in their environment, there will always be laws within the native community prohibiting certain wrongdoings against their own. These indigenous people may not know YESHUA but they are not ignorant of the concept of right and wrong and they will be judged according to what they knew.
YAHWEH is righteous, and no one will be thrown into hell for doing something they had absolutely no idea was wrong.
-
Romans 4:15 "because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression."
However, anyone who acts against their conscience will have to account for it one day.
-
Romans 2:12-16 "All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous. Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them on that day when God will judge the secrets of men according to my gospel, by Christ Jesus."
We must also remember that YAHWEH has his ways of communicating his presence to people all over the world. There are many instances where YAHWEH has revealed Himself to those who do not have the "normal" revelation of Scriptures through dreams and visions, and they are able to come to the knowledge and belief in YESHUA.
In the book of Romans, Paul pointed out the fact that the Lord will look at what people have done with their privileges and opportunities, and He will be completely impartial and fair. Those who have possessed His Word and the law of verses, will be held accountable for their response to it. Those who have never received any special revelation will be held accountable only for what they knew. Sheol will be a place of fair treatment. The Bible teaches that there will be different levels of punishment. Before anyone goes in, there will be a final judgment to determine the proper degree of punishment they will receive. The Lord will be perfectly fair.
-
Luke 12:46-48 “The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows. But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded."
Acceptance of YESHUA and repentance are requirements for the forgiveness of sins. Repentance is the act of sincerely regretting the sin of your past with the goal of not committing it again. It is the decision to turn away from wickedness and return to YAHWEH.
-
Luke 15:10 "In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents."
-
Luke 24:46-47 "And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem."
-
Acts 3:19 "Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,"
May the Holy Spirit guide you through the understanding of this message.