The Appearance of Inconsistency of God's Grace

The appearance of inconsistency on the part of God's grace that gives some people trouble, as well as everyone else who ever questions any of the statements of God is something that we may never fully understand. Why God has placed restrictions or requirements upon people is not for me to say. "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever. (Deut 29:29).

We see a case where people are not willing to accept God's teaching, but in effect appear to be questioning God's judgement. Whether you believe me or not, I also have questioned in my mind the apparent inconsistencies of this doctrine in comparison to God's teachings concerning grace.

But the difference between many is obvious. Some follow the instructions that Paul gave to Timothy. PREACH THE WORD…. 2 Tim 4:2. What we are not to teach is opinions or thoughts of our own desires or understanding, or the things that would tickle the ears of men. Every preacher has an obligation to preach the word whether they believe it or not or whether they agree with it or not. Whether it makes sense to them or not. All faithful preachers and teachers are compelled to speak the truth to every soul.

We have no problem telling people they need to be baptized when it appears foolish to them to do such a thing. Why? It is because we do not question the things that appear foolish, because we know that God instructed us to teach these things. It is one of those things that we do by faith. When people challenge that teaching by quoting passages describing faith and the apparent lack of works, we go to various measures to emphasize the acceptance of ALL that God has said. We should never rely upon one passage that supports our teaching when other passages obviously teach otherwise.

To question is human, to challenge God is foolishness, and to teach things contrary to the written word is false teaching, and false teaching will cause people to lose their souls. Those who preach the error, and those who follow the error.

Rather than be honest and declare "I DON’T KNOW", we reason around obvious scriptures and teach things in order to make it logical to us. Read the teaching of Paul from 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, and 1 Corinthians 3:18-23. The things of God appear to be foolishness to men.

Some do not want to appear foolish, so they want to teach things that harmonize in their own minds. It appears that we will not be satisfied with our lack of understanding until we can reconcile in our own minds the deep meanings of God. Until such time, we will question it and challenge others to think and explain. It even gets down to making accusations of one or many being a false teacher.

The bottom line is that we are to teach and preach the word of God in it's purity and completeness. We are to declare the whole council of God. And if that makes us an enemy of man, then so be it. I would much rather be on the Lord's side than in the favor of men by my teachings. Oh, that all of us would take a stand for the Lord and declare His truths, no matter the cost.

By Carey Scott

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