Five Points: II God's Plan

Last time we looked at the problem of sin and how, were God only a God of justice we would all be condemned to eternal damnation. At that point I remarked that, since God is also a God of love and mercy this is a problem for him as well. It is not his intention that the whole human race be wiped out. Even when he decided in the past that the wickedness of man was such that he would act against that sin he saved one family - Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives. At that time he set a rainbow in the sky, promising the world would never be destroyed again in the same way.

So, remembering what our wickedness has earned us in the sight of God it would be perfectly just for him to destroy us all. And, however few he decided to save would be a testament to his mercy and love. But that is not God's intention this time. The first destruction and subsequent events are designed to teach us that, such is sin, fear of destruction is not enough to restrain it in any way. In fact our nature is such that even the flood itself is denied along with all the evidence, clearly visible, of God's wrath against sin and his eternal Godhead and Divinity.

God determined that, this time, there would be some who would definitely be saved. Some who, as a result, would be holy and righteous; hating sin and seeking after God so that they might serve him faithfully. He planned to provide an atonement for their sins and also that they would be changed within so that sin would no longer have dominion over them. These he would gather, starting with an obscure man from Ur and, working through his family, would make his name known among the nations. They would be the ones who (though few in number to begin) would be distinct enough so the nations would be faced with his claim on them.

Because this was a matter of mercy, he determined that there would be nothing to distinguish those he chose to receive the atonement, from those who would be lost because they rejected it. As in the Garden of Eden, God determined our choices would have consequences. The details of this plan were in accordance with his justice and mercy - justice because all are as guilty as each other; and mercy in that his choice is made from the totally guilty without regard to any intrinsic worth in those chosen.

This plan we deduce from the way God has dealt with man since the fall and from the clear statements of the Apostles, especially Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans. God's choice becomes the ultimate reason why some will become children of God and some not. It's the ultimate reason because sin, as it did with Adam in the Garden of Eden, prevents any of us from seeking God, or confessing our sins or even accepting God's gracious provision for our salvation. Sin is rebellion and rebels do not make terms with the enemy. God knows this and has made provision in his plan even for that fact.

There is one final point which ought to be mentioned, though not able to be clearly proven from Scripture, the language with which the Kingdom of Heaven is described for our era leaves the impression that those to be ultimately saved do not represent a small number of mankind. This would be in accordance with God's mercy and justice especially as Romans 11:11-32 indicates. Though this may be true, our concern today is to remember that God did not ignore the problem of sin, he has made a plan, involving particular people, which will lead to the salvation of mankind. In the next few days we will consider that plan in more detail.