Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
What did He say thereafter? Depart from me, I never knew you.
Because the "works" were not done in His name. IN LOVE.
God is Love.
The "works" were not done IN love.
Again think of the person having compassion for another and showing them love and mercy from the selfless love that is in their hearts -- This is done in God's name. This is done in LOVE.
Then there is a person who is doing things for others out of a selfishness in his heart, expecting "rewards in heaven" or what have you. --This is not love.
This verse has not a thing to do with some "eternal destiny"!
"Into the eternal fire". - GOD IS ETERNAL. GOD IS THE FIRE.
When the NON-LOVE within you is confronted FACE-to FACE with LOVE...
Do I need to go on and explain this picture?? Think about it.
WHAT is being destroyed? YOU? or the non-love within.
God is showing a very clear truth here. This verse is for our benefit so we will LEARN. It is helping us to SEE something that we NEED TO SEE. So many think they know God. But do they truly know Him? How can they truly know Him, know WHO He is if they blaspheme Him by telling others that He will torture them. Or banish them away forever. If that is what they believe, then they clearly do not know the very nature of God. who IS love.
God is love.
"DEPART FROM ME." is not callous in the least. It is loving instruction. It is said to cause the person to REFLECT on the motivations of their HEART. It is said to us TODAY even, as we read it in the bible as a GUIDE. When you read it and are CONVICTED in your own heart of your own selfish motivations.... it is teaching us TODAY and it will teach us in the future.
How would it be seen as callous? The ONLY way you could see it as being callous and NOT being said out of love... is if God were just snuffing out people like an old cigarette (annihilation) or the most ridiculous thing mankind has EVER imagined: throwing people into some endless, mindless, merciless torture pit. Which is, of course, a wicked, vile anti-christ notion.
GOD IS LOVE.
It is an IMPOSSIBILITY..... read that again.. an IMPOSSIBILITY for God to do anything that is not OUT of LOVE. GOD **IS** LOVE. When you view everything through the lens of "GOD IS LOVE" you will understand the seemingly harsh words. Instead of the wicked imaginations of MAN that dream up "destruction" as humans being tortured mercilessly, endlessly you will see "destruction" in the correct way... those things within us (non-love) that are being DESTROYED. You can see many things TWO ways, in a loving way or in a non-loving (NON-GOD) way... When you view something in a non-God (non-loving) way... you will see all manner of disgustingness. The imagination knows no bounds.
Start looking at things through a GODLY (LOVE) way. And see what that does to your understanding and confusion. God is not the author of confusion. LOVE is not the author of confusion. think about that.
peace,
sparrow
The same Bible which speaks of God's love also speaks of His holiness. God is not merely love. He is also righteous and just. And it is just and necessary for God to eternally punish those who reject His offer of eternal salvation. He cannot compromise or deny any facet of His perfect character. If truth matters to you at all then you cannot pick and choose those parts of the word of God that you wish to believe while rejecting the parts you don't like.
Matt. 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Matt. 25:45 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Daniel 12:2 "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.
John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29] and will come forth; those who did the good to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil to a resurrection of judgment.
The contrast is between eternal life and eternal punishment, disgrace, and contempt. Unbelievers will undergo the same punishment as Satan and the fallen angels.
I don't have an issue with Jesus calling someone out on doing something wrong. But even to the prostitute who probably committed adultery with 100 men He said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more". I don't think a more beautiful admonishment exists in the Bible. So where is such beauty for people whose only crime is doing things with less than honorable intentions?
Which is why I have my doubts about the Sermon on the Mount in general. We have to believe that either Matthew (and the gospel likely was NOT written by THE Matthew, the publican, but by someone anonymous or named Matthew) sat and laboriously transcribed as quickly as Jesus spoke, or had the Holy Spirit literally dictating to him (highly improbable) decades later after he'd either forgotten every single word, or was never even present to begin with as is the case with Luke. From a critical point of view much of this just does not make any sense as to how it all came about. People, however, are happy to close their eyes to any discriminate thinking about the matter and just accept on blind faith that all this came about "magically" without a hitch.
Well this debate is rather pointless/trivial between us then since we'd be coming from entirely different perspectives on inspiration / superintention, canonicity, authorship, and whole host of other related issues.
Once you start just stripping out the various parts you don't like (as has been done repeatedly through history - e.g. Jefferson, higher criticism, Bultmann, Jesus Seminar, etc.), one often ends up with a Bible that reflects their own mores and/or culture.
What this really comes down to thrillobyte is the heart. There is a very good reason why those who believe in eternal torment translate and believe scripture like they do.
It's just part of the natural man, the corrupt tree within, that is still bearing bad fruit.
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
The same Bible which speaks of God's love also speaks of His holiness. God is not merely love.
(bolded and underlined for emphasis.)
Quote:
God is not merely love.
God IS love.
Basically, Mike555 you are saying: "God is not merely God"
You say that God is not entirely love.
you are saying that God is not entirely God.
Your statement makes no sense.
Everything that God does is LOVE.
God's "justice" is rooted in nothing BUT love.
There isn't GOD LOVE and GOD JUSTICE.
They are all together one thing.
What this really comes down to thrillobyte is the heart. There is a very good reason why those who believe in eternal torment translate and believe scripture like they do.
It's just part of the natural man, the corrupt tree within, that is still bearing bad fruit.
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
The belief in it is rooted in fear, and the belief that sin over abounds over grace.
Basically, Mike555 you are saying: "God is not merely God"
You say that God is not entirely love.
you are saying that God is not entirely God.
Your statement makes no sense.
Everything that God does is LOVE.
God's "justice" is rooted in nothing BUT love.
There isn't GOD LOVE and GOD JUSTICE.
They are all together one thing.
God is also just, and wrathful. All at the same time.
You say "also".
Please explain. How is God's justice separate or apart from love?
He is God. He is loving, just, wrathful, good, merciful, and patient.
He is just, in that he must punish sin. He is loving in that he payed the penalty for the sin himself--and that anyone that trusts in Christ's attoning sacrifice for his sin is forgiven.
God is also just, and wrathful. All at the same time.
God is just and thank God that He IS. Heavens peace and perfect justice kissed a guilty world in love.
Judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful, the belief in eternal torment leaves you void of the same mercy shown to you that you should show towards others, in other words show the world the same mercy you have been shown Mercy triumphs over judgment! James 2:13.
Nowhere in scripture does it say God IS Wrath.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
