Huh?
Did I just tell God to sit over there? Why wouldn't I want him to sit with me? Well, because he likes to hurt people in the name of his goodness. It's one of the things we will talk about on this blog site.
So you hate God?
No. Where did I say that? God is God. We could even say that God is good -- if we let him define what good means. It certainly does NOT mean what you and I think it means. If you are good, in my opinion, then you won't hurt people. God certainly hurts people. But in God's goodness the outcome, in his eyes, is desirable. Therefore, in his eyes, it is good.
After all:
And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose -- Romans 8:28
Defining a few parameters
One thing to keep in mind as we talk -- and I'll repeat this from time to time -- is that there are many different sects in Christianity (not to mention outside of Christianity, but for these talks let's stick within the bounds of Christianity) and there are some fundamental differences even within Christianity. We have sects that believe that God has purposed all things and, while not so much your every step and decision, God drives your desires and motives toward his goals. It is irresistible. While he won't make you do a thing, he influences it in such a way as to make you want it so very much.
On the other hand there are sects that teach that you have complete and total free will. God doesn't force you -- or influence you -- to choose him, his path for you, or to have any desires that he thinks are best for you. He offers and you are smart enough to choose -- maybe.
These discussions are not going to be so much about these differences, and all the differences in between these, but rather I'm simply going to blog about the way that I see it, the way that I feel it, the interpretation I have for it. You can do with that what you will. You can respond how you wish. Please know that if you want to engage in intelligent discourse, then I'm all in. If you want to go all apologetic on me, then I may play but I'll likely tire of you. And if you want to simply chastise me, I'll delete you and your words faster than...well, almost as fast as God said "Let there be light" and there was light. I've got no compassion for you if you are so high and mighty as to tell me what I should do and where you think I'm going. You just may beat me there. But then, I'm not going there, so you'll be quite lonely.
Who am I in Christ?
Am I saved? Yes, I know I am. The bible says that if I call upon the name of Christ as my Savior then I will be saved.
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” -- Acts 16:31
because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -- Romans 10:9
I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Boom. I confessed with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus is Lord and that he was raised from the dead. Boom.
Now, God, go sit on the other side of the room.
I also believe -- which will put about a third of you in high and mighty mode -- that once a believer is saved he is always saved. I believe, and can show scripture for, that once saved I am no longer my own (God owns me) and that I am in his hand and he will not let me go. I am also sealed with the Holy Spirit with a guarantee of redemption. That's some pretty solid stuff there. You going out and finding a single verse in Hebrews that seems to talk about losing salvation is not going to negate these truths. So I'm OK in my salvation and can stretch these boundaries a bit to explore the darker side of God that no preacher in any pulpit would have the guts to tell his congregation.
Oh, and to help your high and mighty mind just a little, try this one on for size:
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. -- Matthew 12:32
In fact, I was forgiven of every sin that I ever have or ever will commit when I accepted Jesus as my Lord. And nothing that you can say will change that.
With that in mind -- my salvation, that God has traits that your pastor hasn't and won't speak about, and that nothing you can do will change any of this -- let's go do a deep dive into scripture and see what we can see when we swim over there -- yeah, over where your pastor told you not to be. But we will be in scripture -- not in "man makes this up" mode. Everything taken from scripture, upheld by other scripture (usually), and irrefutable (unless you want a religion that has to write a book to redefine what a single verse has to say).