It is not our intellect or religion that brings us to the divine, it is God himself who pierces the heart.

We know this to be true, don’t we? Still, there is something about this that we reject. I’ve been going round and round with the question and keep coming to the same conclusion, the one that Bob pointed out to me.

Exodus 33:19b And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Now, this smacks of predestination of the elect. In fact, it is unavoidable if we want to rationally explain the bible. Either our bible is true, or it isn’t. Or, maybe it is true for some people and not others. Maybe there is another bible out there that is just as valid except written for other people. So, if there indeed is an absolute truth and the bible is it, then we should be able to rely on it.

With regard to Abraham, I wondered if there wasn’t something out there that pointed to Jesus, even though Abraham hadn’t met him. Indeed, there is in the account of Genesis:

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Abraham would have known this story. In fact, it is likely that everyone had heard it way back then. So, it is reasonable to conclude that he did, therefore, have faith in the Christ to come and, thus, saving faith. After all, if the bible is true, all mankind came from the same family tree.

But, it is reasonable to also conclude that the story may have been completely lost to remote peoples. Maybe so. Still, we are faced with Romans 1:7b, “so they are without excuse,” and Romans 3:10b-11, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks God.” So, if that truly is the case, then every single person is destined for a judgment of eternal destruction.

So then, how will anyone be saved?

Matthew 19:25-26 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Doesn’t that make it possible for God to grant righteousness to someone who has never heard of Jesus? Certainly, except for the fact that he wrote something completely different in the bible. We can’t have both be true. Unfortunately, most people conclude that the bible must have errors. The ramifications of this are incomprehensible.

I think we are asking the wrong question to all of this. Better still, we are coming at it with the wrong presumption. More tomorrow.

Father, please explain this one. We are eager to know the truth. Amen.

Copyright © 2017 Scott Powers