By now you have probably been in a conversation, seen in writing, or been in a discussion where that idea has been mentioned. it is a favorite of unbelievers as in their minds, that idea justifies their decision to reject Jesus as their Savior and God as real.
We will only use one example here to support that statement but you can find this topic discussed anywhere on the internet God is talked about. it comes from Meerkat Musings and found at this link.
Is the wholesale slaughter of an entire people ever moral, least of all of children? I’ve seen the answer ‘God works in mysterious ways’.
Some acts are definitively ‘bad’ and some are considered so virtuous they are holy. However, some of the acts carried out by (or commanded by) God in the Bible are extremely violent. God is considered incapable of sin and is utterly pure – a yardstick of morality – yet acts like those found in 1 Samuel 15:2-3 test our sense of morality, don’t they?
This is, as are all similar points of view, a bit unfair and cherry-picking the example to make sure one does not find the truth of why God acted in the way that he did.
In other words, the authors of such ideas and accusations have drawn a conclusion then went looking for verses to support their pre-drawn conclusion. An act unbelievers condemn Christians of doing when talking about creation and other biblical events.
We could spend time pointing out the words in those quotes, for example, ‘our sense of morality’ and so on but that is not the point of this article. What is the point of this article is to highlight key passages that show the side of God that unbelievers do not want to see.
If they see this side of God then they cannot stand in judgment of God nor think they are as moral, or better, as a Christian or God is. When they see this side of God, they have to re-evaluate their thinking, their lives, and the reality of God, heaven, and hell.
What follows are those passages of scripture that present a better picture of God and puts his actions into a new light:
#1. Genesis 6:3– Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not [b]strive with man forever, [c]because he also is flesh; [d]nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
Here God delayed the flood by 120 years. Not only to give Noah and his sons time to build the ark but a chance for the people to repent of their sins and be saved.
We mentioned in one of our books that not one parent, brother or sister, aunt, uncle, grandparent, and so on went to Noah and begged the family to take their babies, young children, etc. on the ark.
It was not God who killed them in a murderous act to fulfill some blood lust. But their adherence to evil at all levels that made their decision.
#2. Genesis 14:18– And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of [s]God Most High
Even before Christ came to earth, God had a righteous and holy representative on earth, even a king of an important city, so that all men at that time would know of God and his ways.
#3. Jeremiah 25:4– And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear,
God continues to send people to warn his creation and to get them to turn from their sinful ways. He did it throughout the OT, the NT, and into the modern age.
#4. Jonah 3:10– When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would [e]bring upon them. And He did not do it.
If God was a murderer he would not send warnings to people like the Assyrians. He would have just killed them for no reason. Nor would he relent and would carry out his threat even if the people did repent and change.
#5. Luke 11:49– For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute
He continually sends these messengers knowing already how they will be treated and rejected.
#6. Revelation 2 & 3– He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’
Those words are repeated throughout those two chapters along with different promises. If God was a murderer he would not make such promises. Nor would he send his son to be the ultimate sacrifice to save his creation from destruction.
God is more moral than the unbeliever as the latter has no plan of salvation, no eternal home to share, and no power over death, evil, and so on. If they do, the unbeliever certainly isn’t sharing that authority with anyone. That selfishness would still make them more immoral than they claim God to be.
What unbelievers do is ignore the fact that God has the right and the authority to punish those who disobey. The so-called acts of ‘murder’ claimed by the unbeliever are not murder at all, but God dispensing holy justice upon those who will never repent.
Until they die just about everyone has the opportunity to repent of their sins and avoid destruction. The question is, will they do it or not? If they are thinking of going with the rejection answer, it is best if they see the full picture of God before making that final decision.
Making a decision using misinformation is neither smart nor wise. We encourage our readers to dig into scriptures more and do an honest search for all sides of God so they know who they are rejecting and who he really is.
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