Is God a Socialist or a Fascist?

We read about elections for presidents, prime ministers and high dignitaries.  Recently Zimbabwe had their elections and earlier it was Mexico.  Whatever the outcome, some people are always dissatisfied.  The reason is that every person has his or her opinion.  Governments differ, they might be communist, fascist, socialist democratic, et cetera.  God’s government is completely different.  

#  What is God’s government like?  

God’s Kingdom will last eternally, so His type of government should be important to take note of.  Eternity is very long and God’s reign will be peaceful and loving.  How does He do it?  His planning is brilliant.  Look at some aspects: 

#  God’s citizens choose their government on this side of the grave.  

• There is now, and will be in eternity, only one King, one Bridegroom and one Councillor in God’s Kingdom.  That will never change.  People who don’t want to submit to them, may choose the alternative now, in this life.  
• God in His brilliance gave man the freedom to choose and be sifted now, not when His government is in operation.  In God’s Kingdom there will be no change of Government.  God will be the King eternally.  
• There will be no opportunity to vote for president, prime minister, or whatever type of ruler.  The voting pole closes for a human being when he or she dies
• In the coming ages, everything is ‘fixed’ eternally, ’The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city [New Jerusalem], and His servants [we, followers of Christ] will serve Him.’ ¹ 

#  All the citizens of God’s future Kingdom will love the Ruler.  

• Once again, people who don’t want to live under the Lord’s reign, are completely free to choose not to be part of God’s nation.  There is no force to love and obey the Lord.  
• The free will test will cause that all, not 85% or 99.9%, but 100% of the citizens of the future Kingdom of peace will love their Ruler.  That is the one requirement that will never change.  Why?  If people love their leaders they are happy with them and follow them.   
• God summarises love for your ruler, ‘This is love for God: to obey His commands.  And His commands are not burdensome.’ ²  Love and obedience will logically lead to a peaceful and harmonious nation.   
• In addition God gives us time in this life to learn to love and forgive others.  ‘Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.’ ³  Obviously no one who loves another will murder or harm him.

# Jesus is the One who enabled us to love the Lord. 

To love, obey and serve God, is only possible because our Bridegroom gave His life to change our hearts.  ‘He [God] saved us through the washing of rebirth [Jesus Christ] and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.’ ⁴

Conclusion

The Lord God Almighty, the Ruler of heaven, will rule with love, because, ‘He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just.  A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.’ ⁵  What a King!  No wonder His followers love Him, and will serve Him eternally.

References

1. Revelation 22:3  
2. 1 John 5:3  
3. 1 John 4:7-8  
4. Titus 3:5b-7
5. Deuteronomy 32:4

Mr Donald Trump’s unpardonable sin. Part 2

It is interesting to watch the efforts to dredge up as much dirt as possible on Mr Trump.  What about his ‘sins’ of the past?  Before judging too fast, let us look at the life of David, the king of Israel.  David united the nation, made Jerusalem the capital and successfully waged war against their enemies. 

Then he committed a grave sin: 

• He seduced the wife of one of his trusted soldiers.  She became pregnant. 
• He tried to cover it up.  He had her husband come home from the army to visit her.  When that failed, he organised it that her husband was killed. ¹

#  If there ever was a case for impeachment and jail, it was that. 

Watergate and other ‘scandals’ are nothing compared to David’s offences.  Look at the tragedies in his family: 

• His son Amnon raped his half sister Tamar and ruined her life. ²
• His son Absalom killed Amnon, fled, came back, conspired against his father and organised a coup.  Absalom was killed in the hostilities that followed. ³
• Then, nearing the end of his life, his son Adonijah tried to usurp the kingship.  God had chosen Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, to be the next king (the grace and mercy of God!). ⁴
• Beside that, David made a strategic blunder when he counted the nation.  It cost the nation 70,000 that died. ⁵

#  Talk about the failures of a king. 

• Yet, listen to what God says about him, ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ ⁶ 
• How did that come about, and what was it God wanted David to do?  God sent His prophet, Nathan, to confront David about his sin.  David repented. ⁷

#  Then David began with a work which we believe God intended for him. 

• He began the preparations to build the temple.  He did not build it, because God chose his son, Solomon, to do it. ⁸ 
• Yet David organised the Levites, the division of the priests, the singers, the gatekeepers. ⁹
• He got the plans for the temple from God. ¹⁰
• He collected massive amounts of gold, silver, bronze, wood and whatever was needed. ¹¹  He also encouraged the leaders to contribute.  No wonder God recommended David’s efforts on behalf of the temple, God’s House where He would put His Name and live among the Israelites.  

Conclusion

David is a vivid proof of how a person can be an instrument in God’s hands, even if he is far from perfect.  The reason is that Jesus died for our sins, so there is forgiveness if we confess them and turn away from them.  King David is an example of how God takes a terrible mistake and turns it around.  That applies to all people, even to Mr Trump.

References

1. 2 Samuel 11  
2. 2 Samuel 13  
3. 2 Samuel 14-15, 17-18  
4. 1 Kings 1  
5. 2 Samuel 24  
6. Acts 13:22  
7. 2 Samuel 12; Psalm 32, Psalm 51  
8. 1 Chronicles 22  
9. 1 Chronicles 23-26  
10. 1 Chronicles 28  
11. 1 Chronicles 29

Suicide and Salvation

SuiOne of the grim realities of life is suicide.

• According to statistics, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally, for all ages.
• According to the World Health Organisation, nearly one million people die yearly from suicide.
• According to Centres for Disease Control, an average of one person dies by suicide every 15 minutes. ¹

Sometimes it is a person that you didn’t expect it of, like the actor, Robin Williams. Sometimes it is a committed believer. He or she was part of God’s family, saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. Many families have been devastated when a parent or child committed suicide. What triggered them to such despair that they decided to end it all in a moment of deep anguish?

When we want to comfort the bereaved relatives, should we be like Job’s friends? Should we follow the example of  his miserable supporters and explain ‘wisely,’ that a person who murdered him or herself won’t be in heaven?

Do we have to be so cruel as to condemn without insight? Do we have the right to add to the agony of the family? Of course not. That would compound their grief and might cause alienation. As far as we are concerned, we doubt if God gave us the right to judge or make pronouncements about the eternal destination of a person who committed suicide.

We don’t have insight into a person’s spirit. Can we understand the despair of people in certain situations, like the loss of a spouse or some terrible tragedy? It is doubtful. Only God is omniscient. We are not. Eventually only God knows all the details. Fortunately He is fair. He knows what happened, and He is the Righteous Judge.

However, we believe there are guidelines concerning eternal destinations:

• What was the person’s relationship with Jesus before death?  This is important, since God established a rule: we decide our position in eternity here, in the now. If a person is a lover of God here, we can expect that he will be with God eternally and still love Him. If a person is saved and lives a holy life here, we can expect that he should be with God in eternity.
• What about a person that seemed to have no relationship with God? We might come to a fixed conclusion, but then again, what might have happened at the final hour? Look at the thief on the cross. ² At the very last he realised who Jesus is, and that insight brought him eternal happiness in the presence of God.

Conclusion

Deciding the eternal destination of someone who committed suicide is, as far as we are concerned, not within the scope of humans. That belongs to our Lord God Almighty, who knows man’s heart. At the final judgement we will probably know. Until then, it is advisable to keep our opinions safely to ourselves and not compound the grief of people who lost a relative or friend who decided to end it all.

References

1. Erin Gilmer, Health as a Human Right, May 23, 2011.
2. Luke 23:39-43.