Does God have problems He has to solve? Are any of them difficult for Him, as problems are for us? He has one huge one--the rebellion of sin in His universe. You may say, "He is infinite, omnipotent; He can just zap His enemies and His problems are solved!"
But wait a moment: He can't do that unless He rules as a divine Autocrat, and in the process becomes "Satan" redivivus. For example, His people Israel were being cruelly enslaved in Egypt. How can He deliver them? Zap the Egyptians? No; He must go through a long, wearying process of sending ten plagues on Pharaoh; He must carry world opinion with Him. Most of all, God must make it clear to His own people Israel that He alone is their Savior, their Deliverer, or their hearts can never be truly reconciled to Him.
If they retain any sense of self-salvation, sin will still rule in their hearts. Even one percent of salvation by their own works will nullify the power of His Gospel as surely as one percent of arsenic mixed into a good dinner will spoil it.
But that lethal "one percent" (or more!) got mixed in at Mount Sinai when the people themselves wanted to invent the Old Covenant: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do" (Ex. 19:8). We helped You deliver us from Egyptian slavery! Even if we didn't, we WILL do our part in this "bargain," this "deal," this transaction of Your Covenant. We'll sign on the dotted line! You can count on us, Lord!
All through Israel's long history this Old Covenant mentality predominated. After each revival and reformation it finally drove them to reject and crucify their Savior.
Now, does God have a problem with His church? The prophecies of Daniel, of Revelation, of Jesus in Matthew 24, of Paul in Acts 20 and 2 Thessalonians 2, all tell us "Yes!" The great Enemy who misled ancient Israel is still active. "Take heed that no man deceive you," says Jesus. "After my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock," "there [shall] come a falling away, ... and that man of sin be revealed, ... who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God," says Paul.
And again, the issue is self-righteousness. Theologians feel they must worm in that principle of salvation by works, in some way. They just can't have a Savior doing ALL the saving! Can you?
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
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