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Въпросът за наказанието – Част II

Въпросът за наказанието – Част II

И така, ако Бог не налага активно наказания, болка, страдание и смърт на нечестивите, тогава как постъпва с тях?

Какво прави с онези, които са заразени с грях и отказват да Му позволят да ги изцели? Какво бихте направили като майка на вашето дете, умиращо от левкемия, което категорично отказва трансплантация от костния ви мозък? Не бихте ли уважили неговия избор? Не бихте ли го „пуснали“?  И ако го направите, какво ще се случи? Бихте ли измъчвали детето си? Бихте ли го убили? Не! Но дали то ви ще страда и ще умре? Да. Защо? Заради собственото си болестно състояние и поради отказа си да бъде излекувано. Точно това казва Библията.

В Римляни 1:18-31 четем, че Божият гняв се разкрива срещу нечестието и безбожието и след това ни казва три пъти в стихове 24, 26, 28 точно какво прави Бог за това, че някои Го отхвърлят и не Го допускат в живота си. Прави нещо конкретно. Бог „ги пуска“. „Отстъпва“ пред техния избор, уважава го. Точно както един любящ родител в крайна сметка ще отстъпи пред избора на своето пълнолетно дете, което отказва лечение, така и Бог „оставя“ децата Си, които отказват Неговото лечение. Това е Божият гняв.

„Няма вярност, нито милост, нито знание за Бога по земята (…) Людете Ми загиват, защото не Ме познават; вината е ваша, свещеници, защото самите вие не желаете да Ме познавате (…) Разменихте Божията слава за позора на идолите” (перифраза по Осия 4:1,6-7).

Защо загиват? Като се отделят от Бога, като не Го познават, те се откъсват от кръга на любовта, от закона на живота, който произлиза от Бога, което води до разруха и смърт.

„Защото огън се накладе в гнева Ми и ще пламне дори до най-дълбокия ад; ще пояде земята с произведенията й и ще изгори основите на планините. Ще натрупам на тях зло; всичките Си стрели ще изхвърля върху тях“ (Второзаконие 32:22-23 )

Обърнете внимание на силните думи на Бога! Но какво всъщност прави Той? Библията казва: „О да бяха мъдри, да разбират това, да смисляха сетнината си! Как би могъл един да прогони хиляда и двама да обърнат в бяг десет хиляди, ако Канарата им не би ги предала и Господ не би ги предал!“ (Второзаконие 32:29-30)

Забележете отново, че Божият гняв ги „предава“ („оставя“, „пуска“) точно както всеки родител би направил за дете, което упорито настоява да го напусне.

„Защото Го разгневяваха с високите си места и с ваяните си идоли Го подбуждаха към ревност (…) Тъй че напусна скинията в Сило, шатъра, който бе поставил между човеците, и предаде на пленение силата Си, славата Си в неприятелска ръка“ (Псалми 78: 58-61).

„Ще излея негодуванието Си върху теб, с огнения Си гняв ще духна върху теб и ще те предам в ръцете на скотски мъже, които са способни да погубят“  (Йезекиил 21:31).

Забележeтe отново силния Божи език. Но какво всъщност прави Бог? Какво е Божият гняв? Той ги изоставя поради техния собствен избор. Пуска ги. Позволява им да имат свой собствен път. Предава ги на техния избор. Не е нужно Бог да нанася наказанието, защото грехът ни отделя от Него – Извора на живота – и автоматично води до разруха и смърт.

Един от основателите на моята църква през XIX век, осъзнава същите тези истини и стига до същите изводи, като го изразява много силно: “Ние не трябва да гледаме на Бога като на чакащ да накаже грешника за греха му. Грешникът сам донася наказанието върху себе си. Неговите собствени действия започват да създават множество обстоятелства, които дават сигурен резултат. Всеки акт на прегрешение рефлектира върху грешника, променя характера му и прави по-лесно за него да съгреши отново. Като избират да грешат, хората се отделят от Бога, откъсват се от канала на благословението, а сигурен резултат от това са разрухата и смъртта” (Уайт, Е. Избрани вести. Т.1, стр.235 – англ. издание).

„При започването на великата борба Сатана заявява, че Божият закон не може да бъде спазван, че справедливостта е несъвместима с милостта и че ако бъде нарушен законът, грешникът няма да може да бъде помилван. Всеки грях трябва да получи наказанието си, призовава лукавият; и ако Бог отмени наказанието за греха, няма да бъде Бог на истината и справедливостта“ (Уайт, Е. Копнежът на вековете. Стр. 762 – англ. издание).

Забележете, че библейските доказателства по-горе разкриват, че Бог не налага наказание върху нечестивите. Тяхното собствено състояние ги отделя от Бога и ги води до разруха и смърт. Християнският автор по-горе заключава, че онези, които казват: “… всеки грях трябва да получи наказанието си и ако Бог трябва да отмени наказанието за греха, той не е Бог на истината и справедливостта”, насърчават евангелието на Сатана, неговите аргументи, неправилното характеризиране на Бог от негова страна.

Добре, ако Бог не трябва да използва силата Си, за да налага наказания; ако действително използва Своята мощ, за да възпрепятства разрушителното действие на греха и в крайна сметка просто „пуска“/„оставя“ грешниците да умрат в резултат на собственото им заразено състояние и избор, тогава как да разбираме всички текстове в Библията, които говорят за огън, сяра, ад, изгаряне и т.н.?

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Testimony 44

We were given a gift of the DVD set, “God and Your Brain,” and we just finished watching it. The truths in this are so powerful and truly an answer to a prayer. We’re seeing hope where once we thought God wasn’t answering our prayers to be free of certain mindsets. He answered with these DVDs and we are hungry for more. Thank you!

Daniel T., Easley, SC, USA

 

Testimony 28

I have been following your Bible study class for about a year now. I must say I am impressed with how your ministry has grown. I took it upon myself to listen to all your lesson podcasts from the past and they have both enriched me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have learnt a lot from this class. I have also noticed how the class has grown in spiritual strength. One of the things that benefited me is that now I am not afraid of God. I use to be, but now it has melted away. The second thing is that you helped me to have a real life relationship with God. Now He is my friend that was always there and I love having him with me all the time. Thirdly, because of this class, it inspired me to take over and lead a class. I have called it “Let Us Reason Together,” adapting your inquisitive style and creating a class of free thinkers.

T. Banda, Malawi, Africa

 

Testimony 32

The message [of Come And Reason Ministries is] for all Christians (and those who may become Christians) and not just Adventists or any other group. It is difficult to imagine why any [anyone] with intellectual and spiritual honesty could find fault with the way you explained the healing substitution concepts and the truth about God’s character, though I know some will reject and criticize. On behalf of those in our group near Tacoma, WA, thank you and your staff for all of the hard work and for sharing the Gospel in this manner. God’s message of healing love will be carried to the whole world and then Jesus will come – He promised it.

Terry U., Tacoma, WA, USA

 

Testimony 60

Just watched watched lesson 10 in the 1st quarter 2021 bible study classs on Isaiah. I want to thank you for your intellectual spirituality; it’s not an oxymoron! From the point of view of a teacher I also enjoy seeing how much personal pleasure you clearly take in not just tasting, but feasting on God’s word – it reminds me of Jeremiah not being able to hold it in! It makes me smile that your cup is so full and overflowing that you make it to Tuesday’s lesson (on a good day). It just goes to show the richness of God’s Word.

God bless the Come and Reason Team from our church here in Great Britain.

Andrew H., Great Britain

 

Testimony 39

[This ministry is the] biggest blessing I have ever received! Your DVDs and lessons could not have come at a better time in my life. I have experienced in the past year many difficulties that, if it wasn’t for this wonderful view of God that I have discovered through this ministry, I would not have been able to respond in love and forgiveness. My heart is being transformed everyday by the Calvary-looking God you teach. Hallelujah!! I have tears in my eyes as I write, because my life has taken a complete turn from where I was heading.

I am from Central America. Most of my family is scattered in different parts of the world and all have the same view of God that I had growing up; a distant, exacting, and ready-to-punish-us-with-tragedy type of God. So, I have been translating lessons for my family and, to my surprise, they have also been sharing them with others! I can already see the difference. My brother has often said, “Thank you for sharing, I have never heard it this way!” My other family members are taking an amazing turn from a message of “repent or burn” towards a loving God, pleading to us that we won’t reject him because he loves us eternally.

Bless you for all you do.

Sofia S., Ashfield, MA, USA

 

Testimony 18

The Healing the Mind DVD set tarted me on a journey that has changed my relationship with our loving God more significantly than any other study, and brought me to your book and Bible study podcasts, which I now listen to daily, thanks to the availability of archived content on your site and on iTunes.

Anonymous

 

Testimony 51

I Love This Ministry!!!!!!! I see first hand how this message is desperately needed, how erroneous beliefs about God and His Character negatively affect humanity at every level. I thank God for your ministry, as I was searching on my own and was discovering some of your same beliefs and was blown away when I found your ministry. I know you hear it all the time, but it is truly life changing. May God continue to reveal His Will to you and Bless you!

Eric S., Sanford, FL, USA

 

Testimony 29

Thank you for all of your work to correct misconceptions about God’s character. So many people that my husband and I have talked to seem to be against the natural law construct and view it as “errant” and “dangerous.” Having learned more about it through your blogs and lessons, I don’t really understand why they view it that way, except that it means they have to relearn theology they have known for their entire lives. But I’m so excited to relearn this. For the past few years I have been questioning how I could trust a God who punishes arbitrarily and is full of wrath for those who don’t obey His commands. That view made me afraid to “mess up” or “not be good enough,” even within my relationship with God. I really appreciated the point you bring out about God not wanting us to serve Him because we are afraid, but because we love Him.

Melissa H., IN, USA

 

Testimony 46

Over the past couple of years God has been expanding my view of Himself and His character. Along my approximately 40-year journey, I have often had questions, but was hesitant to voice these and step outside the traditionally accepted thinking, for fear of admitting that I may in fact be eternally lost. In the recesses of my thinking has been the thought – if one blindly accepts (which is widely regarded as “real faith”) and does not question, is this really ‘truth?’ I often find it challenging to grapple with very theological ‘speak,’ but Dr. Jennings has a real gift of explaining spiritual concepts with clear practical examples. The weekly discussions are growing my Christian experience and slowly changing my view of how to live as a child of God in today’s complex world. Finally the whole Old Testament sanctuary teaching moved in my mind from fantasy to reality!

Beverly S., South Africa

 

Testimony 58

I have been watching your videos in The Power of Love seminar and I must say these have liberated me and have improved my relationship with the Lord. I am no longer terrified of him as I was before following your teachings.

Thando N., South Africa

 

Testimony 7

Ok, so last night I listened to “The Law of Liberty” and “How to Achieve Victory: Freedom, Truth and Spirtual Warfare.” These are both MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES so far! The logic is just soooooo beautiful. I had to re-listen to them a couple of times. I just want to EXPLODE! (<< we assume with joy and happiness)

N. B., Canada

 

Testimony 33

I was invited over a friend’s house to see the “God and Your Brain” seminar today. I became [a christian] 36 years ago at the age of 19, but have struggled with the concept of God taking His ‘pound of flesh’ out on His Son to be appeased. Wow. Your seminar has been an incredible revelation and breath of reason and fresh air! I have your book, “The God Shaped Brain,” and it is SO eye opening. Finally, after 36 years enlightenment has come! Praise the Good Lord! What can I say, but that the Real Gospel is truly “Good News!” Thank you for your efforts in giving the Gospel a clear sound!

Paul C.,  Springfield, MA, USA

 

Testimony 47

I can’t even begin to thank you and your ministry enough for introducing me to the Truth about a loving and merciful God! I have my daughter and her in-laws to thank for sharing with me “The God-Shaped Brain” as well as your website. I listen to the Bible study class lessons on my daily walk. May God continue to bless your thirst-quenching ministry!

Liz H., Port Angeles, WA, USA

 

 

Testimony 21

I am absolutly on fire with the message at Come and Reason! I can’t get enough! I’ve read your book, blog, and articles. I’ve listened to your Bible study podcasts, your radio show, and your series – all excellent! It wasn’t until the past couple of years that I have I like I’m becoming “healthy,” with more to share with others than just beasts and commandments! I used to be a Bible worker and preached when the pastors were gone until I had had enough. I didnt realize at the time what the problem was, but i know now… the message wasn’t properly focused. Now my flame is rekindled. All of your little examples are so perfect in explaining something “complicated” and making it easily understood! Now I’m trying to shape it into a life changing evangelistic series! Thank you!

M.T., USA

 

Testimony 55

I was born [into the church], then I left it for many years. 10 years ago, I came back, but I could not take the hypocrisy and the lack of answers to the missing pieces. I struggled, but I did not abandon my commitment to know the truth. God is leading me to the simple understanding of his relevance and I am relearning what the church taught me as a youth… that he loves me, that he has led me to a knowledge of him such as I have never known. He is using Dr. Jennings to connect the dots that are now so apparent and hiding in plain sight!

Dean P., Arlington, TX, USA