9/11

 “On this very night those years ago

We went to bed without a care in the world

Our lives were normal, our nation tall

We had no idea what was about to befall.

The day dawned crisp and bright and new

No one noticed the dastardly few

They slunk throughout our airport gates

Full of bitter, dark, revolting hate

While we went about our normal day

The dark cloud of hate accosted our way

Our towers flamed, our planes went down

We fell with weeping to the ground 

Our nation reeled from what was done 

We rose from the rubble united as one

We vowed to track the devils down

To never forget those hallowed grounds” 

How Can a Good God Send People to Hell?

 The most terrifying truth from scripture: God is good.

Why? Because we are not good. (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 53:6)

And what is a good God to do with evil-loving, righteousness-hating people?

God is righteous and because He is righteous He must love.

God is love and therefore He must hate. Ex: Do you love Jews? Yes? Then you must hate the holocaust. Do you love trafficked, tortured children? Then you must feel something toward their captors. If you can be dispassionate in the view of such evil then you yourself are vile - the only right response to such evil is righteous indignation.

Therefore, a good and loving God must punish sin.

But the good news? There is hope! “We have trespassed against our God… yet now there is hope… concerning this thing.” “ - Ezra 10:2 What hope? John writes in 1 John 1:9 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is not a “I hope the weather is nice tomorrow” kind of hope. This is a certain and sure hope. Psalm 130:7 says  “Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption”

Excerpts taken from “Romans 3” Paul Washer