The original post was on how to deal with unbelievers rejection of God based upon God's judgment in the flood found in Genesis 6. The author said that his friends had said they couldn't believe in the God of the bible because of the violence of the flood. That their god was loving and merciful.
Here is the introductory statement of the author Zack Eswine from his blog.
Why do some of our neighbors doubt the God of the Bible and what responsibility do we have toward them in this doubt? In response to a thoughtful inquiry regarding my post on how we think about the violence of God, I tried to answer this question. How would you answer?
Here is the inquiry: I had said that the violence of God in Genesis 6 challenged me. “It challenged me because I know that two dear friends of mine reject the God of the Bible because of this very passage and others like it.”
The good question then came:
Do you think that they reject the God of the Bible because of passages like this or is it because God is holy? Perhaps it has more to do with the fact that had they lived in this time, they would have been judged too.
I am of the opinion that the unbeliever in that situation is not offended by the so-called violence of God but rather His holiness.
The entire point of Genesis 6 is to show God’s love and mercy, but the love and mercy of God is not seen without God’s holiness and wrath. God’s holiness is the jewel of His attributes. God’s wrath was kindled because of sin and God’s mercy was displayed in salvation from God’s justice.
Let me put it this way. YOU are Noah. You know that the flood is coming by God’s word. You know that the only way for your friends to live is to repent, believe, and be in the ark when the flood comes. So when you tell them about the flood, they laugh and don’t believe God would be so ‘violent’ as to send destruction on them, their god is loving. What do you do? After 100 years, no doubt the warning of God’s judgment was trite to the unbelieving neighbors but the reality of the situation was no less true. God’s love and mercy was that He provided a way of escape, salvation.
Our situation is really not any different than Noah’s, judgment is coming and there is salvation in the Ark. 2 Peter 2:5 says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Hebrews 11:7 said that in fear he built the ark and by this condemned the world. Noah’s message was one of holiness, righteousness and coming judgment. Noah’s message also showed that God had prepared a way of salvation for those who would believe. I can’t say that Noah “didn’t try” but Noah was faithful to present the reality of the situation. The answer may seem trite to the unbeliever and unless God works in their heart, as He did mine, it [the gospel message] will be extremely offensive.
It is not the violence; it is the judgment that bothers people, and rightly so. It is the fact that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory that disturbs them. The clear black and white of justice and law.
The unbeliever won't believe by tempering who God is in our message. We must preach lovingly and with mercy, but declare God's truth.
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Douglas Newell IV
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