A Contradiction in God?
By Peter Crause
Numbers 14:18 The LORD is
patient, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no
means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation.
A
definition of a contradiction is:
Broadly speaking, a
contradiction is when two or more statements, ideas, or actions are seen as
incompatible. One must, it seems, reject at least one of the ideas outright.
Such
appears to be the case in our scripture reference. The two opposing and
seemingly contradictory statements are:
-
God is patient, merciful and forgives iniquity and transgression
-
God doesn’t clear the guilty and passes judgment onto the next
generation
It
behooves us to determine what is meant here. We should by now know that there
is no contradiction in God.
There is also no contradiction in His
Word. With this principle firmly established in our thinking we can
examine the above scripture and learn something that will both amaze us and
give us cause to praise our Lord and God.
There
is an apparent tension in the nature of the God we serve. Because of His
Holiness; He must punish sin. He laid down the rules and when we err we must
pay the penalty for abrogation of those rules. However, the problem is that the
penalty is death – eternal death and separation from God. It is not proper at
this time to describe what man’s eternal state in the hereafter will be, but be
assured, without God it will be drear and miserable! It will be a state that
will bring regret to our minds for not setting it right before physical death –
for eternity. (That’s a long time!)
The apparent
tension in God is this; He loves mankind
with an everlasting love and does NOT delight in sending him to the
place prepared for the devil and his angels!
Here
I want to assert most strongly that what seems apparent to our viewpoint is not
actually the case – God is perfect in
every way! There are no
inconsistencies in His nature and being. He loves and is at the same time just
in condemning and judging. To merely “clear the guilty” would make Him
inconsistent and arbitrary – we would never be certain of our standing with
Him. No! He has declared His intent to punish for sin and also His love for the
erring one. Be assured, judgment will
come. His delay in execution of this is again a demonstration of His love:
“…not
willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance…” (2 Peter
3:9)
What
was God’s “solution” to this seeming
contradiction in His nature? How was He able to satisfy both His Love and His
Holiness? Did He in fact supply a solution? Was His love able to bridge the gap
and give Him a way to forgive the guilty without being inconsistent to His
Holiness? If He hasn’t found a solution then we’re in serious trouble!
God’s
solution was to become a man; take the penalty for all man’s sin as though He
was guilty; face the penalty of death for it and thus remove the necessity for
judgment. Can we even begin to understand this? There is a song from the “Hillsongs” from
“Amazing
love; how can it be, that my King would die for me?”
The
demands of God’s holiness were poured out on His Only Begotten Son – the Lord Jesus Christ – and now he can clear the guilty – not
arbitrarily or at a whim; but because His holiness has been satisfied!
What
if I don’t want what He offers? (A really stupid decision) What if I refuse to
acknowledge my condition? What if I decide to pay my own “fines”? Well!! If
this is the case, then you have one sure promise of God – “by no means clearing the guilty” becomes your lot. The only thing you have to look
forward to is damnation.
If
you have gratefully received the Lord’s provision for you, it is cause to
rejoice and love Him for what He has done. We should be the happiest people
alive:
1Samuel 2:8 He raises up the
poor out of the dust, and lifts
the beggar from the dunghill, to set them
among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory:
Isn’t
He worthy of your unconditional love and submission?