There are almost eight billion of us on this planet now, an almost incomprehensible number, one would think that the more of us there are, the more we would be able to accomplish, yet the inverse is true for one very simple reason, sin. Greed keeps us from loving our neighbor as ourselves, (Mark 12:31) jealousy keeps us from loving our neighbors as ourselves, envy, pride, every known spiritual avarice keeps us from fulfilling the one commandment that would ensure no more famine, no more violence, no more self-absorption.
I have mentioned this several times in past letters to you, we do not need as a species the intrusion of Satan’s forces to exhibit evil, we are quite capable of disobeying the will and Word of the Lord ourselves. It is not in our nature to love, to honor and obey the Almighty, this was proven by Adam, who had no sin nature and was not tempted, he made of his own free will by a conscience decision to disobey the one commandment that he was given. We cannot blame demonic forces, we cannot blame our sinful nature, we cannot even blame the fact that we have not yet been glorified, we can, and should, always blame ourselves for any and all actions that we take against the Almighty.
I have always wondered this fact, for I hear so many blame so many others for the sins they commit, I have heard every possible excuse as to why we sin, and have given many myself, but sin is one thing, it is a choice, and we alone are responsible for the choices we make. This begs the question, on our day of accounting, the day we are each individually glorified, the day that our sin nature is taken away, what choices, specifically personal choices, will we still be able to make?
A third of the angels made the wrong choice, and they are forbidden forever the ability to return to their first estate, (Jude 1:6) an extremely sad moment for those who remained in the presence of the Lord. But did they who remained still have free will, if every angel had the choice to rebel, do those who remain still have that ability, or was that choice taken away. These questions are relevant to us, for we will spend eternity in the same place they are, and if there is one thing that man desires above much else, it is his free will.
This is the main reason that many reject the call of the Lord, it is why Satan rebelled, it is why Adam disobeyed, free will can say no more than “I want,” it can also though by the power of the Holy Spirit say “Thy will,” that is the choice we have. When we are glorified we will be removed from our sinful nature, but not from our free will, our ability to choose, if the ability to rebel is no longer present, then we no longer have free will, that is called fascism, the direction that this world is being plunged into today. If we still have free will and the opportunity to sin is still available, for what cause do you believe the purpose of glorification will be then in this area.
Men of God have contemplated this question for centuries, and none have, or ever will, come up with an answer yet, for some things of God are still hidden from us. The best and only answers that we have been given concerning these questions are “The just shall live by faith,” (Romans 1:17) “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” (1 Peter 1:16) “Thy will be done.” (Matt. 6:10) How? Die to self, (Mark 8:35) those who have been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20) have died to self, they are working out their own salvation, (Phil 2:12) they, we, are not questioning why and how, but when “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)
And we will never truly be alive until we first are crucified with Him and then raised with Him. (Romans 6:4) Just because we are assured of the promises and resting in them does not mean that we take no interest in the deepest things of God, we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, and that means stepping out of the shallows and into the deep end of the pool. That is where trust grows, that is where we learn the truths of thy will be done, that is where the just shall live by faith.
