Divine Origination of Morality
Having established the moral nature of God guiding and constraining the heavens and the earth, I want to return to certain moral dilemmas posed by agnostics or atheists. God defines the moral existence of living things. They fit into His hierarchy of value. God oversees and determines the worth and right or orthodox treatment or administration of people, not vice versa.
God originates, discharges, or initiates morality. He, therefore, defines it too. Men do not sit in judgment upon God about morals. They have morals, because God created them in His image.
To consider a basic truth: all men die. They can protest that, but morally they deserve it. In the history of the world, men went from eternal life before the Fall, to eight hundred to nine hundred sixty-nine years before the Flood, and now men physically die in seventy to one hundred years more or less. Life on the way to death comes with many varied complications. Sin affected and continues to affect all of this, which relates everything to morality.
The Capacity of God in Moral Judgment
On His throne in His eternal throne room in His special presence and everywhere in His omnipresence, God upholds and watches over everything and everyone. He judges all things in every place at all times. Nothing escapes His judgment. He not only knows the present, but the entire past and future, including the secrets of men’s hearts. Always what He judges or determines is true.
If God requires Israel to kill every member of a tribe of people in the Old Testament, like the Amalekites or those in Jericho or Ai, that judgment is right. God doesn’t need to justify what He does or requires others to do, but He can justify it and often does. He bases this on superior knowledge and moral virtue.
Hitler and the Nazis of World War 2 Germany committed genocide against the Jews. God loves the Jews. More than any other being, God loved, loves, and shall love. His love is immutable. Still, He allowed the Jewish genocide, even predicted these hard times for future Israel in biblical prophecies. God chastised Israel through the siege of Jerusalem that Jeremiah explains in Lamentations.
When God does something, it is moral. If He tells Saul to kill all the Amalekites, that is just, not allowing them to live. Obedience to God is better than the alternative always. This is not wholesale invitation or promotion of genocide though.
The Unworthiness of Man to Judge God
After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:1-7, God cursed man, woman, and earth. The other creation of God participates in that curse. Some might ask, why? And then they also might reject or repudiate God’s judgment in these matters.
Whether something is right or wrong, that is not up to people. They would have to start with a naturalistic explanation for why they’re in charge and able to make this determination. However, matter and motion can’t make judgments. If life is a mere accident, no one can be at fault for anything wrong or honored for anything right. The morals in God’s moral heaven and earth proceed from His moral nature. He is both Lawmaker and Judge.
Man’s depravity stops him from a successful moral judgment of God. He cannot see clearly through his lying eyes to know what is right and what is good. A man does not have the capacity to make a right judgment about what God does, causes, or allows.
Deserved Moral Judgment on All Men
By sin came death upon all men and death passed upon all men for all men sinned (Romans 5:12-19). Everything short of death is only by the work of the mercy of God by the grace of God. Salvation is of God (Jonah 2:9). It is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). God judges righteous judgment in the death of sinners. Animals also die as they do because of God’s moral purpose. The curse of sin touches all of His creation, reminding mankind of the detrimental effects of sin. His only escape is the salvation of the Lord.
God authors morality. True moral judgments come from God. He is the final infallible authority for what is right and good. All men defer to His will for His creation.
More to Come
Though the comment section has been quite silent on this series, I am meeting weekly for Bible study with a Ukrainian man here in Moldova that is struggling with these same questions you are addressing. He is wanting to know and believe truth but is wanting to know 100% and with proof in order to believe there is a God. Thank you for writing this series at this time. It has been Providential. Wanted to take a moment to communicate this to you. God bless you.
Thanks David! Glad it helped.
Kent,
You wrote- “He not only knows the present, but the entire past and future, including the secrets of men’s hearts.”
That is pure Calvinism. I thought you told me you were not a Calvinist?
God knows the specifics when he wants to know the specifics. He understands all that man can do, but does not violate their will by knowing future events concerning mankind.
As a Christian, God does control circumstances of our lives when we are yielded to Him, but by quenching the Spirit, God will leave us to our own devices (future determined by us). God will eventually step in at his time and chastise us, even unto death.
Tom
Hi Tom,
Omniscience is not what separates what I believe from Calvinists, but rather predetermination. Omniscience and predetermination are not the same. I’ve already told you that I’m not going to discuss open theism with you. We already went through it, Tom.
Kent,
I really did like your series on this topic. You actually have much that we agree on and would take the same position in teaching against atheistic or secular believism. Thanks.
I just do not understand what hinders you from discussing this subject? Predetermination is subject to the scripture like all things. Open theism (which I do not follow in every aspect) is also subject to the scriptures. It does not always apply in all the biblical situations, even as also predetermination does not apply in every situation. Where is applies, it is true. But even then, at times, the predetermination can be limited to a small amount of time.
Since you do not want to discuss, I will leave it alone and my biblical verses to support my presuppositions.
Tom