Originally posted by Rank outsider
Why is rejecting a truth, or even the truth, such a big offence?
Simple and short explanation, please.
No trick here, I really cannot imagine what conceivable 'offence' there is that deserves any penalty.
Think of yourself as a father in a family.
Will you permit your children to do anything?
You will hope that those who violate your household laws will be recovered. And you can do considerable helpful things to recover them.
Now what if they become beyond recovery?
Suppose they become impossible to reconcile?
Suppose they become so beyond remedy that they become worthless, hateful, vile, and entirely wicked?
God's creations can become so beyond recovery by their own doing that they are shut off from al good and shut up to evil. God deems that such are devoted ot vengeance as deserving full wrath.
Remedy is of no use. Only retribution is left. Here are two instances in the book of Revelation which show human beings beyond that point of any possible reconciliation to a perfectly righteous Ultimate Governor of all creation.
Notice that their enjoyment of being irrecoverably unreconciled to God means more to them than any incentive to repent. This portion is at the end of the great tribulation when the last seven bowls of the wrath of God is being poured out upon the kingdom of the Antichrist.
"And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the suc; and it was given to it to burn men with fire. And men were burned with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain. And blasphemed the God of heaven for their pains and for their sores; and they did not repent of their works." (Rev. 16:8-11)
1.) Anger is not the ONLY way in which God has induced men to repent.
This is the extreme at the end of history after all else has been shunned.
2.) There is no reason to think God's love is so immensely great but other attributes of Him are not also immensely so great.
3.) If God is not PERFECT then we have the unfortunate dilemma of being the creatures of an imperfect Creator.
But if God is in fact Perfect and Perfection then how can rebellion against Him be good? It has to be evil.
4.) I cannot accept the scenario that God bestowed upon His creatures something which He did not have to give. In other words that we would need to scold God, correct God, improve God, rebuke God, educate God concerning morality, is absurd. The effect cannot be greater than the cause.
5.) The cross of Christ is a place where two opposing forces meet and clash - the love of God for man clashes headlong with the contempt for God by man. The purpose is to reconcile man to the Perfect Righteousness and the Perfect Holiness and the Perfect Glory.
6.) God has demonstrated that He will go to such an extent that man may be forgiven and completely reconciled judicially and organically in life and nature to God. But we are not coerced to accept this.
7.) God has ordained that the unreconciled being has to lose forever.
He cannot win.
He cannot break even.
He cannot get out of existence with his evil deeds.
He cannot execute his crimes upon other beings forever.
He cannot have a kingdom where his rebellion prevails.
He cannot be an example to any other beings except as horror to be avoided.
He has to lose.
He has to know forever -
"I am the Lord."
If I am wrong about any of this I ask for God's mercy. But in the death and resurrection of the Son of God God has demonstrated that He has gone SO far that we be reconciled and can do nothing more.
This depends upon the realization that God became a man in Jesus Christ.
"God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." (2 Cor. 5:19) 
Who's the worst extremist?
04 Aug '14 04:01
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