Eze 33:11 Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'
Yes God created hell, but he has no delight in sending people there. He wants them redeemed. But the fact is that a) God laid down the plan and its boundaries for salvation before the creation of the world. But man turned out to be exceedingly wicked. That is why many out step God's grace.
Gen 6:5-7 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
Keeping in mind that this is the response to the actions of God I gave and asked your to reconcile to the following statement that you made.
Which God would people, to whom we witness, prefer to serve? One who gives people an equal chance of salvation, as Irenaeus tells, He gives HIs goodwill to all. Hell then is the logical result of rebellion against His goodwill. Or a God who actually loves to cause people to suffer, for no other reason than He is angry, giving a portion no hope for no reason other than He wills it.
Not only do you make no attempt to reconcile the evidence of scripture to your assertions above, but you make the assertion that God created hell because He was somehow surprised by the wickedness of man. If man simply "turned out to be exceedingly wicked" then there was no reason for God to have a plan of redemption and its "boundaries". And your response also suggests that because of man's wickedness He then at that time created hell. And you also say the plan of redemption has boundaries without ever saying what those boundaries are.
Because of the the topic of the OP and assertion that Paul is misunderstood by those who adhere to the doctrine of election and predestination, you then quote here two scriptures that you believe support your premise. They do not. They simply avoid the evidence of both scripture and real life, that more are those that go through the wide gate than are those who find the narrow gate----not all people are redeemed---by saying God either has no power to redeem all or won't, based on whether or not people accept His grace and good will. Both of those assumptions deny the God of the Bible as He reveals Himself to be sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.
It also puts the hands of applied redemption---the work of Christ on the cross---in the hands of sinners who are by their very nature at enmity with God (consider Him their enemy, and are in fact His enemies.)
In the context of that happening these cities worshiped gods that even required child sacrifices in fire. God was ridding the world of evil, not just wrath for the sake of it.
The response to God giving land that belonged to others to Israel. Again, not reconciling your original statement with who the Bible says God is and what He does. The only one who claimed that God did anything simply because of His wrath for the sake of wrath is you. It is a false depiction of the doctrine of election now and it was when you first made it.
With the purpose of trying to turn people from sin.
Amo 4:8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
Amo 4:9 "I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
Regarding God bringing famine. You simply gave two examples of only one reason God brought famine to various places and at various times.
In the story of Joseph it was preceding a rescue that preserved the Seed of Abraham through Judah. It first drove Joseph's father and brothers to Egypt where they were held in bondage of over 400 years.
But that aside how does what you say reconcile the God as we see in this to your purporting that God has good will towards all people? And what does it have to do with the idea that God would never save some people by election but not all people?
As a picture of the coming Christ.
Regarding God commanding animal sacrifice.
I did not ask you what the animal sacrifices pictured. I asked how it can be reconciled to your statement that God has only good will towards all men equally.
What about Naaman, Rahab, and Ruth. All gentiles who received salvation.
Re: God choosing Israel alone to covenant with and be their God.
I asked how His doing so can be reconciled to your asserting that God is not selective and chooses who to adopt and save? What do I get? Not even a pretense of reconciling the two things. Just an "Oh look. See these people were Gentiles." Apropo of nothing.
BTW all the above were saved by what? Faith in God. They trusted Him. Ruth was the Seed carrier who had a son by the Seed bearer.
God can choose how He fulfills His purposes. Jacob was a prophetic picture of the fact that God would choose the Gentiles to be joint heirs with the Jews. The older shall serve the younger.
Re: Jacob over Esau
So why is it wonderful for God to do the choosing of people here and abhorrent if it is suggested He chooses who to save?
John 10:18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
Re: sending HIs Son to the cross.
Again you made absolutely no attempt to reconcile the the wrath of God on sin poured out on His Son with your gospel of goodwill towards all, and the assertion that hell is the result of people stepping outside of this grace that is goodwill. You present the universal goodwill of God as the reason God would never choose who to adopt, and leave the rest in their natural condition, as that would be unfair and mean for no reason. And yet you have not been able to reconcile this assumption with who God has shown Himself to be.
