The Bible makes some huge sweeping statements. Like, "No one does good, not even one." (Psa 14:3; Rom 3:12) Wow, really? No one? That's the claim. Or "All have sinned" (Rom 3:23).That's 100%. No exceptions. Certainly not you and absolutely not me. Jesus claimed, "No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." (John 6:65) That's a "no one" coupled with a "can" -- no human being has the ability. Really big.
I came across this one recently. "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him." (1 John 5:1) Any time you see an "all" or a "no one" or, in this case, and "everyone," you need to pay attention because it's big. So what do we see in these "everyones"?
First, we have "everyone who believes." What do we know about them -- by definition, all of them? They have all been born of God. That is, you cannot "believe" if you are not born of Him and you can't be born of Him if you don't believe. The two are irrevocably linked. They can't be separated.
Second, there is an "and" followed by another "everyone." In this "everyone" we have the condition, "loves the Father." What follows can be confusing. You figure to see something like "Everyone who loves the Father loves the Son" or something like it, but that's not what it says. This one says that everyone -- each and every without exception -- who loves the Father loves His children. Who are His children? The rest of the "everyone" in the first "everyone" who are born of God -- those who receive Christ (John 1:12). This is saying that there are no exceptions. If you love the Father, you will love His children, your fellow believers, your fellow saints. Now this is consistent with what John had written earlier. "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar." (1 John 4:20) And earlier, "Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." (1 John 2:11) And, of course, all of this is just keying off Jesus's own words, "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)
Third, the structure of the sentence with its "and" in the middle requires that the first "everyone" -- those who believe -- is the same as the second "everyone" -- those who love the Father. So these two "everyones" are the same people. Everyone who believes = everyone who has been born of God = everyone who loves the Father = everyone who loves His children. Perhaps you can begin to see how sweeping this is. If I say I believe in Christ but am not "born of God" or I don't "love His children," I'm deceiving myself. If I say I love God but not His people, it's a lie. These are all universally linked. Apparently when we believe -- when we are "born of God," beause these two cannot be uncoupled -- we are changed. We love God because of a new nature (2 Cor 5:17) and we love His people because of a new nature and, while we might slip from time to time or suppress it on occasion, it is part of who we are as believers, born of God. If that is not so for any individual, then that individual should be very concerned that there is no relationship with God at all.
That's a big "everyone."
4 comments:
Dan wants to know how I get around "Everyone who believes … has been born of God" while suggesting that "everyone who believes … loves the children of God" because look at all those who believe -- liberals, progressives, transsexuals, gay, etc. -- and don't fall in your category. They believe, but either they don't classify themselves as "born of God" or they don't love the children of God. I'm not at all clear on the question.
First, why would I "get around" it? It's not me. I'm not making the statement. I'm pointing it out. I don't have to "get around" it. The only need to "get around" it would be if I was trying to evade it, not embrace it.
Second, the statement is a single sentence with a conjunction, "and." It is, therefore, two conditions that are related. "Everyone who believes" has two factors in view: 1) They have been born of God and 2) they love the Father and His children. Now, again, this isn't my argument; it's the argument of the text. So, if we believe there is any validity to the Word of God, then we would conclude that people who say, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ" but are either not "born of God" or don't love the children of God, they would necessarily be mistaken on their truth claim. That's not "get around" -- that's "embrace it."
Finally, if it means "Anyone who says 'I believe' is classified as a Christian regardless of 'born of God' or 'loves His children'," then we have a nonsense passage that shouldn't have been put in there and shouldn't have been God-breathed. Now that I have no means of "getting around."
What I find interesting when you see people respond to these passages by essentially saying that "all have sinned" really doesn't mean "all" or something similar, they virtually always ask that the plain meaning of the text be defended, while virtually never offering a reasonable alternative. I'm willing to listen to a rational argument that "all have sinned" or "no one does good" actually mean something else. If someone can explain how "no one does good" actually means that "some people are good people", I'm all ears. Unfortunately, the closest I've ever heard is anecdotes. I'm not sure that "well, I know some good people" really quite cuts it.
Indeed, I've heard the argument, "Well, sure, that says that there is none who does good, but that's just hyperbole. What it really means is that people are basically good." What I'm used to hearing over and over is "You're understanding of that text is wrong" but no alternate, rational explanation of what it does mean. There are exceptions, but very few.
"...because look at all those who believe -- liberals, progressives, transsexuals, gay, etc..."
This is another manifestation of Dan's attempt to impose his beliefs about right/wrong on God. Within that broad grouping of people may indeed be those who are solid believers whose politics runs leftward. But it's one of Dan's tactics to mix such people with those who, by their actions, prove their claims of Christianity are false. (Matt 7:21-23)
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