Ah my code is compiling/testing VERY SLOWLY…. might as well write something here.

So I was planning on wrapping up on the topic of faith, but Justin called me yesterday saying how good those links to sermons about faith I posted before are (yes so you should go check them out now), and he then ask me some questions about predestination.  I figure I’ll just put the answers I gave him here.

So my brother asked me: If only those predestinated by God can be saved, what responsibility do we have anyways? Because if I’m not predestinated by God then I’ll definitely sin and go to hell anyways, and I cannot help it.  So it is God who send people to hell.  Is this right?  In summary, why should man be responsible for his sin if it is predestinated?

Pastor Tang gave an analogy to answer this question.  Let’s say there are two men, A and B, who both got drunk but still decided to drive.  As the result, they crash into in other and both are in life danger.  Fortunately, there’s a doctor nearby, and he performed some medical procedures on A, but for some reason he did not help B.  Then the ambulance, police, and what not come and go, and as the result A survived but B past away.

Support you’re just a random witness who saw all this happen, when the police ask you, “What’s the cause of B’s death?” how will you respond? Will you say “Because the doctor did not save B, so he died.”, or “Because he is drunk-driving”?  Obviously the latter.

Because you sinned, you need to be responsible for your sin.  And if God decides to save you, you should be grateful, and if not, you have to be responsible for your choice to rebel against God.

Some will say this is injustice, why does God saves some, but not the others? Because this is not a question of justice, this is a question of grace - grace is above justice.  If you want God to be just, then all men will go to hell and they deserve it.  And if God decided to save some, it is God’s grace, and thus lies outside of justice.  It’s like when there are two students who both winded up with 89.9% for the final grade.  By justice both should get B+, but if the professor is gracious to one student and gives him A- and the other B+, you cannot complain, because you are getting what you deserve.

But then Justin bring up another question: But I will most definitely sin because of the original Sin commited by Adam, so doesn’t this mean I am punished for Adam’s doing?

My answer is no, you are not, because when Adam sinned you are in him.  When Adam made the decision to rebel against God, the whole humanity is in him, and does the whole humanity together rebel against God.  It is as if Adam is the collective conscious of the human race, and thus all have rebel against God.  To put it is a shakier but more understandable way, when Adam chose to rebel against God, you, also in Adam, chose to rebel against God, you just don’t remember it.  This is also the reason why the orginal sin is in everyone, because in the beginning everyone is in Adam, and we all sinned.

This is my own idea of how it works, and it seemed strongly supported by the Bible and most of Eastern culture’s thinking, but I understand how it may seem odd to the Western culture, since the Western culture tends to be more individualist.

To list some supports from the Bible:

When Ham disrespects Noah, Noah curses his descendants to be slaves to his brothers’ descendants, instead of the cursing just Ham.

When Simeon and Levi offended their father Jacob by killing a whole city full of people, Jacob curses them and their offsprings have to suffer.

In the Bible, it said if an Israelite married with a Moabite, even their descendant ten times down the line cannot enter into the temple of God.

In Hebrew, it says that when Abraham offer gifts to Melchizedek, Levi also offered the gifts to Melchizedek, because Levi is in Abraham at that time.

So it seems very possible that when our ancestors live their lives, we are also in them and we partake in their acts and decisions.

However, does that mean we will be limited by the acts of our ancestors? Not by the grace of God.  Yes, both Levi and Simeon are cursed for their violence and their offsprings are doomed to be scattered in the promise land without their own territory, but by believing and trusting in God, Levi’s descendant turned this curse into a blessing, as God mandates them to be the only ones that can offer up sacrifices to him.  And yes, the Moabites are cursed, but many of David’s mightiest generals are Moabites and are remembered in the Bible, because they follow David and his God.  Also, by the grace of God, we can break Adam’s curse and be in Jesus instead of in Adam, covering ourselves with Jesus’s righteousness instead of Adam’s sin.

So that’s it.  Hope that this is all clear.