Let's Suppose

Let's suppose that there is a God who is absolute in His holiness and righteousness.

Suppose He freely creates mankind and gives each human being the gift of life.

Suppose He sets His creatures in an ideal environment with the freedom to enjoy the wonders of the entire creation.

Then let's suppose that God imposes one small restriction upon them, and warns them that if they violate that restriction, they will die. Would such a God have the right to impose such a restriction with the penalty of forfeiture of the gift of life if His authority was violated?

Then let's suppose that for no just cause, the ungrateful creatures disobeyed the restriction. Yet suppose that when He discovered their violation, instead of killing them instantly, He redeemed them.

Suppose the descendants of the first violators increase their hostility and disobedience to God to the point that the whole world become enemies of God.

Suppose God still determined to redeem these people, and set aside a distinct nation for Himself, giving them special gifts, so that through them, the entire world would be blessed. Suppose He kept delivering them from all their enemies, yet as soon as they were liberated, they rose up in rebellion to Him.

Suppose, because of His mercy and grace, God sent specially endowed messengers or prophets to plead with His people to return to Him.

Suppose the people killed these divine messengers and mocked their message. Suppose they then began to worship idols of stone and things they had made.

Suppose they then invented religions which were totally opposed to the truth He had made clear to them, and they worshiped creatures rather than the Creator.

Suppose in an ultimate act of redemption, God Himself became incarnate in the person of His Son. Suppose this Son came into the world not to condemn the world, but to redeem it.

Suppose this Son were rejected, slandered, mocked, tortured, and murdered. Yet, suppose that God accepted the murder of His own Son as punishment for the sins of the very persons who murdered Him.

Suppose this God offered forgiveness, and a cleansing from all guilt, victory over death and eternal peace with Himself. Suppose God gave these people as a free gift the promise of a future life that would be without pain, without sickness, without death, and without tears.

Suppose that God said to these people, "There is one thing that I demand. I demand that you honor my one and only Son and that you worship and serve Him alone."

Suppose God did all that, would you be willing to say to Him, "God, that's not fair, you haven't done enough?"

If man has in fact committed cosmic treason against God, what reason could we possibly have that God should provide any way of redemption? In light of the universal rebellion against God, the issue is not why is there only one way, but why is there any way at all?

taken from R.C. Sproul