Of Impartiality, Entitlement and God's Sovereignty

I recently posted this to facebook.

It was, as usual, during one of the times when God was pleased to have me understand somewhat of His Scripture and man's misuse of it, during a time of meditation.

That God even gives such moments of clarity to any of us is of His graciously giving us all blessings in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), by which is meant not simply that heaven transcendent where God resides, but that calling of God whereby we are not only united to our Lord and Savior in His certain sovereign reign from His seat at the Right Hand of Majesty, but now, and here, in these places we are at, for all places are to be understood which may be called heavenly places - we are now united with Him as certainly as we shall be with Him in ultimate glory, which is to say, His glory, when He has perfected us (Philippians 1:6). Our Lord made certain that His apostles, and so we, understand these things (John 14:15-17, John 14:23; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Colossians 1:23; 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1 John 1:1-3, 1 John 1:7).

Consequently, when we share that which is of the meditations of His Scriptures, in union (fellowship) with Him through the application of His great and precious promises by the Holy Spirit of truth, we must see that which is of His glory, not that which is of any entitlement we supposedly own, for God's impartiality is of His character, infinitely good and holy, and it is by that, as shown to us by Him in the Scriptures, of which we both write and, we trust, are made manifest to both ourselves and others, regarding these things of God.

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In many countries - primarily in what we call "Western" or "free," though the second is indeed a misnomer - among those communities of peoples who call themselves by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the word "impartiality," as it appears primarily in the New Testament, has been used to indicate a neutral moral state of our God's character, regarding what these communities see as "entitlement."

That it does not indicate such is plain from the context of Scripture overall, as well as in the immediate contexts in which it appears.

God is not "morally neutral," nor does He see anything as "entitlement" to either the individual believer, or the various local covenant communities (where those communities even recognize the concept of "covenant").

He is angry with and hates the evil of sinners (Psalms 5:5; 11:5), and it is only in the appeasement of His wrath in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ that the sinner finds that anger assuaged and himself reconciled to the most holy God (Romans 5:1, 6-11).

God's impartiality is based in His holiness, and so underscores the fact of His finding no redeeming merit in any of the efforts and actions of men, in thought, affection, choice or deed, with which to pardon them.

Those who ignore this and think that they are actually doing that which makes them acceptable to God, aside from - and in some circles, outside of - the propitiatory sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ place themselves, therefore, in the most precarious of positions, and need to, with the tax-collector of Luke 18:13, seek the justification that only comes through the Son (Psalm 2:12), lest they find what it truly means for God to impartially reward them with the wages of their earned reward (Romans 6:23a).

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14).

SDG - Bill