Is God a Dictator?
The premise that you either serve God or go to hell, is incorrect. While in a technical sense the above premise is true, there’s a little more to it than that.
“God doesn't arbitrarily make rules and punishes you for breaking them. God gives recommendations on what results in your well-being. You can choose to follow these recommendations or choose not to follow them.
Think of it this way: A doctor recommends you take medication. You can choose to take the medication, which will result in your well-being, or you can choose not to take it, which will result in your not being well. God doesn't force you to do anything. If you don't want to be with him, he doesn't make you. You're free to choose....” [1]
While I agree in principle with the above quote, I disagree with the word this person uses: “recommendations”. We are given laws to abide by. While Jesus coming fulfilled the law, ushering in the Age of Grace, the OT law still stood as a guideline to follow. “Many scriptures in the New Testament show that Jesus and the apostles upheld the 10 Commandments, ... not as ‘ceremonial legalism’ or a way to ‘earn’ salvation, but as essential laws to govern a Christian’s life. Many scriptures show that every one of the 10 Commandments is reinforced in the New Testament.” [2]
So is God a dictator? “A dictator is someone who has a position of leadership obtained by force. It is someone who rules with absolute authority without always having a person’s best interest in mind. It can be in a cruel or brutal way of leading.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us God’s intent regarding those who choose to follow Him ... “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
God is not a dictator. He is Sovereign, as in having the Highest Power and the King of Kings, but within His great mysterious plan for us, he has given us a choice. He first gave us choice in Genesis 2:15-17, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die*.’”
This is the first choice that God gave to Adam: to obey or not to obey. From Adam to us today, every day we all have choices, to follow self, which is our natural inclination, or to follow the Word of God. Each have consequences.” [3]
God allows His creation a moral/ethical free will in which mankind can think, say & do as they like. They don’t have to acknowledge God in any way; however, as with any decision that is made, consequences shall follow. That isn’t a biblical principle, but rather a universal law. ANY decision made results in some sort of consequence; which is: something that logically or naturally follows from an action taken. Everything God does is designed to benefit those who abide by His statutes. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.
In His Name & for His Glory,
RL Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
[1] An anonymous statement on Reddit (www.reddit.com) in response to that premise that ‘God must be served, or you will go to hell’.
* This refers to our spiritual death & not our physical death.
[3] https://anchorsaway.org/do-christians-have-a-choice-or-is-god-a-dictator/
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