Better for Some than None

BETTER FOR SOME THAN NONE

By Aaron Budjen

www.livinggodministries.net

In the radio programs I produced for Living God Ministries on Forgiveness, I explained that there will be a large percentage of people who will hear about the forgiveness of God and use it as an excuse to indulge their flesh.  It is an understandable consequence when you consider the nature of the flesh and the weaknesses people have while they grow and mature in Christ.  The people who misuse the truth that our God no longer holds our sins against us can be divided into two groups.  The first group would be those people who would have committed the sin regardless of forgiveness.  In this case the value of forgiveness for them is to perhaps relieve them of guilt or shame, but it is important to recognize they would have sinned without knowing about their sins being forgiven.  When I consider the people I have spoken with about this issue over the years, I feel very comfortable saying the majority of people who understand they have been forgiven of a sin would still have committed the sin if they were not forgiven of the sin.  Even though this could be a reflection of a weak belief in the existence or judgement of God, I personally have found that the truth of forgiveness for most people has not been a deciding factor concerning their decision to sin.  The second group are the people who have decided in the past not to sin because of the threat of punishment from God and have used the truth of forgiveness to sin when they would not have otherwise.  I have found the second group to be relatively small.  Therefore, while it is true that many use the truth of forgiveness as a justification or excuse to sin, I have found only a small percentage of these people who would have restrained themselves otherwise.

Regardless of the magnitude of the increase in sin, through a misuse of the truth of forgiveness, a person has to decide if they will tell the truth about forgiveness or not.  If a person would really consider the nature of this decision, it would be a simple decision to make.  It is better to tell the truth than to lie.  However, just as some will use the truth inappropriately, there are others who know the truth and will intentionally deceive people out of fear.  The decision to tell people God holds sins against them, when a person knows He does not is a sin.  In this case the fear a person will use the truth inappropriately is the excuse given to sin.  Perhaps this decision to sin by being dishonest is committed because the person knows they are forgiven.  If this takes place, it is another example of a person using the truth of forgiveness as an excuse to sin.

While we are occupied with these decisions, it is easy to forget that God probably has a few opinions concerning this subject.  I believe He would like us to tell the truth regardless of the consequences.  I believe He is fully aware of the consequences and the benefit is greater than the consequences.  For example, many will use the truth of forgiveness inappropriately but some will not.  There will be some who will embrace the complete forgiveness of sins for themselves and this will enable them to walk in the newness of life when the others will not.  Forgiveness is necessary to be loved by our God, accepted by our God, at peace with our God and grow in a knowledge and understanding of who He is.  Without forgiveness, the new life in Christ is not possible, and only the few who embrace the complete forgiveness of sins will have the opportunity to move forward and grow in a personal relationship with the Living God on the basis of truth.  This is the value God obtains that is worth the cost.

The decision to provide for the complete forgiveness of sins shows it is better for some people to know the truth than for no one to know the truth.  Complete forgiveness makes it possible for us to be saved, through ensuring the Holy Spirit never departs from us once we receive Him and are made spiritually alive.  Complete forgiveness makes it possible for us to understand other things our God wants to share with us.  Complete forgiveness makes it possible for us to relate to Him as our friend in addition to Him being our Lord.  Complete forgiveness makes it possible for us to forgive others in a way that sets us free from the bondage of the pain of sins committed against us.  It is better for some to be saved than none.  It is better for some to understand things that require an understanding of forgiveness than none.  It is better for some to be friends with God than none.  It is better for some to experience the healing of forgiving others than for none.  These are examples of why it is better for some than for there to be none.

For those who are familiar with what I described about the cost and the benefit of forgiveness, I would like to encourage you to consider other topics of interest where you can see similar dynamics revealed.  For example, predestination through the Gospel is another opportunity to see how God relates to us.  He defined the criteria through which a person can be saved.  He requires us to understand our condition, His provision and we must choose to embrace His forgiveness and receive the Holy Spirit He promised to resurrect us from the dead spiritually at the moment of our surrender to the New Covenant.  Through His offer to us to choose, the group of people who will reject His offer are predestined to be lost and the group of people who will accept His offer are predestined to be save.  Through defining the criteria at the foundation of the world, all people in the future are predestined to be in one category or the other.  Most will not choose to surrender to the Gospel, but it is better for some than for none.  Many will reject the inheritance as Esau, or harden their hearts as Pharoah, or resist the work of God in their life like poor quality clay in the potter's hands, but God will do what He is able with the people who are on His planet.  God's project of planet earth is worth the effort because it is better for some to turn to Him than for none.

Another important topic you can consider is the change and transformation that occurs within us over time.  In my experience I have seen it take an average of two years after a person has a firm grasp of what the Gospel is before it begins to have an effect in their heart.  Everyone is different of course so I do not want to imply that a person will not experience profound change in six weeks or that a person can live six years and still not see any change in their lives at all.  It's my believe that a person should periodically reflect on their lives and consider if they are the same person they were two years ago or eve ten years ago.  For those in Christ they will likely see some reduction of sin in their lives.  The cause of the reduction of sin might not be fully understood, and this could be an opportunity to ask the Lord how He did a work in a person's heart.  Regardless of the amount of change or the significance of the change, the point is that there will likely be some acknowledgement of change that can only be attributed to the work of God in a person's life.  The decision to be made at this point of reflection is will a person be thankful for the work God did in them, or will they be occupied with thoughts of what they would have preferred He do instead.  It is a decision of acknowledging that it is better for God to do what He can with a person in the condition they are in, than for Him to do nothing.  It is better for there to be some reduction of sin in a person's life, than for there to be no reduction of sin in a person's life.

The theme of it being better for some change than no change is found throughout the history of God interacting with us since the Garden of Eden.  This is a way of perceiving the world through His eyes and appreciating the character of our God.  We can understand more about why He made decisions in the past and can give us a vision of the decisions He will make in the future.  He will be able to show us more about how He is interacting with us personally today and how He is working with the people around us.  From our point of view we can embrace thankfulness in a new way.  Instead of being tempted to be thankful for what we do have when being overwhelmed with what we don't have, we can start with an understanding that there would be nothing without Him.  Thankfulness can become an expression of true appreciation when we see what we do have is greater than having nothing.  Do not be occupied with what you do not have.  Begin with an understanding that you have no claim on anything or anyone.  When you see that what you have, and the God you have is not consolation for what or who you wish you might have, you will live an expression of profound thankfulness.