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I’m a Christian, but I’ve been struggling with this question for a few days: If God is all-knowing, why did He create us in the first place, knowing how messed up the world would be? I don’t know if I’m missing some important facts or if I’m just not educated enough, but I really hope to find an answer here.
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You are pondering the limitations of countless Christians. The continuous life of sin, where even after struggling all their lives they sin, regret, and yet inevitably turn back to sin again under the yoke of the flesh, is nothing but utter misery. In other words, the very form of repenting yet turning back to sin means that they do not know the way to remove sin, nor do they understand the cause that forces them to repeat it. The inescapable limitation of man, who can do nothing but repeat sin all his life, is that he is no different from all secular people and all the religious of the world who likewise live in the endless repetition of sin. This is the tragic reality of today’s Christians.
The reason they believe in God is solely for their own happiness, blessing, success, and prosperity. Thus, they all end up praying vain prayers before God, seeking only the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, which inevitably become sin. Because they believe in God while clinging to the world and material things, they are led to believe in all manner of corruption, heresy, and falsehood. Therefore, those who seek wealth are moved by the god of wealth, those who seek worldly things are moved by the god of the world, those who seek lust are moved by the god of lust, and those who seek the flesh are moved by the god of the flesh. These appear disguised as though they were God, or as though they were Christ, or even as though they were angels. It is not God who is at work.
Yet the vast majority of Christians think it perfectly natural to pursue a fleshly faith driven by lust, praying all their lives only for family problems, business problems, children’s problems, romantic problems, and health problems, and then assuming it to be the faith of Christ. But this is nothing more than a carnal hope and ideal born of human desires, the same as that of all people who live according to the flesh. In other words, it is not the hope of Christ that comes from following the love of Christ, which is the true desire of those who live the life of a true follower of Christ.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.(1 John 2 : 15~16)
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.(1 John 3 : 3~10)
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.(Romans 6 : 17~23)
The children of God do not commit sin but are freed from it, and prayer exists so that they may obtain the fruit of love that leads to God’s holiness and grow into His divine nature. Yet today, within a carnal faith, prayer invariably turns into the pursuit of one’s own happiness, blessing, and ideals that are bound to the world and the flesh, driven by personal lusts. Thus, carnal faith inevitably becomes an adversary and an enemy before God. The faith of Christians, who repent yet turn back again to sin in a vicious cycle that only piles up transgressions, is mostly a shameless belief that grows increasingly indifferent toward sin, increasingly bold in sin, and increasingly brazen and unashamed about sin. For this reason, their consciences become more and more desolate, leaving them with impoverished hearts, empty hearts, anxious hearts, and faiths that wither away. Do not believe according to your own taste and your own claim, but examine yourself against the Scriptures. Do not miss this final opportunity to look carefully at who you truly are. Let the Word, like a mirror, reflect your condition, and you will come to know for yourself that you are a sinner. Christians are not truly Christ’s people. They are merely religious men, no different from the Jews who despised God’s holy will of judgment through the sins of the flesh and insulted the love of the cross, living a life of the flesh no different from the rest of the world.
God has given us prayer so that we may cast off the man of the flesh, who can do nothing but repeat sin, and live the life of Christ—the life of the Spirit—pursuing the love of the cross for which even Christ gave His life. In other words, we are not to live a worldly and fleshly life bound to lust and greed that continually produce sin throughout our days until death, but to live the life of Christ, aiming for the hope of Christ in which the power of God works through His love. This is the life in which one gains the power of God. Whether you live according to the world or live according to the will of God, the outcome of your faith will be entirely different.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.(Titus 2 : 11~14)
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.(Ephesians 4 : 15~16)
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.(Romans 6 : 16~18)
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.(Romans 6 : 20~23)
If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.(1 Timothy 4 : 6)
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.…(Ephesians 2 : 3~7)
Whoever continues in sin is a servant of sin and a child of the devil. The form of Christians who mistakenly believe themselves to be children of God is not a life of being the light and the salt as an example and model, but a faith of words only—teaching with words all their lives and merely listening all their lives. Thus, without exception, they pretend to be holy, pretend to be kind, pretend to be good, pretend to be humble, pretend to be gentle, yet their behavior inside and outside the church is different, their outward appearance and inward reality are different, their words and deeds are different. This is a duplicitous and cunning faith, filled with hypocrisy and pretense, trained only by worldly tactics. Most of these so-called faiths are like squirrels endlessly spinning in a wheel, bound in the yoke of sin, striving all their lives with awakenings, resolutions, and determinations, yet inevitably falling back into sin for the sake of their own interests and selfish gains.
The love of God is what leads those who pursue the hope of Christ to receive the power of love, to be born again, to be changed, and to be transformed, obtaining the nourishment of God. In other words, the love of God is poured out upon those who hold the hope of Christ, becoming their nourishment and power, leading them to obtain the divine power that overcomes the human limitation of bodies and habits that otherwise can do nothing but repeat sin throughout life. This is the truth and the true purpose of prayer. But in Christianity today, all pastors alike place before the people only sermons made from words and theories produced by human knowledge, human wisdom, and human claims to suit their own taste. As a result, all believers are left to depend only on themselves, endlessly repeating their own awakenings, resolutions, and determinations. The outcome of such human teachings and human inspirations is nothing but a fleshly faith with a seared conscience, unable to escape the limitation of humanity that must repeat sin until death, without even feeling the pangs of conscience.
That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.(Colossians 2 : 2~8)
Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.(Colossians 2 : 20~23)
But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.(Galatians 4 : 9~11)
For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.(2 Corinthians 2 : 15~17)
But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:(2 Corinthians 4 : 2~3)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.(2 Corinthians 10 : 5~6)
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.…(2 Peter 3 : 16~17)
Everything is determined by what I believe for. Those who serve God while clinging to the world and material things are inevitably led to follow corruption, heresy, and falsehood. Thus, most are those who forcefully interpret the Scriptures by exalting worldly teachings, worldly knowledge, and all sorts of trivial worldly justifications. God is love. The truth is to lead us to obtain the power of God that is revealed within this love of God. The true shepherd of God is the one who leads people to receive the authority of God that works to put to death the fundamental habits and members of sin that otherwise can only be repeated. But the teachings and inspirations of man, which rely only on words and theories, are limited to nothing but repeated reliance on one’s own will, ambition, pride, and determination. This is why Christians, mistaking such human teachings for God’s grace or God’s inspiration, face the tragic reality of endlessly repeating sin. Their consciences gradually grow desolate, and as a result, they can only live lives filled with continual poverty of spirit, emptiness, anxiety, and unquenchable thirst.
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness….(2 Thessalonians 2 : 9~17)
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.(1 John 3 : 14)
Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.(3 John 1 : 11)
But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.(James 4 : 16~17)
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?(1 John 4 : 20)
To put forth one’s own claims before the Scriptures is no different from acting as though one were God. A faith that is merely intellectual, theoretical, emotional, and academic—built only upon words and arguments—is nothing but a carnal faith that can do nothing but commit sin until death. One’s repeated sins are the clear evidence that he is a servant of sin and a child of the devil. The children of God do not commit sin. Whoever does so denies the love of God in which His power works.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.(1 John 3 : 3~4)
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;(Titus 1 : 2~3)
Those who believe in God while pursuing the world and the flesh exalt only the name of God, yet they deny the love of Christ and refuse to obey. Those who cannot put to death the evil habits and members driven by the desires of the flesh remain servants of sin all their lives and do nothing but repeat sin. Do not be deceived any longer by sermons that exalt only words and theories—sermons that cannot transcend the limits of the flesh—and thus spend your whole life bound in the yoke of sin, endlessly repeating it.
They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.(Titus 1 : 16)
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.(2 Timothy 3 : 5~8)
Those who abide in the love of God never commit sin. It is because one harbors lust and greed that sin is repeated. The love of God cannot be obtained while clinging to the world and to material things together. The command to repent is a warning directed at Christians, as well as at all Protestants and Catholics alike.
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.(1 Peter 4 : 1~2)
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.(Jeremiah 23 : 21~22)
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.(James 5 : 19~20)
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.(Daniel 12 : 3)
My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.(Malachi 2 : 5~6)
If you desire more detailed content, please refer to the e-books Moses’ Burning Bush and The Day of Judgment(Author : Yo Han Lee). Also, visit the website(https://mosesbush.com) and seek out many questions there.
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.(Ephesians 4 : 15~16)
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.(Romans 6 : 16~18)
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.(Romans 8 : 19~21)
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.(Romans 13 : 8~10)