You ever notice when someone does something crazy or depraved and they get caught several of them will say "God told me to do that"? If they commit murder, nuisance, or run around their neighborhood naked some tend to give God the credit for it.
Now I don't know every conversation that God has with people here. But, I am fairly certain he doesn't tell people to kill or commit mayhem. Maybe the naked guy is possible, but even there I'm thinking God is going to speak something more life-affirming but that's me. I've never seen in the bible God telling people to sin against one another. We're pretty good at doing stuff like that on our own. But, we do like to give God credit for the crazy stunts we pull.
On the reverse side, very rarely you see people saying this when they do wonderful things. If someone donates a huge sum of money, or they rescue someone - you rarely hear them say "God told me to do that". At least, not in the same numbers as those giving God credit for their sinning. Usually when we do something good, we want the acclaim. If its good, it's easy to take the credit for ourselves. When we do something wrong instead of being accountable - we look to blame something else. "God made me that way" is an excuse often heard for bad behavior.
First of all, God didn't create us sinful. That's totally on us, not Him. God is incapable of sinning so therefore He would not ask or tell us to sin. So, both of the arguments don't hold up.
Read Genesis 1 and look at the creation story. God is busy creating and after each day He says that is good. When he creates humankind in his image, he says that it is very good. Think about that for a moment. Very good. We weren't created bad or sinful, our creation in His eyes was considered very good. Sin changed the dynamic though. Not what God did. That is why we do the evil that we do and why we need a savior.
Yet, somehow we persist in giving God the credit for our bad behavior. Or, to continue in our bad behavior and not attempting to change. The "God made me this way" excuse. It's easier to wallow in our misery with that mistaken notion or excuse our behavior. It cant be wrong what I am doing if I believe I was made this way. No, God made you better than that. He gives you a way out of the sin. It can be tough changing one's ways and there may be some pain in the trying, but God does not want you living in a sinful way. That's not God's plan for you. God will give you what is needed to help change your life.
On the other side, when we do something good, we rarely say "God made me that way" or "God told me to do that". I know I am more than happy to take the credit for actions deemed "good" or "nice" in this world. We easily fall into the trap that we do good by our own strength and hand.
There are several commands Jesus gives us and I will touch on a couple. The first is John 13:34, "A new command I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another". The other is Acts 1:8 where Jesus says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, ands in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth". Here are examples of God talking to us. There are many other passages in the Bible showing what God is really telling us.
We are told to love one another and that people will know we are Jesus' disciples by this. This isn't the fuzzy wuzzy movie type puppy eyes love here. This is an active verb. Love means doing stuff for others and placing their needs ahead of our own. How did Jesus love us? By sacrificing Himself for us? So, in the same way we have to be sacrificial in our love for others.
The other command is for us to be his witnesses throughout the world. We go out and tell others about Jesus and his impact on our lives. We don't need to know the bible like a scholar - our lives can be our evangelism. The ends of the Earth stretches from the inside of your home, to your school, to your job, to the ends of the Earth.
So, when you are loving others for Christ or you are witnessing to the lost and brokenhearted and you are asked why you are doing this? Smile at them and say "Because God told me to"
Now I don't know every conversation that God has with people here. But, I am fairly certain he doesn't tell people to kill or commit mayhem. Maybe the naked guy is possible, but even there I'm thinking God is going to speak something more life-affirming but that's me. I've never seen in the bible God telling people to sin against one another. We're pretty good at doing stuff like that on our own. But, we do like to give God credit for the crazy stunts we pull.
On the reverse side, very rarely you see people saying this when they do wonderful things. If someone donates a huge sum of money, or they rescue someone - you rarely hear them say "God told me to do that". At least, not in the same numbers as those giving God credit for their sinning. Usually when we do something good, we want the acclaim. If its good, it's easy to take the credit for ourselves. When we do something wrong instead of being accountable - we look to blame something else. "God made me that way" is an excuse often heard for bad behavior.
First of all, God didn't create us sinful. That's totally on us, not Him. God is incapable of sinning so therefore He would not ask or tell us to sin. So, both of the arguments don't hold up.
Read Genesis 1 and look at the creation story. God is busy creating and after each day He says that is good. When he creates humankind in his image, he says that it is very good. Think about that for a moment. Very good. We weren't created bad or sinful, our creation in His eyes was considered very good. Sin changed the dynamic though. Not what God did. That is why we do the evil that we do and why we need a savior.
Yet, somehow we persist in giving God the credit for our bad behavior. Or, to continue in our bad behavior and not attempting to change. The "God made me this way" excuse. It's easier to wallow in our misery with that mistaken notion or excuse our behavior. It cant be wrong what I am doing if I believe I was made this way. No, God made you better than that. He gives you a way out of the sin. It can be tough changing one's ways and there may be some pain in the trying, but God does not want you living in a sinful way. That's not God's plan for you. God will give you what is needed to help change your life.
On the other side, when we do something good, we rarely say "God made me that way" or "God told me to do that". I know I am more than happy to take the credit for actions deemed "good" or "nice" in this world. We easily fall into the trap that we do good by our own strength and hand.
There are several commands Jesus gives us and I will touch on a couple. The first is John 13:34, "A new command I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another". The other is Acts 1:8 where Jesus says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, ands in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth". Here are examples of God talking to us. There are many other passages in the Bible showing what God is really telling us.
We are told to love one another and that people will know we are Jesus' disciples by this. This isn't the fuzzy wuzzy movie type puppy eyes love here. This is an active verb. Love means doing stuff for others and placing their needs ahead of our own. How did Jesus love us? By sacrificing Himself for us? So, in the same way we have to be sacrificial in our love for others.
The other command is for us to be his witnesses throughout the world. We go out and tell others about Jesus and his impact on our lives. We don't need to know the bible like a scholar - our lives can be our evangelism. The ends of the Earth stretches from the inside of your home, to your school, to your job, to the ends of the Earth.
So, when you are loving others for Christ or you are witnessing to the lost and brokenhearted and you are asked why you are doing this? Smile at them and say "Because God told me to"
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