Fighting with God
“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,” (Genesis 6:3)
Psalm 47:7 says, “For God is the King of all the earth:” As King, He has authority over us. Yet He also gives us free will to obey or disobey Him. Of course, He is also the “…Judge of all the earth…” (Genesis 18:25), and as a just Judge, He has to punish sin. Still, He wants to show mercy: “…our God is merciful.” (Psalm 116:5) He doesn’t want us to suffer the earthly–and eternal–consequences of our sin, so He strives with us to repent and turn to Him for mercy.
Yet He doesn’t strive with us forever, as our Scripture says. At some point, God may say He has heard rejection one time too many, and He brings judgment: “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” (Proverbs 29:1)
The words of our verse come a little before the story of Noah and the ark. God told Noah He would destroy the earth by a flood, but a long time passed between God’s decree and the actual flood. In that time, as Noah built the ark and preached, people had plenty of chances to repent.
We don’t know how they reacted, but we know that they knew God was dealing with them. Ezekiel 2:5 says, “…whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear…yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.” These words of Ezekiel originally applied to rebellious Israel, but in a larger sense, they also apply to anyone whom God is convicting to repent.
God still strives with people today to receive Jesus Christ as Saviour. When a Christian tells someone about being saved, the Holy Spirit also speaks to the unbeliever’s heart of his need for Jesus: “…the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:” (John 15:26) That’s why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:9, “For we are labourers together with God:”
The Bible itself is called “…the sword of the Spirit,” (Ephesians 6:17) God uses its powerful words to speak to people’s hearts. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Even saved people can fight with God. Ephesians 4:30 says, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” That warning is for Christians. If you are saved but you’re harboring sin, please stop grieving God. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)
Most of all, if you aren’t sure that you’ll be with God in heaven when you die, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links”, then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 6/14/2021
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822