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God is Merciful to All, even to the Unbeliever.

Good evening, ladies and gents! I saw the coolest thing ever on Friday. It was a 16-disc collection of James Earl Jones reading the Bible. For those who don’t know who that is, James Earl Jones is the man who does the voice of Darth Vader. I FREAKED out (yeah, I tend to do that a lot…) I really wanted it, but me had no money! WHY?!!!!! I was with my friend at the time, and when I realized I was being so nerdy that I deserved a smacking, we left and went home.

Any dangway, so, this has been on my mind as of late. God has been really showing me a lot about Him that I’m sure you all know. Jesus has been revealing more about just how compassionate God is. It goes far beyond even the believer.

We all know that God exists. We know that He is not an idea, a concept, or some sort of metaphor for the goodness within each of us. We know that He isn’t mythology like all the others, and we know that He is real. He is one, and He created everything. He made Heaven, and He made all the angels. He made the universe, and everything in it. He made the Earth, and He made all animals on it. But, as we all know, He made something very special. This something that would be like Him in all means. He made humans. Humans are made in His image and likeness. Which means, not only do we have the same appearance as Him, all of us on all 7 continents (I guess Antarctica doesn’t count being that the population is penguins.) but also we have all His qualities. Well, not all of them, for we’re not gods (Or God, because there is only one), and we don’t have powers like Him, and we’re not omnipotent, omniscient, or anything like that. However, we have His feelings. We love, we get angry, we get sad, we are creative (God is THE most creative), and we can think for ourselves instead of being basically mindless animals. We are God’s children, whom He loves SO much that He’d sacrifice His Son for us so that we may live. If we want to get even more technical, He sacrificed Himself for us so that we may live.

We also know that we humans are a fallen race. We are sinful, imperfect, and rebellious towards God. We all know that Yahweh can’t STAND THAT. He hates that so much, that even though He is merciful, He would be wrathful on us in the OT times. We know God will punish us for rebellion. But we also know, very clearly, that God is merciful. He is the most merciful being EVER. He is eternal, and He never changes. He never changes from being merciful. And He never changes from being wrathful, either, when He feels it’s right. However, when Jesus died for us, was brutally killed and resurrected, His wrath had been fulfilled. All of it. That is why we’re still here. He loves us so much that He’d die for us. He did it so that we may live. He did it so that if we trust in His only Begotten Son, Jesus, we’d have eternal life, and we’d be blameless. God never changes. He is merciful.

It is true. The only ones who will see God and be with Him are those who believe in His Son. Nobody else. Those who trust in Mohammed or Buddha or anyone else will not be right with God. The only way to be right with God is to trust in Jesus and His ULTIMATE sacrifice. That’s it. Those who do will be blameless from sin when Judgment Day comes around. Those who don’t will face judgment. That’s all true. God will protect us believers. He does all the time! And you know what else? He won’t leave you nor forsake you. Not ever.

It is true. God will only be merciful on those who receive Jesus when Judgment day comes around. A sin is a sin. Everyone has sinned. Sin leads to death. But Jesus took on that death for us. Those who trust that will beat death, as Jesus has. Those who trust that will be blameless. Those who do not will experience the second death. That is truth. It is true. Complete protection from God comes to those who trust in Jesus, His son. Complete protection from the Devil comes to you if you trust in Jesus and do as He says.

However, let’s not forget for a second that God made everyone, let’s not forget that everyone is his child, even the unbelievers. Let’s not forget that everyone is made in His image and likeness, and more importantly, that God loves the unbelievers just as much as the believer. Yes, the unbelieving person is still guilty of his sins, and it is true, people will die not believing Jesus as their savior. But! Let’s not forget what Jesus commanded us to do. He commanded us to love all people, to love our enemies. To love those who haven’t received Him, and never stop loving them. Let’s not forget that Jesus NEVER EVER forced anyone to believe in Him or His father. He NEVER condemned them if they cast Him away. When His followers asked Him if they could call upon fire from Heaven to kill a town of non-believers, He scolded His followers and said OF COURSE NOT! (LUKE CHAPTER 9:51-56
51 Now when the time was almost come for Jesus to be received up [to heaven], He steadfastly and determinedly set His face to go to Jerusalem.

52 And He sent messengers before Him; and they reached and entered a Samaritan village to make [things] ready for Him;

53 But [the people] would not welcome or receive or accept Him, because His face was [set as if He was] going to Jerusalem.

54 And when His disciples James and John observed this, they said, Lord, do You wish us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did ? [II Kings 1:9-16.]

55 But He turned and rebuked and severely censured them. He said, You do not know of what sort of spirit you are,

56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them [from the penalty of eternal death]. And they journeyed on to another village.)

Think about this for a moment. If Jesus commanded us to love our enemies, to be gentle and kind to those who don’t believe, then what will Jesus do for them???

All of these following true events, some of which happened to myself, really show me something about God and how He is to non-believers. I tell you, He isn’t at all hateful. He may be displeased with them, but certainly He does not love them any less than those who indeed follow Him.

Anyway, I am about to share with you a few things which have happened to me, my brother, as well as some very disturbing true events within history. I warn you, some of these facts are very disturbing. I find them very disturbing, but I feel like I must share them. However, there is some good news! Each of these upsetting events has hope in them. You know why? Yup, it’s because of Jesus. Keep in mind that the atrocities that are about to be mentioned were done by individuals within a group, not entire groups of people.

The first true event I’d like to share with you is a true event that happened during the Holocaust. One of my favorite movies is Schindler’s List. It’s very horrific, but heart warming. It’s heart warming because it depicts how we humans, though very sinful, we can still have hearts bigger than any army. Oscar Schindler was a NAZI man who saved 1100 Jewish people from facing extermination by spending ALL of his fortune to have these people taken from concentration camps like Auschwitz, to go work at his factory. There, he feed them properly, made sure all their needs were met, that there were NO summary executions, or ANY form of killing, and he did this all to save them. He made it all look to the SS that he was using them for slave labor, but really, he was saving their lives. I love that. I really do. Amongst all the horribleness that was World War II, God saved people. He must have been like, “HEY! I love you, all of you, and though people will die, I will save all I can!” God was there, protecting, loving, and being merciful. A lot of people weren’t Christian. All the Jews there were not Christian. And though right now they are not saved from God’s judgment, God still loves them. He still wants them to live. One of my favorite verses in Ezekiel was when God said that those who are sinful will surely die, He DOES NOT WANT THEM TO DIE. He loves them. He does. What kills them is their rebellion against God, and the fact that they choose Satan over their creator, and God will do what is right. But He doesn’t want to have to do this.

What I really wanted to share from Schindler’s List was one scene that baffled me the first time I saw it, because when I first saw it I wasn’t Christian. This scene is a true event that happened to a Jewish man about to be mentioned within this paragraph. In this scene, a Jewish man was kicked to his knees so that an SS officer could shoot him in the back of the head. The commander, Amon Geoth, was ordered to make room within his concentration camp for new Jewish arrivals. So, he went through his camp, searched for people who he thought didn’t work well, and killed them. This Jewish man was a very hard worker, but because of machine recalibrations, he couldn’t do his job. But, Geoth didn’t know this, so he was going to sadistically kill this man. However, when they had the man on his knees to shoot him, his gun didn’t work….no matter how much he tried, his gun wouldn’t fire. Baffled by this, he passed the faulty gun to another SS officer and drew another one. When he pointed it at the man and pulled the trigger, it didn’t fire. He tried it again and again, but each time, it didn’t fire. The Jewish man, while trembling with fear, pleaded with Geoth as Geoth continued to try and shoot him. But no matter how hard he tried, it didn’t fire. Eventually Geoth got so fed up he pistol-whipped the Jewish man only once on the head and let him live. Surely, being pistol-whipped would hurt A LOT, but the man survived the Holocaust.

A miracle of science, or divine intervention from our Lord Yahweh? It was certainly God who had saved this man. By not accepting Jesus as his savior, this Jewish man was being unfaithful to Yahweh. Despite this, though, God had saved him from being killed. Every time Geoth tried to kill this man, God said, “NO!” and the gun didn’t fire. And while doing this, Jesus said, “Go, Dad, go!” This man wasn’t a Christian. But God had protected Him. It wasn’t because He knew Yahweh exists. It wasn’t because he had any favor with God. No. It was because God loves Him. Think about this. What are the chances those two guns, being used by SS officers to murder people, screwing up? The SS must have been able to use them before, for they carried the guns with them to kill people. But suddenly, the guns Geoth tried to use didn’t work. God saved that man.

Here’s another true event that happened in very recent history. In 1995, there was genocide in Rwanda, Africa, where millions were massacred just over night. There had been a deep blood feud between two tribes, the Hutus and Tutsis, and the Hutus really wanted ALL the Tutsis dead (Of course, not ALL Hutus wanted this. Not at all. But a majority did, and they were powerful enough to do something about it). So, after a brief time of hateful preaching about how evil the Tutsis are over radio, the Hutus rallied enough people to start genocide. They did this by threatening everyone within cities. They said that those who didn’t kill their Tutsi neighbors, they would be killed in their stead. So basically what happened was entire Hutu populations, including men, women, and children, within cities and other residential areas set out to kill their Tutsi neighbors, whether adult or child. People who had lived right next door to them were massacred with garden tools and the like, and they were murdered because of all this hatred Satan had made. In the end, Tutsi rebels stopped the Hutus from killing everyone, but millions were killed. One thing that stands out about this horror is the fact that the United Nations did NOTHING to stop this. The only group there from the United Nations was Canada (WOO CANADA!), and they could do close to nothing besides try and protect these people from being killed.

Anyway, another favorite movie of mine is Hotel Rwanda, which chronicles how this one Hutu man saved the lives of some 1,200 people by keeping them in 5 stars Hotel he managed. The Canadian Peace Keepers helped guard the Hotel, as well as some of the Rwanda military. The Hutu murderers outnumbered the armed forces protecting the Tutsis at least (At and least being key words) 100 to one. Yet, all the people within the Hotel survived the massacre, all because of this one Hotel manager.

This one made me think. The Rwanda military and Canadian Peace Keepers were out numbered by a WHOLE lot by the Hutus. Not only that, the Canadian Peace keepers couldn’t legally fight the Hutus, because the United Nations said they couldn’t. Eventually they had to be pulled out of Rwanda. So, what was stopping the Hutus from storming the Hotel and murdering these people?? They could have, and they could have done it easily. There were only two things that could have stopped them, the armed forces guarding the Hotel, and something far greater than any army: God. God was there, in the name of Jesus Christ, protecting these people. I bet you most of them weren’t believers. Most didn’t accept Jesus. But God saved these people. He did. And you know what? It didn’t matter that they didn’t believe, not when they were faced with Hell after they died. God was merciful, and Jesus loved them. He saved them, because they needed to be saved.

Why, you may ask, did God let the others die then? I can’t really answer that question. Complete and total protection is found only in trusting Jesus as your savior. God did what He did to save whatever people He saved. That’s all there is to it.

This is the last terrible event I’ll bring up, and then I’ll talk about less sickening things to show God’s mercy to non-believers.

Just before World War II, there was a massacre the Japanese military committed upon the Chinese. This massacre would be called the Rape of Nanking. What happened here is more disturbing to me than the other things mentioned above. What happened here was during the Japanese invasion in China, the Japanese came across the heavily populated city of Najiing. At this point, the Japanese soldiers were very angry with the Chinese because of the casualties the Japanese had suffered. So, when they got into Najiing, they were searching for soldiers to behead. But they didn’t find any. However, they found thousands of Chinese men, women, and children. That’s when the Japanese spent six weeks raping thousands of women, torturing and killing men and women and children alike, and robbing them of everything they had. It is said that some 300,000 people were murdered. They didn’t kill them quickly, either. Most were beaten to death, ravaged to death, buried alive, bayoneted, and all sorts of unthinkable things.

But I tell you, amongst this tragic massacre, God was there, protecting people, even though many were being killed. If the Japanese military had wanted to, they could have done this to everyone within Najiing. They could have. But Jesus was protecting people, saving them from such a horrible fate. I don’t know how He did this exactly, but when I read about this, my God, I just knew God was protecting people from being killed off and raped. I just knew it. Guaranteed, at the time, most of the Chinese and Japanese people were not Christians. Some definitely were, but not many. But God didn’t care. He wanted to save these people. It is true, many died, and Satan had a hold of many of them, but God protected all those that had survived. Like in all the other examples, He did this because He loves them. Not because they were saved from their sins, because they weren’t if they didn’t accept Jesus, or any other reason besides the fact that God loves them, as much as the Tutsis and Hutus and Jews and EVERYONE else. He saved them because He loves them.

Now to bring up some less troubling historical events that happened to my family and me. Before I became Christian, I HATED God. I despised Jesus. I cursed God out everyday, blaming Him for the death of my dad. I HATED him. But you know what? I can remember one very scary night where God protected my family, even though I really hated God. Apparently, the neighborhood I once lived in while I lived in Canada was street gang central. I never saw any gangs until this one night, and I never saw a street gang after it. But they were there. One night my brother came running home very afraid. When he got inside our house, he told everyone to lock the doors and call the police. The reason was because an entire street gang was RIGHT outside our house, wanting to kill my bro. Why? I don’t know. And I don’t want to know. It was only my friend, my sister, my bro and I at home, and this entire street gang was very big. I must have been only 9 years old, and I had no true concept as to what was going on until I looked outside to see the gang in our driveway. Then I was very afraid also. But I tell you that night God protected us. It was like a force field was surrounding the house, because I tell you, if the gang wanted in, they could have gotten in and did whatever they wanted to us. But even though I didn’t know it then, God was there with His Son, and His angels were guarding the doors. God was there. There is NO doubt about that. We weren’t believers at all. But God was there. How awesome is that?

Before my bro became Christian in 2003, he was part of the Marine Corp. When he was being trained how to use mortar (That tube weapon where you drop a bomb into the tube, and it launches the bomb into the air towards whatever you aimed it at), he made a mistake by turning his head while dropping the bomb into the mortar. When he did this, he was distracted by something. So, he kept his hand in the way. Normally, the bomb is launched immediately after it’s dropped into the mortar, but it didn’t launch. He had his hand in the way for a few seconds. That’s when a voice told him to move his hand. This voice, he told me, was an angelic voice. When he moved his hand, the bomb was launched. That is what made my brother believe in God. The bomb should have launched immediately. But it didn’t. It didn’t launch until he moved his hand. And he was warned by God to move his hand. He didn’t believe, yet God had protected him.

Why is it that I brought all this up? What is it that all these non-believers had in common? How does this demonstrate a point about Jesus?

In all of these events, the people were not followers of Christ. They weren’t saved from their sin, and they weren’t right with God. But God saved them anyway. By ALL means, they should have been killed. Yet, God didn’t let them. Jesus saved them. He saved them because though they don’t trust in Him, He still loves them.

God is love. He loves even the unlovable. He loves them so much that He’d help out even somebody who has no faith in His Son. Why is this? It’s all because of what was mentioned near the beginning of this sermon. We are made in His image and likeness. He made us special. He made us to love us. Our rebellion made Him angry, but His love remained.

Luke 7:22
And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

Luke 17:11-17

11Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a]met him. They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
14When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
Matthew 15:30
And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.

Matthew 15:31
So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

1. Matthew 8:16
When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.
Matthew 17:14-18

14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."
17"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.

All throughout the Gospel, Jesus is healing and doing miracles to those who have no faith in Him or little faith in God. He healed the diseased and the crippled; He forced demons out of people, etc. And all of these people had no faith in Him. Of course, He did these things in order to show people that He is the Son of God, sent to save people of their sins, but at this point, these people had no faith in Him. Even when people had zero faith in Him, He helped them anyway (See Matthew 17:14-1 cool . It wasn’t only because He was showing them He was the Messiah, but because He loves them. All of them. God loves them all. Jesus is God. God is Jesus. They are separate, but they are also one. If Jesus were willing to heal these people, these people who had no faith in Him, then what do you think He wants us to do for them? Jesus told us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hurt us, to serve people and not expect anything for it, and to spread the Word to all nations. This CANNOT happen if we begin to think that just because a person follows a false teaching or something along those lines that God won’t protect them. It is true, they won’t even begin to reap the full benefits of God protection, but God will do what He can. We cannot love non-believers if we view them as people who God won’t help until they start believing. That’s not true. God will help them by any means He deems fit. He has shown us that from the beginning.

If we are to be like Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we must be willing to help, serve, and protect non-believers as much as we would believers. Surely, we must not protect their sinfulness, or condone what they do, or force them to believe in Jesus, or anything like that, but we must be willing to help them as we would a believer. That is an attribute to God that He wants us all to have.

Jesus is the only way, the only Truth, and the only way to be forgiven from our sins. There is no other ways. But truly, those people don’t know that, we must show this fact to. Not by force or preaching Hell, but by protecting them and serving them anytime they need it. We don’t protect them so that they can go sin, or protect their sinful nature, but we help them, anyway we can.

I hope that I illustrated a point here, and that God has taught you something in this sermon. I love you all. Jesus loves you eternally more.