I know, this title is contradictory to another post I have titled “You have the right to become a child of God”. So how does all of this fit together if they are contradictory of one another? Well, it is simple, God is in control of everything.
“21Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” – Romans 9:21 (ESV)
I see here that God makes us all. He is molding us into that which has a purpose. He is the one in control of the molding. I am nothing until I have been formed and then from there I take on the role I am designed.
“20But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” – Romans 9:20 (ESV)
As the one being molded, I have no say in what my purpose is/was. I do have a say into how it all plays out based on what I receive and believe. This is where the contradiction in the two posts I have made are reconciled. I have the right to becoming a child of God once I have met the condition required. I also have the right to become something else, once I have met the condition required.
I have to meet the conditions required and those conditions are handed down to me by God at the appointed time. Once they are handed down, I have the decision to meet them or reject them. If I choose rejection then I will not receive that for which I was reaching. When I receive and meet the conditions, then I will be granted.
I have no “right” for anything as I am a sinner. I do have conditions to meet and when I do I am granted the reward that God has in store for me. Those conditions as noted in a previous post are simple in form, but difficult in function to meet. Receiving and believing are all that is required and yet the vast majority of people reject that condition as “too hard” or “outrageous” in concept. As a result of the rejection, the reward is not granted.
We have a right but we do not have a “right”. We all have the opportunity to receive and believe, and we all have the opportunity to reject. We do not get to decide what we are (as created by God), but we do get to decide what we become as a result of that which we receive and believe.
When you look at it, what do you receive and believe? Are you of the thought that you deserve something from God? What if we took the approach that we are who we are and need to receive and believe to achieve?
Trevor's Thoughts 