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VBVMI StaffIn the Genesis study, you taught God would have been forced to destroy Adam and Eve if they hadn't hidden from Him, since sin can't exist in the presence of such a holy God. If that is the case, how is sin allowed to exist today? Are we not always in the presence of God?
First, God is holy and just, therefore He will judge sin perfectly in the end, but in His forbearance.
Paul explains in Romans that in the course of discussing the sin of mankind that God passed over the sins previously committed because He intended to demonstrate His righteousness in Christ. Though God could have destroyed all sin on earth in the first moment, He demonstrated forbearance Paul says. Forbearance means waiting patiently for what is due or refraining from exercising a legal right. God has every right to judge sin – and one day He will do it – but for now, He is being patient so He may demonstrate His righteousness to the world.
Nevertheless, if men came face-to-face with God, judgment for sin in instantaneous because God can no long forebear what enters into His presence. As the Lod Himself explained to Moses:
And Paul says likewise concerning Christ:
In the same way that we cannot avoid judgment when we go before a judge in a court of law, neither can we avoid judgment for sin if we appear before God in sin. Consequently, the Lord has made a way for us to be made righteous through faith in Christ so that when we appear before the Lord in glory, we won’t receive judgment. Meanwhile, we cannot see Him face to face.
In our present situation, we have the Spirit of God in us, but this is not the same thing as seeing God face-to-face. Notice in Paul’s passage from 1Timothy that Paul describes in v.13 how Jesus stood in Pilate’s presence while at the same time Paul says in v.16 that Jesus dwells in unapproachable light. Clearly, the Lord can present Himself to mankind when He desires in ways that do not threaten our existence, while at other times He dwells in His full glory which we cannot approach in sin.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org