Why God Is Not a Gentleman

I am a member of a men’s Bible Study group. We meet most Sundays afternoon to discuss men’s issues; sports, politics and social and cultural issues but all in light of the Bible simply because we are a group of men who believe and agree that we cannot understand any of these things apart from the Grace, Mercy, and Love of God the Father, the teachings of Jesus the Christ according to the Bible, and most importantly, the guiding and protection of the Holy Spirit. I also believe that the Bible, being the guide that it is, should be studied comparatively as an historical document. The Bible and history cannot and should not be separated. When we do we tend to skew the Truth, albeit, unknowingly sometimes. For example like the idea that the Church and State should be separate. What that has come to mean would have made no sense to the people in Jesus time nor to the Founding Fathers of America. However, that’s another lesson for another time.
I am intrigued by the study of words. How many of you know that there is a name for the study of words. The field of study is called etymology. I am also interested in the study of sayings. The Book of Proverbs in the Bible is one of my favorite compilations of “sayings”. There are many sayings that many “Christians” take for granted or if they do have questions would never ask their pastor or other religious leader to clarify or explain. There are probably dozens more of these seemingly innocuous proclivities. What did he just say??? New words – innocuous proclivities is a way to say - harmless or natural predisposition, in this case, to sound religious. As we shall see what we are about to briefly examine is religious but you won’t find these innocuous proclivities nowhere in the Bible. For example sayings like, I am blessed to be a blessing, favor ain’t fair, God helps those who help themselves, , God hates sin but loves the sinner, and the one we are going to study tonight; God is a gentleman who will never force anyone to do anything against their will. There are probably dozens more, however, careful study under the guidance of the Holy Spirit reveals something quite different. For one thing, God is sovereign.
But just what is sovereignty. Sovereignty means the status, dominion, power, or authority of royalty. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
“God is a gentleman, and does not force Himself on anyone.”
This statement expresses a warped view of God’s sovereignty and of man’s depravity. If God did not intervene and overcome our lethal malady of sin and rebellion, no one would ever be saved. The Gospel of Salvation is impossible apart from divine intervention and enablement. When God saves us, He makes the dead alive, He removes our spiritual blindness with sight, He opens our heart to respond, and He gives us a new nature which desires God. If it is not technically correct to say God overrides our will, He most certainly does change our nature and our will. Instead, Jesus’ earlier words in John 6:44 tell us how ANYONE ever gets saved. “No one CAN come to me unless the Father who sent Me DRAWS him.” The key word here is DRAW (Greek: elkō). What does it mean for God to DRAW someone to Himself?

Many wrongly understand the word to mean “wooing, courting, and enticing.” Furthermore, it is also believed that we have the ability to resist this wooing, just as we can ward off the amorous intentions of a courting lover. We cannot come to Christ without being wooed, but the wooing does not guarantee that we will come to Christ. Is this the correct understanding? Gerhard Kittel’s “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament” defines “draw” (Greek = elkō) to mean “to compel by irresistible superiority.” “Compel” is a much more forceful word than “woo.” Let’s look at other places in the NT where this word is used. To see the force of this word, we should consider other passages where the exact same word is used. In each case, the object is drawn, dragged, compelled. Irresistibly. The Grace Community Church @ Bigelow Blog

Given the true meaning of this word we see that when God has Chosen you, when God has a calling on your life, He can compel you, sometimes quite forcefully, if you don’t believe it, read the story of Jonah. Jonah was chosen to minister to Nineveh, an ancient city in what is today known as Iraq, the seat of the Assyrian Empire. Because of their wickedness God had decided to destroy them but instead of destruction all of Nineveh repented and was saved. This irritated Jonah so much he decided to run from God, then when God pursued him he tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide. Even after being consumed by a giant whale or fish, and in midst of his rebellion God still would not leave him.

God is a gentleman continues to be preached to congregations in Churches all over the United States. This is why correct prayer is needed. The first step to correct prayer is to seek the guidance of our comforter, the Holy Spirit. Pray for “discernment” so that you may not fall for the tricks of the enemy and to be protected from Biblical error. God is not a gentleman. I challenge any preacher, evangelist, apostle, bishop, or archbishop to find that in the Bible….. First thing, in order for God to be a “gentleman” or gentle man, He must first be a man. The Bible says – God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent: Numbers 15:14. So, if God is not a man, why would you preach that He is a “gentleman”.

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