Will God Protect Us ???

 

John 10: 28-30 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

This pandemic business has really put the cat among the pigeons from a Christian point of view. It has literally set brother against brother and sister against sister over the questions that relate to Covid. Questions like “Is the vaccine safe?” or, “Is the virus more dangerous than the flu?” Of course with all of the misinformation, paranoia, media spin and with the latent mistrust that the whole situation is engendering in nearly every facet of society. Add to that all of the disharmony and abuse flying about. Then you have a literal slough of despond in which lies all of the worst of the human condition. Or so it would seem.

Christians are very good at being Berean in the way that they search the scriptures tirelessly and the Internet as well. Sadly, they are not so good at being Berean in searching the scriptures and Internet to see that what is said is true. They tend to search to find scraps and morsels that will support what they already believe. They then employ that information to propound their argument to disrupt the thinking of others. The clear implication is if you don’t believe what they say then you’re an idiot and are not on the right team.

I’ve played this game for most of my life and as a result have tended to steer clear of Church because of it. I just can’t be bothered with the next popular spiritual fad that blows through the Church community laying waste to those who get involved. It’s a lot easier just to stay away and read the word, commune with the Lord in prayer and work on your spiritual life without distractions. It is very lonely though and on the whole I don’t recommend it. Find a Church where you like the people and fit in because at the end of the day the people are the most important thing. So, In Christ Jesus make a difference.

Now, Will God Protect Us? The question I’m asking here is this “Will God protect us if we do something which is wrong like taking the vaccine?” Now to many Christians to take the vaccine is to deny Christ and we all know that if we deny Christ He has said that he will deny us. It is seen as tantamount to taking the mark of the beast. So, will God still protect us if we do this thing which in the view of many Christians is a horrible error?

I think from my point of view as one who has taken the jab simply from a pragmatic point of view. I would cite something that John MacArthur said sometime after the pandemic was first unleashed. He simply noted that over the years he had been called to preach overseas and had to take various vaccinations in order to be able to travel. He hadn’t particularly wanted the vaccinations but in order to do God’s work he had to get the shots and so he did so.

To me this is the same situation. If I have to get the vaccination to continue to live my life and be able to go places ostensibly in the service of Jesus Christ. Then I will do that and put my trust in the Lord to protect me from the consequences. This is a natural part of living a life of faith in Jehovah Elohim. We are always in a battle between the forces of Righteousness and those of Unrighteousness. We are soldiers for God and sometimes the consequences will be fatal but if we achieve what God desires to be achieved then it is all to the good.

At the end of the day it is about being saved in Christ Jesus, being safe in the hand of God and nothing being able to pluck us from God’s hand. Even if we err woefully we are safe in the hand of Jehovah and nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Integral in this discussion is what you believe the nature of God is like and how forgiving you perceive Him to be? In short if you stuff up will God abandon you? Listening to Christians most seem a little confused about this issue. It is not uncommon for Christians to speak of the God of Love and yet also hold to a God who will judge a person and effectively dispense with them in an extremely arbitrary manner. I often wonder if we as humans and Christians don’t tar God with the same brush as we would tar ourselves. We would toss someone to the wolves at the drop of a hat and we besmirch God with the same failings that we as mere people are incapable of avoiding.

In the scripture above God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah to the Christians of the time. The people of Israel. He promises them that they need fear not nor be dismayed for He is their God. He will strengthen and help and He will uphold them with his righteous right hand. So if I divide this correctly we have no need to fear whatever happens or however we as humans stuff up. God is with us and will strengthen us and uphold us in His righteousness. If we equate this to walking in the Spirit then God will work through us, strengthening and upholding and keeping us in His righteousness.

This reminds me of 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So, no matter how badly we stuff up or how great is the carnage we inflict on ourselves and others. If we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us those sins, regardless of what they are. Not only that but at the same time cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Thus we are forgiven and made holy.

So how does that play out for getting the vaccine? Well surely if we bring this to God and if it is a sin. Then we confess it to him and He is faithful to forgive us. Not only that but cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Is this only spiritual cleansing or is this physical cleansing at the same time. Does this mean that we are cleansed and healed if the vaccine is a curse to us? I don’t know but it is worth thinking about isn’t it?

Bear in mind Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

I’ve been dining out on this scripture for some months now but to me it definitely applies here because the vaccine is being foisted on us by the government. It seems we have limited choice in the matter. If it is for our good and they are innocent in this situation then that is to the greater good. However, if it is being used as a weapon against the people at large and Christians as a subset of the whole. Then that is fashioning a weapon against the people of God and it will not succeed. Further, anyone who speaks against God’s people will be refuted. Thinking Harman and his antisemitic attack against Esther and Mordecai and the Israelites in the Kingdom of Medo-Persia as retold in the book of Esther in the Bible. Well worth a read if you have a copy of the bible and definitely confirms the above scripture.

I guess what I’m labouring to say here is that as people we are frail, foolish creatures. We fail and stuff up more often than not and that includes Christians. If we were perfect we wouldn’t have a problem obeying God and making the right decisions but we aren’t perfect. So we really need all the help that Jehovah can give us or we won’t make it to heaven.

Fortunately, Jehovah loves us and gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Lamb of God. The Son of Man bore our sins upon the Cross, died and resurrected so that those who believe on Him shall not perish but will inherit eternal life. We will not be snatched from His hand by anyone or anything. Therefore the answer is a resounding “Yes, God will protect us.” even when we make the wrong choices in life. We will be forgiven and we will be victorious in the end. We will overcome and gain a crown and be a part of a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, the bride of Christ. Jehovah a great good God and we can trust Him even in our times of great foolishness.