Expert: Rev. Stuart Woodward - 1/9/2006

Question
I'd like to say that  I still have faith, but I'm lost. The question I have is, God created ALL! This includes hell,the devil and demons etc... What kind of mind does our God have? Lucifer was God's favorite angel,and was condemned to hell, unforgivin of his sin. I sin everyday,how do I know I'll even get to heaven, and when I do, will God throw me out too! They say that God is good,great,etc.... Well, to me, God has to have some evil in him as well. He imagined hell,satan,sin and so on. You see what I'm getting at? Help me understand!!!

Answer
Hello Chris,
Thank you for your question. I did reply to it some days ago but for some reason best known to 'all-experts' and the internet system it did not arrive. Your question raises some very important issues. First I must point out that the origin of Satan is not totally clear cut. There are hints in the bible that he was an angel who rebelled against God and I think that is true but it is not as clear as some preachers would have us believe.
We need to ask ourselves whether it would be possible to have obedience if there was not the possibility of disobedience. In other words can there be choice if we can't choose to do wrong. God wants us to choose to love Him. In order for that to happen He had to create us with the choice not to. Sadly, under the prompting of Satan, that is what our first parents chose to do and we have been infected with that tendency ever since. God could have made us without any choice but then it would not have been possible for us to love freely. The bible is clear that God created knowing that we would rebel but He did so because love is always worth it.
God also planned the answer to our problem from the beginning. He came to us in His Son Jesus and on the cross took the punishement that our sin deserves so that whoever turns from their sin and puts their trust in Jesus is completely forgiven. The death of the sinless Jesus paid the price for all sin but to gain the benefit of that we have to choose to accept that provision of God.
This means that my acceptance by God does not depend whether or not I sin but on whether or not I have trusted my life to Jesus Christ. We will only get to heaven by grace through faith, not through our own merit. This first 8 chapters of Romans explain this very clearly.
If we have thrown ourselves on God's mercy in Jesus there is no way He will ever turn us away. We then seek to live lives that please God out of gratitude for the salvation He gives, not to earn our place in heaven.
Regarding Satan, I have no doubt that in theory if Satan repented he could be forgiven but the bible is clear that he will not repent.
I hope this answer is of some help to you and pray that God will bless you as you seek to explore His love more.
Stuart Woodward