Question:

65.5—Do the people who believed in Christ, but died before His crucifixion go to heaven or live on the new earth?

65.5—As indicated in the previous question those who believed in Christ before Christ died are part of the heavenly company (see Revelation 21:12,14). At least some of those who lived before the cross had the assurance from God’s Word that they would go to heaven. We are told that Abraham “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” He along with Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, and thus they “declared plainly” that they desired “a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:10,13,14,16).

Question:

65.4—Who are the “24 Elders” mentioned in Revelation 4:4?

Answer:

65.4—I believe the twenty-four elders symbolize believers from all ages (the Church as well as all those who were saved before Christ died on the cross).  [Ed. – Old Testament saints are represented by the 12 tribes of Israel and the New Testament saints by the 12 apostles of the Lamb.] I think this is true because Revelation 5:8, 9 show us that the 24 elders are redeemed.  Who are redeemed? Certainly Old Testament and New Testament believers have both been redeemed.  Hebrews 11 gives many examples of Old Testament believers and 1 Peter 1:18, 19 tells us that we have been redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ.”  Although I do not know of any verse that directly says that the 24 elders are representative of the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles, this may be true and would symbolize those that were saved before Christ died as well as those saved after He died, until the rapture of the Church.  

Question:

65.6—Why are there so many churches/denominations that believe different interpretations of the Bible? We’re all worshipping the same God, and using the same Book—the Bible is so straightforward—we should all have the same beliefs on issues such as salvation. We all belong to the church of Christ. All the different denominations seem foolish!

65.6—One reason there are different denominations or gatherings of the Lord’s people is that people interpret the Bible differently. The Bible is indeed straightforward and we should all have the same beliefs, but there are many reasons for the different interpretations. I will list three of them:

1) There are different interpretations of the Bible because what God is telling us in the Bible cannot be understood by human reasoning. “As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God…which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:9,10,13).

God “reveals” His mind through faith for, “Through faith we understand” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith accepts the “words” that God says in the Bible as true and the Spirit of God uses those “words” to “guide…into all truth” (John 16:13).

2) There are different interpretations of the Bible because God holds the key to opening up His treasures of truth, which is not merely information but is a message for us to obey. Jesus promised:  “If any man will do [God’s] will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17). Not only must a person want to know God’s will, but must want to do His will, whatever that may be, for God to reveal it.

3) Another reason there are many interpretations is because there are many translations of the Bible today, and some say different things. It is absolutely essential if we are going to know what God is telling us in the Bible that we use a “verbal translation” of the Holy Scriptures, which is a translation of the Hebrew and Greek words to English. Paraphrases are nice to read, but they are a translation of phrases instead of the inspired “words” God gave in the manuscripts. The translation of whole phrases allows human reason to interpret the passage, which can but hinder the Interpreter God has provided, even the Spirit of God who indwells him, from revealing God’s mind so he can “know all things” (1 John 2:20).

It is a dishonor to Christ and therefore foolish indeed, as is stated in the question, to not gather as He plainly instructs His people to gather, which He says is “unto My name” (Matthew 18:20). Gathering unto His name includes owning (by obeying His Word) that Christ is Head of His body, the church. This also includes seeking to represent no other body than “the one body” of believers (1 Corinthians 10:16,17) to which the Lord adds every person when he is saved (Acts 2:47). In view of soon being with our Saviour in eternity, may God work in each of us both the desire and ability to do what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13).

Question:

65.2—Where in Revelation (if ever) does it tell when the rapture takes place? Also, where are some other Scriptures that tell us the rapture will happen before the tribulation?

65.2—Concerning when the rapture will take place, Revelation 3:10 adds to the thoughts already mentioned.  I believe this verse talks about the Tribulation since it says that this hour of temptation will come on all the world.  There are terrible problems in many areas of the world, but the Tribulation will affect the entire world.  The Church is being addressed in Revelation 3 and so I take it as a promise that the Church will be spared going through the Tribulation.  This would necessitate being taken out of the world since the Tribulation will come on all the world, which would indicate the rapture of believers as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17.  What love we, the Bride of Christ (the Church), are shown by our Lord in sparing us the terrible suffering of the Tribulation! 

I believe that 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 also show that the rapture will occur before the Tribulation.  The Antichrist is described in verses 3, 4, 8, 9, and 10.  These verses correspond to the revelation of the Antichrist in Revelation 13:11-17.  2 Thessalonians 2:7, 8 shows that the Antichrist will not be revealed until the One is taken away who hinders iniquity.  Remembering from Romans 3:12 that “there is none that doeth good,” then the One who hinders iniquity in this world must be the Holy Spirit who indwells believers (Ephesians 1:13).  No human being is holy in himself and therefore would not be able to stop iniquity, but the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer is holy and is capable of hindering iniquity.  The Holy Spirit will be taken out of the earth at the rapture when those He indwells are taken to heaven.  It is only then that the Wicked, Lawless, Antichrist will be revealed to deceive those who had already rejected the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).   

Question:

65.5—Do the people who believed in Christ, but died before His crucifixion go to heaven or live on the new earth?

65.1—With the background of the answer to Question 65.4, I would suggest that the answer to Question 65.1 is found in Revelation 4:4,10,11 and 5:8-14.  In these verses we see that the 24 elders (all believers to this point in time) are very active worshipping the Lamb.  What an occupation this will be for us, praising and worshipping our beloved Savior.  Chapters 4 and 5 precede the description of the Tribulation in chapters 6-19, but I would suggest that our worship of the Lord Jesus in heaven will not stop when the Tribulation is occurring on Earth. 

Question:

In 2 John 10 we read, “If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine [that is, the doctrine of Christ, verse 9], receive him not into your house, neither bid him God-speed.”  What exactly is “the doctrine of Christ” in this passage?

Verse 7 gives the answer: “Many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.”  Verse 10 says, “Neither bid him God speed” or greet him.  Is this cruel?  No, such a person’s beliefs are against my Saviour.  He is an enemy of the Cross.

Question:
Why are people in the church offended by a man wearing nice, dressy, short pants?

Answer:

We show respect for others (or lack of respect) in part by the clothes we wear and other aspects of our outward appearance.  This is why the king provided special garments for all of the guests to the wedding of his son (Matthew 22:2-13).  By this the king made sure that the poor people were not shabbily dressed and that the rich were not dressed more finely than the bride and groom themselves.  We do not ordinarily see men wearing short pants at weddings or funerals.  We do not ordinarily see business and professional men wearing short pants at work.  What would you think if you went to see your doctor about a very serious health problem and he was wearing short pants?  Would you be able to take him seriously?  So when we come together to worship the Lord Jesus, with the promise that “where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20), would we be demonstrating respect for Him by wearing clothing that we would not wear out of respect for human beings of lesser rank and importance?

Question:

When my friends ask me who is the pastor of my church, what should I say?

Tell them that we have several pastors, teachers, evangelists, and brothers and sisters with a variety of other spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10,28; Ephesians 4:11).  The Head of the Church is Christ (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18) and the Leader of Worship and Ministry is the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3,7,11; 1 Thessalonians 5:19,20).  Ask your friends if there is a Scripture limiting the number of pastors to one per church.  There is no reason for embarrassment.  Explain to those who ask that we believe everyone has a gift and should be using it.

Question:

How should we as Christians deal with fear—fear of things happening now or that might happen later?

First, let us distinguish between fear and worry or anxiety.  Fear is our response to very real and present dangers.  For example, it was fear that drove thousands of occupants of the Twin Towers to race down 50 or 100 flights of stairs to safety on 9/11.  Without that fear, many more would have perished.  Anxiety or worry is fear in the absence of present danger—of what might happen in the future, but usually doesn’t.  Real dangers should cause us to depend all the more heavily upon the Lord.  “Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4).  “Fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me…but I trusted in Thee, O LORD…my times are in Thy hand” (Psalm 31:13-16).  Some people are plagued with unreasonable fears, called phobias.  Being in crowds of people, enclosed places, high places, airplanes, or darkness might produce such fear in them that they try to avoid those situations.  Sometimes real or imagined fears prevent us from doing what God wants us to do, such as pass out gospel tracts or talk to people about their souls.  The following verse applies to such situations: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18).  A certain man once had a bad experience while driving over a bridge—he began to feel dizzy or faint.  From that time on he would drive miles out of the way to avoid having to drive over a bridge.  But when he got a phone call saying his daughter had been in an accident and was at a certain hospital, he drove over four bridges without flinching to get there.  Love for his daughter cast out his unreasoning fear of bridges.

With regard to worry and anxiety, the Lord tells us, “Take no thought [literally, do not worry] for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on…. Take therefore no thought [or don’t worry] for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself” (Matthew 6:25-34).  The apostle Paul adds to this, “Be careful [or full of care or worry or anxiety] for nothing” (Philippians 4:6).  Now, he is not promoting a careless, carefree “Don’t worry, be happy” attitude, but he goes on to give good reason for this admonition: “But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (4:6,7). Therefore, commit your worries to the Lord in prayer, at the same time remembering with thanksgiving all the times He has brought you through your times of worry without anything drastic happening.

Question:

If God made man in His own image and made woman from man, then what was the initial sex of man?  What is the natural gender of God?

“So God created man in His own image…male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27).  Both males and females have been created in God’s image.  This is not a physical likeness since God does not have a physical body.  Men and women have something no other living creature has, namely, a spirit that has the capability of knowing and communicating with God.  It is in this sense, particularly, that man has been created in God’s own image.  God created Adam as a male human being.  By making Eve from Adam, the woman was in most respects the same as man.  However, God imparted some important differences to the woman by giving her a second X chromosome in place of a Y chromosome; thus, she was not a clone or exact duplicate of the man, but “a help meet [or suitable] for him” (Genesis 2:18).

God as a Spirit being cannot physically be either male or female, but when “the Word [that is, the Son of God] was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), He came physically as a man, not a woman.  Also, the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts are clear in their designation of God as “He” and “Him” rather than “She” and “Her,” and as “Father” rather than “Mother.”  God clearly manifests male characteristics, such as “The LORD is a man [or male] of war” (Exodus 15:3).  But He also reveals characteristics that are traditionally identified more with females than males, such as the qualities of meekness, gentleness, and compassion (Lamentations 3:22; Matthew 11:28-30; Mark 1:41; Luke 13:34; John 11:35).  Thus, He understands and can help women every bit as much as men.

Question:

In the Bible, it says that Jesus told the rich young ruler that in order to get into heaven he would have to give away all his possessions.  If I were a rich person and I did positive things with my money (did good things for the poor), would I be allowed in heaven?

Not on the basis of your works, for the Scripture says, “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).  Jesus put the challenge to the rich young ruler because he claimed to have kept the whole law from his youth up.  One purpose of the law is to convict man of sin and his need of salvation (Romans 7:7).

Question:

What version of the Bible is the Word of God?

To come as close as possible to the original Scriptures as inspired by God, we must go to the Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament (dating as early as 100 B.C.) and the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament (dating as early as the 2nd century A.D.).  Probably the most accurate English translation of the Scriptures is the one by J.N. Darby in the late 19th century.

Question:

In 2 John 9 we read, “Whosoever…abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God.”  What does “hath not God” mean in this passage?

1 John 2:23 tells us that we only know the Father through the Son.  Groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons deny the deity of Christ and therefore do not know God.  When they come to our homes, we should present the gospel to them.  Are these people saved?  “Hath not God” could not be referring to saved people.

Question:

Will we know our loved ones who are saved in glory as we do on earth?

Luke 16:19-25 demonstrates that the saved and unsaved in the next life can recognize one another even though they cannot be together.  Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and were somehow recognizable to Peter, James, and John.

“Then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12) implies that we will recognize  people we have known on earth (as well as those we have not known), although the particular nature of our earthly relationship may not carry over into heaven, as seen in Matthew 22:30.

Question:

Is it right for a brother to get up and preach through emotion instead of the Holy Spirit?

Read Acts 7 where Stephen preached to the leaders of the Jews.  Much of his sermon consisted of a review of the Old Testament history of the children of Israel.  Now just try to imagine Stephen as he gets to the punch line: “Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.  Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers” (7:51,52).  Do you think Stephen mumbled these words in a monotone, or did he shout them with great emotion?  Twice we are told, once before his speech and once afterwards, that Stephen was “full of the Holy Ghost” (6:5 and 7:55).  So preaching God’s Word with emotion is not necessarily inconsistent with preaching by the power of the Holy Spirit.  What needs to be guarded against is getting up and preaching our own thoughts, our own experiences, our own ideas, rather than the Word of God.  All the emotion in the world cannot compensate for preaching apart from the power of the Holy Spirit.

Question:

If I take my life to save someone I really care about or even someone I dislike or an enemy, is that suicide? wrong?

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10).  So if you take a bullet or grenade to save a friend or even an enemy, you are in good company—that of the Lord Jesus Christ.  However, there is this difference: “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3); that is, He paid God’s righteous penalty for our sins that we might have eternal life.  One who gives his life on the battlefield in place of another allows the one who is spared to live longer on this earth, and perhaps have an opportunity to be saved eternally.

Question:

Should a Christian go to war and kill others?

One of the young men suggested that it would not be right to go to war just to kill, but it would be all right to go to war to defend one’s country.  One of the leaders asked if there were Scriptures that could help to answer the question.  Someone quoted, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).  Therefore we are to be subject to the government as well as to God.  Does the Bible ever tell us to disobey Caesar?  Yes, if the word of Caesar is in conflict with the Word of God: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

What about Israel’s war of conquest under Joshua?  In the Old Testament God’s people were a nation with a specific national territory and national government and therefore had to engage in earthly warfare (which they did at God’s direct command) in order to obtain and maintain their national territory and identity.  In the current era, the day of grace, God’s people are being called out of all nations to form a body (Ephesians 2:11-22; Colossians 3:11).  They do not have a national territory, but heavenly blessings (Philippians 3:20).  Therefore, their warfare is spiritual rather than physical (2 Corinthians 10:3,4; Ephesians 6:11,12).

God had at least three purposes in the Old Testament wars: (1) To make it possible for the children of Israel to regain the land of Canaan promised to Abraham and his descendants; (2) to keep Israel from intermingling with the pagan Canaanites so the Israelites could remain pure; and (3) to cleanse the land of idolaters.  Israel was used to execute God’s judgment on the wicked Canaanites.  Matthew 5:38-48 indicates that it may have been right to resist evil and hate one’s enemies in Old Testament times (see Psalm 139:21,22); but now we are to love our enemies and pray for them.  As Christians, we are not executors of God’s judgment but messengers of His grace and forgiveness.

Can we honestly pray for the welfare and salvation of our enemies while shooting at them?  Should we enlist in the Armed Forces and put ourselves in the position of possibly having to kill people?  Romans 13:1-6 shows us that there is a difference between the functions of government and the responsibilities of individuals.

One of the leaders commented that none of those addressing the questions were trying to lay down rules for others.

Question:

If you tell someone to shoot you, is that suicide? murder? wrong?

All three.  God is the One who gave us life.  We must not purposely and selfishly take away (by suicide) what God has given to us.  We may feel depressed or despondent, be weighed down by cares and worries, or be in great pain, but let us remember that “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted [or tried or tested] above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Review the answers to similar questions about struggling with “bad things” above.

Question:

Will God forgive you for anything you ask?

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake” (1 John 2:12).  “In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7).  These verses refer to all sins, past, present, and future.  All of these sins are forgiven when we first come to Christ; this is judicial, eternal forgiveness provided by God as Judge.  If we sin after we come to Christ and confess them as in 1 John 1:9, we receive paternal and restorative forgiveness provided by God as Father.  This forgiveness restores us to fellowship with God and to the joy of His salvation (Psalm 51:12).  Confession is a result of repentance and is taking sides with God against ourselves and admitting that we have done wrong.  This admission restores communion between God and ourselves.

Question:

What is communion?  Is it only done by the elders of the church?

Communion is a word often used to describe the breaking of bread or Lord’s Supper or remembrance meeting.  In Luke 22:19,20, 1 Corinthians 10:16,17,  and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 we read that the bread is a symbol of Christ’s body and the wine is a symbol of His blood.  As they appear on the table, with the bread and wine both there, but separate, not intermingled, they remind us of the crucifixion and the blood poured out.  Also, the one loaf of bread symbolizes the one body made up of all true believers (1 Corinthians 10:17), so partaking of the bread and cup is not just an act of communion with the Lord Jesus Christ but also an expression of the fellowship that we enjoy with other members of the body of Christ.

Why is it important to remember?  First, we remember that the reason Christ died was to redeem us from our sins, and this fills our hearts with praise, worship, and thanksgiving to Himself and to God the Father.  Second, it helps set the tone for the coming week.  As we think of how profoundly He loved us, we should be eager to serve and obey Him.

There is nothing in Scripture to tell us that only elders should conduct or participate in the Lord’s Supper.

Question:

If one is a non-Christian and tries very hard to become one and God sees it, would that person go to heaven or hell?

No one will ever be saved by “trying hard.”  “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).  “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5).  It is when we come to an end of trying and cast ourselves totally upon the grace of God and the completed work of Christ on the Cross, that we can be saved.  “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6-10).  Cry out, along with the tax collector, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Luke 18:13), and put your faith for salvation in Christ who died for your sins (1 Corinthians 15:3).

Question:

If I were not a Christian and I were on my way to be saved and I get shot and I die on the spot, and God knew that I truly wanted to change, would I go to heaven?

Some of the young people responded: “Why wait?”  Great answer!  “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3).  An unsaved person may have good intentions about becoming saved eventually, but may be putting it off so he/she can continue a little longer to enjoy “the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25).  That person is engaging in very risky behavior. “Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Question:

If a baby is born and dies at birth, is he considered a sinner?  Will he go to heaven or hell?

“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5).  “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3).  These verses would indicate that a newborn babe is considered a sinner.  However, in speaking of “little ones,” Jesus said, “The Son of man is come to save that which was lost” (Matthew 18:11), whereas when speaking of people in general, He said, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).  When David’s infant son died, he said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23), which would indicate that the infant went to heaven.

Question:

How can young people Scripturally deal with lust, especially sexual lust?

1 Corinthians 10:6-12 gives us an encouragement to avoid giving in to sinful lusts.  Verse 12, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,” shows that we need God’s help to resist temptation.  Verse 13 adds that “God…will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.”  2 Timothy 2:1, “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” shows us that any time lust comes to mind we should look to Christ rather than try to handle it on our own.  It helps us to resist sin when we recognize that all sin is against God (Psalm 51:4) and not only against our fellow humans or our own selves.  We need to ask God to search us and judge our thoughts and show us any sinful tendencies lurking in our hearts that we are not yet aware of (Psalm 139:23,24; 19:12).  Also, we need to “think on” those “things that are pure” (Philippians 4:8).

We should have the Lord Jesus before us in our thoughts: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14).  “Make not provision for the flesh” would include being careful about where we go and with whom we associate.  “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out” (Mark 9:47).  This means that we may need to be radical in our efforts to make no provision for the flesh, perhaps removing cable channels from our TV, or getting rid of the TV altogether, or canceling Internet service if we are stumbled by these promoters of fleshly desires in our homes.

“Flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14).  Joseph was an example of one who literally fled from temptation (Genesis 39:12), and whose resistance to temptation was strengthened by the consideration that failure to resist would involve sin against God (Genesis 39:9) as was mentioned above.

Going back to Romans 13:14, the thought of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ is similar to putting on clothes.  We put them on in the morning and they are with us all day long.  We should be aware of Christ’s presence with us all day long.  Joseph was conscious of being in the presence of God.

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).  If we value a close relationship with the Lord and appreciate being able to go always to Him in prayer, then we need always to confess and forsake sin.  It is also helpful to remember that if I yield to temptation, that is one more sin the Lord had to suffer for.

If we want the best marriage and God’s best blessings on us, we should wait for God to lead us to the marriage partner of His choice, maintain a pure physical relationship throughout the courtship and engagement period, and reserve physical intimacy for marriage.

Question:

If your name is written in the book of life and never removed, what is the penalty of sin?

“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).  “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep [that is, have died]” (1 Corinthians 11:30).  God does not allow His children to play games with Him.  While a true Christian cannot lose his salvation (see John 10:27-29), he may lose the joy of his salvation (Psalm 51:12) and the blessing of true fellowship with the Lord while going on in unconfessed sin (Psalm 66:18; Deuteronomy 28:23).

Question:

If God knows the future, why does He let us go through all of this pain?  Why doesn’t He just destroy those who go against Him?

Where would He draw the line?  Where is the man, woman, or child in this world who has never gone against Him?  Every time we exert our own will in opposition to God’s will, we are, in essence, pushing Him off His throne and putting ourselves there instead.  Every one of us fully deserves to be destroyed (Romans 3:23; 6:23).  Furthermore, God uses the innate wickedness of certain people to test and chasten His children.  For example, King Nebuchadnezzar, who wickedly threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:19-21), is referred to elsewhere as a servant of the LORD, permitted to chasten the children of Israel because of their departure from the LORD (Jeremiah 25:4-9).  Note also that in the end, Nebuchadnezzar himself was drawn to acknowledge and worship the God of Israel (Daniel 4:37).