My apology

My apology – what am I thinking?

You must have questions to have come here. I respect that. Here is my apology, that is, explanation of how my faith statements aligns with my understanding of scriptures. The points I will highlight are that:

  • We misunderstand God
  • We are all flawed
  • God knows us perfectly
  • In death God gives each person exactly what their heart has desired regarding closeness to Him

I use both the New King James Version and The Message below. If you are new to the scriptures, I encourage you to start with The Message. Peterson does a phenomenal job of taking the idioms of the day and translating into very accessible modern English. It often really hits home.

1.  Every person is theologically mistaken

I’m not sure why, but it seems everyone is willing to admit to being sinful, many still feel that they fully understand God. Wow!

No one understands God on their own

  • Romans 3:10–12 — “There is none righteous, no, not one;There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
  • 1 Corinthians 1:21 — “Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered stupid—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.”
  • 1 Corinthians 2:14 — “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Even believers only know partially

  • 1 Corinthians 13:12 — “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

2. Every person is morally flawed

Those who break any part of the law are guilty of all of it

Many people have a “life verse” this is mine. It keeps me grounded and reminds me not to judge because I am just as guilty. I admit it is an odd life verse, but that’s who I am.

  • James 2:10 — “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”

3. God judges our heart (intent), not the correctness of our theology

God cares much more about out intent or motivation than actual acts.

God sees desire, not outward performance

  • 1 Samuel 16:7 — “But God told Samuel, “Looks aren’t everything. Don’t be impressed with his looks and stature. I’ve already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart.”
  • Jeremiah 17:10 — “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind.I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.”
  • 1 Chronicles 28:9 — “And you, Solomon my son, get to know well your father’s God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for God examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he’ll make sure you find him, but if you abandon him, he’ll leave you for good.”

God honors sincerity even when knowledge is limited

  • Acts 17:26-27 — “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”
  • Romans 2:14–16 — “When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences.”

4. God awakens desire for Him and completes what He begins

Desire for God is God’s work in us

  • Philippians 2:12-13 — “What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.”

Those who seek Him will find Him

  • Matthew 7:8 — “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
  • Hebrews 11:6 — “It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.”

God draws people to Himself

  • John 6:44 — “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Even the faintest spark of faith is God’s doing, and He will finish it.

5. God fulfills the deepest desire of those who want Him

Full satisfaction in God’s presence

  • Psalm 16:11 — “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
  • Psalm 17:15 — “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”

Those who desire God will “see Him”

  • Matthew 5:8 — “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”

Eternal life is relational closeness to God

  • John 17:3 — “And this is the real and eternal life: That they know you, the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.”

Jesus desires His people to be with Him

  • John 17:24 — “Father, I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, having loved me long before there ever was a world.”

Together, these verses support the belief that God gives Himself fully to those who want Him, and that this fulfillment happens completely after death in what lies beyond; some call it heaven.

6. In death God reveals Himself clearly, and completes what was incomplete

Our limited knowledge becomes full

  • 1 Corinthians 13:12 — “We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!”

We see God as He is

  • 1 John 3:2 — “But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him.”

These passages support the idea that death is not an end, but the moment of full revelation, when God satisfies the heart that has longed for Him.

7. God also honors the desire of those who do not want Him

Scripture presents God as honoring the true desire of each heart.

God allows people to choose separation

  • Romans 1:24–25 — “So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!”
  • John 3:19–21 — “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

God does not force Himself on those who refuse Him

  • Luke 13:34 — “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killer of prophets, abuser of the messengers of God! How often I’ve longed to gather your children, gather your children like a hen, Her brood safe under her wings—but you refused and turned away!”

Life and death are presented as genuine choices

  • Deuteronomy 30:19 — “I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live.”

These passages affirm that God ultimately gives each person the outcome their heart has freely chosen — closeness to God for those who desire Him, and distance for those who truly do not.

8. God desires all people to know Him

God’s will is for all to come to Him

  • 1 Timothy 2:4 — “He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned:”
  • 2 Peter 3:9 — “God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.”
  • Ezekiel 18:23 — “Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn’t it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right—really living?.”

These reinforce the idea that God is actively working in every heart, and any genuine desire for truth, goodness, or love ultimately leads toward Him.

Closing thought

I fully affirm John 14:6 — that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. What I contest is the idea that human misunderstanding, birthplace, or religious confusion can block the saving work God desires to do. Christ is the exclusive bridge to God, but God is free to apply Christ’s work to anyone He chooses, including at the moment of death when He finally reveals Himself clearly.

Every person who enters God’s presence does so because of Jesus, but not everyone must understand Jesus fully in this life for God to save them.

And to finish the circle. I am wrong, I just don’t know what I am wrong about. So if you disagree with me and are not disagreeable, I welcome the conversation.