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[Joecool]

If God knows everything, why did He create laws/rules? I assume God knew we (humans) would break the rules and then God would “decide” to send Jesus to save us from the evils humans committed. It feels like God, who knows all things past present and future, should have given humans a different (easier) way to salvation or create better humans who follow rules, so in the end all of us could be with Him in Heaven. Going off this, if we God had done something different then He wouldn’t have had to send His only son: Jesus.

I’m pretty sure someone will respond with the idea that God loved us so much that He sent his only Son or something else along the lines of that, but that doesn’t make sense to me. Why would he do that if we are all created in God’s image? Wouldn’t God want the creation of His image to be perfect, just like Him!? Also, what does it mean to be created in God’s image? I sense it means we should have not broken the rules ever.

[jimwalton]

Thanks for writing in. I'll be glad to discuss it with you.

I'll admit that when I first started into your post, I wondered what the connection was between God knowing everything and creating rules. I was thinking, "What do those two have to do with each other?" But then as I read further, I picked up on what you were saying, and this is where our conversation lies. You are saying that following rules is not the way God should have done salvation. You're right, and that's why God didn't do it that way.

There are a bunch of verses that tell us that following rules isn't how we get saved. Ephesians 2.8-9 say explicitly that salvation is a gift of God (grace), and that following rules (being good, obeying the laws, doing what's right) isn't what saves us. Romans 3 tells us that when it comes to following the rules and being good, all of us fall short. None of us is perfect in that regard, and so if salvation were by following the rules, we'd all be in big trouble. But then in Romans 4 (esp. vv. 13-17) and Romans 5.1-11, Paul makes it clear that following the rules isn't how we are saved. Instead, we are saved because God offers it to us as a free gift. Our part isn't to work for it or earn it, but instead merely to accept it.

God knew, as you said, that we could never succeed at being good enough to earn our way to heaven, so His plan is different: give it to anyone who will accept it.

> Why would he do that if we are all created in God’s image?

Being in God's image doesn't mean we were perfect, are perfect, or have any way to become perfect. In Genesis, being in God's image is defined as being His representative on Earth to rule the Earth and subdue it (Gn. 1.26, 28; cf. Ps. 8.5-8). Others teach that it refers to the value and dignity of humans. Either way, it has nothing to do with perfection.

> Wouldn’t God want the creation of His image to be perfect, just like Him!?

Great question. He wants us to be perfect, yes, but the only way to achieve that is God doing a miraculous work in us. We can't achieve it on our own. It's a process called "sanctification" (the process of God making us like Him), and it won't be finished until we're in heaven (1 Cor. 13.10; 1 Jn. 3.2-3). But perfection is certainly not what God expects of us before He saves us. It's not achievable, and that's not how the Bible says it works.

When it comes right down to it, only God can be perfect. Since God is eternal, anything He created is by necessity not eternal, and therefore is less than God. There's no other choice. Created beings can't be uncreated; finite beings can't be eternal; and therefore we are not divine and not perfect. There's no other way. But knowing that, God made a way to be in relationship with us that didn't depend on us being perfect, and we're grateful for that.

> what does it mean to be created in God’s image?

I covered this above, but we can talk about it more if you want.

> I sense it means we should have not broken the rules ever.

No, actually that's not what it means. Our being in God's image doesn't really have anything to do with breaking rules.

So, I've put out a bunch of stuff here for you to think about and for us to talk about. Let me know what you want to talk about from here.