Page 963 … What God wants
“God expects [that we not excuse the sins of others].”
Well if that is indeed the case, then He is not a perfectly Loving God (period) … and if that is indeed the case then Jesus was wrong in Matthew 5:48 when he claimed that his heavenly Father’s Love was complete & without condition or limit … and if that is indeed the case then Jesus was wrong in John 5:22 when he claimed that God judges no one (seeing as how His Love knows no fear, and therefore can levy no punishment; see 1 John 4:18) … and if that is indeed the case then Jesus was wrong in Matthew 18:21-22 when he essentially (at least according to Finney) encouraged us to have a greater Love than God by telling us to forgive others “seventy times seven” (i.e. everyone always; completely and without end) … and if that is indeed the case then Jesus was wrong in Luke 6:36 when he essentially (again, at least according to Finney) instructed us to somehow show greater mercy to others than God does … and if that is indeed the case then Jesus was wrong in Matthew 7:1-5 when he told us to not judge the sins of others … and if that is indeed the case then Jesus was wrong in Matthew 23:25-26 when he told us to avoid criticizing others until our own “cups” were completely clean … and if that is indeed the case then Jesus was wrong in John 8:7 when he quite clearly admonished the Pharisees (adherents of the laws of Leviticus, no less) – and thereby us all as well – that they were to not “cast stones” upon the misdeeds of others until they themselves were completely without sin … and if that is indeed the case then Jesus was wrong in John 7:24 when he told us all to not judge others by their appearances or their behaviors, but rather to evaluate them with “correct & impartial [i.e. righteous] discernment”!
Of course, Jesus doesn’t have to be seen as wrong in any of these instances (or any others even remotely similar thereto). For there is an alternative viewpoint available to us all – and that viewpoint is that the Bible is right (specifically, the words of Jesus Christ in the Gospels), and therefore that Finney – at least in this instance – is the one who is wrong.
;