Genesis 8:20-22 - God's Curious Remark
By Hendrik Hart - 28 April 2005
In Reference to: Commentary by Frank L. Hoffman
Dear Frank and Mary,
My point was not so much the depth of evil in ourselves, but its ineradicability. That’s what the text seems to say. God’s taking care of it in this text is a very radical form of grace. And I do believe that grace is always radical and has no limits.
Since I do not believe that Scripture reveals a single body of doctrine that is consistent and coherent throughout, I realize that any interpretation is open to other ways of reading texts. That repentance is not always a requirement for grace appears from Romans 2:4, where grace precedes repentance. In that context it also is important that Isaiah refers to God’s justice as mercy (God is gracious and merciful because he is just—30:18).
Peace,
Hendrik