The Superior Express -

Presenting Biblical answers to tough questions

Q: Why would God allow an immoral couple like Judah and Tamar to be in the genealogy of Christ?

A:    It is a common misconception to think that God only allows perfect, “holy” people to participate in his will. This is backwards; God does not pick holy people to use in His plans; the people he picks are holy because He picked them! Romans 3:10 tells us that no one is righteous, or good enough to meet God’s holy standards. If God held tryouts for those seeking to be used by him, or limited his work to ‘the right kind of person’ He’d be doing all the work Himself because He is the only one qualified.

God’s special work in a person’s life is not a reward for good behavior, nor is it an indication of any special quality on the part of the chosen (Romans 9:15-16; 1 Corinthians 1:26-29). God chooses to demonstrate His grace and power by blessing, changing and transforming the most unlikely of people! Judah was a hard man; a murderer who lived only for himself. Yet by the end of his life God had begun to shape him into a self-sacrificing leader who was even willing to surrender his own freedom for the sake of his young brother Benjamin (Genesis 44:33-34). It was the leadership God built into Judah that prepared the way for his descendant: the messiah, who would be the ultimate self-sacrificing leader! Judah made a chain of very wrong choices in regards to Tamar and the rest of his family, and those choices had consequences. While God neither caused nor condoned Judah’s sin, He did a gracious work in his family, redeeming them and preparing them for the work He wanted to do in them and through them. God is willing to take anyone as far in the right direction as they are willing to go and no one has ever messed up so much that God’s grace cannot make them better!

If you have a question that you would like a Biblical answer to you can send it via email to askapastorfcc1 @outlook.com or by mail to Formoso Church; P.O. Box 66; Formoso, Kan. 66942