Last month, George Sodini walked into a women’s aerobics class at an LA Fitness Club just a few miles from where I live. He turned out the lights and began shooting into the darkness, firing fifty rounds. Within seconds, he killed three women and wounded nine others. Then he shot and killed himself.

According to his blog, he had been planning the killings and his suicide at LA Fitness for months in advance. In December, he wrote in that blog of the evangelical church he had attended for thirteen years, saying of the pastor, “This guy teaches (and convinced me) you can commit mass murder then still go to heaven.”

The impact he has had upon our world really cannot be measured. His God-given abilities, his accomplishments and his fame have become legendary. Although shrouded in much mystery, every time he has made an appearance, crowds have been stunned. Every performance has been a thriller with a capital T. Personally, I believe he deserves even more appreciation than has been given to him. No doubt in heaven he is even much more appreciated than he is on the earth. And so I wanted to write a short tribute to Michael.

Last month, in Part 1, I did my best to prove that since Adam, God has offered salvation to everyone and that He has granted salvation to anyone who repented and believed in Him. Those who do repent and believe in Him are characterized by obedience to the law that He has written in their consciences.

Moreover, salvation has always been offered on the basis of Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice, before and after He died. He died for the sins of the world, not just for the sins of the people who lived after He died.

It goes without saying that from Adam until the present time, people have been sinning. In fact, it is quite safe to say that all people who have ever lived have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Knowing this, we thank God that Jesus died for our sins, making our salvation possible.

But here is an interesting question: Was it possible for people to be saved prior to Jesus’ death?

Imagine that I deliver to you, on behalf of one of your friends, a gift box of assorted chocolates. As you open the box in my presence, I hear you say,

Oh, this is what I was hoping it would be! I love chocolates! And look at this! Peanut butter melt-aways! My favorites! And oh, I love these ones with the hazelnut cream on the inside! And I can’t control myself when I see these caramels! Wow, look at those raspberry creams! I love them!

The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them” (Gen. 6:6-7).

I [the Lord] regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands (1 Sam. 15:11).

I suppose it is comforting to know that even God has His bad days. But on a more serious level, we can’t help but wonder why God would regret something that He Himself did. We just read that God said He was sorry that He “made man on the earth.” He wished He hadn’t done it. But if God is all-knowing, and if He knows everything that is yet to happen, why didn’t He decide not to create man on the earth before He got started, knowing that He would regret it otherwise?

An astounding fact: Although the scribes and Pharisees rigorously studied God’s revelation of Himself in the Old Testament, when God appeared in human flesh and simply acted like Himself, they didn’t recognize Him. In fact, they hated Him. Think of that for a moment! Here were men who could quote large portions of the Old Testament, who considered themselves extremely devoted to God, who were Israel’s spiritual leaders, and who were anticipating a Messiah, but when God appeared on the earth, they wanted to kill Him. They were surprised by Jesus, to say the least.

Why were they so surprised? Simply put, He didn’t act and talk like they thought God should. More specifically, He didn’t keep their man-made traditions. What makes their surprise even more tragic is that Jesus didn’t come to earth disguised or impersonating someone else. He came as Himself—as God. Jesus acted just as He had been acting for thousands of years as revealed in Scripture. When the scribes and Pharisees critically questioned Him about His words or deeds, He answered them from Scripture. He knew what He was talking about. He knew what He was doing. He played the part of God flawlessly, because He was God. Still they were utterly surprised by Him.