chapters 1-3                     chapters 4-5

What You Should Know About GOD

by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.

Contents

The Greatness Of God

How big is God? How great is He? No one has the full answer to these questions. No one can. We cannot possibly think of God bigger or greater than He really is. We may think our biggest thoughts about God, think about His greatness to the limits of our minds. The reality is still bigger and greater. God is infinite, limitless.

The human mind is not capable of comprehending fully the greatness and magnitude of God. Even Moses, who had seen His glory in some very spectacular ways, confessed that what he had experienced was only the beginning: "O LORD GOD, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand"... (Deuteronomy 3:24).

Overwhelmed with the greatness of God, the prophet Jeremiah prayed: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them--the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts. You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 32:17-19 NKJV).

God Is Unsearchable

The Bible pictures God as dwelling in "the thick darkness." In Exodus 20:21 we read, "And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was." Many years later King Solomon said, "The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness" (1 Kings 8:12). And in Psalm 18:11 it is written, "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies." We have also the testimony of Psalm 97:1,2--"The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof, Clouds and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne."

The motif of darkness in these Bible passages is not intended to convey anything sinister or negative about God. Rather, it represents the inscrutability of God. The human mind in itself cannot penetrate into the mysteries of the person and nature of God. All is darkness beyond what God has revealed to the human intellect.

Job said, "I would seek to God, and to God would I commit my cause, which does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number" (Job 5:8,9). He expressed the same idea in chapter 9:1-10. Later, Elihu added, "Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out" (Job 36:26). Still later in his speech to Job, Elihu said, "Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out..." (Job 37:23).

Job's three friends said some things about God that did not apply in Job's case and therefore misrepresented His character and providential workings. But Zophar did ask the right question when he said, "Can you by searching find out God? Can you find out the Almighty to perfection" (Job 11:7).

The psalmist confessed, "Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known."

David was inspired to sing, "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable" (Psalm 145:3). Read also his words in Psalm 139:1-6, especially verse six: "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain to it."

In Ecclesiastes 3:11 the Preacher confesses, "He has made everything beautiful in his time; also he has set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end."

He expresses the same truth in 11:5--"As you know not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child, even so you know not the works of God who makes all."

God Himself puts it this way in Isaiah 55:8,9--"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

The unsearchableness of God is reaffirmed in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 2:16 the apostle Paul asks, "For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him?" And in Romans 11:33-36 he exclaims,

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who has first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." (See also Isaiah 40:12-31).

Yes, God is unsearchable. The human mind, starting from itself and using only its own abilities, is unable to achieve a clear comprehension of the specifics of the person and nature of God. Every effort to do so has resulted in a caricature of God. True, human reason perceives the fact of God's deity and power from the reality and design of nature. This perception imposes moral obligation, and demands humility of us. But the humility thus demanded by reason implies the honest confession that the Being Who created such a universe as we know it to be is a Person of infinite intelligence and power, Whose qualities are infinite and therefore cannot be perceived in their fulness by finite mind. What we are to know correctly about God must be revealed by Him. Still, His self-revelation is given to finite minds and, though true and correct, extends no farther than the capacities of finite minds though illuminated by the Holy Spirit. We know God. He has revealed Himself to us. That is a true and correct revelation. It is also a full revelation so far as our needs are concerned. Yet there remains a reality in God that is far beyond us, and in that realization we bow in wonder and adoration!

God Is Sovereign

Simply put, God's sovereignty means that He does not have to ask anyone about what He does, nor does He have to give account to anyone for what He does. He wills. He purposes. He decrees. He acts. And He does not have to ask anyone's permission. Although He has sufficiently good and wise reasons for all that He does or permits to be done, He is under no obligation to explain His actions to anyone. To place Himself under such an obligation would be totally wrong for Him. It would be a denial of Himself.

But, although God is sovereign, He is not arbitrary. He does not act capriciously or despotically. He is infinitely wise and perfectly benevolent. He has sufficiently good and wise reasons for everything He does and permits to be done. In the exercise of His sovereignty He always acts in accordance with His infinite wisdom and goodness.

God is love (1 John 4:8). The fact that God is perfect in love and wisdom is grounds for full confidence in Him. Moreover, it demands such confidence, and the withholding of such confidence is sin. It is a denial of God's character, hence of God Himself. Knowing that God is good and wise, we can trust Him to exercise His sovereignty in full harmony with all of His natural and moral qualities. How else should we do? To whom would God give account? Who is wiser and and more just? Who is able to sit in judgment on the purposes and actions of God? The idea is preposterous. God gives account only to His intelligence, and that is forever perfect and complete.

Yet, God does condescend to commend His purposes and actions to our intelligence; and whenever we perceive them in their true light, we find them to be most reasonable and wise.

Knowing that God is perfect in love and wisdom, our only reasonable course is to trust Him, even when we do not see the wisdom or justice of His ways.

God is in full and absolute authority. His word says so. He is "the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:19). "The LORD shall reign forever and ever" (Exodus 15:18). "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me; I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live forever" (Deuteronomy 32:39,40).

David confessed "Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all" (1 Chronicles 29:11).

Many years later king Jehoshaphat "stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee" (2 Chronicles 20:5,6).

Even in his affliction and adversity Job acknowledged the sovereignty of God: "Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, 'What art Thou doing?"' (Job 9:12 NASB).

"Why do you strive against him? for he gives not account of any of his matters" Elihu asks Job (Job 33:13).

The psalms also teach the sovereignty of God. "But our God is in the heavens; he has done whatsoever he has pleased" (Psalm 115:3). "Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places" (Psalm 135:6).

Proverbs 21:30 says, "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD."

Through the prophet Isaiah God declares His sovereignty in His purposes and decrees: "The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand" (Isaiah 14:24). "Even from eternity I am He; and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?" (Isaiah 43:13 NASB).

"I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure, calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it; I will also do it" (Isaiah 46:9-11).

God told the prophet Jeremiah to go down to the potter's house for a revelation. There he observed how the potter used the clay at his own discretion. Jeremiah reports: "Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? says the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in mine hand, O house of Israel" (Jeremiah 18:5,6).

Daniel was in real trouble. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and none of the "wise men" could interpret it. So the king became angry and ordered all the wise men of Babylon to be destroyed. Of course, the decree included Daniel and his companions. So they prayed. There is nothing like a death sentence to get people down to business in prayer! God answered and revealed to Daniel the interpretation of the king's dream. In his prayer of thanksgiving, Daniel acknowledged the sovereignty of God: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his, and he changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding" (Daniel 2:20,21).

Later, king Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way that God is the true Sovereign in Heaven and on earth. And so he admitted: "he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say to him, What doest thou?" (Daniel 4:35).

In his epistle to the Romans, chapters nine through eleven, the apostle Paul addresses the issue of the justice of God in His dealings with mankind, in this case with Israel. Just as God asserted His divine sovereignty in His answer to Job (Job 38-41), so the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write: "You will say then to me, Why does he yet find fault? For who has resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who are you that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus? Has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel to honor, and another to dishonor?" (Romans 9:19-21).

Now, what is the Bible teaching in this passage? That God is arbitrary, tyranical, despotic? Not at all! It simply asserts the fact that God is sovereign. Remember that the character of God is perfect. All of His qualities harmonize. Each is in perfect accord with all the others. God is all-wise and perfect in goodness. So then, He can never act unwisely or unjustly in the exercise of His sovereignty. God's sovereignty is always perfectly consistent with His love, His wisdom, His justice, His holiness--His every virtue. The sovereign God always knows what He is doing. If we knew all that God knows, we would see the wisdom and the necessity of His purposes and actions. We would immediately glorify Him for taking the course that He does, marveling at the wisdom and lovingkindness of His ways.

Because God is sovereign, He is able to make "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

The Bible teaches both divine sovereignty and human free will. We are free moral agents. We make decisions and those decisions have consequences. God commands us to make the right choices and holds us responsible for our choices. "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

But an over-emphasis on human free will can result in our losing sight of the sovereignty of God. We sin; we blunder; we make wrong choices. Other people, especially people very close to us, say and do things that harm us. Now, if all we see is human free will in action--if we see ourselves only as the product of our own choices and the victims of other people's actions--we can be devastated. As a result, we live in regret, discouragement, resentment, bitterness, even hopelessness.

But if you love God...! Ah, here is where the over-ruling sovereignty of God goes into action! And it operates according to His foreknowledge. Nothing takes Him by surprise. From all eternity He has foreknown every choice we would make and every act of others that would affect us, every situation that would come into our lives, and He has already determined how He is going to make them all work together for good. Because He is sovereign, He uses whatever human choices He wills to use and over-rules whatever human choices He wills to over-rule in the process. He is never out of options. If you love God, He has so many ways to make everything work together for your good, you cannot lose!

"If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). This should liberate our faith, lift us out of discouragement, and purify us from resentment and bitterness. "And who is he that will harm you, if you be followers of that which is good?" (1 Peter 3:13).

Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery. In Egypt he was lied about and mistreated. It was one "raw deal" after another. But through it all God's sovereign purpose was being worked out. When he finally saw his brothers again, he said to them, "It was not you who sent me here, but God" (Genesis 45:8). You just can't keep a person like that down!

God Is The Fullness Of Glory And Majesty

God is "the blessed and and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only has immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach to; whom no man has seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen" (1 Timothy 6:15,16. See also Acts 1:7 and 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

The Bible declares the glory and majesty of God, and describes some occasions when His glory and majesty were displayed. On Mount Sinai "the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire" (Exodus 24:17). When Moses asked to see the full glory of God, God replied, "You cannot see my face, for there shall no man see me, and live" (Exodus 33:20). When the tabernacle was completed, "a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter..." (Exodus 40:34,35).

Many years later king Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. During the dedication celebration "the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD" (1 Kings 8:10,11. Also 2 Chronicles 5:14). When Solomon finished his dedicatory prayer, "the fire came down from heaven,...and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshiped" (2 Chronicles 7:1-3).

Under such a direct and awesome display of the glory and majesty of God, who would dare trifle? Who would be so reckless as to take His holy name in vain, so perverse as to utter profanity in the presence of Almighty God, the Majesty on High, the Dread Sovereign of the universe! What a contrast to the shocking carelessness of our present rash society, blind to the glory and majesty of God, spiritually dull and insensible, self-righteous and pseudo-sophisticated, that madly plays the fool before the Majesty in the Heavens! Nothing but the impact of the revelation of the awesome holiness of God will shock this secular generation to its senses and bring it to repentance in genuine sorrow for sin! May God grant us such an act of His mercy and grace.

Job 26:11 declares that even the "pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at his reproof." How then can mortal man be careless and indifferent in his sins?

"God thunders marvelously with his voice; great things does he, which we cannot comprehend.... With God is terrible majesty" (Job 37:5,22).

The glory and majesty of God are extolled in the psalms. "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who has set thy glory above the heavens" (Psalm 8:1). "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1 NASB). "Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength; so will we sing and praise thy power" (Psalm 21:13). "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth" (Psalm 57:5). "The glory of the LORD shall endure forever" (Psalm 104:31). "The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens" (Psalm 113:4). "Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob" (Psalm 114:7).

One day the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord sitting on a throne, "high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." Upon seeing this vision, the prophet cried out immediately, "Woe is me! for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5).

Oh, that we who name the name of the Lord would receive such a purging, cleansing impression of the holiness and majesty of God! Without it there can be no true revival.

Ah, here is God's promise: "And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it" (Isaiah 40:5). We rejoice in this glorious assurance.

God asks, "'Do you not fear Me?" declares the LORD. 'Do you not tremble in My presence?'" (Jeremiah 5:22 NASB. See also Jeremiah 10:6-13; Amos 4:13; Nahum 1:3-6; Habakkuk 3:6-15; Romans 1:20; Revelation 4:11).

One night during the first true Christmas, a group of shepherds were in the field, keeping watch over their flocks. Suddenly, "the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid" (Luke 2:9).

On the road to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus was temporarily blinded and driven to the ground by the power and brilliance of God's glory (see Acts, chapter nine).

What profound changes would such a revelation of the glory of God make in our lives? Certainly we would not--we could not--be the same after such an experience. It would completely re-focus our view of reality. Our values would be corrected instantly and our behavior would be disciplined from that moment on. May God grant it!

Please read Paul’s prayer recorded in Ephesians 1:15-23. This prayer has been inscripturated by the Holy Spirit as the will of God for believers in all generations. It expresses the heart-desire of God for us. He wants to give us "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." He desires that the eyes of our hearts be enlightened that we "may know what is the hope of His calling...the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints...the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe."

God warns the unreptentant: "Enter the rock and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty" (Isaiah 2:10 NASB). Here is the picture, recorded in Revelation 6:15-17--

"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?"

Yes, the day is set; the appointment has been made for a personal interview with God. Each of us is going to face Him, and He will face each of us with the open books that contain the details of our lives, including every idle world that we have spoken.

Think of it! God, Who created the universe by His spoken word--God, Whose glory and presence shook mount Sinai--God, Whose glory and presence filling a tabernacle and a temple was so intense that no one could enter, and that drove the crowd outside the temple to the ground with their faces flat against the pavement--God, Whose majesty melted Isaiah's heart--God, Whose dazzling glory unveiled will one day burn the galaxies to a crisp--the Almighty God will have words with each one of us!

"Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?" (1 Samuel 6:20). We need a Savior; oh, how desperately we need a Savior! And God has provided for us the Savior that we need. He is Jesus Christ, God's very own Son. He is our only provision for pardon and reconciliation with God. If you have not done so, flee to Him. Receive Him. Trust Him now. "Be reconciled to God."

The Character Of God

If people are mistaken about the nature of God, they will be mistaken also about the character of God. On the other hand, if we have a true Biblical view of the nature of God, it should not be difficult for us to keep a true Biblical view of the character of God.

It is a common practice by some folk to blame God for what people are doing. This is indeed a strange way of thinking. Some blame God for natural disasters, failing to take into account secondary causes. Some are bitter against God because sickness or tragedy has taken a member of their family; others because of personal or business reverses; still others because of social injustices in the world. And so people take up and carry their inner "causes" against God. The "bottom line" of such an attitude, of course, is the desire for a rationale, an excuse, for personal unbelief and therefore for continued disobedience. But all charges against Almighty God collapse under the revelation of His true nature and character. God is a good God. He is worthy of implicit and total trust.

God Is Perfect

The song of Moses, recorded in Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two, proclaims God's perfection, particularly in verses three and four: "For I proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He!" (NASB).

It is always wrong to attack the character of God. His ways are perfect in every respect. Any denial of the justice or morality of the acts and providences of God comes from unbelief, that is, from an unwillingness to acknowledge the moral perfection of God. This kind of unbelief includes an unwillingness to acknowledge that God sees these events in their true light, and that we do not. God always knows and does what is right, just, and best when all factors are considered together. And in most cases only God is able to consider all the factors together. Therefore, even when we cannot understand why God is allowing certain things to happen, we can rest in His moral perfection.

He is the God of truth. God's motives are true; His ways are true; His words are true; His judgments are true. And so, to have fellowship with God, our hearts must be true. If our hearts are not true, if we have not received the "love of the truth," if we are not honest with Him, we cannot have fellowship with Him or live in His presence. A heart that is not true is totally incompatible with God. God can accept into fellowship with Himself only those who come to him with an honest heart. Light cannot have fellowship with darkness. Only the pure in heart shall see God (Matthew 5:8). "As for God, His way is perfect" (Psalm 18:30). "I know that whatsoever God does, it shall be forever; nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God does it that men should fear before him" (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

Referring to the heart of God and to our moral obligation to be sincere of heart, just as God is, Jesus said, "Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). This kind of perfection is what is known as subjective perfection, that is, perfection of heart. It means sincerity and honesty of heart. This is not objective perfection. Objective perfection depends on perfect knowledge, and only God has perfect knowledge. God is both objectively perfect and subjectively perfect. Subjective perfection is trueness and purity of heart, and we are under a moral obligation to be true and pure of heart, just as God is.

God Is Immutable

God is unchanging. He does not and cannot change. This follows from the fact that He is perfect. God cannot possibly improve; therefore, any change in Him would be a deterioration from absolute perfection, and that would destroy His perfection. That God cannot do because He will not do. Thus, God is immutable, changeless. His person, character, purposes and decrees are unalterable.

Were we to consider the immutability of God primarily as to His being, we would have done so in Chapter 3, "What Are God's Essential Qualities?" But because the Bible places the greater emphasis on the immutability of God's character, we are considering the subject here.

Because God is immutable, He is dependable. This gives us a solid basis for confidence in Him and in His word. "God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and shall he not do it? Or has he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19). "And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind" (1 Samuel 15:29 NASB).

It is interesting to note that verse thirty five of 1 Samuel chapter fifteen goes on to say that "the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel" (NASB). Other passages of Scripture also speak of God being sorry that He had made man (Genesis 6:6,7), and changing His mind (Exodus 32:12,14). The King James Version of the Bible uses the word, "repent," in these and other like verses; that is, it says that God "repented." But these passages of Scripture that say that God regretted something that He had done, or that He changed His mind have nothing to do with His immutability or the immutability of His purposes. They merely refer to the fact that when people either meet certain conditions or violate certain conditions, God often takes a different course of action with them. When the conditions change, God can take a correspondingly different course of action from what His wisdom would otherwise have prescribed. For example, God said through the prophet Jonah, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4). Now, if the city of Nineveh had not repented, it most certainly would have been overthrown, just as God said. But Nineveh did repent, and God spared the city. This is called "conditional certainty." If people today do not repent, they will certainly perish (Luke 13:3). But if we do repent and trust Jesus Christ as our Savior, we shall not perish (John 3:16). Instances of conditional certainty have nothing to do with God's immutability or the immutability of His eternal purposes. That never changes.

"He is in one mind and who can turn him? And what his soul desires, even that he does. For he performs the thing that is appointed for me" (Job 23:13,14).

"The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations" (Psalm 33:11).

"There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand" (Proverbs 19:21).

"For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" (Isaiah 14:27).

"For I am the LORD; I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6).

God's infinite goodness will never change; neither will the beauty of the many aspects of His perfect love. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17).

Hebrews 6:17 and 18 speaks about "two immutable things" about God: His promise and His oath:

"Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."

God assures His people: "You shall not be forgotten of me." (Isaiah 44:21). "Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget; yet will I not forget you. Behold, I have graven you upon the palms of my hands" (Isaiah 49:15,16). "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, says the LORD that has mercy on you" (Isaiah 54:10).

The assurance of God's faithfulness continues on in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 1:9 Paul declares, "God is faithful, by whom you were called to the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." And in 1 Corinthians 10:13 we have this assurance: "There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it."

After praying that God would sanctify the Thessalonian believers wholly and preserve their whole being blameless to the coming of the Lord, Paul declares, "Faithful is he that calls you, who also will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23,24).

In 2 Thessalonians 3:3 we read, "But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil." And even "if we believe not, yet he abides faithful. He cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith; (for he is faithful that promised)" (Hebrews 10:23). And Hebrews 11:11 records that Sarah "judged him faithful who had promised."

They who are suffering persecution for the Lord's sake are instructed in 1 Peter 4:19, "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as to a faithful Creator."

In Revelation 1:5 Jesus Christ is called "the faithful witness." And in Revelation 3:14 Jesus refers to Himself as "the faithful and true witness."

The drama that unfolds in Revelation chapter nineteen, starting with verse eleven, begins as follows: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True...."

Yes, God is the unchanging, faithful God. We can trust Him. Who and what He is, He always has been and always will be. He will never change His person or His character. He will never change His word. His purposes and His promises are just as sure and steadfast as He is. God cannot fail!

God Is Love

Love is God's essential moral quality. All other virtues are expressions and applications of love.

Love is a choice, a decision. It is a fundamental commitment to the highest good, including whatever is necessary and useful to secure that good. This commitment called love has many qualities. That is, it is exercised and expressed in many ways. Justice is not a quality separate from or opposed to love. Rather, it is love considered in certain relationships and circumstances. Justice is the commitment to the highest good (that is, love) expressing itself in relationship to wrong-doing, opposing wrong-doing and seeking to prevent it. Justice endeavors to secure what is just, and this includes the punishment of evil-doers. Justice, then, is one expression of love. If God did not oppose evil, if He were not determined to uphold moral order against all who would undermine it, He would not be a God of love. Because God is love, He is just.

Placing God's love over against His justice is a very common error. Often it is said, "God is a God of justice as well as a God of love." That statement is faulty. It erroneously considers God's justice to be something outside of His love, even antithetical to His love. Now, it is correct to say that God is a God of justice as well as a God of mercy, because justice and mercy do stand over against each other, balancing each other. But both are actions of love. God is both just and merciful because He is love.

Be it always remembered that everything God does is motivated by a determination to secure the highest possible good under the circumstances and with all things being considered together in His omniscient mind. This commitment permeates God's whole being, providences, government, law, and gospel. All of God's moral qualities truly are qualities of perfect love.

"For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing" (Deuteronomy 10:17,18 NKJV).

God said to Israel, "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Most of us know by heart John 3:16, the "golden text" of the Bible: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus said to His disciples, "For the Father himself loves you" (John 16:27).

Paul the apostle writes, "But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is conclusive proof both of the fact and also of the greatness of God's love for us. God's love fully and gloriously exhibited at Calvary should shut every mouth that would question the fact of His love, and settle once and for all any doubts concerning His true character. He is the God of love and peace (2 Corinthians 13:11), "who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us" (Ephesians 2:4).

God's love is not sentimentalism. Rather, it is a rock-solid commitment to our good. At times this commitment requires that He discipline us. After all, believers are the center-piece of God's eternal purpose, and He is vitally interested in how we turn out. Thus Hebrews 12:6 teaches us, "For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives."

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (1 John 3:1). Divine love not only redeemed us at the tremendous cost of the death of Jesus Christ; it also elevates us to the status of sonship with God. How great is God's love!

Yes, and the God of the Old Testament is also the God of the New Testament. People who think that the God presented to us in the Old Testament must be of a different character from the God presented to us in the New Testament understand neither the diversity of responsibilities and relationships that God must exercise in the full implementation of His determination to bring about the highest good, nor the complexity of the ramifications involved in determining the most expedient course in maintaining moral order and hence the highest good.

God's infinite love always directs His infinite power according to His infinite wisdom to secure the greatest possible good. We can rest assured in this fact. It is an absolute certainty. "God is love" (1 John 4:8,16).

God Is Righteous

God is always right in everything. In all His ways, He is perfectly conformed to truth. He is correct. He never errs. He is perfectly honest and equitable.

If there is any controversy between God and us, we are the ones in the wrong. God is in complete conformity with truth and reality. The only way for us to be right--to be in conformity with truth and reality--is to give up all controversy with God immediately and confess honestly that He is right in all things. To be saved, we must repent; and repentance implies an open, honest acceptance of blame for wrong-doing. The heart must drop all charges against God. He is the God of truth and righteousness, and therefore He will never compromise with a self-justifying soul.

Elihu said, "I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker" (Job 36:3).

Paul's epistle to the Romans chapter nine declares the absolute sovereignty of God. Verse fourteen raises the question, "What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?" The immediate response is, "God forbid!" That is, "May it not be!" God always exercises His sovereignty righteously. At times we do not readily see or understand the wisdom or justice of a particular precept or providence of the Father. In such circumstances our obligation is to rest in the assurance that "The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works" (Psalm 145:17). God says, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). Some day, either in a closer walk with God here on earth, or in the light of Heaven, we shall see things more as God sees them and rejoice that our confidence in Him has not been in vain.

"His work is honorable and glorious, and his righteousness endures forever" (Psalm 111:3).

"Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments....Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth" (Psalm 119:137 and 142).

We find assurance and comfort in God's beautiful promise found in Isaiah 41:10--"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (NASB). All unrighteousness is totally incompatible with God. God cannot tolerate it. To walk with God, we must walk in righteousness because there is where He walks.

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).

"If you know that he is righteous, you know that every one that does righteousness is born of him" (1 John 2:29).

"Little children, let no man deceive you. He that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous" (1 John 3:17).

We see how this theme is carried through the first epistle of John. God is moral light (absolute truth and absolute conformity to truth in character and works). If we live contrary to light (truth), we are in moral and spiritual darkness and do not know God, no matter what we might profess. "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them..." (Hosea 14:9).

God's true children are they who are being conformed to His moral character. They walk according to the truth just as God walks according to the truth, and therefore they walk with God. They certainly do not have all the light that God has. Only He has all light. But where the light is, there they are, and they are walking in all the light that they possess.

Someone has said, "Where we go hereafter depends on what we go after here." If our hearts are truly "going after" God, we will honestly seek to know more of Him and His ways. We will "cast off" the works of darkness and walk in the light of His word.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His-righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).

God Is Holy

God is morally pure. He is perfectly and absolutely holy. Holiness is moral perfection. God's motives and therefore His character are totally free from any form and degree of moral impurity. Sin cannot stand in His presence. He is "glorious in holiness" (Exodus 15:11). The prophet exclaimed, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look on iniquity" (Habakkuk 1:13).

"Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity" (Job 34:10).

"Thou art holy, O Thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3 NASB).

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10 NASB).

"The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity" (Zephaniah 3:5).

"There is none holy as the LORD" (1 Samuel 2:2).

After they had gone through an experience that taught them that God cannot be trifled with, the men of ancient Bethshemesh cried, "Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?" (1 Samuel 6:20).

The mighty choirs of Heaven continuously sing of the holiness of God. Part of Isaiah's vision of the exalted Lord was of the seraphim who cried to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3).

In Revelation 4:8 the four living creatures, representing all living creation, take up the refrain: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is, and is to come."

Finally, the grand panorama of the victorious redeemed unfolds before our wondering eyes. And what anthem fills the vast reaches of Heaven of heavens? It is recorded in Revelation 15:3,4--"Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou only art holy...." Modern translations read "King of nations," or "King of ages."

No human pride raises its perverse head there. No unbelief, no cynicism dares question the integrity of the Almighty. That great multitude is made up only of those whose hearts are in full sympathy with all the ways, the wisdom, the works and the providences of the Holy One! The questions of life have been fully answered. The believers' trust during the dark valleys of their earthly pilgrimage has been completely vindicated. The sweet reasonableness of the gracious providences of the Holy One is now clear and plain. How glad they are that their faith failed not!

Who are present there? Only they who are redeemed by faith in the blood of the Lamb; only they who have obeyed the Divine command, "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16 NKJV).

God Is True

Again we remind ourselves that God is a God of truth (Deuteronomy 32:4). And we read in Numbers 23:19, "God is not a man, that he should lie." Also, 1 Samuel 15:29 affirms, "the Glory of Israel will not lie...."

Absolute truthfulness is one of God's moral qualities. Romans 3:4 exclaims, "Let God be true, but every man a liar."

God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). God's truthfulness is the indispensable foundation of our confidence. Hebrews 6:8 assures us that we have a "strong consolation," because it is "impossible for God to lie." And yet so many people, including some professed Christians, speak and act as though God is not truthful, as though He was not sincere in His promises, as though His word is not to be relied on.

Is God truthful? Did He mean what He said? Can His word be relied on? Absolutely. Let us take any question marks off of our Bibles. Let us believe what God has said. He is eternally and infinitely the God of truth!

God Is Good

"Good" has a various kinds and degrees of meaning, depending on the qualities and properties of what we are referring to. We talk about a good meal or a good game. We say that someone is a good musician or a good dentist. But when we say that God is good, we mean that He is infinitely and perfectly so, and that His goodness is absolute. Specifically, God is good in that He is morally excellent in character and therefore in His disposition and acts toward His creation. God's goodness is not acquired, but is an essential and immutable quality of His moral nature. God is a good God. "Good and upright is the LORD; therefore will he teach sinners in the way" (Psalm 25:8).

God's goodness, His moral excellence, extends throughout all of his works and providences. He reveals Himself in all of His ways as a good God, and we daily experience His goodness. Much of His goodness comes to all through the blessings of life and the provisions of nature. So much more is experienced through faith. So the Holy Spirit invites us through the psalmist, "O taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man that trusts in him" (Psalm 34:8).

God's goodness is revealed in His precepts. That is, because God is good, His word is also good. So Psalm 119:68 teaches: "Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes."

God's goodness is one reason that we should praise Him. Absolute moral excellence deserves, even demands, praise that is worthy of itself.

"Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good" (Psalm 135:3). Gratitude and thanks to God for His great goodness should spring spontaneously and generously from each of us.

"O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever" (Psalm 136:1).

"They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works" (Psalm 145:7-9).

"I will mention the loving kindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving-kindnesses" (Isaiah 63:7).

"Praise the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his mercy endures forever" (Jeremiah 33:11).

"The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him" (Nahum 1:7).

When a young ruler, confident of his own goodness, came to Jesus with a question about eternal life, he address the Lord as "Good Master." Jesus knew that this young model of religious and financial success did not grasp the concept of true goodness. The young man was only expressing the notions of goodness current in his religious culture. Jesus, God in the flesh, refused to accept to Himself the popular glib, relative definition of goodness. So He confronted the rich young ruler with the only true definition of goodness: "There is none good but one, that is, God" (Matthew 19:17).

God Is Kind

Kindness (sometimes called "lovingkindness") is a beautiful quality of God's character. Kindness is goodness being gentle. "Thy gentleness has made me great," the psalmist said to God (Psalm 18:35).

"The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD" (Psalm 33:5 NASB). "The lovingkindness of God endures all day long" (Psalm 52:1 NASB). "Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee" (Psalm 63:3). "Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men!" (Psalm 107:8,15,21,31 NASB).

Jesus told us to love our enemies, to do good, to lend, for in so doing from a pure heart we would be the moral offspring of the Highest, "for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil" (Luke 6:35). This is a solemn imperative to all who are committed to living according to God's moral character.

The moral character of God is beautifully displayed in His kindness. People ignore Him, insult Him, injure Him, and yet He continues to be kind to them. He gives them rain, and they curse it. He heaps blessings upon them, and they are ungrateful. We marvel that such kindness does not immediately subdue the human heart and turn it to its gentle Benefactor.

"Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4 NASB).

"Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off" (Romans 11:22 NASB).

The revelation of God's infinite kindness to us through Jesus Christ will continue to unfold forever. So Ephesians 2:7 assures us: "That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."

God Is Compassionate

Compassion is pity toward the suffering. True compassion is more than a feeling. It is a commitment to come to the relief of the suffering, or to prevent their sufferings, by all reasonable means. This beautiful quality of character is fully conspicuous in God. He is full of compassion.

The actual expression of God's compassion is often conditioned on repentance. God forewarned ancient Israel that disobedience would bring chastisement. Then He assured them that if they would return to Him, He would have compassion on them and restore them (Deuteronomy 30:3). We find an instance of this very thing in 2 Kings 13:22,23--

"But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. And the LORD was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and had respect to them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet."

In the last days of the morally and spiritually bankrupt kingdom of Judah, Zedekiah was king Nebuchadnezzar's vassal on what was left of the throne in Jerusalem. Priests and people alike were corrupt. "And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place" (2 Chronicles 36:15 NKJV).

God's compassion toward disobedient Israel is mentioned again in Psalm 78:38--"But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not; yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath."

"But You, O LORD, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth" (Psalm 86:15 NKJV).

"The LORD is gracious and full of compassion" (Psalm 11:4).

"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.... But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies" (Lamentations 3:22 and 32).

Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God in human flesh. And it is in Him that we see the compassion of God so gloriously displayed. Our Lord touched the leper and made him whole. Seeing the grieving widow, He was moved with compassion and restored her son to life. He healed the lame, the blind, the dumb, the maimed, the deaf. Wherever there was human suffering, there the compassion of God was poured out through the heart of Jesus Christ. And Christ is still the same today, because He is God and God is still the same. The great compassion of God reaches out wherever there is suffering, for God yearns to put an end to suffering and to bring joy and happiness instead. Yet, in His wise economy, God can do so only as people open up by faith to Him and to the principles of His kingdom. He will not force the human will.

God Is Impartial

God deals with all people upon the same principles of justice, fairness and equity. He is fair to all. He administers His moral government without partiality or favoritism.

"For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, and the awesome God, who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe" (Deuteronomy 10:17 NASB).

"Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness, or partiality, or the taking of a bribe" (2 Chronicles 19:7 NASB).

The very idea of "buying God off" seems too ridiculous for anyone even to think of it. Bribe God? Nonsense. But in practice that is exactly what many people try to do.

Every attempt to satisfy God short of unconditional surrender is in effect offering God a bribe. The world is full of people who are trying to make a "deal" with God. The great non-Christian religions are based on the premise that we can offer someting to God (or to whatever occupies the place of God in their particular system) that will gain His favor. And even in the name of Christianity millions entertain the notion that somehow they can get God and His blessings on their own terms if only they offer Him the right things. This, too, is pagan nonsense. The only morally and governmentally sound condition on which God can offer His grace is full obedience, and that means unconditional surrender to Jesus Christ in faith. Upon that condition alone God freely and impartially grants His grace. It is a free gift, unmerited and unearned. Trying to get it on any other terms is only bargaining with God, and that is trifling with the Almighty. God cannot and will not bargain with the rebellious heart. He demands its immediate and complete surrender.

An officer of a lending institution thinks that he has bought his "ticket" to Heaven because he made a loan to a church. A woman spends long hours doing church work and thinks that thereby she has piled up enough credits to secure her entrance into Heaven. A young man enters the ministry and spends his life helping people because it is so "rewarding," and feels confident that he is "in solid" with God. The total number of precious people who entertain the delusion that what they offer God will be accepted as an adequate substitute for honest obedience and genuine faith in Jesus Christ must be astronomical. The pernicious persistence of this deadly delusion is an enormous spiritual tragedy. How to overcome it is one of the greatest challenges facing the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

To assume that God can be induced to partiality is to deny His integrity. To accuse Him of being guilty of partiality is blasphemy.

"He is not partial to princes, nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of His hands" (Job 34:19 NKJV).

Even the apostle Peter had been so conditioned by prevailing prejudices that God had to take dramatic measures to get him to preach the gospel to gentiles. When God saved some of them and filled them with the Holy Spirit, "Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that fears him and works righteousness is accepted with him" (Acts 10:34,35).

Later, Paul wrote, "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all that call upon him" (Romans 10:12).

Just as with the other qualities of God's moral character, impartiality also must be practiced by all who truly are in fellowship with Him. God's impartiality was the basis of Paul's appeal to Christian masters in Ephesians 6:9--"And, you masters, do the same things to them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him." Likewise he writes to bond-servants in Colossians 3:22-25. Verse 25 reads, "But he that does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done, and there is no respect of persons."

Finally, the apostle Peter writes, "And if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear" (1 Peter 1:17).

As God is impartial in His justice, so is He in His mercy. His mercy through Jesus Christ is offered freely to all. If we come to Him, He will not reject us.

God Is Longsuffering

God patiently endures insult and injury for a long, long time. He puts up with a horrible amount of abuse just to give people greater opportunity to repent. God knows whom He will save, and endures them until He saves them. He also endures a lifetime of dishonor from those who never will be saved. Such is the longsuffering of the gracious God!

"The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression..." (Numbers 14:18). Sometimes the Bible expresses the longsuffering of God by saying that He is "slow to anger." Thus we read:

"...but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsook them not" (Nehemiah 9:17).

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy" (Psalm 103:8). Read also Psalm 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Nahum 1:3).

Paul asks, "What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction...?" (Romans 9:22).

There was a time when "the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah" (1 Peter 3:20). And Peter tells us that in the last days scoffers will point to the seeming delay in Christ's return as support for their unbelief, not realizing that it is due to God's longsuffering love for them, giving them opportunity to repent.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

God Is Forbearing

Because He is longsuffering, God is forbearing. Forbearance is lonsufferance in action. It is the restraint of punishment that God exercises because He is longsuffering.

The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah cried for judgment. But Abraham had so locked his heart into the forbearing heart of God that when the patriarch prayed for God to spare the city if only ten righteous persons could be found in it, God went along with him. Tragically, it turned out that not even ten could be found. Nevertheless, the great forbearance of God is clearly demonstrated in those long-ago events, recorded for us in Genesis chapter eighteen.

To unfaithful Israel God said, "For my name's sake will I defer my anger, and for my praise will I refrain for you, that I cut you not off" (Isaiah 48:9). Through the prophet Ezekiel God reminded the nation of His forbearance toward the rebellious generation that wasted out their lives wandering in the wilderness. "Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness" (Ezekiel 20:17). Though the older generation perished, the nation was spared and emerged to possess the land of Canaan because of the forbearance of Jehovah.

Were God not forbearing, He would not have allowed the human race to continue long enough to reach Calvary. In fact, were it not for His forbearance, God would not have created man in the first place. The same is true of us individually. Concerning redemption, Romans 3:24 and 25 reads:

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

God Is Merciful

Mercy is the disposition to pardon wrongdoing whenever it is possible to do so consistent with the public good. It is the opposite of justice. Both justice and mercy are expressions of love. Both seek the same end--the highest good--but by opposite means. Justice punishes because the highest good demands it; mercy pardons for the same reason when the conditions of mercy make its exercise possible. Both harmonize and neither is exercised at the expense of the other, or at the expense of the highest good.

God is merciful. He desires to pardon and works to bring about the conditions that make it morally possible for Him to pardon. Thus, "mercy rejoices against judgment" (James 2:13). See Luke 6:36; 2 Corinthians 1:3.

Moses said to ancient Israel, "for the LORD your God is a merciful God" (Deuteronomy 4:31). When king David sinned against God, the Lord sent the prophet Gad to him with three alternatives: seven years of famine, three months of military reverses, or three days of pestilence. David chose the last. "And David said to Gad, 'I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man'" (2 Samuel 24:14 NKJV). David put his trust in the mercy of God because he had confidence in the magnitude of that mercy. He knew that all of God's moral qualities are as vast as God Himself. God's character cannot be less than what He Himself is.

Centuries later, as they led the returned Jewish captives in confession to God, the Levites acknowledged, "...but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsook them not" (Nehemiah 9:17). "Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God" (verse 31).

The mercy of God is celebrated throughout The Psalms:

"For thou, LORD, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all them that call upon thee" (Psalm 86:5).

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. (Psalm 103:8).

"For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him" (verse 11).

"But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness to children's children" (verse 17).

"O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever" (Psalm 106:1).

"For thy mercy is great above the heavens" (Psalm 108:4).

"The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy; teach me thy statutes" (Psalm 119:64).

Psalm 136 is an antiphonal song in which every verse ends with the response, "for his mercy endures forever."

Isaiah 55:6 and 7 is where we find the summons, "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

Through the prophet Joel God urges, "turn to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness" (Joel 2:13).

The prophet Micah closed his prophecy with these words of praise to God for His mercy:

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy. (Micah 7:18).

In what is called The Magnificat, Mary declared, "And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation" (Luke 1:50).

It is "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5 NKJV).

The mercy of God has been brought to us fully in Jesus Christ. How merciful is God? How great is His desire to forgive? Look at the cross of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Look at that scene of suffering and agony. The Lord of glory died for the sins of the whole world to bring redemption to all who will believe.

Friend, we need carry our guilt no longer. He bore it for us. Leave your sins and flee to the Savior. Believe Him. Trust Him. The throne of absolute holiness is also the throne of absolute mercy. The fulness of God's mercy is waiting for you now.

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