Transcript What is God like. Part 3 - Greatbarr Church of Christ, Birmingham

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The immutability of God suggests another attributeHis faithfulness. If God cannot change, then it
follows that His promises to us are unalterable.
The Hebrew writer demonstrates that we may rely on
the promises of God because "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." (Hebrews 6:18.)
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The two immutable things which
He names in this passage are the
PROMISE and OATH of God.
He concludes that since God
changes in neither of these things,
we may rely on His faithfulness.
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The omnipotence of God further
guarantees His faithfulness.
Men make promises which they desire to
keep, but often find themselves unable to
carry them out.
But there is nothing which God
determines to do which He cannot
perform. (See Romans 4:20,21.)
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The omniscience and Holiness of God
assure us that the promises God
makes are not only sure, but that they
are also right.
In His Holiness God can do no wrong,
and in His Omniscience God
possesses the wisdom to know those
things which are right.
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Many other passages declare the
faithfulness of God.
"Let us hold fast the profession of
our faith without wavering; (for He
is faithful that promised)."
(Hebrews 10:23.)
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"But the Lord is faithful, who shall
establish you, and keep you from
evil." (2 Thessalonians 3:3.)
"For I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that He is able to
keep that which I have committed
unto Him against that day."
(2 Timothy 1:12.)
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Any man who begins to appreciate in a small
way the nature of God must declare with David.
"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is
high, I cannot attain unto it." (Psalm 139:6.)
God cannot be circumscribed by 'the words or
thoughts of man because truly He is the great
“I AM."
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A. God is faithful.
1. Faithfulness never fluctuates with God, as it
does with man; God Is eternally dependable.
2. In every direction, in our present society, we
see unfaithfulness:
a. Between husbands and wives.
b. In business dealings.
c. In the Lord's service.
d. In social issues.
e. In government.
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3. It should give us courage to
know that in an "unfaithful
generation" we can lift our
eyes to the faithful God of
heaven who never changes
(Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 36:5;
89:8; 1 Timothy 2:13).
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B. Areas of God's faithfulness:
1 . In His testimonies and commandments Psalm 119:138;
2. In keeping His promises - Hebrews l0:23.
3. In providing help in temptation I Corinthians 10:13.
4. In preserving His people - I Corinthians l:9;
I Thessalonians 3:24; 2 Timothy 2:19.
5. In disciplining His children Hebrews 12:3-13;
6. In time of trouble - Job 5:19.
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The Truthfulness of God;
A. lying is the COMMON sin.
1. It is the easiest for a person to commit.
a. It Is estimated that the average person tells
approximately seventeen lies a day.
b. Lying is found in every area of life: social,
political, business, religious, literary, journalism.
c. What was said of Ephraim could be said of
Britain today - Hosea 11:12 "Israel surrounds me
with lies and deceit, but Judah still trusts in God and
is faithful to the Holy One.”
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2. Society depends upon the truth; it is
Impossible for it to hold together without it.
a. Man must be able to have confidence in his
fellow man.
b. As never before, there is a real need for
stressing truthfulness ,
c. In a society geared to lying, it is wonderful
to know that there is One to Whom we can
always turn for the truth = God!
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B. God's truthfulness is His
perfect knowledge of all truth and
His never contradicting that truth.
1. God is the source of all truth.
a. Anything that contradicts His
nature is untrue.
b. Psalm l46:5-6; Numbers 23:19.
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2. In contrast to the truthfulness of God, Satan is
pictured as a liar John 8:44."For you are the children of your father
the devil and you love to do the evil things he does.
He was a murderer from the beginning and a hater of
truth--there is not an iota of truth in him. When he
lies, it is perfectly normal; for he is the father of
liars."
a. Therefore, those who lie are of the devil John 8:31 ff
b. Acts 5:3- a good example of Satan encouraging
people to lie.
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3. God has shown His truthfulness time and time
again (Isaiah 25:1);
a. To Adam and Eve - Genesis 2:1,6-17
(cf. 3:16-24).
b. To Noah - Genesis 7-9. c. To Israel Psalm 98:3; Exodus 23:23-31.
c. To Israel -Psalm 98:3; Exodus 23:23-31;
d. In sending a Saviour - Genesis 3:15
(cf. Galatians 4:4; John l :29).
e. In keeping all His promises Psalm 77:20; 2 Samuel 7:11.
4. Hebrews 6:17-18.
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C. Since God is truthful and the source of truth, we
are assured that we can know the truth in religious
matters.
1. John 18:38 - Pilate's question has been answered
in various ways:
a. Truth is relative - may vary from person to
person.
b. Is pragmatic - anything that works or satisfies.
c. Is unattainable.
d. Is consistency with the facts.
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2. John 8:32; (John 1:l7)
a. Our quest for religious truth ends with
God's Word - John 17:17; "Make them pure
and holy through teaching them your words of
truth."
b. May we heed the words of Proverbs 23:23:
"Get the truth and don't ever sell it; also get
wisdom, discipline, and discernment. The
Lord hates those who don't keep their word,
but He delights in those who do."
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The Goodness of God;
A. God is perfect In His goodness.
1. In man, goodness fluctuates from
time to time.
a. Because of sin and weakness.
b. Man is constantly trying to
become good and remain good.
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2. This is not true in regard to God's
goodness.
a. God, only, is perfect in His goodness
(Mark 10:18 Psalm 52:1; 25:8)
3. The goodness of God refers to the
perfection of His nature.
a. God is originally good - good of Himself.
b. God is essentially, infinitely, eternally and
immutably good.
c. He cannot be less good than He is.
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Everything that God does is good;
1 . His creation (Genesis 1 :30-31).
2. His care of His creation (Genesis 8:22).
3. His protection of the righteous (Genesis 7:9).
4. His permitting sinners to repent (Romans 2:4).
5. His providing a Saviour for the lost (John 3:16).
6. His providing the Scriptures as a rule to guide
and direct us (John l 2:48), Mark 13:31).
7. His longsuffering (I Peter 3; 20 2 Peter 3:9, 15)
8. His help in time of temptation
(1 Corinthians 10:13: James l :1-7
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9. We would do well to heed
the words of Psalm 107:1-8
Romans 12:21 "Don't let evil
get the upper hand but
conquer evil by doing good."
(also Nahum 1:7).
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A. God is a God of patience - Romans 15:5.
1. His patience is illustrated in His long suffering
toward, man
2. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish "between
God's mercy goodness, and patience.
a. His patience is part of His goodness and mercy.
b. Because God is the greatest goodness. He also
has the greatest patience; patience must always be
the companion of goodness, and the greater the
goodness' the greater the patience.
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c. God's slowness to anger (patience)
is a branch from mercy - Psalm 114:8;
5. Only God has perfect patience in
every Situation.
a. He alone has the power to control
Himself in bearing with the wicked
and restraining His punishment of
them. Nahum 1:3;
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B. Patience in man
l. Often, in man, patience is mistaken for
cowardice, feebleness, or weakness.
2. Others find it a virtue of impossibility.
a. How many homes, lives, opportunities
have been lost because of impatience?
b. How many wars could have been
prevented if patience been exercised?
c. How many marriages could have been
salvaged if patience had existed?
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C. In the Old Testament, "slow to anger" is used to
denote God's patience and longsuffering.
l . Nehemiah 9:1 7ff; Numbers l 4:11 -12 (notice
verses 17-18).
2. God's patience caused Him to sustain great
injuries without immediately avenging Himself.
3. God's justice is manifested in His patience toward
Israel Acts 13:18;
4. Paul reminds us of God's longsuffering toward
sinners - Romans 9:22 (cf. I Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 3:9).
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Probably no scriptural topic has been the basis of
more sermons and essays than the love of God.
A subject of such infinite depth can only be touched
on here.
It is extremely difficult to define love, but we shall
describe it as the ardent affection which one holds
for another which in the case of divine love reaches
its highest form.
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Love cannot be separated from the
personality of God. Although we read that
God is merciful and just, we are never told
that He is mercy or justice.
But John informs us, "God is love."
(I John 4:8.) Therefore we know that the
extent of His love is so great that His
actions are motivated by this
characteristic.
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When we read in John 3:16 that "God so
loved the world “
we conclude that the giving of His Son to
save men was the result, not just of love,
but of overwhelming love.
Other attributes of God, such as His
mercy, have their basis in this phase of
His personality.
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The love of God is misunderstood by many.
l. We have a tendency to equate His love with the
love that we feel for one another: indulgent,
changeable, sentimental, emotional,
2. As a result, some feel that God will allow and
overlook many things which He has forbidden.
a. "God will not send a person to hell because He
is a God of love."
b. This is a failure to understand, the relationship
of God' s love with His Justice.
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"God is love" - I John 4:8.
1. Note -This is NOT a characteristic of
God; -this is what God is.
2. His love is not influenced as ours
"by who or what we are.
a. Romans 5:8; Acts 10:34-35.
b. God's love has no boundaries or
restrictions; it is universal
(John 3:16)
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c. While He hates sin, it was love for the sinner
that motivated Him to send His son to die on
the cross.
(1) Ephesians 2:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:16;
Titus 3:4; 1 John 4:9-10.
(2) Jesus died for us "because He loves us”
(Revelation 1:5).
d. God's love is seen in the 0ld Testament "by
His patience with Israel; only an Infinite God
could continue to love a people who
constantly rejected Him.
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God's love is contrasted with that of human beings
in that it is always intelligent. Sometimes we are
moved by blind passion or silly infatuation.
Not so with God. His infinite wisdom always governs
His love, and that love therefore always works for
our best interests.
The objects of God's love are many. He of course
loves Christ. Jesus told his disciples" as the father
hath loved me, so have I loved you" (John 15:9)
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Because of that God sent His only begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through
him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins." (I John 4:9-10.)
Further, those who accept Christ are adopted
into the family of God. "Behold, what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God."
(I John 3:1.)
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Still another expression of divine love is that of
repeated forgiveness. It was this which caused
Hezekiah to sing, "But thou hast in love to my
soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for
thou hast cast all my sins behind my back.“
(Isaiah 38:17.)
Each time the Christian sins, and with a
penitent heart asks forgiveness he may be
assured that God will grant it.
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God. has always desired for man to love Him.
l. Mark 12:30.
a. Love for God is not optional.
b. It is necessary if we are to be "blessed“ by God.
2. Our relationship with God must "be“ based on
love.
a. John 14:1 5-1 6.
b. It is love which causes us to repent of our sins
confess Jesus as Lord, be "baptized into His death,
and live a faithful life”.
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Not only must we love God, "but we must
also love all others”.
1. We must love:
a. Our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48), one
another (I John 4:11). the brethren (I Peter
l :22; I John 3:14), our neighbour
(Matthew 19:19), husband /wife
(Ephesians 5:22-23; I Peter 3:1-6),
ourselves (Matthew 19;19).
b. 1 John 4:7-8; I John 4:19.
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2. Seven points on God's love:
a. Uninfluenced
(Deuteronomy7:7-8; 2 Timothy l :9).
b. Eternal (Jeremiah 31 :3)
c. Sovereign (Romans 9:15; Ephesians 1 :4-5).
d. Infinite (Ephesians 2:4; John 3:1 6),
e. Immutable (James 1:17-19? Romans 8:35-39).
f. Holy (I John l ;5; Hebrews 12:6; Romans 5:21 ).
g. Gracious (John 3:16; , Romans 8:32-39).
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The providence of God in caring for the saints
is a blessing resulting from divine love. "And
we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God." (Romans 8:28.)
Even the chastening of God to make us do
right is an expression of His love. "For whom
the Lord loveth He chastens, and scourges
every son whom He receives." (Hebrews 12:6.)
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God's love for us should cause us to love Him.
"We love Him, because He first loved us."
(I John 4:19.)
This in turn will make us love our brother. "Beloved,
if God so loved us, we ought also to love one
another." (I John 4:11.)
And if we have the love for Him that we ought to
have, we will obey Him. Jesus taught the disciples,
"If ye love me, keep my commandments.."
(John 14:15.)
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This is important to understand
We are challenged to OBEY God NOT
because He is standing over us with a big
stick threatening us (although there are
obviously consequence of sin)
Rather our MOTIVATION to OBEY is LOVE!!!
WE OBEY BECAUSE WE WANT TO
NOT BECAUSE WE HAVE TO
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Finally, the promise of an eternal home as
a reward for faithful service is a blessing
stemming from God's love.
Jesus promises "I go to prepare a place
for you, and if I go and prepare a place for
you I will come again and receive you
unto myself that where I am, there ye may
be also." (John 14:2,3.)
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