Understanding God's Character: Holiness, Love, and Redemption
Summary
Understanding the character of God is crucial for our spiritual journey. Many claim to believe in God, yet their understanding is often based on personal opinions or societal norms rather than divine revelation. The essence of knowing God lies not in human speculation but in His self-revelation through Scripture. God is not a construct of our imagination; He is the eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent Creator. His attributes are not isolated; they are harmoniously intertwined. God is holy, just, and righteous, yet He is also loving, merciful, and compassionate. These attributes do not contradict but complement each other, revealing the fullness of His divine nature.
The danger lies in emphasizing one attribute over another, such as focusing solely on God's love while neglecting His holiness and justice. This selective understanding leads to a distorted view of God. True knowledge of God acknowledges His complete nature, as revealed in the Bible. This understanding compels us to approach Him with reverence and humility, recognizing our own sinfulness and need for His mercy.
The ultimate question we must confront is how we can stand before such a holy and righteous God. The answer is found in the Gospel: God, in His love and justice, provided a way for us through Jesus Christ. Christ bore the punishment for our sins, satisfying God's justice while extending His mercy. This divine act of salvation invites us to repent, acknowledge our sins, and accept His forgiveness. In doing so, we are reconciled to God, adopted into His family, and given the hope of eternal life.
Key Takeaways:
- The Nature of God: God is not a product of human imagination but a divine being who has revealed Himself through Scripture. His attributes—eternity, omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence—are foundational to understanding His character. Recognizing these attributes helps us approach God with the reverence He deserves. [33:51]
- Holiness and Justice: God's holiness and justice are integral to His nature. He cannot tolerate sin and demands absolute obedience. This understanding challenges us to live in a way that honors His holiness and aligns with His righteous standards. [38:58]
- Love and Mercy: While God is just, He is also loving and merciful. These attributes are not contradictory but work together in harmony. God's love is a holy love, and His mercy is a righteous mercy, offering us a path to redemption through Christ. [42:37]
- The Danger of Selective Understanding: Emphasizing one attribute of God over others leads to a distorted view. God is consistent in His nature, and understanding Him requires acknowledging all His attributes as revealed in Scripture. [42:56]
- The Call to Repentance: True knowledge of God leads to repentance. Recognizing our sinfulness in light of God's holiness compels us to seek His mercy. Through Christ, God offers forgiveness, inviting us into a relationship with Him. [50:18]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[29:32] - The Importance of Knowing God's Character
[30:24] - Belief vs. Knowledge of God
[31:15] - Misconceptions About God
[32:16] - The Limitations of Human Understanding
[33:37] - Revelation Through Scripture
[34:15] - Attributes of God: Eternity and Omnipresence
[35:16] - God's Omniscience and Omnipotence
[36:46] - The Holiness of God
[38:58] - God's Justice and Righteousness
[40:41] - God's Love and Mercy
[42:19] - The Consistency of God's Nature
[44:27] - The Harmony of God's Attributes
[45:03] - The Question of Justification
[46:22] - The Call to Humility and Repentance
[50:18] - The Path to Forgiveness and Salvation
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Psalm 139:7-10 - Discusses God's omnipresence.
2. Job 42:5-6 - Job's realization of God's majesty and his own humility.
3. 1 John 1:5 - God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness.
#### Observation Questions
1. What attributes of God are highlighted in Psalm 139:7-10, and how do they relate to the sermon’s emphasis on God's omnipresence? [34:36]
2. How does Job's response in Job 42:5-6 reflect the sermon’s message about recognizing our own limitations in understanding God? [47:24]
3. According to 1 John 1:5, what does it mean that God is light, and how does this relate to the sermon’s discussion on God's holiness? [37:11]
#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the sermon explain the harmony between God's love and His justice, and why is it important to understand both attributes together? [42:19]
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that a selective understanding of God's attributes can lead to a distorted view of Him? [42:56]
3. How does the sermon describe the role of Jesus Christ in reconciling God's holiness with His mercy? [50:37]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current understanding of God. Are there attributes of God that you tend to emphasize over others? How might this affect your relationship with Him? [42:56]
2. The sermon calls for a response of humility and repentance. What steps can you take this week to approach God with a humble heart? [46:22]
3. How can you ensure that your understanding of God is based on Scripture rather than personal opinion or societal norms? What practical steps can you take to deepen your scriptural knowledge of God? [33:51]
4. Consider a time when you struggled with the concept of God's justice. How can the sermon’s explanation of God’s justice and mercy help you reconcile those feelings? [38:58]
5. The sermon emphasizes the importance of repentance. Is there a specific area in your life where you need to seek God's forgiveness and mercy? How will you go about doing this? [50:18]
6. How can you share the balanced understanding of God's character with someone who may have a distorted view of Him? What specific actions or conversations could you initiate? [43:11]
7. Reflect on the sermon’s message about God’s omnipresence. How does this attribute of God provide comfort or challenge in your daily life? [34:36]
Devotional
Day 1: God’s Self-Revelation Through Scripture
Understanding God begins with recognizing that He is not a product of human imagination but a divine being who has revealed Himself through Scripture. His attributes—eternity, omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence—are foundational to understanding His character. This revelation invites us to approach God with the reverence He deserves, acknowledging that our understanding of Him should be rooted in His Word rather than personal opinions or societal norms. By immersing ourselves in Scripture, we gain a clearer picture of who God truly is and how we can relate to Him. [33:51]
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12, ESV)
Reflection: How can you incorporate more Scripture into your daily routine to deepen your understanding of God’s character?
Day 2: The Balance of Holiness and Justice
God's holiness and justice are integral to His nature. He cannot tolerate sin and demands absolute obedience. This understanding challenges us to live in a way that honors His holiness and aligns with His righteous standards. Recognizing God's holiness should lead us to a posture of humility, acknowledging our own shortcomings and the need for His grace. It is through this lens that we can better appreciate the depth of His justice and the seriousness with which He views sin. [38:58]
"Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." (Revelation 15:4, ESV)
Reflection: In what ways can you align your daily actions with God’s standards of holiness and justice?
Day 3: The Harmony of Love and Mercy
While God is just, He is also loving and merciful. These attributes are not contradictory but work together in harmony. God's love is a holy love, and His mercy is a righteous mercy, offering us a path to redemption through Christ. This divine balance invites us to experience His love and mercy personally, understanding that His justice was satisfied through Jesus' sacrifice. As we embrace this truth, we are called to extend the same love and mercy to others, reflecting His character in our interactions. [42:37]
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4-5, ESV)
Reflection: Who in your life needs to experience God’s love and mercy through you today, and how can you show it to them?
Day 4: Avoiding a Distorted View of God
Emphasizing one attribute of God over others leads to a distorted view. God is consistent in His nature, and understanding Him requires acknowledging all His attributes as revealed in Scripture. This comprehensive understanding prevents us from creating a version of God that suits our preferences and challenges us to embrace the fullness of His character. By doing so, we can develop a more accurate and meaningful relationship with Him, grounded in truth and reverence. [42:56]
"For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." (Malachi 3:6, ESV)
Reflection: Are there attributes of God that you tend to overlook or emphasize too much? How can you seek a more balanced understanding of His nature?
Day 5: The Call to Repentance and Forgiveness
True knowledge of God leads to repentance. Recognizing our sinfulness in light of God's holiness compels us to seek His mercy. Through Christ, God offers forgiveness, inviting us into a relationship with Him. This call to repentance is not just a one-time event but a continual process of turning away from sin and toward God. As we accept His forgiveness, we are also called to forgive others, embodying the grace we have received. [50:18]
"Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19-20, ESV)
Reflection: Is there an area of your life where you need to seek God’s forgiveness today? How can you extend that same forgiveness to someone else?
Quotes
What is of infinitely greater importance I say is to know what God is like, the character of God, what God's being really is. This is the thing that the world doesn't know. That's why our Lord said, righteous Father, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these have known that thou did send me. [00:29:50]
There are many who say that they know God and that they believe in God, and yet their whole life displays that they don't know him, and for this reason, they make God after their own image. They don't hesitate to get up and to say I say that God shouldn't do this and that God inquires God. [00:30:44]
It's no use you're trying to speculate about God. You can't do it. God is in heaven, and you and I are on the earth. He's infinitely removed from us. What do we know about him? What can we know about him? I ask what Authority have you for saying that you believe God is like this? [00:32:14]
We are totally ignorant of God. We are shut up entirely to his own revelation of himself. I've been taking you through the philosophic arguments for God, yes, but they only bring me to this, that there must be some kind of being at the back of it all, but that doesn't tell me what he's like. [00:33:17]
Here and here alone have we revelation of the being of God. And what does it tell me about God? Have you ever considered it? It tells me about his eternity, that he is from eternity to Eternity, that he has no beginning of days. God is. It tells me about his majesty. [00:33:54]
He is omnipresent. He's everywhere. Did you hear the psalmist saying it in the 139th Psalm? If I Ascend into heaven, behold, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, he is still there. If he takes the wings of the morning, if he travels north, south, east, or west, it doesn't matter where. [00:34:23]
God is always the same, and God is always consistent with himself, and in everything that God does, the whole of his personality and being comes to light. There is no contradiction between his love and his righteousness, his Mercy and his Holiness. God is always holy. God is always righteous. [00:42:09]
The glory of God and the glory of this way of Salvation is that all his attributes meet together and shine out in their Glory. When he forgives, he's just. When he pardons, he's still holy and righteous. There is the Revelation that God has given of himself. I say there it is. [00:44:27]
How can a man be just with God? How can a man be just with such a God? How can I come into His presence? How can I meet him? How can I stand before such a God? I say again as I close that that is the first question for every one of us. [00:45:03]
The man who has even had a dim concept of him Falls before him and says God be merciful to me. Have you ever said that? Have you ever seen yourself as you are in the presence of God in all your Folly and ignorance and arrogance and vessels and foulness? Have you cried out to God for Mercy? [00:48:18]
God commandeth all men everywhere to repent. Have you repented? Have you seen yourself in his presence? Have you known something of the terror, the alarm? Have you acknowledged it to him? Have you confessed it to him? Have you poured it out before him? Have you pleaded with him with that Publican to be merciful to you? [00:49:33]
The moment you do that, he will tell you that he has found a way which is at one and the same time full of love and mercy and righteousness and Justice and Holiness to Pardon you and to deliver you. He has sent his only son to Bear the punishment that your sins and mine deserved. [00:50:18]
Chatbot
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