Misunderstanding God
Romans 11:22, Therefore consider
the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but
toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you
also will be cut off.
Who is God? That is a
question we must all come face to face with.
Our eternity depends upon it.
That is why a study of who God is, is never a bad thing.
Yet there are great misunderstandings about Him.
And such has almost always been the case.
From early times, men have sought to find and understand God.
This is no accident considering we are made in His image (Genesis
1:26-27) and He has put eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Some accepted Him as He revealed Himself, but many created God in
their own image. That is
why the Bible so extensively addresses the problem of idolatry and makes
the case for Jehovah (the English word translating the Hebrew
יהוה (YHWH),
the name given to God by the Jews).
Much could be said about why we should accept the God of the Bible, but
in this article, I wish to begin with the assumption that we look to the
Bible and find Him there.
But that leads to another question.
Who exactly is He?
There are many misunderstandings about Him.
I want to address two of them, and then make some observations
about this. We want to
notice that God is BOTH good and severe and how that should impact our
understanding of Him.
The goodness of God.
Make no mistake about it: We are here because of His goodness.
Some of the qualities used to describe God include mercy, grace
and love.
He is gracious.
Romans 5:15 speaks of the free gift we have in Christ, but the
grace of God. Titus 2 11
tells us, For the grace of God
that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
In Ephesians 2:8-9, we learn
that it is by the grace of God that we are saved and that it is not of
boastful works.
He is merciful.
Ephesians 2:4-5 speaks of the rich mercy of God, because of His
great love, has made us alive with Christ.
See also 1 Peter 1:3, and Titus 3:5.
It has been noted that God’s grace is giving us what we don’t
deserve, while His mercy is NOT giving us what we do deserve.
We only have hope of salvation because God is merciful.
He is a God of love.
John 3:16 tells us, For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
1 John 4:7-10 addresses how God has shown that love and that He
IS love (the very essence of what true Christian love ( ἀγάπη,
agape) is about).
We are warned not despise His goodness (Romans 2:4), which would include
these qualities and many more.
BUT many rest their hope SOLELY on His goodness.
They see His mercy, grace and love and think that all we need.
They dismiss the fact that we have a part in receiving salvation
– Ephesians 2:8 notes that we are saved by grace THROUGH FAITH, an
inclusive word which summarizes our part. Hebrews 5:9 tells us Jesus is
the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
There are many things we must do to be saved including –
confessing Him (Romans 10:9-10), repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38),
belief and baptism (Mark 16:16), Acts 22:16, etc.
Others dismiss their need to submit to Him in all things.
Some reason that once you are
saved, it is impossible to forfeit it.
They say you cannot be lost.
Others believe that God will overlook our ignorance and
weaknesses. Both of these
concepts are refuted in scripture (2 Pete 2:20-22, Galatians 5:4,
Hebrews 2:1-3, Revelation 2:10; 1 John 1:8-9, Romans 6:1-2, cf. Romans
10:1-3, etc.) and deserve a greater explanation than is possible here.
But the point is that such will appeal to God’s mercy and
goodness and
ignore His
severity and live to please themselves.
The severity of God
– this is the side that many do not want to face.
Yet we cannot dismiss the righteousness, justice and wrath of
God.
God is righteous.
Being righteous means being right.
Whether we want to admit it or not, a part of righteousness
involves punishment of wickedness.
2 Thessalonians 1:5-8 speaks of the righteous judgment of God
that will repay with tribulation the ungodly, including those who do not
obey the gospel.
God is just.
A part of His righteousness is being just.
To be just means to be fair and again that includes punishing
wickedness. Colossians 2:23-25 warns that those who have done wrong will
be repaid for such from God with whom there is no partiality.
Ephesians 5:6 tells us that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of
disobedience. Romans
2:5 warns of those who are treasuring up for themselves wrath in the day
of the righteous judgment of God. Hebrews
10:30-31 warns us that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
the living God. Again much
more could be said about this “side of God”.
A study of the Old Testament, continually demonstrates God’s wrath as He
dealt with rebellious and ungodly people and nations, including Israel
and Judah (his own chosen people) when they sinned.
Some have used what they see as the harsh side of God to reject Him.
It is a favorite argument of the skeptic, and at times, the
atheist (who in this case is making a faulty argument – you cannot deny
the existence of God and then criticize his character) to say, “How can
a loving God…” and they follow it with some description of punishment
against others, or maybe our eternal punishment in hell.
Some might say that God cannot be both good and severe, and call
it a contradiction. Some
look to His severity and bitterly reject Him.
They
ignore His grace
and goodness, and use His harshness as an excuse to live to please
themselves.
What problem do these
two views have in common?
BOTH problems fail to see God
for all that He is.
Both ignore the side of God they
don’t want to fully consider.
And both sides can put one’s soul in danger.
It is a mistake to not view every aspect of God.
This is to say, you can’t dismiss EITHER side of God.
When there is something about God that you do not understand, I
encourage you to step back and look at Him from the other side.
It can help put your view of Him into proper perspective.
For example:
To think only of God’s goodness can cause you to dismiss sinful
behaviors in your life, or see the need to help others overcome their
sins. Failure to appreciate
the wrath of God dismisses the imperative of true repentance (Acts 8:22,
2 Corinthians 7:10-11, Acts 17:30-31, etc.).
That is one of the problems
with advocating “once saved, always saved.”
While you reason you NEED to change, it is not necessary and many
will NOT repent because “God is a loving God who would never condemn me
for that.” As we live our
lives, we must never ignore the wrath of God.
Yes there is a good side to God, but it is tempered by His
severity.
On the other hand:
To focus on God’s wrath, and ignore His goodness to reject Him, is to
ignore WHY He punishes the wicked.
It is because they ARE unholy and are living in rebellion against
Him, and quite frankly, in ways that are harmful to the world we live
in. Why is this world
in the shape it is in?
Because of sin! Ignore that to your peril!!!!
A study of the examples of God’s wrath against nations and
individuals uncovers their wickedness.
God did not arbitrarily punish people without cause or to
demonstrate His cruelty.
There are also other factors about God that one must consider such as
His sovereignty (He has the authority to set the rules) and omniscience
(He knows all things including what is best, and we don’t!).
Furthermore,
to focus on God’s wrath ignores the gracious gift He has offered to
EVERY soul – forgiveness.
He has offered a way to avoid His wrath (via His mercy, love and grace).
He even sent is Son to make this forgiveness possible and to
demonstrate how He does care about us – John 3:16, Romans 5:6-9, 2
Corinthians 5:21, etc. Yes,
there is a severe side to God, but it is tempered by His goodness.
When we put everything together, we have a BETTER understanding of who
God really is. We see a
balance that keeps us humble and hopeful at the same time.
Honestly, it is unfair to judge God without the whole picture.
Consider these things as you think about Him.
Ignore it to your eternal peril (Hebrews 12:25, Jude 4).
How do you think about God?