What Everyone Ought to Know about God. (Part 1)
In today’s “relative” world, “absolute” words often assault and offend. Yet as we begin to mine Scripture absolute words litter the landscape. Words like righteous, pure, true, right, and holy are used to describe the God of the Bible. As we examine Scripture, God’s own testimony of absoluteness emerges. We see that through his gracious and merciful acts he is morally perfect and pure. Psalm 145:17 reveals to us that “The LORD is righteous in all his ways…”
That is to say that in everything He does, from speaking the universe into existence (Gen. 1), bringing about the flood (Gen. 6), sacrificing His only Son, to creating and giving you life with all of its ups and downs is right. He did not make any mistakes, nor will He ever.
Moreover, his laws, commands, and percepts that he instructs us to obey are true and pure. When we obey them our hearts are filled with joy, our minds are renewed and peace reigns in our lives. (Psalm 19:8). His actions and words are not wrong, nor are they sometimes wrong, but they always right and standard to which He uses to judge our lives.
This absoluteness sets Him apart from us. “Holy” is the word to convey the idea of being “set apart” and Psalm 89:35, Isaiah 43:15, and 1 Peter 1:15 all speak to God’s holiness. He is set apart from the moral imperfections and impurities of his creation. Being set apart and perfect, he can never be imperfect or impure. He is crystal clear on this point as He says that He is not man, but God, the Holy One. (Hosea 11:9)
Because God is perfect in all His ways, we have someone that we can trust with every once of our being. We can trust His promises because He has never broken one nor is He capable of breaking one; we know that He will never do the wrong thing because He is perfect; and know that His Word is always truthful, even when it is difficult to believe.
He will not abandon us or forsake, nor will he ever lie to us. As we come up against difficult circumstances in our life, we know that He will be there for us in our time of need. We also know that His judgments are equitable and there will come a day when everything that is wrong with the world will be made right.
Most importantly, because He is morally pure and perfect He is the only one who can solve man’s most basic problem: being separated from Him.
Scripture for this post as quoted by the ESV:
Psalm 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.
Psalm 89:35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
Peter 1:15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
Psalm 19:8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
Isaiah 43:15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King
Hosea 11:9 ….for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst…
By David Zook, Pastor of Morningside Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Phoenix, AZ.
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