What I wrote in my journal today:
" Today, I will study God's Holiness, the other part of His nature. Then I will be able to get an almost perfect grasp of God's overall character and be able to present the Gospel in a powerful and truthful way.
Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Job 4:17
Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Job 8:3
Doth God pervert judgement? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
Isaiah 45:21
...and there is no God beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Leviticus 11:45
...ye shall be therefore holy, for I am holy.
Psalm 68:5
A father to the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
These are just some of the examples of God saying that He is just and holy. There are soooo many more in the Bible fore you to read. Anyway, to fully grasp what God is saying, we need to find the definition of holy, just, judge, and judgement.
Definitions:
holy-exalted or worthy of complete praise and devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness; divine.
exalted-glorified, to raise high.
just-righteous.
righteous-free from guilt or sin.
judge-to regard something as good or bad; the ruler.
judgement-a divine sentence or decision; an opinion or decision that is based on careful thought.
All of these definitions describe God or something that God does or will do. We can conclude that:
1. God is worthy of complete praise and devotion because He is PERFECT in goodness and righteousness.
2. God is divine (of course).
3. God is glorified (is honored or praised above all).
4. God is free from sin. He has never sinned and will never sin. God cannot break His own holy laws (which were for us anyway).
5. God is the ruler (which is why He calls Himself "The LORD" most of the time. Lord means "Master").
6. He is the one who will choose whether someone is righteous (not as righteous as Him, of course) or wicked because He has the ultimate authority and truth to everything.
7. God is the one who will make the final choices, due to His all-knowing power.
This is what we can conclude from these definitions, but let's try to get a more powerful meaning out of this:
1. God is PERFECT in goodness and righteousness.
2. God is honored and praised above all else.
3. God has never sinned and never will sin.
4. God is the ultimate, sovereign ruler.
5. God is Almighty, meaning that He has ALL the power.
6. God knows everything, even every "secret thing" (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
7. God hates sin.
8. God will never punish or reward someone unjustly.
9. God is not afraid to call out sin and condemn it.
To sum up this side of God's character, it is safe to say that there is no sin in God and that God hates sin a WHOLE LOT. God knows all, and has all of the power, and is in control forever, over all. He is fearless and completely just. You can't have God without God's wrath.
These aspects of God were mostly known to most Christians already, but remembering these is essential to understanding God on a daily basis. Thank you God for your righteousness! Next time, I will combine these two aspects of God (love and holiness) together to write about God's character a whole."
These were the notes that I wrote today. I am doing a full study on God's character. I believe that God has guided me to do this because I asked Him to give me a better understanding of the Gospel and knowing God's character is essential to the Gospel and introducing unbelievers to God. I did not want to write this in the beginning (I started with writing about God's love yesterday, which is something that I did not want to do, but I forced myself to, because I thought it was more important that "conditional blessings" which was my other option). But God has guided me and I believe that He will show me someone to present the Gospel to in the near future. Please pray for me that I will be able to do this successfully and bring that potential someone to Christ. Praise God!
P.S. I changed "justice" to "holiness" throughout the post. Please remember that this is what I wrote in my journal today.
" Today, I will study God's Holiness, the other part of His nature. Then I will be able to get an almost perfect grasp of God's overall character and be able to present the Gospel in a powerful and truthful way.
Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Job 4:17
Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Job 8:3
Doth God pervert judgement? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
Isaiah 45:21
...and there is no God beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Leviticus 11:45
...ye shall be therefore holy, for I am holy.
Psalm 68:5
A father to the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
These are just some of the examples of God saying that He is just and holy. There are soooo many more in the Bible fore you to read. Anyway, to fully grasp what God is saying, we need to find the definition of holy, just, judge, and judgement.
Definitions:
holy-exalted or worthy of complete praise and devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness; divine.
exalted-glorified, to raise high.
just-righteous.
righteous-free from guilt or sin.
judge-to regard something as good or bad; the ruler.
judgement-a divine sentence or decision; an opinion or decision that is based on careful thought.
All of these definitions describe God or something that God does or will do. We can conclude that:
1. God is worthy of complete praise and devotion because He is PERFECT in goodness and righteousness.
2. God is divine (of course).
3. God is glorified (is honored or praised above all).
4. God is free from sin. He has never sinned and will never sin. God cannot break His own holy laws (which were for us anyway).
5. God is the ruler (which is why He calls Himself "The LORD" most of the time. Lord means "Master").
6. He is the one who will choose whether someone is righteous (not as righteous as Him, of course) or wicked because He has the ultimate authority and truth to everything.
7. God is the one who will make the final choices, due to His all-knowing power.
This is what we can conclude from these definitions, but let's try to get a more powerful meaning out of this:
1. God is PERFECT in goodness and righteousness.
2. God is honored and praised above all else.
3. God has never sinned and never will sin.
4. God is the ultimate, sovereign ruler.
5. God is Almighty, meaning that He has ALL the power.
6. God knows everything, even every "secret thing" (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
7. God hates sin.
8. God will never punish or reward someone unjustly.
9. God is not afraid to call out sin and condemn it.
To sum up this side of God's character, it is safe to say that there is no sin in God and that God hates sin a WHOLE LOT. God knows all, and has all of the power, and is in control forever, over all. He is fearless and completely just. You can't have God without God's wrath.
These aspects of God were mostly known to most Christians already, but remembering these is essential to understanding God on a daily basis. Thank you God for your righteousness! Next time, I will combine these two aspects of God (love and holiness) together to write about God's character a whole."
These were the notes that I wrote today. I am doing a full study on God's character. I believe that God has guided me to do this because I asked Him to give me a better understanding of the Gospel and knowing God's character is essential to the Gospel and introducing unbelievers to God. I did not want to write this in the beginning (I started with writing about God's love yesterday, which is something that I did not want to do, but I forced myself to, because I thought it was more important that "conditional blessings" which was my other option). But God has guided me and I believe that He will show me someone to present the Gospel to in the near future. Please pray for me that I will be able to do this successfully and bring that potential someone to Christ. Praise God!
P.S. I changed "justice" to "holiness" throughout the post. Please remember that this is what I wrote in my journal today.