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Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
April 24, 2022
Our Good God
Selected Scriptures
Introduction
This is the eighth sermon in our series on trusting God. Your ability to trust God is directly related to your understanding of Him according to His revelation of Himself in His creation and His word, but especially in His word. From Creation we can gain some sense of God’s attributes such as His power, majesty, beauty, immensity, wisdom, care and kindness, but it is in the Scriptures that He reveals a greater understanding of each of these and other attributes that can only be known through His direct revelation to us such as His mercy, longsuffering, grace, love, and justice.
I have already covered some of God’s attributes which arise out of Him being the Creator such as His self-existence and self-sufficiency. He is the uncaused cause and the cause of everything else for all things that exist, whether visible or invisible, material or immaterial have their origin in God. He has made all things for His own purposes and pleasure, yet He has no need for anything outside Himself. That means that all of His actions toward you arise from within Himself as expressions of His own character and nature. Those lay the foundation for being able to trust Him.
I also have covered many of God’s attributes related to Him being an infinite being. These are not easy for us to understand properly since everything in our own experience as humans is limited. We live entrapped within the time space continuum, but God exists outside this box of limitations. God is eternal meaning that He is infinite with respect to time. He exists before, after and throughout time.
I am grateful for Ed Colón for tackling three of God’s infinite attributes a few weeks ago as part of this series. (See: https://www.gracebibleny.org/the-omnipresent-omniscient-omnipotent-god) God is omnipresent meaning that He is not limited by space. He is everywhere present at the same time. God is omnipotent meaning that He is unlimited in power. Even performing all the works of Creation did not diminish Him in power in the least. God is omniscient meaning He that is unlimited with respect to wisdom and knowledge. He knows all things about all things. Neither His knowledge nor His wisdom – the ability to perfectly apply that knowledge – can be either increased or diminished.
These attributes of being infinite also mean that God is holy meaning that He is set apart from everything else that exists for He is something other than anything in Creation. Being holy also means that He Himself is the standard of what is righteous. What exists in Creation becomes holy as it is set apart to and for Him and reflects His moral qualities. These various attributes also mean that He is immutable meaning that He does not change in character and nature.
I appreciate Sam Ramac who preached a couple of weeks ago as a part of this sermon series on God’s sovereignty and faithfulness which arise from these attributes already mentioned. (See: https://www.gracebibleny.org/the-sovereign-faithful-god) God’s infinite attributes gives rise to Him being supreme in all things for nothing can thwart His will from being accomplished. There is no power that can overcome Him. There is no intelligence that can outsmart or out maneuver Him. There is no means by which He can be avoided by going around, above or under Him. Nothing can prevent His will from being carried out. Nothing can escape His judgment. The only limitation on God is His own character and nature which also ensure that He always carries out the promises that He makes. His sovereignty declares His capability of doing His will in all things and His faithfulness declares that He will do all things according to His will. For those reasons, we can completely trust God to do what He has declared.
These truths about God give rise to His attribute of justice which I have also covered. He applies all of His commands and fulfills all of His promises without partiality. God’s justice is a comfort to those that have been redeemed by God’s grace through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have a confident assurance that God is working all things together for God for those that love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28) even when we suffer from our own sin, living in a sin cursed world, and persecution by evil people. That is why we can consider it all joy when we encounter the various trials of life that test our faith and can exalt in our tribulations because God uses even these difficulties to conform us to the image of Christ (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-11; 8:29). We also know that though it may appear that the wicked are getting away with their evil in the present time, their end is one of destruction and terror as described in Psalm 73. So while God’s justice is a comfort to the righteous, it should be a terror to the unrighteous, and that includes the many in our own time that reject God’s standards of righteousness for their own perverted standards resulting in advocating what is evil and abominations before God as social justice.
We will be continuing our examination of God’s moral attributes. These are qualities that exist perfectly in God and which are to be reflected in man since God made man in the image and likeness of Himself. Because of man’s fall into sin, these character qualities in man will be very distorted at best, though in those who are redeemed, they should be much more discernable and clear since the Holy Spirit is at work in Christians to conform them to the image of Christ. This morning we will be examining God’s attributes of being good.
The Goodness of God
The goodness of God is one of if not the most attacked moral attribute of God. A very common excuse that people make in rejecting God is that because evil exists, God cannot be good. Some even reject the existence of God because of this, but such conclusions are very short sighted and the later is actually absurd.
That God does not match a human’s idea or desire for what is good is completely unrelated to God’s existence. As Romans 1:18-20 and many other passages make clear, God’s existence is declared in Creation and in the human heart. Those that believe God is evil contrary to His own declaration about Himself should be even more terrified because they will still have to find a way to appease their Creator, and there can be no assurance that an evil god can be appeased because such a god cannot be trusted. This is easily seen in all the false religions – paganism, pantheism, Hinduism, Islam, etc. – in which great effort is made to appease their god or gods, but whether the person makes it to that religion’s version of heaven remains uncertain. An example of this is Allah, the god of Isalm that is proclaimed in its own sacred writings to be arbitrary. He can change his mind at his own whim. You can be very diligent to follow all the rules of Islam and then still be cast away if Allah doesn’t feel like being nice that day. They only guarantee for a Muslim to have a pleasurable existence after this life ends is to die in Jihad which is why the more fundamental and radical Islamic sects can recruit suicide bombers to murder their enemies.
Is the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible good? Absolutely! However it must be remembered that God, not man, sets the standard of what is good. Man thinking he can set the standard of what is good is a major reason God’s goodness is attacked. Man is quick to define what is good according to his own fickle and changing desires instead of anything that is absolute and for which he will be held responsible for failing to meet it. For example, in our own society there are many things that are being promoted as good by governmental entities and societal elite which are actually quite evil and abominations before God. That is why a woe is pronounced in Isaiah 5:20 upon those that call what is evil good and what is good evil. Among the many blatant examples is approval by some governmental bodies for rioting, pillaging and murder that fits their ideas of political correctness while condemning as insurrection peaceful protests against such government bodies for failing to fulfill their God given purpose in promoting what is actually good and restraining that which is evil. Even more blatant is the approval and celebration given to all sorts of sexual perversions while attacking those who hold to God’s definition of marriage and sexual morality. We have reached such levels of absurdity among political progressives that our newest female U.S. Supreme Court Jurist is not even able to define what it means to be a woman claiming she is not a biologist, and worse than that, a majority of the U.S. Senate voted to confirm her despite such an absurdity in thinking. Woe to America.
Second, the fact that evil exists is not a lack in God being good. Evil does not have its origin in God but in Satan and man who sinned against God’s commands. When God completed His work of Creation on day six He pronounced what He has made as not just good as He had the previous days, but very good. Evil entered into Creation when pride was found in Lucifer, the “anointed cherub who covers” (Ezk. 28:14). Isaiah 14:13-14 describes his fall as he said in his heart, 13 “. . . “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Evil entered into mankind when Satan slandered God and enticed Eve to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and then she gave the fruit to Adam who then also ate though God had directly prohibited him from doing so. Adam, Eve, the serpent and the earth were all cursed and all of their descendants – all of humanity, has been born in sin ever since. Men commit evil against themselves and others because they are evil by nature. Animals commit acts that are evil because they are cursed due to man’s sin. Catastrophes occur in nature – floods, drought, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes – because the earth is also cursed due to man’s sin.
Don’t blame God for evil for its origin is in disobedience to God. In fact, God’s goodness is demonstrated in His tolerance of evil in the present time. Why? Because it demonstrates His attributes of patience, longsuffering, mercy and grace as He gives man opportunity to repent, believe and receive forgiveness of sin through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. His goodness is also demonstrated in His attributes of anger, wrath and justice displayed in His judgment of Satan and his demons and all those who do not repent of their evil. A good judge will uphold the law in faithfulness without partiality, and God is a good judge who will impartially render to every person that does not repent their just condemnation based upon the very acts of evil they have done (Rev. 20:11-15). His justice is fulfilled in those who do repent and believe in Jesus Christ who paid the penalty of their sin on the cross by His death on their behalf. Jesus became the willing substitute sacrifice to atone for their sin.
Defining Good
What does it mean to be good? Our English word has several meanings. The Oxford dictionary includes: 1:“to be desired, approved of; pleasing” 2: “having the required qualities; of a high standard.” 3: “morally right, virtuous” Webster’s definition includes: 1:“of favorable character or tendency” 2: “virtuous, right, commendable” The Hebrew and Greek words that are translated as good also have multiple senses.
By far, the most common Hebrew word translated as good in the Scriptures is bWf5 / tov and its cognates which TWOT defines as referring to “good” or “goodness” in its broadest senses. This is includes: 1. Practical, economic or material good (Eccl. 5:11 – when good things increase); 2. Desirability, pleasantness, beauty (Deut. 3:25 – good land, pleasant mountains); 3. Quality or expense (Genesis 2:12 – the gold of that land is good); 4. Philosophical good (Eccl. 3:12 – rejoice and to do good in their lives); 5. Moral good, correct, righteous (Psalm 37:27 – depart from evil and do good).
In the New Testament there are two Greek words which are usually translated as good. The first is ajgaqovV/ agathos and its cognates. TDNT explains that in the Septuagint ajgaqovV/ agathos is the normal equivalent of bWf5 / tov for it also carries the same very broad senses of meaning. Material good (Luke 1:53 – filled the hungry with good things); Good in quality, valuable (Matt. 7:17 – every good tree bears good fruit); General goodness (Luke 18:18 – Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life); Moral goodness (Romans 16:19 – be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil). In the New Testament, when ajgaqovV/ agathos is used in reference to God, it refers to His absolute essential moral goodness and the expressions of that in His kindness. Jesus points out in Matthew 19:17 that only God is truly ajgaqovV/ agathos – good. Christians are to be transformed by the renewing of their minds to reflect that goodness (Romans 12:2).
The other Greek word commonly translated in the New Testament as good is kalovV/ kalos. In the Septuagint is often used synonymously with ajgaqovV/ agathos and that continued in the New Testament. Its usage is in agreement with general usage with context determining its sense. However, when the two words are used together, kalovV/ kalos has a greater emphasis on political, social goodness and beauty compared to ethical, spiritual goodness and quality. A good (ajgaqovV/ agathos) tree produces good (kalovV/ kalos) fruit.
A. W. Tozer defined the goodness of God in his book, Knowledge of the Holy, (pg 88) as “The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank and friendly. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people.”
The Goodness of God Declared
The Bible declares God to be good over and over again. Consider the following Scripture passages.
Genesis 1:31, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” I already referred to this verse earlier, but it is a verse to emphasize. When God completed His creative works on the sixth day of Creation, everything He had made was very good. Why? Because all of it was a proper reflection and expression of Himself and therefore very good. It was good in every sense for it was perfect in beauty, quality, desirability, value, and righteous. Earlier on day six God had already corrected the only “not good” that had existed up to that time by fashioning from Adam’s rib a helper suitable for him so that he was not alone. The woman, Eve, would complement Adam and enable the two together to fulfill God’s commands to them.
In Exodus 33:18 Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory. God answered saying in verses 19, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” God reveals here to Moses that His goodness is an essential attribute. It defines a significant element of God’s essence and glory.
In Luke 18:19 Jesus declared, “No one is good except God alone.” Goodness is defined by God’s character and actions. Anything else that is good is so only as a reflection of Him. Man’s self proclamation of being good and defining goodness by his own standard is an exercise in foolish futility. Psalm 14:1-3 and Romans 3:10-12 state unequivocally that there are no human that does good, not even one. Isaiah 64:6 makes it clear that even man’s efforts to do some act of good falls woefully short for it is like a filthy garment before our holy God. For man to be and do good will take divine intervention. Again, it is God, not man that defines what is and is not good, and God defines it by His own character.
The Psalms give invitations to consider God’s goodness, reflect on the good God has done for man, and find hope in it. For example, Psalm 34:8, “O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”An invitation to investigate the goodness of God along with the promise that God’s good blessings come upon those that trust Him. Psalm 84:11 is David’s personal recognition of this, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” David expresses his hope – confident assurance of the future – in God’s goodness in Psalm 16:2 and 27:13, “I said to the Lord, “You are My Lord, I have no good besides You,’” and “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.” Psalm 136 which was the Scripture reading this morning is a recounting of God’s goodness in Creation and to Israel, indeed His lovingkindness is everlasting!
Romans 2:4 addresses the effect God’s goodness should have on sinful man. “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” Sinners who consider God’s goodness to them should respond in repentance of their sins against Him, but the natural man will not receive the things from the Spirit of God even when it is staring him in the face and his existence depends on it for it is foolishness to him. As I have pointed out many times, people will believe in the fairy tale of evolution because they do not want to believe in the God of the Bible. They willfully reject the evidence which is all around them of both Creation and God’s judgment of the world by the flood of Noah’s day as well as God’s daily goodness in providing sunshine, rain, plants and animals so that man can eat.
Christians can take heart because no matter what circumstances they may find themselves, they can trust in the promises of God based on His goodness. The apostle Paul declares in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Because God is good He can bring about good in everything that occurs in the life of believers – those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. That includes their own, the sin of others and the consequences of living in a sin cursed world. Joseph understood this which why in Genesis 50:20 he was able to say to his brothers who had sold him into slavery, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”
Jeremiah also understood this and he expresses it in his lamentation over the ruins of Jerusalem that had just been destroyed by the Babylonians. As he looks over the smoldering city, Jeremiah states, 21 “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. 22 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. 26 It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:21-26)
The believer also takes heart because as Paul states in Philippians 2:13, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” God is always at work in His people for their good which is clearly defined in this verse as according to His good pleasure. Sinners balk at that idea while the righteous rejoice.
The Source of Goodness
The source of goodness is God Himself for it arises out of His own character. I already mentioned Moses’ request for the Lord to show him His glory and God’s promise to do so. God fulfills that promise in Exodus 34:6-7. 6 “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” As promised in Exodus 33:19, God proclaims His goodness to Moses and notice the elements that are part of that goodness – compassion, graciousness, longsuffering patience in being slow to anger, lovingkindess and forgiveness. He also gives a warning to those that will not turn from their sin to trust Him which I will expand on in a few minutes for that is also part of His goodness. But here I want to emphasize that goodness exists only because God is good. Any goodness in man will be a reflection of God’s goodness and of necessity must be instilled into him by God because man is inherently sinful.
This is part of salvation. God’ changes the character and nature of sinners through salvation that comes by God’s grace through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ so that they are new creatures in Him (2 Cor. 5:17). We who were in unbelief with minds blinded by the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) are brought to the light of truth to see the gospel of the glory of Christ and rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Christ (Col. 1:3). Though we will still struggle against sin while in these bodies of flesh (Romans 7), that struggle itself is a demonstration that we have a new master of righteousness to obey and must quit obeying the old master of sin. We can now do good, in fact Ephesians 2:10 states the saved are “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” We are to be rich in good works (1 Tim. 6:18) letting them shine before men that they might give glory to our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). It is the Scriptures which are inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction for training in righteousness that enables the man of God to be adequate and equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God through Christ, the Holy Spirit and His word is the source of goodness in the redeemed. Man is not and cannot be good on His own, but through faith in Jesus the sinner is transformed to receive the righteousness of Christ and become good in Him and enabled to do good.
Doubting God’s Goodness
People doubt God’s goodness for a variety or reasons with the problem of evil being the most common excuse for it. There are strong Biblical answers for the existence of evil. (Examples: see https://www.gracebibleny.org/presuppositional_apologetics_problem_evil and https://www.gracebibleny.org/gods-sovereignty-mans-volition-and-the-problem-of-evil-selected-scriptures), but for the most part people are not interested in them because that would remove their excuse for not believing and following God. The reality is that doubt and accusations against God’s goodness boil down to the sins of pride and selfishness. People insist on the right to define good by their own desires instead of God’s will and then arrogantly judge God based on their own preferences. Though they do not have a proper understanding of holiness, righteousness or justice, they base their judgment on their own personal experiences and what they think the world should be like. In hypocrisy they want God to act according to their own idea of fairness by extending mercy and grace to whom they like while bringing vengeance and condemnation upon those they do not like. They do not want the standards of other people applied to them.
Christians who have doubts about God’s goodness need to go to Romans 5:8 and then work backwards through that passage. Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself to save us while we were still sinners is the most powerful exhibition of God’s love and goodness that exists. Because God’s love is made sure in Christ, then there is hope – a confident assurance for the future according to God’s promises. Because there is hope, there can be proven character developed by perseverance in the midst of tribulation. Christians can rejoice in the midst of trials and tribulations because God is good and will continue to work good in us as He conforms us into the image of Christ.
The starting point for non-Christians is helping them to understand that if God was good according to human definitions He would be evil just like them. If God was “fair” according to human standards they would be doomed for they would receive the just recompense for all the evil they have done. If God is not good according to the standards of His own character and nature, there is no hope for anyone. The good news is that God is good according to His own absolute standards so His goodness can be extended to sinners in patient longsuffering mercy so that they remain alive in the present time. He also extends that goodness further in His grace to convict them of their sin that they might repent, believe and receive God’s forgiveness in Christ. Because God is good, hope is offered to everyone that will repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
Challenges Concerning God’s Goodness
I have a challenge and a warning I want to give to you before I conclude this sermon. First, take time today or as soon as you can to consider God’s goodness to you and thank Him for it. Make a list of both general and specific actions of God’s goodness that He has extended to you. Then talk it over with someone else and praise God together. Psalm 78:4 states that we are to “tell to the generations to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.” Recounting God’s goodness to you is part of that.
I can tell you personally that our family knows God’s goodness in the midst of grief and trial. God used the grief of Diane’s father’s memorial service to both proclaim the gospel clearly and draw that family closer together than they have been in decades. The pain of the sudden death of our brother-in-law, Chris, this past Wednesday is tempered with the comfort of knowing he was ready and now is in Christ’s presence. The trepidation of my brother, Jesse, being in ICU with multiple organ problems as I speak is changed to peace as I consider God’s goodness to him in getting him to the hospital, in his spiritual growth over the years, and that the Lord will continue to care for my elderly parents whether He calls Jesse home or extends his life of service on this earth for years to come. God holds the future, and because He is good, that is comforting.
The warning is to not take God’s goodness for granted and to not consider it to be only one sided. As I briefly mentioned from Exodus 34:7 earlier, God’s goodness is also displayed in His punishing the guilty who do not repent. A good judge must be impartial and must uphold the law. A judge that ignored the law or changed it at his whim would be unjust. Goodness requires a just recompense for evil. That is actually the main accusation in claiming that God must not be good since evil exists. But He is good and that goodness is also demonstrated in bringing judgment and condemnation upon those that will not repent and take advantage of salvation in the vicarious atonement of Christ. Revelation 20:11-15 describes the final judgment when the dead, great and small that were not part of the first resurrection are brought before God on His great white throne and He judges them according to what is “written in the books, according to their deeds.” If their name is not written in the book of life, they are thrown into the lake of fire along with death and hades and where Satan, the beast, the false prophet and the demons have already been cast. That is final judgment. But prior to this God may also bring punishment in the current time on those who do evil as is recorded throughout history.
In addition, Hebrews 12:6 warns that “whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” While modern child rearing has turned against discipline calling it cruel and hateful, Proverbs 13:24 states the opposite, “He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” As a loving father will chasten his son so also God will discipline his children. It is an act of love done in love. To withhold it is an act of weakness done in hatred. Never forget that God’s correction and chastening arises out of His goodness and love, so be thankful when God chastens you for as Hebrews 12:7-8 states, ” . . . God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”
Conclusion
God is good in every sense of that word, and because God is good man can continue to live in the present because that goodness is demonstrated in patient, longsuffering mercy. Man can have hope for eternity because that goodness is demonstrated in God’s grace to provide the means of redemption through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is also good when it is exhibited in the correction of the erring and in the just punishment of those who do evil and are unrepentant. Doubt of God’s love is foolish ignorance. Accusations that God is not good is arrogant blasphemy.
I will conclude with the request and hope of Psalm 86:4–5, 4“Make glad the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.”
Sermon Notes -4/24/2022
Our Good God – Selected Scriptures
Introduction
God is the ____________ of all things and therefore self-existent and self-sufficient
God is an infinite being: Eternal – infinite in respect to _______existing before, after and throughout time
God is omnipresent – infinite in respect to ________. Omnipotent – infinite in respect to __________
God is omniscient – infinite in respect to ____________& wisdom.
Being infinite, God is holy – something ______than anything in creation; He is the standard of righteousness
God is immutable – _____________in His character, nature, attributes
God is sovereign – __________over everything. He is faithful to do all that He promises. He can be trusted
God is _________- He fulfills all His promises and applies all of His commands without partiality
God’s ____________ attributes are to be reflected by man even though distorted by sin
The Goodness of God
It is __________to reject God’s goodness & then use that as a basis for denial of His existence
God ________regardless of human evaluation of His goodness – and an evil god should be even more feared
God sets the ____________of what is good, not man. Man’s standards are fickle and can be very evil
The existence of evil not from a lack of God being good – it is due to the _______of Satan and man
God’s goodness is demonstrated in His patience, longsuffering, _______and grace toward those who do evil
God’s goodness is demonstrated in His anger, wrath & just ____________of those that do not repent
Defining Good
bWf5 / tov – Economic / Material good; Desirability / beauty; Quality; Philosophical; Moral
ajgaqovV/ agathos – broad usage – used to translate bWf5 / tov
kalovV/ kalos – used synonymously with ajgaqovV/ agathos
God’s disposition to be kind, cordial, tenderhearted, friendly, benevolent
The Goodness of God Declared
Genesis 1:31 _____________________________________________________
Exodus 33:18-19 _____________________________________________________
Luke 18:19 / Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:10-12; Isaiah 64:6 ________________________________________
Psalm 34:8 _____________________________________________________
Psalm 84:11; 16:2; 27:13 _____________________________________________________
Romans 2:4 _____________________________________________________
Romans 8:28 / Genesis 5:20 _____________________________________________________
Lamentations 3:21-26 _____________________________________________________
Philippians 2:13 _____________________________________________________
The Source of Goodness
Exodus 34:6-7 – an _____________attribute of God exhibited in many other attributes
Goodness exists only because God is ____________
God’ changes the character & nature of sinners to make them ______creatures in Christ ( 2 Cor. 5:17)
The saved are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for __________works . . . Eph. 2:10
Doubting God’s Goodness
Doubt & accusations against God’s goodness arise from the sins of _________& selfishness
Christians who have doubts should go to ______________to see the proven truth of God’s love & goodness
Non-Christians need to be confronted with the fact that if God is not good, then are in even ________trouble
Because God is good, He offers sinners ________of salvation by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ
Challenges Concerning God’s Goodness
Take time to consider God’s goodness and ___________Him for it – and tell others
Because God is good, there is comfort & peace in the __________ of grief and trepidation
Do not take God’s goodness for ___________or consider it to be one sided.
God’s goodness is also displayed in being an impartial ___________who condemns evil
God is a good Father who lovingly ____________His erring children – Hebrews 12:4-13
Conclusion
Psalm 86:4–5 – a request and statement of _________
KIDS KORNER – Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times the word “good” is mentioned. 2) Discuss with your parents what it means & why it is important that God is good.
THINK ABOUT IT! Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What are God’s infinite attributes & why are they important? What are His moral attributes and why are they important? Why is it short sighted and even absurd to reject God and His goodness because evil exists? Can an evil god be appeased, and if so, how would you know? Why do people reject God’s goodness? What is the origin of evil? What good attributes are demonstrated in God’s tolerance of evil in the present time? What are the range of meanings to the word “good”? How would you define God’s goodness? Pick our some of your favorite verses that declare God’s goodness and explain why they are important to you. What is the source of God’s goodness? What is the source of goodness in man? How does God make someone who is evil into someone that is good? What are the foundational reasons that people doubt God’s goodness? Have you ever doubted God’s goodness? If so, why? How would you help a Christian overcome doubt about God’s goodness ? How would you help a non-Christian understand the critical importance of God’s goodness. Take time to consider God’s goodness to you and thank Him for it, then tell someone else. How does God’s judgment and condemnation of those who do not repent of their sin demonstrate His goodness? How does God demonstrate His goodness to Christians that stray from following Him properly?
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