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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
September 6, 2020
The Goodness of God
Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Next week we will begin an expositional sermon series on the books of 1 & 2 Thessalonians. That may or may not be followed by a series in 1 Peter in preparation for persecution depending on whether the godless evil forces within the Democratic Party are able to gain control of the reigns of government. That is not a political statement. It is an accurate moral assessment and statement of reality.
This morning I want to conclude our series of topical sermons that started at the beginning of the year with a sermon on The Goodness of God. This is not a subject I was asked to speak on, but one that is much on my heart since it an attribute of God that is so often attacked by the godless, challenged by the faithless, questioned by the immature and confusing at times even to the mature. The premise of all of these is trying to understand how God can be good if bad things happen, especially if they are bad things that happen to you. At the same time, the goodness of God is a refuge and comfort to the faithful and the attribute that gives hope even in dire situations for those who are mature. You may not understand or like your current situation, but the goodness of God allows you to trust and have hope in him, and now is a time when the comfort of that hope and trust is greatly needed.
Defining Goodness
We must start with defining what is meant by good. The meaning of words is critical, and one of the ways in which Satan and those under his controlling influence slanders God is by redefining words. God pronounced a woe in Isaiah 5:20 on “those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” We live in a time when that has become normal as politicians, societal leaders and media routinely assess the moral quality of something to be the opposite of what it is in reality.
Goodness is a noun defined in most English dictionaries as “the quality or state of being good.” What then is the definition of good? The word is used variably as an adjective, noun and adverb which give it a wide range of meaning and usage. It arises from the Old English g t and is akin to the Old Hi German guot. Websters 1828 Dictionary lists 40 definitions for good when used as an adjective, 7 in its usage as a noun, and two as an adverb. Our interest is its usage in relationship to God are the moral qualities of His attributes and actions. The synonym for this aspect of goodness is virtue. In fact, that which is truly good always has a virtuous element because it conforms to or has the qualities which God’s law requires.
The misuse and destruction of the meaning of the word good is seen in the advocation by the immoral of abortion as something good. That began with an argument that abortion was good because it saved women from risk of physical injury or death by a “back alley butcher.” Legalization has only put the butchers on main street for the risks to the woman remain. It was then advocated as good because it meant women were not forced to give birth to an unwanted baby? Unwanted by whom? This was good only in the sense of being an expedient way to gain the desired outcome of removing either the evidence of immoral actions or the responsibility of caring for a child. There is nothing virtuous about killing an unborn child. It takes a depraved mind to claim that abortion is good claiming it is better to murder the baby than let it live and be adopted.
But remember that any English word we use in a translation is only an attempt to convey the meaning of the Hebrew or Greek word for which is it substituting. What then are the Hebrew and Greek words that are important in understanding this concept of goodness?
The first is the Hebrew word group, bWf / tôb, which is used as an adjective or noun. The root is similar to our English good having five general areas of meaning according to TWOT – 1) practical, economic, or material good, (“prosperity” – 1 Kings 10:7). 2) abstract goodness such as desirability, pleasantness, and beauty, (“sweet” cane – Jeremiah 6:20). 3) quality or expense, (the good gold of Havilah). 4) moral goodness, (Hezekiah did what was good, right and true), and 5) technical philosophical good (teach me good discernment and knowledge – Psalm 119:66). Immediate context determines the meaning. This is the word used in verses that state “the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8; 135:3, etc.).
The second Hebrew word group is bf1y2 / yatab which is a verb that refers to actions of goodness and so is used with a similar breadth of meaning as bWf / tôb. Psalm 119:68 uses both – the Lord is good and does good. The action arises out of the attribute so that God was good to the Hebrew midwives (Exod. 1:20), to Israel in the wilderness in providing manna (Deut. 8:16) and enabling Israel to conquer the promised land (Joshua 24:20). It is used as the contrast to evil (Isaiah 41:23) and a characteristic of righteousness (Isaiah 1:17).
There are over a dozen different Greek word groups that have at least one form translated using the term good in some way. For many of these words good is used to convey a particular sense in the translation. For example, eJudokiva / eudokia means “that which pleases” but it is translated as “His good pleasure” in Phil. 2:13 because it is used in reference to God. In a similar way, uJgihvV / hugi s, which means “healthy” is translated as “good health” in Acts 4:10 because is a contrast to the man previously being sick. Other words gained a meaning that broadened into the concept by usage. An example of this is eujaggelivon / euangelion which is the technical term for “news of victory,” but its broad usage gave it the sense of “good news,” and its usage in the in the New Testament as a reference to the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is translated as “gospel.”
The two main word groups translated as good in the New Testament are kalovV / kalos and ajgaqoV /agathos which overlap in meaning and can be used as synonyms though coming from different root ideas. kalovV / kalos is defined by Louw-Nida as “pertaining to a positive moral quality, with the implication of being favorably valued – good, fine, praiseworthy.” GELNT (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament) ties it to the Greek concept of beautiful which could be applied to both form, as in something beautiful to look at, and quality, as in something beautiful by reason of its excellence, or someone that is beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life. What is morally beautiful is good.
Louw-Nida defines ajgaqoV /agathos as “positive moral qualities of the most general nature – good, goodness, good act.” GELNT ties it to the concept of what is excellent in any respect and could refer to physical nature such as “good” tree (Matt. 7:18) or what is truly useful such as a “good” gift (James 1:17). It could also refer to abstract concepts such as positive emotions and moral character qualities (Luke 6:45 – “good treasure of his heart”).
Matthew 7:17-20 is a good example that gives both the similarities and differences in these words. The English translates both words as good in the passage. I will note the Greek word used. 17 “So every good (ajgaqoV /agathos) tree bears good (kalovV / kalos) fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good (ajgaqoV /agathos) tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good (kalovV / kalos) fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good (kalovV / kalos) fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.” The tree of excellent quality and nature – a good tree – will bear fruit that is beautiful in appearance and quality – good fruit. God is good in every way and every sense because He is excellent in every way and every sense and He is beautiful in every way and every sense. In addition, He is the standard of what it means to be good.
True goodness is defined in relationship to conformity to God’s laws or in reflection of the qualities of God as in the Webster 1828 dictionary. Defining goodness according to the standards or qualities of men will always be deficient even if they are those of the most virtuous men. How much worse, as in our own society, when those definitions are according to standards and examples that are the opposites of virtue. They are evil, sinful and wicked.
Irrational Attacks Against God’s Goodness
Before I go on, I want to point out one of the more ludicrous attacks against God in denying His goodness. It is built on the classic Satanic lie that if God were truly good and loving, then He would not allow anyone to suffer. He would not allow natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or volcanoes to kill and maim so many people. He would not allow the sufferings caused by war and crime to continue. He would not have allowed so many great atrocities to have occurred throughout history such as the genocide against the Armenians by the Turks, the Nazi holocaust, the purges, massacres and starvation in the Soviet Union under Stalin, the cycle of slaughter in China under Mao, Cambodia’s killing fields, or the bloodbath in Rwanda. If God was good He would not allow any of these things and if He was loving He certainly would not send those killed is such evil horrors to hell. If God were good and loving He would not allow evil to exist to cause such tragedy to people. All of those lies are built on false premises and therefore have false conclusions.
On rare occasions you will find an individual that is both thoughtful about this issue and has altruistic concern for the welfare of those who suffer. Usually these claims are made by someone who is mad at God because of their own personal suffering or that of someone they love. The truth of God’s sovereignty is used to accuse Him of being either the direct cause for whatever they or their loved ones have suffered or at least failing to prevent it. These accusations against God are also more often than not a deflection of the guilt of personal sin and need to get right with our Creator who is holy and just. Their anger against God is coupled with the fear that they might experience the same or similar suffering. In their minds, God is either not sovereign or not good or neither, and therefore He is not worthy of worship. Some even go so far as to use it a reason to claim that God does not exist.
Both of these conclusions are ludicrous at face value for both put finite man in the position of being the judge of the infinite God. The thing created has no basis to make any claim against its creator (Isaiah 29:16; 45:9-11; Romans 9:20). The absurdity of the accusations become even more apparent when it is pointed out they are based on: 1) Ignoring the fact that God is also holy, righteous and just and will judge and punish sin. 2) Failure to recognize God’s goodness to them and all mankind. 3) Denial of their own culpability for their suffering.
But let’s take this one step farther in showing the argument and claims against God’s goodness are preposterous and foolish. That God does not meet the standard a human desires in no way abrogates, i.e. does away with, the fact that God does exist and will judge by His standards. In other words, God’s non-moral attributes such as eternal existence, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence and sovereignty are in no way dependant upon His moral attributes of goodness, love, mercy, grace, equity and justice. In fact, a god a human would claim to be capricious, arbitrary, or evil would be even more to be feared because there would be no basis by which it could be known that such a god would be satisfied. You would simply be a toy he created completely under his control to be played with and discarded according to his whims without recourse. Praise the Lord that He is not like that in anyway. He is who He says He is and like what He says He is like and is unchanging in character. He is always consistent with Himself and the declarations of His will. We can trust Him to keep His promises and carry out His eternal plan.
Next time someone tries to claim God is not good and therefore they do not need to honor Him or that He does not exist, tell them to try that on a policeman who stops them for a traffic infraction. Any police officer will tell you that the ticket only gets worse as you are rude to them, and the ticket will still be just as real.
Proclamations of God’s Goodness
God’s goodness is proclaimed throughout the Scriptures. He is good in character and He is good in what He does. He is good because he is excellent in every way and beautiful in every way conceivable as already noted in defining goodness. In addition to this, God’s goodness is directly tied to His other moral attributes so that even if it was not directly declared that He is good, that would still have to be the logical conclusion because He is loving, merciful, gracious, holy, righteous and just.
God’s supreme moral attribute is holiness. The seraphim in both Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 proclaim Him to be the thrice holy God – “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty.” Holiness is joined with all of God’s other moral attributes. His love is holy. His mercy & grace are holy. His justice is holy. His jealousy is holy. Even His wrath is holy. However, that same holiness means that God cannot tolerate anything sinful in His presence. God told Moses, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Exodus 33:20). Without sanctification, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). We struggle trying to imagine such absolute perfection and the implications of it, but God is absolutely holy and we cannot exist in a defiled state before Him. We would be as a moth consumed in the flame of a candle. The nature of our being must be changed to something able to withstand the consuming fire of the glory of His holiness if we are to survive in His presence. That cannot happen apart from Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life and the only means by which man will be able to see the Father (John 14:6). Because God is good, you can be made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 6:22).
In addition, the justice of God demands that the sins of every individual be recompensed. God states in Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.” God’s justice demands the death and condemnation to hell of every man, woman and child that has ever lived because every person has sinned (Romans 3:23) and the just wage to every person is death – both physical and spiritual (Romans 6:23). If God was not good, He could not be merciful or longsuffering and that sentence would be carried out immediately. If God was not good He could not be loving and there would be no grace by which He made provision for the atonement of man’s sins through the Lord Jesus Christ so that His justice would be satisfied and forgiveness for sin could be offered. There is no other source of hope for salvation from sin. Praise the Lord that He is good!
Here are some of the direct claims that the Lord, the Creator God who proclaims Himself throughout the Scripture is good.
1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1 & 29; 136:1, Jeremiah 33:11 all exclaim, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
Psalm 25:8, “Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.”
Psalm 34:8, O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Psalm 86:5, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.”
Psalm 100:4-5, We give thanks and bless His name “For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”
Psalm 135:3, “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.”
Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him
Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.”
Matthew 19:17 (Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19), And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” God is the only one that is truly good. He is the standard of goodness.
These demonstrate that God has clearly proclaimed that He is good. Goodness is one of His attributes. Those that claim that God is not good contradict Him and therefore are also saying He is a liar and are projecting themselves to be in a position to judge God’s character and actions. The proper word for that is blasphemy.
Psalm 119:68 uses both of the most common Hebrew words for good to described God’s nature and the actions that proceed from it, “You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.”
Examples of God’s Goodness
These are some of the direct examples of the goodness of God in which either an action is directly linked with God’s goodness or God’s action is described as good. Some statements are universal such as Psalm 145:9, “The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works,” and James 1:17, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” If it is good, it has come from God who extends His goodness to everyone with His mercy in being slow to anger and execute judgment as a particular example. Genesis 1:31 is also universal as He declares the nature and quality of the work He had done in creation, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” 1 Timothy 4:4-5 is another such universal statement, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” This is given as the reason that God does not require us to abstain from foods.
Other statements are to a particular people or group. The context of Psalm 68:10 is Israel during the wilderness wanderings for which David recounted, “You provided Your goodness for the poor, O God.” In a similar way, both Ezra 8:18 and Nehemiah 2:8 speak of “the good hand of God” in bringing their groups back to Jerusalem. Psalm 104:27-28 speaks of the creatures God has created, “They all wait for You To give them their food in due season. 28 You give to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.” Psalm 73:1 specifies a specific group within a larger group, “Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in Heart!”
Other statements relate God’s goodness to people who are in particular conditions (Psalm 107:9, “For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good”), have certain experiences (Genesis 50:20 – Joseph’s brother meant evil in selling him into slavery in Egypt, but “God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive”), or have responded in specific ways (Psalm 84:11, “The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 31:19, “How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You”).
Then there are statements about things that come from God that are good. Psalm 69:16, “. . . Your lovingkindness is good; according to the greatness of Your compassion . . .” Psalm 119:39, “Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your ordinances are good.” 1 Timothy 1:8, “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully.” Deuteronomy 10:12-13 expands more on the law and its good purpose, “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”
Hope in God’s Goodness
God’s attribute of being good is a source of encouragement and hope for the future when we are facing difficult times. The historical narrative of the nation of Israel and the early church is part of that. We find confidence in God in the present by examining His faithfulness to His people in the past. For example, in Exodus 1:15-21 the Hebrew midwives would not carry out Pharaoh’s edict to murder baby boys when they were born 20 “So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. 21 Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.” Another example is the book of Joshua as it recounts God bringing them victory in possessing the promised land with Joshua 21:45 summarizing, “Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” God is faithful to His promises, which is an encouragement to obey Him and a warning about disobeying Him (Joshua 23:14-15).
In Psalm 103 David recounts reasons the people should bless the Lord from their souls for all that He has done including the general statement in verse 5 that the Lord is the one “Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.” As you read through that Psalm, it is easy to see the parallels of God’s goodness in your own life as reasons to bless him from your soul.
Remembering the Lord’s goodness can lift you up when in despair. David does this in Psalm 27 concluding in verses 13-14, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.” In Psalm 109 David cites God’s goodness as the reason to petition Him saying in verse 21, “But You, O GOD, the Lord, deal kindly with me for Your name’s sake; Because Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me.”
Paul cites the goodness of God in several passages as the reason to have hope in the present for the future. Those same truths still apply to us today. He makes such a general statement in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.” He specifically encourages the Philippians. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). Then there is the great truth of Romans 8:28 that has been recited by Christians so much throughout the ages that it almost seems to be a cliche – but it is a wonderful truth and promise, “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.”
Conclusions
The reality of life is that bad things do happen to people who are thought by others to be good. Bad things also happen to believers. Why? All suffering occurs because sin has consequences. We suffer the consequences of our own sin. We suffer the consequences of the sin of others. We suffer the consequences of living in a fallen world that does not function according to God’s original design. None of this means that God is not good or has lost control. They demonstrate the tolerance and patience of God as He calls people to repentance and waits for their response (2 Peter 3:9). That patience allows for salvation for without it there would only be judgment and condemnation. There is salvation for those that turn from sin to faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those that claim God is not good do so because they are proud and arrogant in their ignorance. They are blasphemers who need to be rebuked and called to repentance. As Romans 2:4 explains, they think lightly of the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience – all elements of goodness – and so are ignorant that God’s kindness should lead them to that repentance. They also ignore the fact that they are both finite and sinful and are not and never ever will be in a position to judge the actions of our infinite and holy Creator. They fail to recognize that they are under God’s judgment and it is out of God’s goodness that they are even allowed another day of life that perhaps they might yet repent. Without such repentance and faith they are destined for eternal suffering as the consequences and judgment on their sin.
God is good. He both proclaims and demonstrates Himself to be good, and that goodness is the basis for our hope in the present. Christians who waver in their faith to question God’s goodness need to be encouraged to grow in their knowledge of God and walk with Christ so that they can understand God’s hand and trust Him even when going through difficult trials. Rejoicing in the midst of tribulation is a sign of Christian maturity (Romans 5:3-10; James 1:2-4). Contentment in all situations is something that even Paul had to learn (Philippians 4:11-13). The greater a person understands and trusts that God is good and indeed does work all things together for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose, then the less the anxiety and the greater the peace. God’s goodness enables us to bring our prayer and petitions to God with thanksgiving and then leave it with Him (Philippians 4:6-7). Trust in God brings peace (Isaiah 26:3).
The Christian life is about Christ, not your own comfort or glory. The goal of following and walking with Christ – being His disciple – is to become like Him. Jesus told us we would have tribulation in this world (John 16:33), and He uses those very things to mature us. And as that happens, you become mature and you, like Joseph, are able to look back and see how God used even the evil of others against you to accomplish His own good work in and through you.
As I look back after 62 years of life and 32 years in full time ministry, I have seen a lot of evil and suffered a lot of evil at the hands of others. No, I would not want to go through those things again, but at the same time, I would not miss any of them in order to gain the present results of greater conformity to Christ in my own life and in the lives of those around me. What others meant for evil, God means for good, because He is good and He does good and every good thing I have ever received has come from His hand.
Psalm 107:1–2, 1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
Sermon Notes – 9/6/2020
The Goodness of God – Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Defining Goodness
Forty definitions – as a moral quality, the synonym is virtue.
Hebrew word group, bWf / tôb
Hebrew word group bf1y2 / yatab
Greek words
kalovV / kalos = “pertaining to a positive moral quality, with the implication of being favorably valued” related to Greek concept of beauty (outward & inward)
ajgaqoV /agathos = “positive moral qualities of the most general nature” related to excellence
Matthew 7:17-20 = a good (ajgaqoV /agathos) tree produces good (kalovV / kalos) fruit
Irrational Attacks Against God’s Goodness
The classic lie reasons that God is either not sovereign or not good since there is suffering
Absurdity of making claims against the Creator (Isaiah 29:16; 45:9-11; Romans 9:20)
God’s non-moral attributes (eternal existence) are not dependent on moral attributes (goodness)
Claiming a policeman is not good has no effect on the reality of his existence
Proclamations of God’s Goodness
God’s goodness reflects His other moral attributes
God’s holiness
God’s justice
Direct claims God is good
1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1 & 29; 136:1, Jeremiah 33:11
Psalm 25:8; 34:8; 86:5; 100:4-5; 135:3
Lamentations 3:25; Nahum 1:7; Matthew 19:17
Psalm 119:68
Examples of God’s Goodness
Universal goodness – Psalm 145:9, James 1:17; Genesis 1:31; 1 Timothy 4:4-5
Goodness to a particular people or group – Psalm 68:10; Ezra 8:18; Psalm 104:27-28; Psalm 73:1
Goodness to people in a particular condition – Psalm 107:9, certain experiences (Genesis 50:20)
Goodness to those who respond in specific ways – Psalm 84:11; Psalm 31:19
Good things from God: Psalm 69:16 1 Timothy 1:8 Deut. 10:12-13
Hope in God’s Goodness
Historical examples: Exodus 1:15-21 Joshua 21:45; 23:14-15 Psalm 103
Remembering the Lord’s goodness: Psalm 27 Psalm 109
1 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Philippians 1:6
Romans 8:28
Conclusions
Bad things happen to “good” people – the causes of suffering
Blasphemers
Encouraging wavering Christians with God’s goodness
The purpose of the Christian life
Psalm 107:1–2
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 or goodness is mentioned. 2) Talk with your parents about what it means that God is good.
THINK ABOUT IT – Questions to consider in understanding the sermon and its application. Why is the goodness of God so often attacked and questioned? Why does God pronounce a woe on those who change the definition of what is good and evil (Isa. 5:20)? What is the meaning of the English word, good? What are some of the ways the definition of what is good has been perverted in our society? What is the meaning of the Hebrew word group, bWf / tôb? bf1y2 / yatab? What is the meaning of the two Greek words kalovV / kalos and ajgaqoV / agathos which are most commonly ones translated as good. What are the similarities and difference in those meanings. Explain Matthew 7:17-20 which uses both words. How do those definitions apply to God? Why would people get either angry or afraid of God because of human suffering? Why is it absurd for a creature to make accusations against its creator? Why is it ludicrous to base God’s existence on whether He meets a human standard of goodness or not? Why would a god that is not good be more dangerous than one that is? What is the relationship between God’s goodness and His other moral attributes? Describe God’s holiness and the demands it makes on man? How can God’s justice be satisfied? Look up the verses that directly proclaim God is good. Which are the most meaningful to you? Give some examples of God’s goodness displayed universally? Displayed to a particular people or group? Displayed to people who are in particular condition, had particular experiences or responded in specific ways? What are some of the good things that come from God? How does history give evidence of God’s goodness? How does God’s goodness provide hope for the present and future? How have you seen the promise of Romans 8:28 fulfilled in your own life?
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