Is God good? Glory
Is God good? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Is God good?
Is God good?
How can God be good if…
Thousands upon thousands die in an earthquake in Turkey and Syria,
Is God good?
Innocent children diagnosed with terminal illness,
Is God good?
War rages between Ukraine and Russia,
Is God good?
My marriage has broken up, 20th time being rejected from an employment application,
Is God good?
Tribal warlords get away with murder, rape and pillaging,
Is God good?
50 years of chronic pain, loneliness, genocide, persecution, hatred, lies, depression, anxiety,
Is God good?
The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, murderers roam free, the corrupt continue to rule, so much injustice,
Is God good?
God tells the Israelites to wipe out whole towns, cities and nations,
Is God good?
God welcomes some, and condemns others,
Is God good?
These are questions that are often heard in our community, in workplaces, at schools, in one-to-one discipleship, at youth groups, growth groups, from family members, friends, and the not so friendly.
Is God good?
Well most who are here probably know that the answer is, “Yes, God is good.”
But in the midst of this question and the previous statements, David’s words sound remarkable...
13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
How can David be so confident that he will see goodness of God? How can he be so confident that God is good?
We will not cover everything that needs to be said today.
We have four sermons to attempt to answer the question sufficiently. Today, from God’s word, we consider God’s glory, next week we consider the sovereignty of God, on Good Friday we reflect upon God’s Holiness, and finally on Easter, God’s love.
PLEASE PRAY WITH ME.
Glory
Glory
Glory is most often used to refer to the visible revelation/manifestation of God’s being. His glory takes us to the heart of his being as God, his divine majesty, as it has be put, “his sheer Godness” (Milne).
17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
25 Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. 26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Reflected in the risen Christ...
14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
The apostle Paul described what he saw on the Damascus road as...
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
All three persons of the Godhead manifest God’s glory...
the glory of the Father...
4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
the glory of the Son...
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
the glory of the Spirit...
14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
God’s glory implies:
The infinity of God - no limits, lives in unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:16), a God of unsearchable judgements whose paths are beyond tracing out (Rom 11:33).
The self existence of God - he depends on nothing else. ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ (Gen 1:1) and Acts 17:25 “25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”
The immutability of God - he is always consistent. Mal 3:6 “6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” Jam 1:17 “17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Heb 13:8 “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
The glory of God proclaims
the total and complete priority God above all, and
the utter self-sufficiency of God.
God doesn’t need us. We are here by his acts of free grace.
Where do we fit then?
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
We are here to glorify God!
This view of God is anathema to modern people. It is also resisted by some who argue that a self-sufficient God whose action is directed towards his own glory is unworthy of worship.
This forgets, however, that the God of glory is the God of grace who sacrificed himself on a cross to save us. Thus while God's purposes certainly aim at, and procure, his glory, they aim also at our eternal well-being. The underlying principle was expressed by Calvin: 'It is for God above all things that we are born, and not for ourselves.' Whether we agree with that is a dividing-line and touchstone for all human thought about God. (Bruce Milne, Know the Truth, 82)
We speak about God’s glory today as a first, because we need to remember who we are.
“Is God good?” Is a great question to ask, but are we ready to hear the answer.
“Is God good?” Is a fantastic question to explore, but are we just asking it to give ourselves a free pass on really considering who God is and what he has done for us.
The answer to “Is God good?” is terrifying.
The answer to “Is God good?” is terrifying.
Terrifying, because God IS GOOD
Terrifying, because God IS GOOD
The glory of God points to his transcendence… he goes beyond all finite reality.
Standing before you today, I am closer to the Sun at the centre of the solar system than you are… but only by degrees. We compare ourselves to each other, we are alike, all 8 billion of us walking the planet. God though, he is completely other. His glory and his goodness so outshines everything in all creation that there is nothing we can compare Him to. That’s why when God reveals himself to Moses, he says “I am who I am” or another way, “I will be who I will be.” There is no one like him.
Moses experiences this...
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Of course God is good, Exo 33:19 “19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
“You cannot see my face… “ His glory and goodness surpasses all that we know, if we saw him we would be overwhelmed by his goodness… terrified because we are not good.
Terrifying, because we are NOT GOOD.
Terrifying, because we are NOT GOOD.
When God actually proclaims is name before Moses he adds to his glorious proclamation...
5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
We are the wicked, the rebellious, the sinful… we are not good, we will not be left unpunished!
10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
This is us. Our goodness comes to nothing.
Not convinced, read any history book cataloging the rise and fall of nations.
Not convinced, read any newspaper… for as long as there have been newspapers.
Not convinced, look at the destruction of family, friendship and community...
If we go to court, we expect justice don’t we? We expect justice from a judge that is just like us… prone to sin, susceptible to tempation, manipulated to corruption, but we still expect justice, don’t we?
God in all his glory will bring justice, but he is not prone to sin, he is not suceptible to temptation, he is not corrupt.
God is good, you can rely upon him for justice… it may not be when you would like it, but it will come.
But this also s defies logic…
7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
“forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” against “he does not leave the guilty unpunished.”
How does a good God bring justice and at the same time forgive?
How does a good God bring justice and at the same time forgive?
If we go to court again, the judge lets the one who murdered you dear mother go, are you happy? No you continue to cry out for justice.
How can God get away with it then? How can God forgive the wickedness, rebellion and sin of his people?
Short answer, The Cross of Christ… where mercy and justice meet.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
The God of glory, in his goodness, could be just… punishing the sins of the wicked in the death of Christ, while justifying/forgiving those who have faith in Jesus.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Note: faith in Jesus! Without it you are still in your sin, you will face the wrath of God.
Injustices… dealt with as people are held accountable for their own sin; or dealt with at the cross where Jesus bled to redeem the sinner.
Is God good? Yes, it is his glory.
Is God good? Yes, it is his glory.
His goodness is seen in his transcendent glory, revealed in His Son who was a sacrifice of atonement … to be just (punishing sin) and the one who justifies (forgives) those who have faith in Jesus.