By Pastor Mike Taylor
7 “Beloved,
let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that
loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He
that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9 In
this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent
his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10 Herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1st John
4:7-10)
Most
people agree that for salvation a Christian needs more than just a
theoretical knowledge of God. Over the course of our lives, we
increase our knowledge of Him through life's varied experiences. We
also come to a greater understanding by studying God's Word. In both
areas we can be snared by a major problem that traps many religious
people in this world: emphasizing one of His attributes at the
expense of others.
I
have a Roman Catholic friend who lives in France, who is focused on
this one attribute of God, that God is love, and since God is a
loving God, all is good, and I fear that he believes that a loving
God will not send anyone to a burning hell. He hasn't come right and
said it that I can recall, but is definitely “hung up” on this
one attribute and cannot see other attributes of the God we serve.
God
is not one dimensional. Though we should study each of His attributes
and think on them separately, we should not separate them from the
complete personality that God is. Why? It distorts the model we are
to imitate and grow into, and it can radically alter our expectations
of what He will do. If He does not do what we expect, we are liable
to become grieved because God "let us down."
For
instance, the Bible emphasizes that God is merciful and full of
grace. We are very thankful that God is a merciful and loving God,
but God is much more than one or two dimensions of His character. We
should not make the mistake besides all of the many attributes that
are what our God is, we should not overlook the fact the God is also
just. If we do, His mercy can become a justification for failure to
overcome besetting sins. Neither God's mercy nor justice can be
separated from all that He is. Both are harmoniously applied to each
situation and person He judges.
SOME
OF THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
God
is also a God of compassion. Some see God as so compassionate that He
disregards the causes of some horrible problems and trials we endure
in this life. If God acted in such a manner, flaws with painful
results would go uncorrected.
Make
no mistake about it, God will discipline those He loves.
5 “And
ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto
children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor
faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For
whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he
receiveth.
7 If
ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son
is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But
if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye
bastards, and not sons.” (Hebrews 12:5-8)
Some
so erroneously believe that God created His creation and then just
walked away. God is very much involved with the plan to redeem
mankind and nothing escapes His gaze or His knowledge.
Still
others construe God's sovereignty so that it is greatly diminished
His goodness and portrays Him as rigid and inflexible. This kind of
person lives with a guilt-ridden, fearful and discouraged life,
thinking he will never please Him.
6 “But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
But
probably the most familiar of God's attributes is found in the
scripture used to open this message in 1st John 4:8
“God is love”. John states a fact, not a definition of God's
essential nature. If John had declared that love is what God is, we
would be forced to conclude that God is what love is. Literally, if
God is love, then literally, love is God and we are forced to worship
love as the only True God. This would mean that God and love are
identical. Fortunately for mankind, the Bible reveals that God is a
multidimensional personality and not only just love. If we eliminate
the idea of God's complex personality, denying all of His other
attributes, save one, the remaining attribute becomes God, and is a
very subtle form of idolatry. This is NOT only what God the Father
is, or our Lord Jesus Christ.
THE
WHOLENESS OF GOD
The
wholeness of God is a concept that we must come to understand, that
God is more than one or two attributes. It's an important subject
because some have become enslaved to words. We must give greater
weight to meanings. The Bible speaks that God is love and light.
3 “That
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may
have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father,
and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 And
these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5 This
then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you,
that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1st John
1:3-5)
The
Bible also speaks of our Jesus as being the Way, the Truth, and the
Life.
6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If
ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from
henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7)
We
understand the words in the same sense as when we say of a man, "He
is kindness itself." Of course, we do not suggest that kindness
and the man are identical, and no one misunderstands our intention.
Because any man is more than just kindness, even the best man. So it
is even more so with a infinite God we serve.
The
words "God is love" mean that love is an essential
attribute of God. Love is something true of God, but it is not all of
God. He has many other attributes. He is self-existent, eternal,
merciful, full of grace, immutable, just, omnipotent, omniscient and
many more things besides, but the greatest of all is God is Holy..
Because God is Holy and immutable, He always acts as God, and because
He is a whole and perfect personality, He never suspends one of His
attributes to exercise another.
God
is not man, with all of his imperfections. God is truth and never
acts out of irritation, resentment, suddenly moody, or acts on a
whim. He always acts in light of all the facts. King David declared
in the Psalms:
7 “The
law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the
testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The
statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the
commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The
fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments
of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More
to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter
also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover
by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great
reward.” (Psalm 19:7-11)
David
also proclaimed further in another chapter in the Psalms :
5 “Remember
his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the
judgments of his mouth;
7 He
is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.”
(Psalm 105:5,7)
The
beauty, harmony, balance and providence evident throughout the earth
are witnesses of the wisdom, unity, harmony, and yes, the love in
which He always acts.
Through
the prophet Jeremiah, God proclaims:
23
“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his
wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the
rich man glory in his riches:
24 But
let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and
knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise
lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in
these things I delight, saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
HOW
DO WE COME TO KNOW GOD AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?
“These
words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,
Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may
glorify thee:
2 As
thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:1-3)
So
how important is it to know God? As mentioned here, eternal life is
knowing God.
It
implies an intimate relationship with God that matures over a
lifetime. Each party knows each other well, as familiarly as marriage
partners.
1
“Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and
he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
2 After
two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and
we shall live in his sight.
3 Then
shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth
is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as
the latter and former rain unto the earth.” (Hosea 6:1-3)
So
what of our God? Can we know Him. Yes, through His only begotten Son,
can we come to know a loving, but fearfully powerful God?
6 “For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly.
7 For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a
good man some would even dare to die.
8 But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much
more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through him.
10 For
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of
his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
(Romans 5:6-10)
God
loved us so much, that He sent His only Son, to die in our place....
“For
God so loved the world that HE GAVE His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
17,
God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but the
world through Him might be saved.
18, He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18) “caps my emphasis”
The
question was, “how can we come to know God?” The Apostle John
gave a quick and concise way we can know God and know Him
intimately...through His Son..
“Whosoever
denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth
the Son hath the Father also.” (1st John
2:23)
“Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ:
2 By
whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand,
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that
tribulation worketh patience;
4 And
patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And
hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6 For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly.
7 For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a
good man some would even dare to die.
8 But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much
more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through him.” (Romans 5:1-9)
GOD
IS JUST AND WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE
With
all the attributes spoke briefly about an all power God, and our soon
coming King, God is not some grandfatherly type living in the sky who
is nothing but love, love, love. Although He embodies this
attributes, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
8 “Reprove
not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love
thee.
9 Give
instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just
man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the
knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:8-10)
One
might wonder why fear is included. It is because fear represents the
specific attitude required to make the best use of God's law
and bring the sinner to conviction through the Holy Spirit. Know
this, reader. We don't come to God because we love God..we come to
Him because we love ourselves. Love for Him comes later when we
realize what He has done for us. As a small boy, I didn't come to God
out of love, but realizing that I needed a Savior to cleanse me of my
sins...I knew Jesus died on a old rugged cross, so that I might live
forever. Falling in love with God came later, when I studied how much
He loved me first, before I knew how to love Him.
10
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11,
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God.
12,
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Roman
3:10-12)
There
is an element of fear to realize that we are in rebellion against God
because of our sinful nature. Fear brings Godly conviction and I've
seen men shake uncontrollably with the power of God upon them, as
they are under God's conviction of their sins. The choice of life or
death, darkness or light, eternity in heaven or in hell, drives those
under this conviction to a Godly realization of their vulnerability
to a Holy God who will judge them, even though He loves them. Paul
speaks of this along with the Apostle Peter:
5 “But
if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall
we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
6 God
forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? (Roman 3:5-6)
And
Peter wrote:
5 “Who
shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the
dead.
6 For
for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead,
that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live
according to God in the spirit.” (1st Peter 4:5-6)
.
In
addition, remember that wisdom is a right application of knowledge
and understanding. If fear is not present, we will not even start to
build towards faith, hope, and love. Godly fear gets us
jump-started, gets us going to do what is right.
GOD
IS LONG SUFFERING, BUT....
Although
God is a loving God, He is patient and not willing that any of His
creation perish.
“The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward,not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance.” (2nd Peter
3:9)
But
even a long suffering King of the Universe, patience does eventually
run out. We have many instances found in your Bible of a long
suffering God. Like when God gave the inhabitants in Canaan 400 years
to change and repent, but sent Israel into the Promise Land and
commanded them during their Exodus to destroy them:
“These
are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the
land, which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to
possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
2 Ye
shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye
shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon
the hills, and under every green tree:
3 And
ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn
their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of
their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place”
(Deuteronomy 12:2-3)
Just
showing the fear of God and what God has done to bring His wrath on
unrepentant mankind should give anyone pause and have reverence, and
a Godly fear of an Almighty God who when He has finally run out of
patience, will utterly destroy those who are in rebellion against
Him. I know this will upset my Catholic friend who I debate on a
local forum, but God is not only a God of love, He is also a God of
judgment in His righteous indignation. But let us speak of the coming
wrath that God will unleash on mankind in the near future.
THE
WRATH OF A LOVING GOD
23 “ To
the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written
in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just
men made perfect,
24 And
to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
25 See
that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who
refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we
turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose
voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet
once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And
this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things
that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which
cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore
we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace,
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For
our God is a consuming fire.” (my emphasis)
There
is a huge amount of verses in your Bible that speaks of the
attributes of a Holy God. Yes, God is love, but He is also greatly to
be feared. God will pass judgment on the whole of mankind and destroy
all rebellion on this earth what is called the coming Tribulation.
The final book of your Bible speaks of the wrath of God. You know
that God of love? Although He is not willing any should perish, God
gives you a choice. It's called your own freewill. God does not
coerce anyone into loving Him or obeying Him...He gives us a choice
of heaven or hell. He doesn't send anybody to hell...you do.
John
sees the ultimate fate of all who refuse the free offer of grace and
mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ:
11 “And
I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face
the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for
them.
12 And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works.
13 And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every
man according to their works.
14 And
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death.
15 And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)
Eternal
separation from a Holy God, devoid of all love, joy, peace,
happiness, comfort and being a part of a Holy Family for all
eternity, now that is what I deem a literal hell, besides the
physical torment.
GOD
IS LOVE, YES, BUT HE IS SO MUCH MORE
We
admire good qualities in others and wish we had them. But we realize
that the same people who have these good qualities lack others. Our
God, though, has every good quality to the ultimate degree, and every
attribute works in perfect and faithful harmony.
Studying
God in His wholeness should teach us humility, caution in speech and
action and a deep reverence of Him. Too often God's superiority
overwhelms us when we compare it to our own state. Though we are
imperfect and limited in this life, we should not undervalue our
current level of growth. Don't allow God's incomparable perfection to
derail your progress. Growth in godly character and personality is
our calling—we are to be like Him!
Human
life is a beginning: God made us in His image and is transforming us
into the image of His Son. This process requires our cooperation in
striving to "put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge
according to the image of Him who created him" (Colossians
3:10).
This is His will. And in bringing us to His perfection, He reveals
His whole nature so we can know it and allow Him to reproduce it in
us.
To
my friend, the Catholic online, God is love, that is true...BUT our
God is a consuming FIRE. May we possess a Godly fear and reverence
and not reject so great a salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God
is calling all of mankind to repent, but some will not. The coming
Tribulation is where God will deal with all who have failed to repent
of their sins and call upon the only NAME that is above every name in
true repentance of their sinful deeds, and that is Jesus Christ, the
ONLY begotten Son of God.
8 “But
what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy
heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.
10 For
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
12 For
there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same
Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
I
have often told my congregation that each of us were born for one
purpose, besides living our own lives, but given a choice of what
each of us will do with the God/Man, Jesus Christ. Will each of us
submit our own pride in a humble and a contrite heart, knowing that
we can't save ourselves, or let demonic pride cause us to reject a
Holy God who stepped out of glory for one purpose and that was to
save you, and me?
God
calls each of us sometime during our lives. What will your answer be?
6 “Seeing
therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom
it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7 Again,
he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a
time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not
your hearts.”
12 For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two
edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart........
13 Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all
things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to
do.
14 Seeing
then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.”
(Hebrews 4:6-7, 12-14)
Our
God is love, but a Consuming Fire. Don't make that eternal mistake of
ignoring the calling of God's Holy Spirit for the salvation of your
soul through the only Way back to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This
is pastor Mike Taylor, praying you know the REAL God in Spirit and in
Truth. If you need prayer, counseling, or just a listening ear, email
me at , pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com
,
God bless you all,
TILL
WE MEET AT JESUS FEET
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