Amen. Alright, well we're there in 1 John chapter number 4 and of course tonight we are continuing through our series on entitled Declaring Doctrine
and what we're doing in this series is we're doing a systematic study of all of the major doctrines in the Bible
or at least we're going to try to cover as many of the major doctrines as possible
and we started last week with this section on the Godhead and we began by talking about the attributes of God
and you know some people might think or we might think, I might think that these things are kind of basic
but these are really the foundational beliefs that we have from the word of God in regards to who God is
and how it is that we can approach God and of course last week we looked at the attributes of God
and when we looked at the attributes of God we were looking at the abilities of God
what is it that God is able to do that makes Him different than us?
These are the things that make God, God. He's omniscient and omnipotent and omnipresent.
He's immutable and we learned about those things. Tonight we're kind of continuing a little bit with that thought.
Tonight I'm preaching on the subject of the moral attributes of God and these are also things that make God different from you and I
but these don't have to do with God's ability, they have to do with the being of God.
What makes God and His being different than us and I'm going to try to run through these as quickly as I can.
I've got nine of them to go over tonight and I preached a little longer this morning than I usually do
and so I'm going to try to make up a little bit of that time today but I'm definitely going to make up a lot of that time next week.
You come back next week and I'm probably going to preach like seven minutes so we encourage you to be with us for that.
I want to give these to you. I hope you brought something to write with or on the back of the course of the week there's a place for you to take down some notes.
Let me give you the moral attributes of God and we'll begin with the most famous one.
Again, these are the things that make God, God that can be said that's true of God but not true of us.
These are also the things that make God moral and we're going to look at that and I think it will be easy for you to understand.
We're going to look at the very most famous one. When I say this you're going to be like, oh yeah, I already know this.
We'll start with the most famous one but I want to give you nine, the moral attributes of God.
This is what God is, this is what makes God, God.
Number one, if you're writing notes, I encourage you to write this down, God is love.
The Bible says that God is love and this is something that's very well known today.
This is quoted a lot in churches and this is something that people talk a lot about.
1 John 4.8, notice what the Bible says, 1 John chapter 4 verse 8.
I'm going to give you just a couple of references for each one of these.
We could spend all night going through references. I'm not going to do that.
1 John 4.8, the Bible says this, he that loveth not, excuse me, he that loveth not, knoweth not God, here's the phrase, for God is love.
The Bible says that God is love. If you look down or if you skip down to verse number 16 of the same chapter, the Bible says this.
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us, notice the words, God is love.
And he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.
So the Bible says that God is love. Now, you say, you know, this is not deep.
This is something that every liberal church in America, you know, preaches and teaches and emphasizes.
But let me just say this, you know, this is what the Bible says. So it doesn't matter who teaches or preaches, it's the word of God. God is love.
But let me also say this, though. This is one of the moral attributes of God.
Today, when you listen to, you know, the average church in America today, you would think there's one moral attribute of God and that's it, God is love.
You know, every church is just going to teach you God is love, God is love, God is love.
And I'm not mocking that, God is love. But that's not all that God is. That is a moral attribute of God. God is love.
But let me give you another eight that you don't hear too much about. Go to the book of Isaiah, if you would, Isaiah chapter six.
If you open your Bible just right in the center, you'll more than likely fall in the book of Psalms.
And if you start going towards the right to the end of the Old Testament, you'll find those big books, those major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel.
Go to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter six. And let me give you the second attribute. And here's what I want to do.
I want to run through these nine attributes as quickly as we can, as quickly as we can move through scripture.
And then I want to end by kind of giving you an application for all nine of them.
And that will just kind of explain the importance of us understanding these things.
So number one, God is love. Go to Isaiah chapter six. Let me give you the second one.
Not only can we say that God is love, but we can also say this, God is holy.
Isaiah chapter six, look at verse one. The Bible says this,
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Above it stood the seraphims, each one had six wings, and with twain he covered his face, with twain he covered his feet, with twain he did fly.
Notice verse three, and one cried unto another and said. So these are the seraphims.
This is what they say to God at his throne. We're not going to do it, but we could go to the book of Revelation
and see the cherubims doing the same thing at the throne of God. Holy, they just cry out day and night.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.
In the book of Revelation they say, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.
They cry holy, holy, holy. I believe they cry holy three times one for each member of the Trinity.
They cry out that we worship a holy God. He is holy, holy, holy, thrice holy.
And the word holy means set apart from sin. Set apart or set away from sin.
Set apart from that which would defile. Set apart from that which is sinful.
The same word is used or another synonym for that word is something that is sacred, something that is set apart.
So please understand this. Yes, God is love. We hear that all the time.
But something we don't hear a lot about is the fact that not only is God love, but God is holy.
God is set apart from sin. And by the way, God calls us to be holy.
The Bible says that God has called us to live holy, separated lives.
And I've preached about the doctrine of separation and holiness.
Set apart from the world from sin unto God.
Go to Exodus chapter 15 if you would. Genesis and then you have the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 15.
God says this, be ye holy for I am holy. Right? So God is a holy God.
God is love. And here's the sad thing, is that today people use that first, the most famous moral attribute of God,
God is love, to justify all sorts of wickedness. Right?
You stand up and you preach against the filthy sodomite pedophiles out there.
And I'm not preaching about this tonight. I need to preach about it.
But you know, it's becoming more and more apparent that these LGBTQ people are interested in pedophilia.
And it's a big thing that's happening right now and Netflix just put out some movie that's basically, you know, legally speaking,
it's just pedophilia is what they're putting out. And you know, today you preach against that and people say,
oh no, you can't say negative things. God is love. Well, wait a minute. Yes, God is love, but God is also holy.
God is also set apart. God also requires us to set ourselves apart from sin.
He says, hey, you be holy. He says, be ye holy, for I am holy.
Exodus 15 and verse 11, the Bible says this, who is like unto thee, O Lord.
So notice, God is the only one that it can be said of that he is completely holy.
It's not that he practices holiness. He is holy. You and I can love. God is love. Do you understand the difference?
You're not love. You're not holy. You should love. You should be holy. You should try to be holy.
But God, this is actually a moral attribute of his being. God is love and God is holy.
Notice Exodus 15 and 11, who is like unto thee, O Lord, amongst the gods, who is like the glorious in holiness,
fearful in praise, doing wonders. And by the way, let me just say this.
There is a connection. I'm not preaching about this tonight, but you know, one of these days I should preach a sermon on it.
There is a connection between the glory of God and the holiness of God.
If you study the Bible, whenever men, and we saw it just here in Isaiah,
when Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up and his train filled with the temple,
see, in the Bible, whenever men and women, whenever people got a vision of the glory of God,
what always was evident to them was the holiness of God.
I mean, when Moses saw the burning bush and stood in the presence of God, what was he told?
Take thy shoes from off thy feet, for where thou standest is holy ground.
See, whenever people get a view of God, and I'm not talking about the fact that men and women have seen God the Father.
We understand that not to be true. But whenever people understand the glory of God, remember Peter?
Peter said, when he saw Jesus and he said, he realized that he was God in the flesh,
he said, depart from me, for I'm a sinful man. He said, I'm of unclean lips.
See, whenever we understand the glory of God, we will get a clear view of the holiness of God.
In fact, it is the holiness of God that shows us his glory.
This is what's wrong with the liberal, contemporary, Christian movement of today.
They want you to worship God and glory God, but they want to ignore the holiness of God.
Well, wait a minute, the holiness of God is connected to his glory.
When Isaiah said, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and by the way, that's how you and I should see God.
High, holy, and lifted up. The holiness of God is connected to his glory.
God is holy. So let us not forget, you know, you say, oh, you sound like a liberal saying God is love.
And look, the Bible says God is love. God is love. But let us not forget that God is holy as well.
Go to the book of Deuteronomy. They're in Exodus. If you just flip a few books over, you've got Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Do me a favor, excuse me.
When you get to Deuteronomy, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it.
And I want you to be able to get to it quickly. We're actually going to look at several verses in Deuteronomy.
We're going to leave it and come back to it. But let me give you the third moral attribute of God.
I said number one, tonight God is love. Number two, God is holy. Number three, God is just.
God is just. Deuteronomy 32 and verse 4, the Bible says he is the rock. His work is perfect.
For all his ways are judgment. A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
So the Bible tells us that God is not only love, but God is holy and God is just.
And by the way, let me just say this. You might think, oh, this is kind of foundational. Do I really need to pay attention?
Well, if you ever want to try to convince somebody about the deity of Christ, and we're going to spend several weeks, not next week, but we're going to spend several weeks talking about the deity of Christ.
If you ever want to convince somebody about the deity of Christ, the best way, or one of the best ways I should say, to convince somebody about the deity of Christ is to help them understand that Christ shares the moral attributes of God.
If we understand that God is good and we understand that Jesus is good, well, Jesus can only be good because Jesus is God.
If we understand that God is righteous and we understand that Jesus is righteous, well, Jesus is only righteous because Jesus is God.
And that's a sermon for another day that we'll get to here in a little while.
little while but if you think oh it's kind of basic well look you need to
understand the moral attributes of God because when we look at these attributes
that only belong to God and then we can identify them in Jesus Christ what that
proves to us is that Jesus is God so I said number one God is love I said
number two God is holy number three God is just go to Revelation chapter 15 if
you would keep your place on Deuteronomy 32 and go to the book of Revelation last
book in the New Testament should be fairly easy to find revelation chapter
15 and let me read to you just a definition for the word just what does
the word just mean it means based on behaving on our behaving according to
what is morally right and fair so God is holy but God is also just he makes sure
he makes sure that justice and that which is right and that which is correct
is served are you there in Revelation 15 look verse 3 revelation 15 in verse 3
and they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb
saying great and marvelous are thy works notice these words Lord God Almighty
just and true are thy ways and now King of Saints and look sometimes in the book
of Isaiah talks about the fact that people look at God and they say that his
ways are not equal meaning that his ways are not just but please understand this
God is just God is justice there is no justice there is no judgment without God
every way in every way that God judges it is true and please understand this
when you and I look at the judgment of God and we think oh there's something
wrong with it please understand this there's something wrong with you there's
something wrong with me there's something wrong with our understand
see sometimes we look at situations and we say well I mean God is it really fair
of you to just flood the entire world well hold on a second realize that God
is just it's actually one of his attributes it's it's what makes him God
he is more just than then you and I could ever think of being so when God
decides to bring judgment upon a nation when God decides to throw somebody into
hell just realize he's just he is Lord God Almighty just and true are thy ways
thou King of Saints everything he does is just so God is love and God is holy
and God is just go back to Deuteronomy chapter 4 if you would Deuteronomy
chapter 4 let me give you the fourth one
they say I don't know God is holy and God is just they seem a little extreme
right and here's the thing about the moral attributes of God they help us
understand that God is a God is balanced he's a balanced God and I I
don't even want to use that to say it that way because I don't wanna make it
sound like there's more than one God he's the only God but he is a balanced
being God is holy God is just God is love here's point number four God is
merciful Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 31 notice what the Bible says for the
Lord thy God Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 31 for the Lord thy God is a
merciful God see he is a merciful God he will not forsake me and I will destroy
you don't forget the covenant of thy fathers which he swear unto them the
Bible says that God is merciful keep your place right there in Deuteronomy
we're gonna come right back to it go to Psalm 116 if you would Psalm 116 you
open up your Bible just right in the center you'll more than likely fall in
the book of Psalms keep your finger in Deuteronomy we're gonna come back to it
do me a favor though put a ribbon or bookmark or something else in Psalms
because we're gonna leave it and come back to it as well so keep your place in
Deuteronomy keep your place in Psalms and we're talking about the fact that
God is mercy now what is mercy mercy and grace are two concepts that are close
that are closely tied together they're close to each other grace we talk about
a lot because we it's a term that's used for salvation for by grace are you saved
through faith grace is getting something that you do not deserve right
for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the
gift of God not of works lest any man should boast so grace is when we receive
something that we have not merited that we have not earned that we do not
deserve we get something we should not deserve mercy is closely tied to that
except it's when we do not get something we do deserve so the mercy of
God is what we get when there is punishment we should receive and we
don't receive it grace gives us heaven mercy keeps us from hell grace gives us
that which we have not earned mercy takes that away which we have earned
Psalm 116 in verse 5 gracious is the Lord notice how these words are tied
together gracious is the Lord why because he's a God of grace and
righteous yea notice our God is merciful so God is not only just he's not only
holy he's not only loved he is merciful what is mercy mercy is when we get
something excuse me grace is when we get something we have not earned mercy is
when we don't get something we do deserve them by the way this is why the
Bible says in Lamentations 3 22 it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not
consumed because as compassion is failed not they are new every morning great is
thy faithfulness it is the mercy of God it is the mercy of God that we are not
consumed that we are not destroyed that we are not thrown into hell because God
is mercy or God is merciful go to the book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy chapter
6 keep your place right there in our songs we're gonna come back to it but go
to Deuteronomy 6 let me give you number 5 so number 1 God is loved number 2 God
is holy number 3 God is just number 4 God is merciful number 5 God is jealous
God is jealous let me show this to you from Scripture Deuteronomy chapter 6 in
verse 15 Deuteronomy 6 15 the Bible says this for the Lord thy God notice these
words is a jealous God among you for the Lord thy God is a jealous God among
you lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee and destroy thee
from off the face of the earth go to Nahum if you would Nahum chapter 1 if
you start at the end of the Old Testament you'll start with the book of
Malachi then you'll have these ZH books Zechariah Haggai Zephaniah Habakkuk and
then you have the book of Nahum and by the way that's a good way to try to
remember the last several books of the Bible there you've got Habakkuk
Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah and the book of Malachi so if you go backwards
Malachi Haggai Zephaniah Habakkuk and then you have the book of Nahum
Nahum chapter number 1 and look at verse number 2 Nahum chapter 1 and verse 2
notice what the Bible says the Bible says God is love the Bible says God is holy
the Bible says that God is just the Bible says God is merciful here's Nahum
chapter 1 verse 2 God is jealous God is jealous and the Lord revengeth the Lord
revengeth and is furious the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries and he
reserveth wrath for his enemies so notice the Bible says that God is jealous
and let me explain something about this idea of jealousy or jealousy in our
modern vernacular the word jealous is a negative word if somebody says oh you're
so jealous you know they mean that in a negative way but what you need to
understand is that the way we use the word jealous today we use the word
basically synonymously with the word envy but in our King James Bible there
is a difference between jealousy and envy now they are closely tied together
in the sense that it's basically the same action the same feeling the same
attitude but in the Bible and I'm not going to take the time to do this
tonight you can do this study on your own if you'd like we've done it in other
sermons in the Bible the word jealous is always used in a positive way in fact
God who is holy is jealous so there's nothing wrong with being jealous if God
is jealous the Bible always uses the word envy in a negative way you say well
what's the difference in the Bible and the the the proper use of the word from
the Word of God jealous to be jealous is to be jealous over something that
belongs to you something that you have the right to be jealous over envy is to
desire something that does not belong to you so there's nothing wrong with a
husband being jealous over his wife there's something very wrong with a man
and being another woman's another man's wife do you understand that see jealousy
or being jealous is something that God does because God is jealous over his
people God is jealous over his nation God is jealous over certain things
because in the Bible being jealous is not negative it's positive and there's
nothing wrong with being jealous or to have jealousy over that which belongs to
you if you begin to be jealous quote-unquote about things that don't
belong to you biblically that's no longer jealousy that's envy that's
covetousness and that is not something that we should practice but Bible says
that God is a jealous God God is jealous God is a jealous God is what the Bible
says go to the book of Daniel if you would Daniel chapter 9 if you just keep
going back right before those big major prophets Isaiah Jeremiah lamentations
Ezekiel you've got the book of Daniel Daniel chapter 9 you're somewhere in
there at the end of the Old Testament Isaiah Jeremiah lamentations Ezekiel
Daniel or just want to head backwards from Nahum before you get to those big
books you have the book of Daniel Daniel chapter 9 and look at verse 14 let me
give you number 6 Daniel chapter 9 verse 14 God is loved God is holy God is just
God is merciful God is jealous here's point number 6 God is righteous God is
righteous Daniel chapter 9 look at verse 14 therefore hath the Lord watched upon
the evil and brought it upon us for the Lord our God notice these words is
righteous the Lord our God is righteous now you say well what what is you know
righteous what how's that different from holy because the word righteous has to
do with with with good things right the first part of the word righteous is
right now I want you understand this in the Bible the word righteous is
connected with works which if you look down at our verse even the one that we
just turned to he says for the Lord our God is righteous notice in all his works
which he do it notice the emphasis about righteousness is that you're doing
righteousness you know that was like about not by the works of righteousness
which we have done talking about the fact that we're not saved by our works
but the word righteous has to do with the things you do God is righteous in
all his works which he doeth for we obeyed not his voice go to Psalm 50
Psalm 50 so please understand this how is that different from being holy well
God is holy which means he's separated from sin but that doesn't necessarily
mean that God does good things so then the Bible tells us no God is also
righteous so not only is he is right but he does right God is righteous Psalm 50
verse 6 Psalm 50 in verse 6 and the heavens shall declare his righteousness
and again he's talking about the fact when you look at creation now when you
look at creation what are you looking at the works of God and the heavens will
declare his righteousness notice for God is the judge himself see love and the
God God is the judge there is a reference to his justice so God is
righteous this has to do with our actions not only that you are good and
holy but you do good you do right things righteousness has to do with the works
that you do go to John chapter chapter 3 if you would John chapter 3 and look at
verse 33 John chapter 3 and verse 33 Matthew Mark Luke John John 3 33 God is
love God is holy God is just God is merciful God is jealous God is
righteous here's point number 7 God is truth God is truth John 3 33 he that
hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true God is true go
to 2nd Corinthians chapter number 1 you're there in John Matthew Mark Luke
John go to 2nd Corinthians you've got Acts Romans 1 and 2nd Corinthians 2nd
Corinthians chapter 1 let me just say this please understand this you and I
love we're not love we do love we should love but we are not love God is
love now God also loves the action but he actually is love you and I should try
to practice holiness but God is holy you and I should try to practice justice but
God is just please understand this you and I should try to tell the truth
preach the truth be the truth that's why 10 years ago we started Verity
Baptist Church what does the word Verity mean it means truth the same Jesus would
say verily verily I say unto you the word verily means truth he's saying
truly truly or of a truth I'm telling you the truth the word Verity means
truth why did we name the church Verity Baptist Church because the Bible says
that the church is to be the pillar and ground of the truth we should try to
tell the truth we should try to preach the truth we should try to live truth
but please understand this God is truth God is true and it's not that God is
true like he's telling the truth he is truth and we'll learn more about that
when we talk about the deity of Christ and the moral attributes of God given to
Jesus Christ Jesus said I am the way the truth he didn't say I tell the truth he
said I am the truth I say well why is that important here's why because today
people have this idea you learn 2nd Corinthians 1 look verse 18 2nd
Corinthians 1 18 but as God is true our word toward you was not yay and nay so
here pauses look here's what we know God is true and again it's not that God
tells the truth God is true now today if you listen to the LGBTQ community you
know what they'll say they'll say you need to live your truth because what's
true of you may not be true of me you understand that for them it's all you
know it's all fluid there is no male there is no female it's just you live
your truth no listen to me you don't live your truth God is truth there's one
truth it's God and the only place that you and I can get truth the only way
that you and I can stand up and say thus saith the Lord this is true is when it
comes from God if it doesn't come from God then we can say well I don't know
maybe maybe not but when it comes from God we can have the confidence that God
is truth and you say well I don't know I mean I kind of think maybe we should be
loving to the LGBT well wait a minute God is just so you know what we would
just be safe to just go with God because God is true and God is love and God is
just and when you stand with God you can stand with all those things oh you're
not very loving well you know what God is love and truth comes from God because
God is truth and every truth you and I any truth you and I can hold to in this
world must come from God that's the only thing that gives us confidence never
stand up and say they'll say you know Bill Gates I'll say if Gavin Newsom but
we can say they'll say the Lord God with confidence because God is true the truth
comes from God you're there in 2nd Corinthians 1 flip back to 1st
Corinthians 1 if you would let me give you number 8 not only is can we say God
is truth but we can say this God is faithful God is faithful 1st Corinthians
chapter 1 look verse 9 God is faithful and again and and there's a different
context here in which he's talking he says by whom you were called into the
fellowship of his son Jesus Christ our Lord but I want you to notice that the
Bible just says is God is faithful now you and I should try to be faithful but
God is faithful 1st Corinthians 10 if you're if you're there in 1st
Corinthians just flip over to 1st Corinthians chapter 10 look at verse 13
what does it mean to be faithful we talked about this not I think a couple
of weeks ago or maybe last week on Sunday what does it mean to be faithful
it means constant or consistent you are faithful when you are constant or
consistent 1st Corinthians 10 13 there has no temptation taken you but such as
is common to man he says look there's no temptation that you've ever dealt with
that other people haven't dealt with he says there you know assuming that you're
not a reprobate always have to make that disclaimer there are no temptation
taking you but such as common to man but here's what I want you to focus on
but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are
able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may be
able to bear I want you to notice that God is always faithful to give you a way
to escape temptation the idea is that God is faithful he is consistent he is
constant he is always there go to Matthew chapter 19 Matthew chapter 19
this is the last one we'll look at tonight that doesn't mean the sermons
over so don't get excited it's just the last one we'll look at tonight in
regards to this list God is love God is holy God is just God is merciful
God is jealous God is righteous God is truth God is faithful here's point
number nine God is good God is good Matthew 19 verse 17 Matthew 19 verse 20
verse 17 and by the way we're gonna pick it up right here when we start on the
attributes of Jesus that make him God but Matthew 19 17 and he said unto him
why call us thou me good here we have the rich young ruler confused about the
deity of Christ he called Jesus good master but he didn't believe that Jesus
was God so Jesus says if you don't think I'm good if you don't think I'm God then
why are you calling me good why call us thou me good there is none good but one
that is God but if that will enter into life keep the keep the commandments so
God is good God is good there's nothing bad in him his being is good so let me
just review this real quickly I've been doing it all night but let me just do it
again God is holy God is just God is merciful God is love God is righteous
God is truth God is jealous God is faithful God is good at the average
church or the only one you hear is God is love God is love God is love God is
I'm not mocking it God is love but he's a whole lot of other things too these
are the moral attributes of God this is what makes God God now obviously last
way we saw the abilities that God has omniscience omnipotence immutability
those things make God too because you're not you're you're not omniscient you're
not omnipotent you're not omnipresent but in the same way that I can't be
everywhere at once I can't be loved but God is love I can't be in my being holy
but God is holy I can't I want I want to try to be just but I can't I'm not the
embodiment of justice but God is justice he's merciful he's all these things now
you might think okay well what's the big deal do we really know a whole sermon on
this well I figure we're halfway through the sermon so we might as well
keep going but um you know the reason that this is important the reason that
this is important is because these moral attributes are what make God God and you
may have never thought about this maybe you have you guys are a smart crowd but
these moral attributes are why we must deal with God the way we deal with God
and why things as far as human history have played out the way they are because
I mean have you ever thought about this like God why did you even tell Adam and
Eve that they couldn't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil I mean
and then you tell them in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shall surely
die I mean why did you even tell them that there's a punishment for sin you
know couldn't you just kind of let that slide but wait a minute you and I need
to understand God is holy which means that sin cannot be in his presence so he
tells Adam and Eve hey don't sin because when you sin you can't be yeah you're
you're going to have to die there are consequences for sin so look the
holiness of God does not allow sin in his presence which is why Adam and Eve
had to go away from his presence which is why you and I don't get to enter into
heaven in this flash in this sinful body you say why because God is holy now you
know have you ever thought I mean have you ever maybe you haven't I don't know
we ever thought about the fact okay Adam and Eve sin God can't you just kind of
look the other way I mean what's the big deal they made one apple pie I mean
really you know it's like you know they had this and we don't know if it was an
apple okay I mean just made that up but um you know they partake of this fruit
and they eat it God can't you just look the other way can't you just let it slide
can't you just let it be but wait a minute God he doesn't do justice he is
just see the holiness of God does not allow sin in his presence the justice of
God demands for sin to be paid for why why did God say the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shall surely die why did God say the wages of sin is dead why
did God create a place called hell for the devil and his angels I'll tell you
why because of the justice of God because God is just and his justice
demands for sin to be paid but you need to also understand this God is mercy see
God is holy which means he cannot allow for sin God is just which means that sin
must be paid for but God is also merciful which means that he sought for
a way to redeem us see you and I the way we would do it we would say oh just let
it slide just put it off to the side but that would make us unjust God cannot do
that his being is to be just but he is also merciful he is mercy so the mercy
of God sought for a way to redeem us God is love the love of God offered his son
as a sinless sacrifice for our sin for God so loved the world right that he
gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish but have everlasting life see when you understand the moral attributes
of God you understand why things are the way they are and why they must be the
way they are God could not look the other way because he is just God could
not allow sin in his presence because he is holy God had to seek a way to redeem
mankind because of his mercy God's love is what brought down his son as a
sacrifice all the love that drew salvation's play all the grace that
brought it down to man all the mighty hope that God did span at Calvary it's
the love of God that brought us salvation not only that but God is
righteous I don't have time to explain this as a sermon for another day but as
salvation not only did God take our sins from us but his righteousness was placed
upon us the righteousness of Christ see it's not enough it's not enough and look
when you understand these things you you understand okay if Jesus had to die
for our sins why don't you just you know why don't you just beam them down from
heaven at 33 years old and have him die why do you have to be born why do you
have to live a sinless life well the Bible says this for he hath made him to
be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him see it was not just enough that God took our sin from us and placed it
on Jesus at the cross that did happen but at salvation his righteousness was
actually placed upon you see when God looks down at you and me see when we got
saved we were in Christ we're placed in him when God sees you and I if you're
saved he doesn't see you he doesn't see me he sees Christ why do I get to go to
heaven not because my sins have been removed that's part of it but because
his righteousness has been placed upon me see God is righteous and God sent his
son who was God in the flesh to live a righteous life so that his righteousness
might be imputed in us God is holy his holiness does not allow sin in his
presence God is justice his justice demands for sin to be paid God is
merciful his mercy sought for a way to redeem us God is love his love offered
his son as a sacrifice God is righteous his righteousness allowed Jesus to live
a righteous life that it might be imputed on you and I God is truth and
the truth of God allows us to be disciples and followers of Christ John
17 17 the Bible says this sanctify them through thy truth sanctify them through
thy truth thy word is truth you and I get to live as disciples of Jesus Christ
we get to be followers of Jesus Christ because our lives get to be sanctified
how does that happen through the preaching of the Word of God which is
truth which by the way is the only source of truth so it doesn't matter
what the politicians say it doesn't matter what public education says it
doesn't matter what the media says it doesn't matter what anybody says truth
is what we find in the Word of God sanctify them through thy truth thy Word
is truth because God is truth because the Word is God you know and so on the
truth of God allows us to be disciples and followers God is jealous the
jealousy of God calls us to live a separated life you ever wonder why God
wants us I mean why does God even want me why does God even want you I mean
especially you I can understand me but you why does why does God desire to have
a relationship with us but you know what when God saved us he redeemed us he
purchased us and God it's just in his being he is jealous over that which
belongs to him so God says I want you I want to save you I want you to live for
me I want you to I want you to be a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God
which is your reasonable service so God is jealous God is faithful I mean why
doesn't God just walk away from us and there's a whole doctrine here the
eternal security of the believer and we'll get to it at some point and we'll
talk about it but the truth is this God doesn't walk away from us because God is
faithful why does God forgive us when we mess up why does God give us so many
chances because God is faithful the Bible says if we confess our sins he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins please understand this and sometimes you
read those verses and you think I'm not big deal maybe you paid more attention
during these basic sermons you would understand that God is faithful if we
confess our sins he is faithful he is constant he is consistent if we confess
our sins he is faithful notice and just to forgive us our sins see when God
forgave us of our sins he never got when God forgave us of our sins and when he
forgives us of our sins he he never goes against his own justice that's why he
couldn't just forgive you I forgive you get to go to heaven without the payment
see the forgiveness was able to be had because the payment was made through
Jesus Christ well why was that needed why couldn't you just do it without him
because God is just because God is holy because God is love because of the
immoral attributes of God God is faithful the faithfulness of God keeps
us keeps him from turning on us or turning away from us or walking away
from us lastly God is good Romans 3 12 you have to turn there says this they
are all gone out of the way they're all together become unprofitable there is
none that do with good no not one people say oh I'm a good person no you're not
now here's the thing you're a good person in comparison to the rest of us
right in comparison to the rest of us you're probably a pretty good person but
God says hey there's none that do with good no not one because God is good the
standard for good is God the standard for good is perfect and there is none
righteous no not one there is none that do with good no not one God is good but
see when you understand the attributes when you understand the moral attributes
of God and you realize well God is holy which means that sin cannot enter into
his presence which means that Adam and Eve should have rightfully been done and
by the way you and I should have rightfully been done because we were in
the bowels we were we were part of their seed we are we are their
descendants we should have rightfully been done at the moment that sin entered
into the world because God is holy because God is just we should have all
been thrown into hell and there would have been nothing wrong with it and by
the way let me just say this there's nothing wrong with anybody going to hell
as far as God is concerned he did nothing wrong but God's mercy God's
mercy compels him not to bend the rules but to create a way within those rules
to save us God's love sacrifice his son God's righteousness provided salvation
God's truth allows us to know him God's jealousy makes him want us God's
faithfulness keeps us with him and when you realize that all you can say you can
walk away and only say one thing God is good God is good God is good to me God
is good to you because of the moral attributes of God this is what makes God
different than you and I yes the omniscience and omnipresence and all
that but the moral attributes make God different than you and I he's holy just
merciful love loving love righteous truth jealous faithful and good
smile heads and have a prayer Heavenly Father thank you Lord for allowing us
to get to know you I mean the truth the truth is that you didn't even have to
let us allow us to get to know you and yet you have you let us know through
your word that your love and you're holy and you're just and you're jealous and
you're all of those things and when we realize that when we put it in its
context we can only walk away saying God is good God is good to me God is good to
us and Lord we thank you we thank you for loving us when we were in our sins
and trespasses we thank you for forgiving us for not bending the rules
but for making a way for you to continue to be you and to allow us access to you
we love you in the matchless name of Christ we pray amen