How God Acts Toward Us
Learning about the nature and attributes of God, as revealed by the Bible, is far from being a mere academic exercise. We discover in the process a God who cares about us, who is intimately involved in our lives, and who wants to help us heal from our sin problems.
Let’s consider the twelve attributes of God listed above in terms of how they relate to our problems with habitual sin. Each attribute should be an encouragement to us.
- Because God is all powerful, He is stronger than the hold that sin has over us.
- Because God is ever present, He is always with us in our struggles against temptation.
- Because God all knowing, we can go to Him with all our questions and concerns about becoming holy.
- Because God is sovereign, we can submit to His will for our ethical actions.
- Because God is holy, He offers the model of morality we strive to copy.
- Because God is truthful, we can believe what He says about sin and holiness and live accordingly.
- Because God is righteous, He provides the standards we seek to live up to.
- Because God is just, He always treat us fairly, even when we disappoint Him.
- Because God is loving, He is unconditionally committed to our spiritual well-being.
- Because God is merciful, He forgives us of our sins when we sincerely confess them.
- Because God is faithful, we can trust Him to always keep His promises to help and to forgive.
- Because God is unchanging, His commitment to our spiritual health is fixed and dependable.
What a God we serve! His every quality is suited to drawing us nearer to Him and to helping us become the kind of people He wants us to be.
Furthermore, the fact that God is a Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together—teaches us that God values fellowship. God enjoys fellowship among the three Persons that make up the unity of the Godhead, and He enjoys fellowship with us, His most beloved creatures. And so the three divine Persons work together to solve our sin problem: The Father established the standards of justice. The Son sacrificed Himself to earn our forgiveness. And the Spirit comes alongside us to aid us in our attempts at living holy lives.
Isn’t this a God you want to know better? We promise that as you get to know Him more fully, He will begin to change your thoughts and feelings in ways that will make you more ready to part with your habitual sin and to embrace holiness.
How good it is to know God as He really is! A revolution in our view of God can start a revolution in our behavior, but adopting a correct view of God is only the beginning. We move from there to evaluating other ideas and feelings that may underlie our sinful behavior.
Select the right arrow (below) to continue reading Chapter 4. Step Two: Embracing Truth.