The Goodness and the Severity of God
There is no one more compassionate and gracious than God. However, there is no one as holy and serious about punishing sin than God. (Exodus 34:6,7) I encourage everyone to read these verses and consider what God proclaimed to Moses after He gave him the 10 Commandments for the second time.
The only way to understand God is to realize He is able to be completely perfect in all of His attributes at the same time. He is perfectly loving and perfectly holy at the same time. Nothing about His love contradicts His holiness, and nothing in His holiness contradicts His love. He can be perfectly loving while pouring out His wrath on sin. This is so hard for us to understand, because we let our love corrupt our holiness. We let those we love get away with sin. God never does that. He might have mercy on them, but they never get off without any punishment.
This is the main reason all of us must have a healthy fear of God. Any temptation not to take His commands seriously should be met by a fear of what He will do, because He will always do something. Each time we presume upon His grace, and we continue to sin, His response is more severe. Sometimes, His worst response would be to leave us alone all together. What a frightening prospect! Unfortunately, some people think a life without sin would be the worst possible existence. They are totally unaware of the reality that a life without God is the ultimate torture.
Satan coddles them with sin's pleasures until life ends, and they experience the absence of God forever.
Please, cultivate a fear of God, so you can experience His goodness, instead of His severity.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 36-38 and Matthew 23:1-22.
The only way to understand God is to realize He is able to be completely perfect in all of His attributes at the same time. He is perfectly loving and perfectly holy at the same time. Nothing about His love contradicts His holiness, and nothing in His holiness contradicts His love. He can be perfectly loving while pouring out His wrath on sin. This is so hard for us to understand, because we let our love corrupt our holiness. We let those we love get away with sin. God never does that. He might have mercy on them, but they never get off without any punishment.
This is the main reason all of us must have a healthy fear of God. Any temptation not to take His commands seriously should be met by a fear of what He will do, because He will always do something. Each time we presume upon His grace, and we continue to sin, His response is more severe. Sometimes, His worst response would be to leave us alone all together. What a frightening prospect! Unfortunately, some people think a life without sin would be the worst possible existence. They are totally unaware of the reality that a life without God is the ultimate torture.
Satan coddles them with sin's pleasures until life ends, and they experience the absence of God forever.
Please, cultivate a fear of God, so you can experience His goodness, instead of His severity.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 36-38 and Matthew 23:1-22.