Wisdom And Worship For Every ManSample

Worship: For God Alone

WHAT KIND OF GOD IS HE, ANYWAY?

by Stuart Briscoe

If we knew who God really is, we’d show him “a little more respect.” The problem in the modern world is that too often there is an inadequate knowledge of God. There’s a lot of speculation as to who God is and what he’s like. But we need to operate on the basis of revelation, not speculation. It is one thing for us to express what we think God is like; it is an entirely different thing for us to recognize what God says he is like. Speculation at the expense of revelation leads only to mystification. 

What better place to discover who God is than in his self-description? When talking to Moses on Mount Sinai, God described himself as: “The compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin"(Exodus 34:6-7, NIV).

Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t it exciting to know that God is compassionate and gracious and forgiving and slow to anger and faithful and loving and kind? But that’s only part of the picture. For he went on to say, “Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation” (Exodus 34:7, NIV 1984).

We must make sure that we have a well-rounded picture of who God is. God is fundamentally holy, good, just, right, and fair. If we contravene his laws, if we insult who he is, resist his guidance, and ignore his direction, then he must respond in a manner that is in keeping with his holy, just, right, and fair character. He must, if he is true to himself, deal with us in righteous judgment. Truly it is “a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31, NLT).

But if we will admit that we were wrong and repent of what we have done, he will overwhelm us with his grace, loving kindness, and forgiveness.