A Holy And Loving God
by Vin Santanelli
The Facts
God is perfect.
Are you?
Do you give things and possessions more attention than God Himself? Have you ever used God's name in vain? Have you ever taken something that didn't belong to you? Have you ever lied? Have you ever wanted something you couldn't have?
These are some questions that are based on the Ten Commandments, God's standard of perfection and righteousness. If you answered "yes" to some of these questions, then you are guilty before God. Even if you answered "no" to all but one, you are guilty - "for whoever shall keep the whole law and shall offend in one point, he has come under the guilt of breaking all." (James 2:10)
So then how can you expect to stand before a perfect God? How can you expect Him to allow you in His presence?
By being a good person, you say. The Bible says, "There is not a righteous man, not even one." (Rom. 3:10)
What about trying your best? The Bible says "all our righteousnessess (our good works) are like filthy rags..." (Isa. 64:6)
The Problem
Why, you say, can't I do anything to get into God's presence?
The Bible says, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23)
Falling short of God's glory means that you cannot meet up to God's perfect standard of righteousness. This is because you are a sinner. No one can claim perfection, for ALL have sinned. Little sins, big sins; it doesn't matter.
What does God think about sin?
"Sin is lawlessness." (1 John 3:4)
Sin disregards God, His holiness and His authority. Sin makes everything of imperfect man and little to nothing of a perfect God. Therefore, God hates sin.
God is HOLY (without sin). "Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hosts..." (Isa. 6:3)
A HOLY God hates sin so much that He must judge it and remove it from His presence. How does He do this?"For the wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23)
Death and separation from His presence is a HOLY God's judgment on those who are sinners. The person who dies in his sins will be separated from God for all eternity in a place called Hell. The Bible describes it as "the Lake of Fire." (Rev. 20:14) The reality of Hell emphasizes the holiness of God and His hatred of sin.
But God does not desire that you spend eternity there, for He "is longsuffering towards you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Pet. 3:9)
God is not only HOLY; He is also LOVE. He loves those who are sinners.
"God is love..." (1 Jn. 4:8)
"For God so loved the world..." (Jn. 3:16)
Because God is HOLY, He must deal with sin. Because God is LOVE, He deals with sin in such a way so as to show us mercy and grace.
How does He do this?
By sending Jesus.
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son a propitiation (satisfying God's holy anger) for our sins." (1 John 4:10)
Jesus willingly took our sin upon Himself and incurred God's judgment on our behalf!
The Savior
God cannot just "let sinners off the hook" by ignoring their sin. That would violate His holiness. But God would not strike all sinners with immediate judgment, for that would go against His loving character! What does God do? He sends us His Son, Jesus.
This is what makes Christianity different from every religion in the world: Christianity has a perfect and righteous Savior - Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
Jesus was perfect before men. He alone could say to the religious men of His day, "Which of you convicts me of sin?" (Jn. 8:46) Though men tried, none could find Jesus guilty of anything! Even when they attempted to accuse Him of wrongdoing in court, "many bore false witness against him and their testimony did not agree." (Mk. 14:56) And when men brought Him before Pilate, he himself said, "I find in him no fault whatever." (Jn. 19:4)
Jesus was also perfect before God. God said of Him, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight." (Mt. 3:17) Jesus is the only One who ever kept the whole law - God's standard of righteousness. After all, He "did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth," that is, He never broke the law and is, therefore, completely righteous. (1 Pet. 2:22) He is God's "Righteous Servant." (Isa. 53:11)
So we see that Jesus was righteous before men and God. Therefore, He can offer you what you need in order to stand before a Holy God - righteousness (the perfection that God looks for).
Righteousness leads to eternal life with God, rather eternal separation from Him. Unlike sin, righteousness allows us to stand before God, unashamed and guiltless.
But before He could offer you this righteousness, Jesus needed to accomplish something very important. That "something" is dying on the cross!
The cross is where we see God's holiness against sin and His love for sinners. It is there that a HOLY and LOVING God acted in your best interest. In order for righteousness to come to you, God needed to deal with your sin first.
The Solution
Jesus preserves the HOLINESS and LOVE of God on the cross!
He preserves His HOLINESS by allowing God to judge and righteously deal with all the sin in the world, including YOURS - "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn. 1:29) He preserves His LOVE by allowing that judgment to fall upon Himself and NOT YOU!
On the cross, Jesus was made an offering for your sin. Jesus "himself bore our sins in his body on the tree..." (1 Pet. 2:24) "Jehovah hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:6)
He takes your sin upon Himself and incurs the judgment that was your due - death! He experiences separation from God on the cross when He was made sin, for a Holy God cannot look upon sin - "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?" is what He cried while upon the cross. (Mt. 27:46) Jesus was willing to suffer in order to bring you to God. He did this without compromising God's holiness or obscuring His love!
Sin has now been righteously and perfectly dealt with in the death of Christ. Salvation's work does not need to be continued, for "it is finished!" (Jn. 19:30)
The Bible says that on the third day He rose from the dead. (Acts 10:40) Death ultimately had no enduring power over Him. Though He died for sin, He was not defeated by sin. And He offers the same deliverance from sin and death to all who will BELIEVE ON HIS NAME.
This is how you "get right with God." This is how you can receive the kind of "righteousness" that a Holy God requires. Simply put, this is how you can be saved:
"BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved!" (Acts 16:31)
Good works will not save you. Salvation is God's free gift (grace) to all who would believe in Jesus.
"For ye are saved by grace, through faith; and this not of yourselves; it is God's gift: not on the principle of works, that no one might boast." (Eph. 2:8-9)
God promises to declare you righteous if you place your faith and trust in Jesus as Savior. This is the only way to receive the righteousness that you need in order to get into God's presence - in order to have peace with Him.
"Therefore having been justified (declared righteous by God) on the principle of faith, we have peace towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. 5:1)
Now getting this righteousness doesn't mean that you'll be perfect, but it does mean that God will see Jesus' perfection in you! That is His promise. Jesus is the believer's righteousness - "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who has been made to us...righteousness." (1 Cor.1:30) Once one believes, he is "in Christ" and no longer condemned as a sinner, but made righteous! "Him (Jesus) who knew not sin he (God) has made sin for us, that we might become God's righteousness in him." (2 Cor. 5:21)
The Choice
Will you believe in Jesus as your Savior and receive a LOVING God's free gift?
Life with God, both now and forever, is a wonderful gift, for "he that has the Son has life." (1 Jn. 5:12) This life is everlasting, for "whosoever believes on Him may not perish, but have life eternal." (Jn 3:16)
Or will you reject Him and receive a HOLY God's terrible judgment?
"He that is NOT subject to the Son shall not see life, but the WRATH OF GOD abides upon him." (Jn 3:36)
God is Light (Holy) and God is Love
God in mercy sent His Son
To a world by sin undone;
Jesus Christ was crucified -
'Twas for sinners Jesus died.
O the glory of the grace,
Shining in the Savior's face,
Telling sinners from above,
"God is light," and "God is love."
Sin and death no more shall reign,
Jesus died and lives again!
In the glory's highest height -
See Him God's supreme delight.
O the glory of the grace,
Shining in the Savior's face,
Telling sinners from above,
"God is light," and "God is love."
All who in His name believe,
Everlasting life receive;
Lord of all is Jesus now,
Every knee to Him must bow.
O the glory of the grace,
Shining in the Savior's face,
Telling sinners from above,
"God is light," and "God is love."
- Author unknown