The God Who is for Us

 In Romans 8:26-39 we have the greatest section of Scripture that deals with the security of our salvation and our secure relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In this section of Scripture there is so much richness to meditate upon, so much great truth to let feed our soul and wash over our heart, but the high water mark of this passage is verses 31b-32, "If God is for us who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all (those who trust in Christ and His completed work on our behalf), how will He not with Him freely give us all things?"

Think about it, if God is for us, who can be against us? The truth assumed here is that God is for us, and since He is for us, who, in all the created universe both seen and unseen can stand against us with God on our side.

The God who is for us is:

The God who spoke all things into existence.
The God who upholds all things by the word of His power.
The God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
The God who has declared the end from the beginning.
The God who daily bears our burden.
The God who accomplishes what concerns us.
The God whose thoughts toward us are as numerous as His wonders.
The God who has stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and has formed the spirit of man within him.
The God who has fashioned the hearts of us all.
The God who removes kings and establishes kings.
The God who has determined the time and boundaries of the nations.
The God who has ordained our steps, and ordained the number of our days.
The God who delights in the way He has chosen for us.
The God who lifts us up on eagles wings.
The God who is our rock, fortress, shelter, and refuge.
The God to whom nothing is hidden from His sight, and to whose eyes all things are open and laid bare.
The God whose throne stands in the heavens.
The God whose train of His robe fills the temple.
The God who does not sleep nor slumber.
The God who keeps us.
The God who is the shade at our right hand.
The God who is the lover of our souls.
The God who makes us bold with strength in our soul.
The God who delights in the prosperity of His servant.
The God whose word is truth.
The God whose word stands forever.
The God who knows all the stars by name.
The God who tends us like a shepherd does his sheep.
The God who regards the nations as a speck of dust or a drop from a bucket.
The God for whom all the nations are as nothing before Him, and are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.
The God who is everlasting.
The God who does not become weary or tired.
The God who knows what we will say before the word is on our tongue.
The God who holds all things in the hollow of His hand.
The God who is the Almighty.
The God who is righteous and just.
The God who judges all things.
The God who knows all things.
The God before whom all must appear.
The God who acts and it cannot be reversed.
The God whose purposes cannot be thwarted.
The God who wipes out our transgressions, and does not remember our sins.
The God who stands with us as our Dread Champion.
The God who gives us grace.
The God who is merciful to us and compassionate toward us.
The God before whom there was no God formed, and after whom none will exist.
The God who is our Savior.
The God who delights in our salvation.
The God who causes rivers of living water to flow from our innermost being.
The God to whom we are His beloved.
The God who loves us with the same love with which He loves His Son.
The God who indwells us.
The God who abides with us.
The God who will never leave us or forsake us.
The God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.
The God who gives us all things richly to enjoy.
The God who will lavish the riches of His grace on us in the age to come.
The God who has loved us with an everlasting love.
The God who has in kindness drawn us to Himself.
The God who is good and does good.
The God who is holy, holy, holy.
The God who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift.
The God who never changes because from age to age He is the same.
The God whom we can trust and depend upon.
The God who has given us the gift of salvation.
The God who has redeemed us.
The God who has made us alive in Christ.
The God who has caused us to be born again.
The God who has given us a living hope.
The God who was in Christ reconciling us to Himself.
The God whose hand we cannot be snatched out of.
The God who has given us to His Son for safekeeping.


This is the God who is for us. So as we meditate on this great section in Romans, let us meditate in the light of who this great God is, this great God who is for us, this great God in whom our salvation and relationship is secure; and when we gather with others whom He is for, let us all joyfully, gratefully, and confidently open our hearts and our mouths to praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

Who is Good?

 

And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good?

No one is good except God alone."

Luke 18:19

The goodness of God is goodness in its original and untainted form. Since God is impassable and immutable, then His goodness is unchanging and unaffected by anything outside of Himself. Therefore God is good in a complete sense, in an absolute sense, not in a relative sense. His goodness is pure goodness, untainted, undefiled, unaffected, untempered, and without degrees. It permeates all that He is and all that He does, which is why the Psalmist declares that God is good and does good. Therefore, God's goodness is true goodness, the goodness by which all other goodness is measured, and goodness is defined in God Himself.

When men call each other good, we do it in a relative term, as compared to other men. What we see as goodness in men is the vestige of the image of God, as all men were created in the image of God (Genesis 2); and that image has been marred and defiled by sin, it has become compromised and disfigured. When what we call goodness in men is seen in the light of God and His true goodness, we see that what we call goodness is not really goodness at all, not goodness in its true sense, in its God likeness; but is a goodness of degree as compared to other men, as in contrast to what men would call bad or evil as related to the times or culture they live in.

When the Lord becomes our standard of goodness, our definition of goodness, as He should be, then how we use that term takes on a whole new meaning. All of a sudden we realize that we can't consider ourselves good in any way, and what we have called good in ourselves is not good at all; and we realize our dependence on this goodness as our ticket to heaven has been a false hope, a self-deceiving hope.

Because God is good, He came down and took upon Himself the mantle of man in the person of Christ. Christ as God and man was good, good in our stead, good in our place. His goodness has become our ticket to heaven, not for all men; but for all men who place their faith in Him and His vicarious life and death on their behalf. He becomes the ticket to heaven for all who renounce their own goodness and by faith cling tenaciously to His goodness and receive it as their own.

My friends, don't compare yourselves to other men, to the rest of mankind, to determine your own goodness. Compare yourselves to the only One who is truly good and see your goodness for the filthy and soiled rag that it is (Isaiah 64:6). Confess to God that your goodness is not good enough and that you will rely on it no longer, and by faith ask Him to cover you with the goodness of His Son, who was good in your place. And Christ, who took on the mantle of man, will place upon you the mantle of His goodness, and you will have the true ticket to heaven; and you will taste and see the goodness of God in His salvation of your very soul.

The Immutability of God--The Anchor of My Relationship with Him

For I, the Lord, do not change; 

therefore you, O sons of Israel

are not consumed.

Malachi 3:6 

If you read any book or article on the attributes of God you will find Him described as immutable, and usually they will go on to talk about the unchangableness of His nature and character. However, the word has a deeper meaning than just being unchangeable, it means that in being unchangeable, one is not capable or susceptible to change. When you grasp that concept, then considering God's immutability takes on a whole new light.

This means that it is impossible for God to change, impossible for God to be other than He is. There is never the potentiality of His changing in any way, in any measure (James 1:17). His mercy will always be His mercy, His wrath will always be His wrath, His grace will always be His grace, His power will always be His power. There will never be any diminishment in who He is, because there cannot be any diminishment in who He is; and He cannot be more than He is, He cannot be improved upon, because He is already perfect. When God tells us that from age to age He is the same, we must understand that from eternity past to eternity future it is impossible for Him to not be the same.  Change in His person, purpose, thoughts, and very nature literally cannot take place. He is the rock that does not erode, the fortress and refuge that is always secure, the love that will never fail. Therefore, His yes is always yes, and His no is always no; and, therefore, His word never changes or shifts, even ever so slightly. He is the model of absolute consistency. He is the same God in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament.

To me, this is very comforting. It gives me a deeper trust and confidence in not only Him, but in His word. It is this unchangeableness that is behind the Scriptures. It is why the Word of God cannot and will not change to meet the demands of the shifting moral climate of each era of the human race. All of this means that He is absolutely dependable, reliable, and trustworthy. It means there will be a consistency in His dealings with me, a consistency in His love for me, and a consistency in His patience with me no matter the twists and turns that I encounter in this life. It is the anchor in my relationship with Him.

So, my friends, let us consider the absolute unchangeableness of this God who has called us and claimed us, who has loved us and blessed us, and who leads us in the paths of righteousness. Let us draw near and draw great comfort in knowing it is impossible for Him to change.