In my witnessing encounters the two most common things I hear when they talk about God is that God is love and full of forgiveness. These are undoubtedly true yet to me it offers the Lord great disservice knowing only a couple of things about Him. God is the creator of the heavens and the earth. We limit Him by saying He is only love or that He is only abounding in mercy. God who is only capable of love and forgiveness is far from what the Bible reveals to us. To many of us, these are the only characteristics we want to believe about Him. We seek Him no further. By constraining Him into only these, we carve an image of a god in our minds who is not the eternal God. This is a form of idolatry.
The Attributes of God
A.W. Tozer a well-known American Protestant pastor, teacher, and author, in His book, “The Knowledge of the Holy,” says:
“What is God like?” If by that question we mean “What is God like in Himself? There is no answer. If we mean, “What has God disclosed about Himself that the reverent reason can comprehend?” there is, I believe, an answer both full and satisfying. For while the name of God is secret and His essential nature incomprehensible, He in condescending love has by revelation declared certain things to be true of Himself. These we call His attributes.2 (Emphasis mine)
Tozer illustrates 18 of God’s attributes namely: wisdom, infinity, sovereignty, holiness, trinity, omniscience (all-knowing), faithfulness, love, omnipotence (all-powerful), self-existence, self-sufficiency, justice, immutability, mercy, eternal, goodness, gracious, and omnipresence (all-present).
Charles H. Spurgeon, known as the Prince of Preachers, also talked about the attributes of God in His various sermons. Just like Tozer, he addressed God’s omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, self-sufficiency, and self-existence. To these he added, transcendent, truth, wise, wrath, and righteousness.
All these characteristics of God are well worth our time of study and reflection, but for purposes of my intention to build up on our understanding of God’s Law and Grace, I will only focus on a few of His attributes namely, His Holiness, Righteousness, and Justice. Again, I encourage all of you to read the rest. Our desire should be to seek God for who He is. If we are willing to spend time getting to know someone whom we “like” here on earth, then we should devote much more time and effort in seeking the face of God. The Bible encourages us to “diligently” seek Him. If any of us doesn’t, then I would doubt the sincerity and genuineness of that person’s love l for God.
(You can read a summary about A.W. Tozer’s, The Attributes of God here.)
(To read the notes and quotes from Charles H. Spurgeon on God’s Attributes, you can view it here. )
The Holiness, Righteousness, and Justice of God
In “The Knowledge of the Holy”, Tozer defines Holiness and Justice as:
Holiness is the attribute that sets God apart from all other created beings. It refers to His majesty and His perfect moral purity. There is absolutely no sin or evil thought in God at all. His Holiness is the definition of that which is pure and righteous in all the universe.
The Bible says that God is just, but it is His character that defines what being just really is. He does not conform to some outside criteria. Being just brings moral equity to everyone. When there are evil acts, justice demands there be a penalty.
J. Hampton Keathley III, a former pastor of 28 years writes about Righteousness in His essay “What is God Like.” He says,:
Righteousness is the character or quality of “being right or just” and was formerly spelled “rightwiseness,” which clearly expresses the meaning. God is totally righteous because He is totally as He should be. The righteousness of God could be succinctly stated as that which is all that God is, all that He commands, all that He demands, all that He approves, all that He provides through Christ in the gospel (Romans 1:16-17). God is always righteous and His righteousness causes Him to always think and do what is right or act in perfect goodness in relation to His creation. He will always do what is right. God’s justice, love & mercy must be harmonized with His righteousness, which cannot be compromised. As an attribute of God it is united with His holiness as being essential in His nature (Psalm 11:7, John 17:25)
Again, “holiness” means moral purity, which is to be “free of sin and evil thought” compare this to man who is a totally depraved being. Total depravity means that we are by nature in absolute bondage to sin and Satan. “Righteousness” is very similar to holiness. It means to always do what is right or act in perfect goodness. “Justice” on the other hand is to be fair in all actions. This requires that for every law that is violated or broken, justice demand a penalty to be carried out.
The Bible says:
- God is glorious in holiness (Exodus 15:11).
- Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne (Psalm 97:2).
- Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts (Isaiah 6:3).
- God does not do wrong (Job 34:10).
- He cannot tolerate wrong (Habakkuk 1:13).
- Justice and judgment [are] the habitation of thy throne. (Psalm 89:14)
God is exceeding in righteousness and holiness. So far beyond man that when John saw Christ in his vision of His second coming, he couldn’t help but fall at his feet as dead (Revelation 1:17). What led John to fall prostrate at the glorified state of Christ? It was out of fear. Jesus tells him, “Fear not.” Spurgeon describes this by saying, “when a mortal man is permitted to behold his Lord, his flesh and blood are made to feel the sentence of death within themselves, and to fall as if slain by the revelation of the Lord.”5 This sentence of death will be brought by our inevitable feeling of unworthiness within the presence of God’s overwhelming purity, holiness, and righteousness, visually manifested in His countenance which is like the sun shining in its strength.
To Be In the Presence of God
How about you, are you fit to be in the presence of God knowing His attributes of holiness and righteousness?
Before you respond, I’d like to give a short illustration.
Say you get a call from the White House. You were informed that you are to fly to Washington, DC to meet with the President of the United States to discuss some concerns of national interest. Most definitely, you will be preparing for this meeting. The President is a very important person! When you come before the President you don’t come in casual clothing but dress-up for it and do all your homework. You come in formal clothes and ready yourself with all your notes.
In much the same way, the Lord requires reverence. When we come before Him He will require nothing less than perfection and a state of being free of blemish and stain. Remember, God is pure, holy, and righteous. His perfect nature demands nothing but the same degree of perfection. Hebrews 12:14 says “Without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Again this is a holiness that means free of sin and evil thought. The question is, will you be worthy to stand and stay within His presence? Are you righteous enough? Is it possible to work to meet God’s standards of righteousness?
God’s moral standards have been given to us through His Law. Many of us are familiar with this as they are found found in the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses in Mount Sinai.
Learn more about God’s standard of righteousness in God’s Law.
