A Brief Meditation on the Goodness of God
God is good.
In a time of moral relativism, and when men like Richard Dawkins are publicly and repeatedly asserting that God, as presented in the Bible, is evil- tyrannical, egocentric, and arbitrary- the above statement, often rendered by Christians as a heartfelt praise, becomes a necessary, foundational statement of faith. This is the starting point of Christianity; as the Holy Spirit convicts a person of his or her sin under God's Law, changes the heart of a sinner, and grants the gift of faith: the Holy Spirit, in all these activities, convinces a person that God is good.
God created a good world.
This too is an article of faith. Sometimes the order of the universe and the beauty of nature are obvious and it is easy to see how 'the heavens declare the glory of God.' At other times this world, groaning under the weight of sin, does not appear to be very good. Tsunamis appear to be more in line with the Big Bang Theory than with the idea of a loving Creator; plagues spread by viruses seem to be consistent with Darwinistic evolution. Christians must be sympathetic to the turmoil in which this world often leaves the people to whom we minister, and we must be ready to give a defense- with gentleness and respect- for the idea that God created everything good, and that the presence of apparent chaos in the world is due to sin.
God alone is good.
Humans, created in the image of God, seek after something that they can consider 'good,' though this search is constantly frustrated by our own evil desires, present in our hearts due to sin. People will inevitably spend their lives pursuing and trusting in what they consider to be the greatest good. For some people, the greatest good may be merely a comfortable life; for others, it may be a thrilling romantic relationship; others look to find the greatest good in a political party or political figure (this, BTW, occurs on all ends of the 'liberal-conservative' spectrum). All of these things fall short of the true good, which is found only in God.
It is God whom we are meant to seek, it is God whom we have failed to seek, and it is God who sought us out in Christ to bring us to Himself for our own good and for His glory.
In a time of moral relativism, and when men like Richard Dawkins are publicly and repeatedly asserting that God, as presented in the Bible, is evil- tyrannical, egocentric, and arbitrary- the above statement, often rendered by Christians as a heartfelt praise, becomes a necessary, foundational statement of faith. This is the starting point of Christianity; as the Holy Spirit convicts a person of his or her sin under God's Law, changes the heart of a sinner, and grants the gift of faith: the Holy Spirit, in all these activities, convinces a person that God is good.
God created a good world.
This too is an article of faith. Sometimes the order of the universe and the beauty of nature are obvious and it is easy to see how 'the heavens declare the glory of God.' At other times this world, groaning under the weight of sin, does not appear to be very good. Tsunamis appear to be more in line with the Big Bang Theory than with the idea of a loving Creator; plagues spread by viruses seem to be consistent with Darwinistic evolution. Christians must be sympathetic to the turmoil in which this world often leaves the people to whom we minister, and we must be ready to give a defense- with gentleness and respect- for the idea that God created everything good, and that the presence of apparent chaos in the world is due to sin.
God alone is good.
Humans, created in the image of God, seek after something that they can consider 'good,' though this search is constantly frustrated by our own evil desires, present in our hearts due to sin. People will inevitably spend their lives pursuing and trusting in what they consider to be the greatest good. For some people, the greatest good may be merely a comfortable life; for others, it may be a thrilling romantic relationship; others look to find the greatest good in a political party or political figure (this, BTW, occurs on all ends of the 'liberal-conservative' spectrum). All of these things fall short of the true good, which is found only in God.
It is God whom we are meant to seek, it is God whom we have failed to seek, and it is God who sought us out in Christ to bring us to Himself for our own good and for His glory.
Labels: apologetics, Romans 1:20
posted by Andrew Lindsey | 7:11 AM
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