God defines good

We do not like God because He is good; we like goodness because it is Godly.  The reason that we delight in things we see as good, whether truth or love or justice or peace, is not the existence of some abstract standard of goodness to which we all ascribe.  There is not some ethereal ideal against which we measure whether something is good or loving or right or true.  All that we honor and hold dear finds its ultimate definition in the character of God.  All other things in which we rejoice are delightful only because they contain hints and shadows of multi-faceted perfection of the Lord.  If you want to know what good is, what truth is, what beauty is, or any other such thing, look deeply into the face of Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.  "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen."

so i'm going to start posting my lessons from youth group every thursday, since i write most of them out anyway.


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“but now the righteousness of God has been manifest apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. this was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. it was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21-26)


ok, so we’ve got a lot of work for tonight, a lot of ground to cover, so we’ll get right to it. which of you has had a time where your reputation was under attack? where you did something, and because of it, people questioned your character?


ok, so if you’ll remember the first time i was here, we talked about the prodigal son, and the grace that God shows to both the rebellious younger brother and the self-righteous older brother. and three weeks we talked about God as father, and His adopting grace to us. two weeks ago was the faithfulness of God’s love toward us. notice a pattern? now, last week things took a different turn. we talked about the holiness of God, how God is perfect, and that there is no darkness in Him at all, as 1 John says. does anyone remember where we left off?

we left off with the problem that this holy God has left sinners go free. now, think about your friends at school. if confronted with the wrath of God, or with hell, what would they say?


most, if they didn’t completely shrug off the whole idea, would probably say something like “why can’t He just forgive us? why can’t He just be loving and act like it never happened?” and that makes sense to them, because their mindset starts with them, and how their needs and wants get met. it’s a humanist mindset, and it’s what all of us are born with. most of us are still wrestling with that.

yet a Biblically-rooted mindset starts not with us, but with God, with who He is and what His purposes are. and this brings us to our text, Romans 3:21-26. paul has gone through the first nearly three chapters of this letter to show that no one in the world can stand before God. and he sums it up here with verse 23: “for all have sinned and fallen short the glory of God.” here, we run into another word that we use a lot in church, but might not know what it means. what does this word “sin” mean to you guys? don’t worry, i’m not looking for what you think i want to hear. i want you to tell me what it means to you.


here, we see sin tied into this idea of falling short of the glory of God. a very literal translation of that would say that we lack the glory of God. right now, we’re short on time, so i’ll come back to this later, but the Bible shows in a number of places that sin is the belittling of God’s glory. it’s trading God as our object of worship, and putting up something else in its place, or “de-goding God,” as d.a. carson would say. if you are treasuring anything above God, you are by definition sinning.

now, our sense of justice would tell us that the punishment you deserve depends on the person you have offended. if you squish a bug, no punishment. *** otherwise, fly-swatters would be illegal, right? i mean, we’d all be done for every time you swatted at a gnat, you’d be like “i hope no one saw that, or i’m in big trouble.” no jailtime for insecticide. but if you kill a dog, you get a big fine, and a few months or years in prison. if you murder a person, you get either lifetime imprisonment, or the death sentence. now, since God is infinitely worthy of our worship, and we haven’t given it to Him, we’ve committed an infinitely punishable crime. *** that’s the definition of hell: conscious, eternal torment, because for a finite being like us, it takes an infinitely long time to meet out infinite punishment. now, we all know we’ve done this, and paul has spent nearly three chapters of this letter proving that everyone has. so we all deserve hell.

now for a moment, let’s look at the opposite of this. the opposite of sin would be? righteousness, or justice (in greek, they’re the same word, just so you know). and so that word, by the Bible’s definition, is properly esteeming the glory of God above all things. and we know that God is righteous, so God values His glory above all things. i’m going to show you this is true a lot more thoroughly and with a great deal of Scripture in a couple weeks, but for now let’s run with this.

now God has let sinners, those who have dishonored Him by treasuring other things more than Him – He’s let them go. He’s forgiven us, right? but what would that say about God, if He lets God-belittling sinners go free? wouldn’t that be, in effect, agreeing with them, that His glory isn’t all that important? and wouldn’t that make God a sinner? it’s like, if there was a murderer on trial, and he’s convicted, and right before they cart him off he says he’s really sorry. wouldn’t the judge be unjust if he let the murderer go free? this is the problem that paul is faced with as he looks back over history, at God over and over showing mercy and kindness to those who have, in effect, flicked Him off and wanted nothing to do with Him. how can God do this and remain just, remain righteous?

this is why there has to be the cross. let’s look back at the text. verses 23 and 24 tell us that we have sinned and God has justified us, or counted us as righteous, through Jesus Christ. it says in verse 25 that God “put [Him] forward as a propitiation by His blood [that is, by His death], to be received by faith.” that word there, propitiation (or in the niv, an atoning sacrifice) means that Christ on the cross took for us the wrath of God against us, which we deserved because of our sins, the many times we’ve belittled the glory of God. then look what it says: “this was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.” so God is righteous, He does uphold the value of His glory and His renown, and He shows this by placing the just punishment for our sins, the sins He has forgiven or “passed over” on His own Son. now ponder this question with me: according to this text, did Christ die for us, or for God?

now of course, Christ died for us, in the sense that He set us free from our sins so that we might be reconciled to God. but did Christ die primarily for us? let’s look back at the text. it says that God sent Christ to be this propitiation, “to show God’s righteousness [in] pass[ing] over former sins.” the cross is primarily about God being vindicated, and His glory being upheld, because in love He forgives our sins, “so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus,” as verse 26 says.

this might seem strange to you at first, that God is primarily about God, but give it some time, and this truth will become wonderful to you. i plan on spending the week after we get back from the mission trip on showing you more clearly that God’s greatest passion is for His own glory, and the week after that on why this is the best news in the world. but let me just point you a little bit to what we’ll talk about in three weeks, and it’s in 1 John 1:9. God here says, “if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” this idea that God is first and foremost about God, is the most solid bedrock and firm foundation of your faith and of your assurance of salvation that you could imagine. we’ll get there. let’s pray.

the uncertain future

i'm getting married in a week. i'm entering into a whole new world, it feels like. a large part of me is kinda scared because it's so different. (i don't have a good mental image of what it'll be like, and that generally makes me uneasy.) but this thing is certain, and in this i have hope:

God is already there.

infinite God

timeless Perfection, ever knowing
what to do with no regret;
never shrinking, neither growing,
no hurrying, nor need to fret.

Wisdom of the ages from before the foundation
of the world and its watery deeps
transcending time, unlike creation
which from moment to moment leaps.

eternal Master without measure
not bound by necessity or need,
by grace alone, and for Your pleasure
working all Your marvelous deeds

God alone, in glory dressed
no one can Your equal be
infinite in all Your goodness
holy and completely free

in Your light there are no shadows,
in Your day there is no night.
from Your throne, all blessings flow,
in Your presence, perfect delight.



inspired by a.w. tozer's book, "the knowledge of the Holy"

matt chandler's latest sermon is a solid message on the balance between the sovereignty of God and the love and grace He shows in responding to His people when we pray and call on His Name.

one thing that was especially meaningful and impactful to me about this message was chandler's frequent reference to the fact that nothing he's saying is new, that his theology has not changed. he constantly references old material that he's really just repackaging, showing that he's now just living out, with new appreciation, the words he's preached for years.

"it's also a great comfort to me that i don't have to reinvent anything that i've been saying to you, but i get to stand in now and 'i'm not a liar, guys.' i'm pleading with you, for you, for the glory of God."

i pray that God would help us all to speak well now, to speak truth about our great God and His love and His sovereignty now, and to live it out always, even in the most painful of sufferings, because He is truly good. may none of us be found liars.

peeling the layers of reality

asking why and always trying to go a layer back can lead to some really deep thinking, and some unusual answers. i can’t pinpoint when this started for me, but this past year several friends of mine have encouraged this process of thinking in me like steroids. the idea is that almost any statement you make, especially when dealing with the deeper things of the universe (i.e. not small talk), can be taken a level or a layer backward in meaning, generally by simply asking “why?”. eventually there is a stopping point, because at some point there is a foundation of axioms or universal truths by which everything else is defined. here are a few building blocks, or some of the deepest answers, that i have found, specifically from a Christian worldview.

ultimately, when taken back to its absolute deepest, the basis of all things is God. the Bible is clear that God is the only uncreated thing, that there was never a time that He was not, and nothing ever defined Him, but He defines everything. in my understanding, He did not choose to be who He is, nor did something else choose for Him: He simply is who He is, as He has always been and ever will be. therefore, being the ultimate reality, all else is defined by God: who He is; what He’s like; His characteristics and attributes.

taking one of these attributes, namely, that God is good, leads to some interesting thoughts. all that we would call good are reflections of God’s character. whatever we enjoy that is good is enjoyable because we see God in it and we were made to worship God by enjoying Him.

also, taking a step back, we see that because God is the only uncreated thing, all that is is defined by Him, either positively or negatively. goodness, faithfulness, love, joy, truth, fellowship, power, beauty, peace, justice, righteousness, unity, authority, every good thing is defined by the part of God’s character that we define by these words. sin, perversion, deception, treachery, discord, weakness, every evil thing is defined by looking at God in negative: what He is not, how He did not make the world to be, etc. thus, when we speak of love, we should start by defining it in relation to God, rather than defining it by ourselves and holding God accountable to that definition. often our definitions are thus flawed, because we do not by nature treasure God. however, this does not mean that our definitions are meaningless, because it is also true that God has written His law and the story of eternity both generally, throughout His creation, and specifically, on our hearts.

if this is so, then it seems our understanding of God is best served by first knowing who He has revealed Himself to be (most specifically through the Bible), and then both adjusting our intuitive definitions of goodness, justice, etc., by how we find Him revealed there, and also trying to reconcile the various attributes and ways of God we find with our working knowledge of these ideals.

another clear Biblical idea is that God does all things for His glory.* in my understanding, glory is synonymous with weightiness, awesomeness, or renown. thus, God does all things to display His greatness for the fame of His name. now, if my earlier bit about God defining all things is true, then His glory or greatness is Him being Himself, as odd as that sounds. in that case, God does all things to display His character, so that He would be praised in all the earth.

it is often argued that God did not sacrifice His Son because something in us was worthy of His great love, but that He did so for the sake of His glory, that He would have a people to worship Him for all eternity, and so sent Christ to die in our place for our sins that we might praise Him forever. and this is true, but i think it’s stopping a bit short. if God’s glory is displaying who He is, then His death on the cross is not for some abstract thing called “glory”, but that we might see what true love is, because God is love – He defines it. and yes, He doesn’t love us because of us, He loves us because of His own eternal character. but that doesn’t diminish the fact that it was for love that He endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, that He might enjoy us reveling in His great love forever.

that is what makes God’s desire that we worship Him not tyrannical. it’s not begrudging praise or obligated obedience that He wants, but rather that we would find our truest and most satisfying joy in Him, which is the essence of what it is to glorify Him. we enjoy Him because He is good, and we were made to enjoy that. now some would say that a skilled dictator may convince his people to enjoy him and what he does, despite the fact that it is not truly what is good for them or what is most enjoyable. the problem with this – and one of the main reasons i started thinking more along these lines in the first place – is that this cannot apply to God, because there is no higher truth to appeal to for what is good and true and enjoyable. those who would claim that God is that sort of tyrant must believe in some higher power, some more ultimate reality, by which they could judge Him. and if there was such a power or reality, then God would cease to be God, and this higher being would be God.

hopefully that gives you some insight, either into who God is, or what truth is and how it is defined, or how i think, or simply something more to mull over. in any case, i hope you are well, that God is blessing you richly, and that you are finding more and more joy in Him, to the praise of His glorious grace.












*i know some of you at this point are probably thinking that that makes God the biggest narcissist ever. allow me to pose you a question to mull over: if God commands us to worship Him alone, which means centering ours lives around Him alone, and yet He is not God-centered, then would not God be an idolater?

despicable...

...is what best describes the fact that this article is true.

God help us all.

the LORD gives and takes away; hallowed be His name.

this is how i fight for faith;
this is the song of my life:

great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my Father!
there is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness,
morning by morning new mercies i see;
all i have needed Thy hand hath provided,
great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,
join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness,
morning by morning new mercies i see;
all i have needed Thy hand hath provided,
great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness,
morning by morning new mercies i see;
all i have needed Thy hand hath provided,
great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

random jottings

- electrical outages at work make for good conversations.
- i can't give myself to Christ as a gift. He bought me at great cost. If the wages of my sin were death, the wages of His grace and mercy are my life and my joy in Him above all things to the praise of His glorious grace.
- the only reason i can stand in front of God is because i stand in Christ. i've known this for awhile, but it really struck me the other day during service.
- God does not hang around like a lost puppy or an insecure friend. He's also not aloof like the hip crowd in school. He's our Father, and as a good father does, He listens when we have something to say, and finds delight in it, even those things that others would deem insignificant. as our perfect Dad, He loves it when we want to talk to Him, to show Him things; even though He already knows, He wants us to tell Him our hopes and joys and hurts and cares. He's just awesome like that.