Holiness versus Love

Holiness v. Love Romans 1:18 Introduction: A. What is our picture of God? 1. What images come to our minds when I say God? a. A God who always says “No” or “Do Not.” b. A tyrant requiring perfection. c. An old-fashioned guy. d. An impersonal executive e. A lot of people perceive God like one person said: “God is a lot like our preacher. I don’t see him through the week, and I don’t understand him on Sunday.” 2. One would think that after a section like Rom 1:16-17, that Paul would continue to talk about the greatness of the gospel. 3. Paul changes from the “feel-good” facts in vs. 16-17 to the “feel-bad” facts in vss. 18-32. a. Why the change? b. We must know the how bad the bad is before we can appreciate how good the good is. B. Before we can go on, we must discuss the two sides of God’s moral nature. 1. There are two natures of God that are in opposition to each other. 2. Paul talks about one of those sides in Rom 1:18-32—the wrath of God. 3. Paul talks about both sides in Rom 11:22: “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise, you also will be cut off.” 4. These two sides are His holiness (severity) and His love (kindness). C.To understand grace, we must understand these two attributes and how they are related to one another. I. The Two Sides of What God Is A. God Is Holy. 1. In Scripture, God is spoken to as “Holy, Holy, Holy”- Isaiah 6:3, Rev 4:8. a. We never read of God being spoken to as “Love, Love, Love.” b. Holiness is an important attribute of God. 2. When we say that God is holy, we mean that he is separate from sin and from sinners. a. His essence is pure moral goodness. b. He is the precise opposite of sin. c. God never makes a mistake; He never does anything “wrong.” 3. This holiness of God has both positive and negative aspects. a. Positive: God’s holiness includes what God is for or stands for. God is like a cheerleader who encourages us. He always wants what is best for us. b. Negative: God’s holiness includes what God is against or what He opposes. God is like a coach who demands perfection. He never wants us to be stained by sin. 4. What God stands for and what God is against are found in His Word, the Bible. a. The Ten Commandments are God’s own holy character put into human language. b. God’s law is more than commandments, however. God’s Law has penalties, especially the penalty of eternal death in the lake of fire. These penalties also reflect God’s holiness, His negative side. Because God is holy and hates sin, He not only forbids it in His Law, but also shows how much He hates it by the severity of the law’s penalties. 5. An old religious comic strip called “Pontius Puddle” once depicted two men (Joe and Moe) discussing the Judgment Day. a. Joe said, “Certain things about Judgment Day really scare me.” b. Moe replied, “Relax. We have God’s promise that His judgment will be fair, impartial, and just!” c. “Yeah,” said Joe, “those are some of the things that frighten me!” 6. God is serious about His holiness and the holiness of his creatures. B. God is Love (1 John 4:8, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”) 1. This is very different from non-biblical concepts of God. a. In its most general sense God’s love is His benevolence, kindness, and good-will toward His creatures. b. God is not mean, cruel, uncaring, or indifferent toward us; He is good to us. c. He is kindhearted, friendly, and generous. d. He desires every good thing for us. 2. One way we experience His love is through His constant provision for us. a. Psalm 147:8, “[He] covers the heavens with clouds, who provides rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the mountains.” b. None of this is deserved because we have rebelled against God. 3. We can sum up the difference between God’s love and God’s holiness this way: a. Holiness demands, love gives. God’s holiness demands obedience from His creatures, and it demands punishment for those who disobey. God’s love is a fountain of blessing upon these same creatures, whether they deserve it or not and often when they deserve the opposite. II. God’s Holiness Vs. God’s Love A. They are like two sides of the same coin. 1. Even though God’s holiness and God’s love are different from one another, they exist together in harmony in most situations. a. They both existed in harmony at the beginning of our creation. b. God’s holiness and God’s love were both experienced by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden without any conflict. c. This is pictured in Genesis as God walking with them in the cool of the evening. 2. However, when Adam and Eve became unholy by eating what was forbidden, something happened within God’s nature. a. The presence of sin in God’s human creatures resulted in a tension between the two sides of God’s nature: His holiness, and His love. When sin came into the picture, God’s nature began to be pulled in two opposite directions, just as a rubber band may be pulled strongly in two directions at the same time. In both cases the result is a great tension. A rubber band may be stretched so tight that it may break; but this can never happen to God—God is One. b. When this tension occurs within God, He must find a way to resolve it. The tension of sin causes His holiness and His love to undergo transformations. This does not mean that God’s nature changes. What changes is the way God’s holiness and love react to sin. B. What happens to God’s holiness and love in the presence of sin? 1. Holiness Becomes Wrath a. Wrath is always a part of God’s nature, but when there is no sin there is no reason for His wrath to be expressed. The “consuming fire” (Heb 12:29) of God’s wrath is always there, below the surface, as in a dormant volcano. But when sin enters the picture, the volcano erupts; and holiness expresses itself in the form of wrath. God’s holy nature requires that wrath be applied, and He must be true to His nature. God’s justice requires it, and sinners deserve it. b. Wrath as an aspect of God’s holy nature is taught many times in the Bible. Many like to quote 1 John 4:8, “God is love,” but they leave out the many passages that talk about wrath. Rom 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Deut 9:7, “Remember, do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.” Eph 5:6, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Heb 12:28-29, “…for our God is a consuming fire.” 2. Love Becomes Grace. a. If God is holy, and if holiness must express itself as wrath toward sin, then what hope do sinners have? Our hope lies in what is happening to the other side of God’s nature. In the presence of sin, God’s love undergoes a similar transformation: His love becomes grace. When sin enters the picture, a jet of grace pours forth from God’s loving nature. b. 1 Peter 5:10 says He is “the God of all grace.” The essence of grace is to give; the most gracious gift of all is forgiveness of sins. Because he is gracious, God is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). c. The God of grace earnestly desires to forgive all sinners. III. The Tension Between Wrath and Grace A. When sin enters, He must exercise both natures in wrath and grace. 1. God’s nature, like a rubber band, is being pulled in opposite directions. 2. It’s like when a child wanders away; you want to hug him for joy when he is found and then want to spank him, so he won’t do it again. B. How can God deal with this tension? 1. He could just turn off one side of His nature. a. Maybe God could flip a switch and turn off His wrath toward sinners and take everyone to heaven! b. But wrath is also God’s nature. c. He can’t stop being who He is; His wrath can’t simply be turned off as we might turn off a burner on a gas stove. 2. So, how does God resolve this tension? a. Because He loves human beings, God Himself became a human being. b. Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully human became the object of God’s wrath. c. He took our place, who deserved God’s wrath for breaking God’s Law. d. Jesus became the gift of God’s grace that satisfied God’s wrath. Conclusion: A. God can’t choose which side He will show to us, because both sides are who He is. 1. We are the ones who must choose which side of God’s nature will determine our eternal destiny. 2. We can choose either to be objects of God’s wrath for eternity, or objects of God’s grace for eternity. B. We have no choice about whether we will relate to God. 1. We MUST relate to Him in some way. 2. We are part of God’s universe, living under His rules, subject to His judgment about our final destiny. 3. But God has given us this wonderful blessing: as sinners we can choose how He will relate to us; either wrath or grace. C.Picture God looking at us through two windows. 1. One window is His holiness and wrath. a. These are those who reject God’s grace. b. These are under His wrath and will receive the wages of sin: eternal death in hell. 2. The other window is His love and grace. a. These are those who choose to accept God’s love through Jesus, and b. These are under His grace and will receive the gift of eternal life. D. Through which window does God see you today?