God is Holy and Good.
Learning about the attributes we have mentioned, and will mention, are how we learn about god. In this lesson, we will focus on God’s holiness, and goodness.
Look at what Leviticus 11:44 says: “I am the Lord your God, so consecrate yourselves and keep yourselves holy, because I am holy.” (NIV) God is holy. And look at what the beings in heaven are always saying in Revelation 4:8: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” (NIV) The angels and saints there are always praising him and calling him holy because he is holy. The question then is, what does this word holy mean biblically? And why is it important that he is holy? Holy means sacred, pure, and worthy. It also means far from sin and evil, and it also means perfection. Without a doubt, God is all these things. He is holy.
The point is, as we read in Leviticus 11:44, because God is holy, we too must be holy people. God is already holy and will be so for all eternity. To be with him for
eternity in heaven, we must be holy like him. The beautiful thing about this is that, on our own, this is almost impossible, but God, knowing this, sent Christ to die for our sins and to give us his own holiness. Before, we did not have the power to live this way, but now we do, with the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. The name of God’s Spirit is the Holy Spirit. We are holy only because this Spirit is within us and not because of our efforts or works.
That said, it is up to us to grow in holiness by spending time in God’s presence every day and by spending time every day reading the Holy Bible, and thus we grow in the holiness we already have through the Holy Spirit. Look at what 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” And this righteousness is like holiness. How good it is that our God is holy, and how good it is that he has given us his own holiness and that we can live in a holy way through the Holy Spirit within us.
The second attribute of God for this lesson is that God is always good. Our God is in everything good. What a relief and help it is to our lives when we understand that God is good. Look at Psalm 107:1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” And James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (NIV) Because he is good, he gives good gifts and things to his people. Because he is good, God always wants to help and bless us. God desires what is good for us because he is good. That is why God has healing for his people, forgiveness, provision, restoration, and strength. In other words, God wants to supply what we need because he is good. We must do what we read in Psalm 107:1, always give thanks because he is good to us.
There is a strong lie from the devil today. The enemy is always sowing the wrong idea that God is not good. With the ideas that there is suffering and wars, and sickness and death, etc. That is why God cannot be good. We must be very careful with these lies because many times people have turned away from God because of these wrong ideas. Obviously, there are many problems and difficulties in the world, but none of them are God’s fault. Rather, they are due to our own rebellions, sins, selfishness, and the attacks of the devil and his forces. Someday all of this will end when Christ comes, and at that time we will learn as never before that our God is good and always has been, even in difficult times. The problems in the world are always because of sin and because we have not obeyed or served God. The world was 100% perfect before Adam and Eve fell in the garden. Problems came when they sinned. How good it is that in Christ there is forgiveness and power over sin, and how good it is that in heaven everything will be perfect again.
Never forget that God is good. Even if you are going through trials, God is good, and He will help you through them. God loves you, and He is good and the source of all that is good.
Thank God for these two attributes of God today. Our God is holy, and He is also good.