The Goodness of God
Pastor Eric J. Hanson January 29, 2023
Read Matthew 19:16-17a.
One of the first childhood prayers that many of us learned, went like this: “God is good. God is great. Let us thank Him for this food. Amen.” It is easy to smile, remembering the childlike simplicity of this little mealtime ditty. It comes easy for children to accept the statements contained in this prayer. Certainly, God is good, for Mommy and Daddy say that He is. Certainly, God is great, for he made everything. For a child, the matter is clear and settled.
I have found, across many years as a pastor, however, that many adults have a much harder time connecting with the certainty and security of the simple statement: “God is good.” Hard knocks and tragedy combined with religious teachings have caused such certainty to become difficult.
Indeed, it is easy to be confused regarding the character of God. We live in a time when there is a wide variety of teachings on this topic within the Church. Some maintain that every situation that happens comes directly from God, as an act of His will. Others teach a modified version of this, which states “Everything that occurs, has to first pass before God for review. Each circumstance or event has to have His express permission, in order to happen.”
Therefore, we have pastors and other Bible teachers saying “God is good.”, yet also teaching that all events, including clearly evil ones, come from God. The disconnect within this type of reasoning sets up the likelihood of spiritual schizophrenia in believers. They are expected to believe that God is totally good, with no shadow of evil at all, yet also believe that evil events are from God. Many believers have lost their joy and even their zest for life because of the internal contradiction this teaching creates. I personally know quite a few people who are truly in a dark place, spiritually, because of such things; doubting the goodness of God, and, at the same time, feeling guilty and condemned for having such thoughts.
Representative Examples
For many Christian people, the first response upon hearing tragic news, is to reflexively say “God is in control.” Sometimes it is right to say this, but it is totally the wrong thing to say to someone who has just heard that their spouse is leaving them, or that someone they love has just been killed in a car crash, or that they have cancer. Saying “God is in control.”, at such a time, is a clear linking of God’s will to an evil situation.
The teaching that no event happens without God’s express permission is widespread in church circles. It is displayed on devotional calendars. It is written in devotional books. It is often spoken forth on the radio. It is very common. It is also flawed. When used in a broad-brush way, as an explanation for everything, it becomes a false doctrine that has bruised or even crushed many believers under a great and unbearable weight of emotional distress.
It is legitimate to say that God sometimes brings judgment. In the Bible we see His judgments upon several nations who opposed His people, and attacked them. We also see his judgments poured out on His own people who hardened their hearts against Him in disobedience. Please note that these judgments came after repeated warnings and pleas by God’s prophets. These things were brought forth in clarity against willful sin; not in mystery for no clearly stated reason. These judgments did not come as total surprises poured out against legitimate believers who were sincerely seeking to follow the Lord.
It is also correct to say that there are certain things that God is in control of in an over-riding, sovereign, and immutable sense. These things include the continued existence of the present universe until such time as God brings it to its end and replaces it with a new one. They include the fact that Jesus Christ will return to planet Earth at a certain future moment, known only to God. They include the fact that there will be a Day of Judgement, and all people, great and small, will stand before God and give account of their lives. These things and some others cannot change. God is in total control of these.
Many other negative things, which are happening in this present time, however, are not from God, and many of these grieve God and sadden His heart. There are ways to perceive the difference between that which is of God, and that which is not. Let’s look at these “litmus tests” for knowing the difference.
Is it From God?
Look closely at the earthly life of Jesus Christ. Examine his response to people’s needs and requests. Note his compassion toward the diseased and disabled. See his forgiveness of the vilest sorrowing sinners, coupled with instruction about repentance and subsequent right living.
Some salient observations:
a. He is the Healer. He always healed those who asked, never once claiming that God wanted them to be sick or diseased. Acts 10:38 makes it clear that these people were oppressed by the Devil, not by God. I John 3:8 says that Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil. The Gospel of John 6:38 makes it very clear that Jesus came to do the Father’s will. It is the Father’s will to destroy sickness, disease, death, loneliness, sinfulness, alienation and hatred, and all such things. This is because God is Good!
b. He is the Forgiver. Jesus always forgave those who had been living a life of sin, who did not harden their hearts against him in religious pride, but instead, listened to Him in humility. Think of the Samaritan woman at the well. Think of Mary Magdalene. Think later of Peter who denied him and Thomas who would not believe in the resurrection until he had seen the resurrected Lord for himself. What a savior Jesus is! He lived the express will of the Father. This is because God is Good!
c. He grieves with us at divorce and its results. God says “I hate divorce.” (Malachi 2:16) God does not bring the sin that causes a husband or wife to desert the other, and often to desert their children as well. It is people who commit these sins. Often adultery leads to divorce. Exodus 20:14 forbids adultery. God does not bring the neglect or hardness that often leads to divorce. Ephesians 5:21-33 tells us how to walk together in love, and have good strong marriages and homes. When people do not obey God’s good instruction, that is not God’s doing. Ephesians 4:30 makes clear that God grieves over such things. He does not ordain such things. This is because God is Good!
d. Think how God sacrificed to buy us back from the penalty of sin. In Genesis 3, instead of condemning the man and the woman to Hell, He covered them with animal skin and then prophesied “the Seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head.” (The “Seed of the woman is Jesus Christ.) Think how in Genesis 22, God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, but then intervened, and stopped it from happening. Instead, God provided a ram, caught in a thicket of bushes, for this sacrifice. This sacrifice foreshadowed the coming of the Lord Jesus to be the Lamb of God. Think how Isaiah, in chapter 53, foretold the suffering of Jesus in minute detail. Think how John the Baptist called Jesus, “The Lamb of God” years before the Cross. Think how Jesus sweat great drops of blood In the Garden of Gethsemane while committing himself to the task of suffering and dying in our place. Think of the horrid suffering he endured out of love for us! This is all because God is Good! Yes, God is Love, and He loves you!
Because God is good, He is perfectly just, and cannot ignore sin. All of us have sinned and cannot, on our own merit, be allowed into the Family of God and Heaven. (Romans 3:10 & 3:23) But, because God is good, He loves us perfectly and He took the crushing weight of sin on himself, so that we are not doomed by our sin, but forgiven! (Romans 6:23 & I John 2:2) Because God is good, He loves us. Because He loves us, he is merciful toward us, and extends His favor to us as well, inviting us to be carried along in His grace, by His Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
We can trust in the goodness of God. We do not learn the character of God by looking around us at the suffering of people. We learn His character with accuracy, by studying the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. If you belong to God’s family today through having placed your trust and faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, I urge you to get to know the Lord (Jesus) well. Learn of Him. Hang out with Him in the Gospels. Then read the Bible’s letters to various churches (the Epistles) to learn how to successfully walk out your faith in Jesus Christ.
If you have not yet placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I invite you to do so right now. He is always ready to hear you! Without His sinless goodness, none of us can get into Heaven, (which is perfect and without sin or sorrow). You can borrow the following prayer.
“Dear Father God in Heaven, Thank you for Jesus Christ. Thank you that the Bible clearly teaches that He died on a cruel Roman Cross to absorb the just punishment for the sins of all people. Thank you that He, the innocent one, paid this price to open the great door of forgiveness, which has been purchased for all people! Thank You Father, that Jesus rose to life again on the third day, and He is alive forever. All who believe on Him, all who trust in Him as the one and only Savior, receive the great gift of eternal life. I place my trust and faith in Jesus as my Savior today. I desire to follow Him and learn of Him. Thank you, Father, for hearing my prayer. Thank you that you forgave my sin and now extend eternal life to me. Teach me wonderful new ways of living, walking with you. (John 1:12)
I pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
