Lesson # 3 / Part Three - God: His Character & Attributes (Fundamentals of the Faith)

So we're gonna continue with lesson number three from John MacArthur's Fundamentals of the Faith. So this will be the third.

Part.

So we'll see if that continues next week as what's the next study lesson four. I Think it's on the person of Christ. So we'll we'll have five or six classes per Lesson if if we have that Input from you.

So that's what it's going to depend on but let me start out by saying in first Peter 1 15 and 16 The Apostle says that we as Christians we should be holy in all of our conduct. And why is that because God says to his people?

He said in the Old Testament repeated in the New Testament be holy for I am holy. So that's the command from God to his people That we are to be holy. I think in times past people understood this to mean that Christians should dress a certain way.

We shouldn't use crude or profane language. We shouldn't you know as the Saying went, you know, we shouldn't smoke. We shouldn't drink. We shouldn't smoke. We shouldn't chew and shouldn't go with girls who do that.

That was from a generation or two ago.

And.

You know, I think that's all fine. Except that for some it just turned into a list of rules that as long as I'm following these rules, then I'm I'm good to go. Well, then the next generation I think the current generation or the one before me sort of the 60s generation the baby boomers I think they decided from what I can tell to kind of forget the rules forget that approach and all we need is a personal relationship with Christ just follow your heart and I think at this point we can say that it hasn't turned out very well.

Arguably, it's worse now than it's ever been the state of Christianity, so maybe we need to Accept those things that were good and reject some of the things that were bad. Here's the point in regards to this study as we study about God his character and attributes.

What we as Christians should do is we should be like God. Certainly Christians should be like Christ. That's what being a Christian is we are Followers of Christ we are to be like Christ so if we are Like God if we seek to be like Christ.

That's the best way I think to pursue holiness. So there are the communicable attributes of God and the incommunicable attributes of God. There are some ways we can never be like God. God is sovereign.

We're never gonna be sovereign. God is omniscient. He's omnipotent all-powerful. We can never be like that nor should we even try that'd be pointless, but we can be like God in other ways. God can through his spirit cause us to be merciful.

God can Give us love love for others so we can be like God in those ways loving merciful Speaking the truth. So those communicable attributes we should strive to be like God and to be like Christ. So think of it that way as we learn about God.

This is what we want. We want to be like this. Amen.

Okay, and.

Then it's not about following a list of rules because you're good. If you have the spirit within you you're gonna you're gonna want this you're gonna want to be like Christ. The rules are for instruction and to in the law is for people that are not Being obedient to kind of give you that picture of what not to do.

But if we're walking with the Lord, we're not gonna we're not really gonna need those rules. We're not under the law. All right, so we ended by looking at number seven.

God's.

Omni presence. God's omni presence. Who wants to define What it means that God is omni present. Carolyn. God is Everywhere and he's everywhere all at once good. So number seven says God is present everywhere in the universe.

The two verses listed are Proverbs 15 verse 3. The eyes of the Lord are in every place watching the evil and the good. Okay, and then there's another verse that says. God is I'm paraphrasing but God is so holy.

He cannot even look upon.

Evil.

He cannot even look upon sin. How do you reconcile those two?

Okay.

Through the blood. You want to expand on that a little bit. Obviously God sees and knows Everything that's happening all the evil. God is fully aware of it. But when it says God cannot look upon sin. Anybody all right.

Well, that's your homework for next week. What was the homework from last week? Okay, what's that hell? Okay. Yeah. Did you have something else? No.

Okay.

This is Sunday school, this is a time where you can interact we're We're thinking about some of these deep subjects. I want you to think through this stuff and not just okay. Here's the verse. I'm gonna write what the verse says and just you know a Theoretically a robot could do that.

I want you to think about it and really work this out in your mind. But yeah the homework from last week Was if God is omnipresent how does that jive with the current definition of hell. The overwhelming majority of Evangelicals if you ask them what is hell they will define it as eternal separation from God.

Well if that's true and God is Omnipresent. He's everywhere all at once. How can hell be eternal separation? Wouldn't God be in hell, too? Yes, Carolyn.

Okay, good.

Because God created everything and he is omnipresent. So if he wants to go to hell.

He can certainly. God sees everything that's in in hell.

Larry.

He well he created.

Lucifer.

The Morning Star who was the most beautiful of his creations who then through pride Was cast out of heaven and Cast to the earth, but God has created or he has a place Which is a place for the devil and his angels right which Will be hell, you know.

Becoming. I don't know that He does have a place For them now, and I guess because of the story of the rich man and Lazarus, you know, there is a place already. Weeping gnashing of teeth torment.

Hot.

Right. So there's God there or is he not there?

It can't be.

All right.

So then then you're saying what I'm hearing from the class is that God really is an omnipresent because there is a. There's at least one place where he isn't.

Well, you can't look on evil. Satan and his demons are Evil. Yeah, so where does that I mean it?

Okay.

Alright, Matthew 25 says that that hell is a place prepared For the devil and his angels so it is a plate it is a place and it's prepared. But is God there or I'm hearing from the group is that God is not there.

He can be if he wants to be but he isn't necessarily that. Marcus I.

Often use.

Isaiah 55 9 10 and 11 in a circumstance like this and and people sometimes call it a cop-out that God's ways Are higher than our ways? His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. So when you struggle with these these issues of time and space We need to realize we are in time and space.

He is not okay. All right, Barb.

He is Fully aware of it and knows what's going on in there, but he has cut off all communication. But those okay.

Okay, he's cut off communication. That's it. I think that's a good answer, but Joyce.

Yeah.

Right, yeah, that's a good thought Lenny.

Okay.

Yeah, God, I mean God looking upon. Conveys the idea of you know him watching over maybe his care. If you look upon your child, you know, you love that. I think look upon is not saying he sees it or is aware of it.

I think there's something deeper there. So you don't you don't have to worry about that for next week unless somebody has something concrete to bring in. To this question about God being in hell listen.

God is either omnipresent or he isn't. It is absolutely impossible. For there to be a place where God isn't He. Here's why I'm kind of taking a few minutes to talk about this. This is one of those things that evangelicals do.

I do it. We all do it. There's things that have been repeated so often. It's like they become true. Another thing that evangelicals will say. Oh, it doesn't matter. It's not about religion. It's about relationship.

Well, that's fine depending on how you define that but Religion is what you do.

Right.

James chapter 2 talks about How faith without works is dead to say it's not about religion. You know what? It does matter what we do and when people hear it's not about religion. They think well, I don't need to go to church.

I don't need to do good works. I don't need to do and I think that's what has got us in this mess to begin with. By repeating things that are not in the Bible that statement. It's not about religion. It's about relationship.

That's not in the Bible. James says something positive about religion that pure and undefiled. Religion before God and the Father is this to visit widows and orphans in their time of need and to keep oneself Unspotted from the world.

I think that's the the day and age We're living in where people don't want to have to do those things. They don't they're not concerned about holiness and being unspotted from the world. They just want to have this Relationship where they can just have this one-on-one Communication with God and do whatever they want.

That's my take if you don't agree with it, that's fine. But that phrase is not in the Bible and hell is never in the scripture defined as eternal separation From God that is an impossibility because God Number seven is what?

Omni-present add to that Revelation chapter 14 verse 10 says that He himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation and He this is those who worship the you know, the the beast and receive the mark of the beast.

They shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamp. Theologian dr. RC Sproul once said that not only is God in hell. Something to the effect that Sinners in hell the thing they would want most of all is for God.

To be removed from a they are tormented in the presence of the Lamb. That's what Revelation 14 verse 10 says so. For the last 10 minutes everything you heard. This is the takeaway. Those things you've heard a million times.

Ask yourself is that in the Bible if somebody just says something I've heard that a million times Chapter and verse is that is that is that really true that hell is eternal sin. That's never out of the Bible defines it.

Forget religion. It's not about religion. Christianity is your religion. Now it's our faith. But if you say it's not my religion, I don't care about religion. What you're saying is I don't care about what I do my works pursuing holiness in my life my sanctification.

What I do. Forget that. It's just me and Jesus. That's not right. It's not right. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm preaching again now now we're gonna go back to the book, but it's something that's. That's been on my heart for a while.

Larry.

Before we go back to the book. Can we delve into a little bit about? Unspottedness.

Right.

When I cook And I get spotted from my cooking when I deal with people in the world their lives Are a mess You know having no hope in this world and a lot of times I get splattered From this their language sure, you know, but Just as you said in James to be unspotted from the world, I Mean that's part of the lifestyle.

That we need to.

Try to live and I know I can't do it on my own. Without the help of the Holy Spirit.

God's primary attribute is holiness. And he said and every Christian knows it be holy for I am holy. So what does that mean? The part of that is to keep yourself unspotted from the world Christians should be Clearly different from anyone else to use this as an example if you go on Facebook, which I'm off Facebook.

Be being on Facebook is so discouraging like I don't even want anything to do with it. So I've still post church stuff. I still post sermons, but I don't I don't scroll through if you look at the Facebook feed of a Christian a Member of Morse corner church and you compare it to the Facebook feed of just some other random Person.

Oh There should be a difference. But what you see out there it just with Christians in general there isn't really much of a difference and Christians will post the dirty jokes and use the four-letter words and This my friends is the problem.

I Have faith in God show me your faith. You have you say you believe in God show people. All right, that's that's part of the sermon later. So All right teaching modes, okay, I don't apologize for anything I said, but I do Apologize for preaching Next no, I don't.

What am I talking about? That's not true. God. Forgive me. Okay. I'm my presence number seven since God is everywhere. It is foolish to think we can hide from him. This also means that a believer may experience the presence of God at all times and know the blessings of Walking with him and it's asking for personal Application.

Who would like to share personal application?

Anybody.

Well, I think To know that God is everywhere on the one hand I don't have to be in this building to pray to God. I don't have to be in this build. That's not an excuse not to come to church. Obviously as some would use it, but You can be with God and experience fellowship with God wherever you are.

God is always near and You can pray to the Lord. There are religions and even sects of Christianity where people have the idea that they can't really pray to God or approach God except Jumping through certain hoops and going through another man to get to God and that's not the way it is.

God is omnipresent. He is he is close to us Every moment of every day and that is such a wonderful thought when we realize that Any anyone else on the omnipresence of God before we move on. Linda.

Right.

Amen Marcus.

And again.

There's the big difference between physical things and spiritual things. God is a spirit and. But the scriptures will often use all his hands or his eyes or things like that. That's only for those of us that are living in a physical world to sort of get a Understanding of what he's like, but he's spirit.

He's. He's so different than anything that we experience physically, yeah.

And.

When we are Not doing what we should do God is still With us. He doesn't turn his back on us and Remember we should be like him. So when we encounter maybe a loved one or another believer who's kind of out in the open Clearly not doing what there's but we should be that same way.

We should try to talk to them bring them back into the fold. Not just okay I'm turning turning away from you. We should have that same attitude that God has and be patient with people so any attribute try to Try to either be like God in that way or if you can't be like God because we can't be on my present Be like the application.

All right anything else. Right next. God is number eight. God is Omnipotent or this is his Omnipotence, which means God is all-powerful having more than enough strength to do Anything. Jeremiah 32 verse 17 says ah Lord God Behold you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm.

Nothing is too difficult For you. And then Revelation 19 verse 6 for the Lord our God the Almighty.

Reigns.

God's omnipotence is seen in number one his power to create Genesis 1 1 his Preservation of all things Hebrews 1 3 and his providential care for us. Psalm 37 verses 23.

Through.

24 we oftentimes Focus on God as being the creator. We don't think as much of God being the sustainer. Yeah, God did the creation but everything exists because he is Sustaining or upholding his creation God where God is working every moment of of every day.

Any comments Barb? Did you have your hand up? I didn't mean to skip you from before.

Yeah Good.

All right. Now it's asking for application again. Personal application says. Do not fear. For I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you for I am your God. I will strengthen you surely. I will help you surely.

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41 10. What can you learn from Isaiah 41 10 about God's omnipotence.

Marcus.

Okay.

You can depend on God's help. Does anyone I Want to add to it to that or anything else?

Linda Sure.

Mm-hmm.

Right.

Who worries who never works like all of us? It's so common and you need to break yourself out of that habit and realize it's in It's in God's hands and everything's working together for our good. Obviously, there's certain things That we might worry about That we can actually control there's plenty of things that are within our control and and there's things we should fix if we can Write things we should do if we're able to do it certain things we should stop doing and those are within our control and sometimes we worry because We're not doing it.

Well, but but a lot of things that are just beyond our control is So foolish to worry about things that are outside of your control and I know for me Whenever I've done that 95 of the time those things that I'm worried about will happen or might happen.

They never happen. They spend all this time Thinking about it and worrying about it for absolutely no reason. So I've learned that lesson to where usually I can Break out of it and there's that temptation to worry, but you don't have to dwell on it.

Okay?

Yeah.

There's thoughts and temptations come and then you just have to. That's when quoting scripture knowing scripture and quoting it and Telling yourself or praying to God Lord. I know that you said in your word Not to worry be anxious for nothing.

That's what I'm gonna do.

Mike.

Just my history with him.

And.

Years past or whatever things Happen or fear. They're gonna happen. Is that another thing. And He's already taken care of before we even realize it's taken care of. Yeah, he's already done there it's been there done that as the years go on and you mature and it's like In the past.

Yeah, that would have bothered me that were worried.

Good.

Yeah, and the more you do that and the less you worry and the more you trust The more experience you have that it becomes easier. Okay, anything else before we move on to the next attribute?

Stacey.

The idea of not fearing and trusting I.

I.

Know well, this is just my personality. I tend to worry about a lot of things. Yeah, and I find myself especially in my workplace it can be highly stressful at times and so when I feel the heaviness or the weight of the Responsibility for certain things and certain people and whatnot.

I Tend to worry ahead and start thinking ahead About well when I come back from vacation or you know that kind of thing. So I try to run and get things tidied up ahead of time. And then so when I find myself in that situation and my shoulders are up to my ears.

Because I'm so stressed. Yeah, I will sit in my office and I'll just Close my eyes and push myself away from my desk and I just start praying about it. Yeah, and then I just start doing one thing at a time and Stop thinking beyond that moment because I know when I get back it is what it is.

And I'll just pick up and do the best I can so for me, that's a constant Situation where I'm always Catching myself and then praying about it. It happens more and more so I catch myself much quicker. I'm more aware of it.

And I think awareness is is a big part of being able to stop yourself. You have to be aware that you're stressing or becoming fearful of something and You know stop and I pray and I do it a lot. Yeah.

Good yeah those times where you start feeling anxious and worried. Those are the bet for me. Those are the best times to get in a Quiet place or to get away from everything just even if it's just for a few minutes and just take a deep breath and Try to clear your mind of all that stuff and pray to God.

I think of the verse Be still and know that I am God I will be exalted.

You know above the earth.

He's got it all all in his hands.

All right Larry.

There's nothing that can happen to you or to me that God will not give strength to endure. And uphold me with his righteousness and a lot of that is. What is written there in Isaiah? Sure, it's just you know and it kind of reminded me of Romans 8.

That what can separate you. I know love is next but you know. His love is part of his omnipotence. And his omnipresence his omniscience. But you know as we read that Romans 8 there's nothing.

Yeah, let's go to number nine love God is love his love is Unconditional it is not based on the loveliness or merit of the object John 3 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

So there's the idea God so loved the world and God is benevolent. If God was not a God of loved he would have Wiped the whole world out long long time ago Romans 5 8. Okay. God is love. How does he how does he apply that?

How does he show that? Romans 5 8 says that God demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Love expresses itself in action. God is our example. He demonstrated his love for us in sending Jesus to die in our place.

So love is more than just a feeling. Love is Action, it's like what I said at the beginning, you know, why have faith? Okay show show me your faith. James says that show me your faith by your works if you love somebody.

Show them. I mean, it's good to say it and everyone should say it.

But.

Show your love when. Because God showed his love God showed his love by sending Christ to die for sinners. And it wasn't because sinners were so lovely.

Obviously.

So what's the personal application? Does anyone have personal application?

Green. It's easy to love the people who are near and dear to your heart, but it's hard to love the people who Do things against you, right?

Yeah, and didn't Jesus say something about even the heathens and the tax collectors even they do that. You know if you love someone who loves you or if you love someone who does all these great things for you.

Everybody does that. There's nothing Christian about that. That's just the way people are. But to love your enemies. Well, that's that's hard. And yet Jesus did that while we were yet sinners. Another way you could say that while we were his enemies.

He died for us. Dad you had your hand up for application.

Yeah.

We have to show love also to those who don't know us or care for us very much. In order to get someone saved we have to love them first, right, right.

Yeah, and. And sometimes it's misinterpreted when we want to talk to somebody about Jesus. I guess it depends on how you're going about it, but they feel some people can feel like you're just trying to push your views on them so we need to to the best of our ability let them know or Make it seem like that tell them that I'm doing this because I care about you that needs to come across.

Marcus.

God gave what was most important to him his son and his son. Gave what was most important to him his life. We need to reciprocate.

We.

Need to give what our best. What's our best. We need to give our life back.

Amen good Larry.

Yesterday I was at a funeral and after After the funeral went downstairs for the reception and I was just watching the people and there was this one young couple who had a Little girl who must have been three or maybe four years old and That little girl was just pitching a fit.

And I was standing next to this other guy, you know, he said boy, I sure don't miss those days. But I was thinking you know, because I mean she would she would stop every once in a while and just look around.

And then.

She'd take off again just start flailing her body against her dad and just screaming and and I in. Hey, I'm Marie, I'm a recovering narc narcissist and Narcissism is selfishness to the nth degree. All right, and that little girl was just being selfish because she wasn't getting what she wanted whatever it was and Such was I was like that.

Yeah.

You know, there are some people that come into our lives for whatever the reason that are hard to love. And you know, it's easy for me to see the faults and others. But it's a little harder to see it in myself.

Yeah, because I don't.

Right.

So we have to be careful.

Okay, let's move on to the next one. Number ten. It's truth. God is the only true God. Psalm 31 verse 5. Oh Lord God of truth. And Psalm 117 verse 2 the truth of the Lord is everlasting. So God's truth is above all.

He is truthful, even if all men are found to be liars. Therefore his words and his judgments always prevail Romans 3 4. In light of this, how should you view God's Word and the truths it contains? Personal application.

In light of all of that God's truth He's truthful even when men aren't. His words and judgments always prevail. In light of that How should you view God's Word and the truth it contains? Who wants to give what they what they wrote here.

Marcus Yeah.

The Bible you shouldn't keep repeating. Yes. She's listening. All right, that's good. Do everyone hear that? It should be biblical, you know not just the things that who was it is it was like the propaganda minister for the for the Nazis for in World War two he said, you know, if you repeat a lie Enough times it becomes truth or something like that.

We've all I think we've all heard that it's not just what you've heard. Even if you've heard Christians say it Many many many times. Yeah, the truth is not necessarily that thing floating out there. It's what God's Word says, so we always have to go back to the Word of God.

That's how you know the truth not what popular opinion is. Not even what? Not even what your pastor says necessarily. It's what's what's in the Word of God? So this is the most one of the most comforting things for me is that yeah, well this would be God's immutability.

We talked about how he never changes and You can depend on him and his Word is truth when when we're surrounded by lies. Which we are we're surrounded by lies. It's comforting to know that God and his Word is true.

So the application for me is whatever I hear whatever I hear out there I Always filter it through. What does the scripture say and that? That's a that's a guide For life and how to view things. It's not gonna let you down.

All right, the final one God's mercy. We have five minutes left. God's great mercy is the practical expression of his compassion to those who have Opposed his will. Let me read that again. God's great mercy is the practical expression of his compassion to those who have opposed his will.

Psalm 145 8 and 9 the Lord is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger and great in loving-kindness. The Lord is good to all and his mercies are over all his works in Psalm 130 verses 3 and 4 if you Lord should mark iniquities.

Oh Lord who could stand but there is forgiveness with you that you may be.

Feared.

All right. What who wants to define mercy?

Marcus.

Put grace along with it. Grace is where we get something that we don't deserve. We get forgiveness. We don't deserve it. Mercy is where we get. Some something is withheld that we do deserve. So that's that's what mercy is.

Okay.

I'm glad you said that because I was gonna say that that's one of those things that you've heard a million times that I've heard. Repeated that that's the definition of mercy. Grace is getting something.

You don't deserve mercy is not getting what you do deserve. Is that the biblical concept of mercy? Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is one of those things that I said Thousand times because that's what I always heard repeated.

But when I looked at it mercy actually refers to God's loving-kindness. Now you say well, I'm not getting it because of his loving kind fine. But I did. Can someone look it up. I'm pretty sure that's what Mercy means God's loving-kindness.

Yeah.

Somebody somebody look that up and then let's do the application. God's great mercy is Contrasted with man's sin. His mercy is displayed in our Salvation Ephesians 2 4 5. Now there's not a question there, but who has something for a personal application.

Okay, I can rest in the fact that God will forgive me. Yes Linda.

It should make us thankful.

Because of his mercy we are not consumed.

Okay.

Why. That goes into the definition right. Because of his his loving-kindness. What that thing we hear repeated is true. But it's because that's not so much a definition of his mercy. That's the result of his mercy.

But okay, I think this was a good class. I think this was a good study. Number three God his character and attributes. So that means next time we can move on to lesson for the person of Jesus Christ.