TEEN TREE 
OF LIFE
God’s Goodness – Part 1
April 4, 2021
Before you begin, ask yourself a very important question: Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins? If you answered yes, you will need to be sure that you are filled with The Holy Spirit. How do you do this? You name your sins to God The Father in His Son’s Name. This is called Rebound. As a Christian, you must rebound any time you sin. This is taught in 1 JOH 1:9: If we confess [name] our sins [directly to God], He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, if you have never believed that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins, all you have to do is say to yourself that you believe in Him and you are saved! The Bible verse which teaches us this is ACTS 16:31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
Lately the world seems to be spinning out of control. We are surrounded by sickness, and natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires – not to mention wars, violence, and drug addiction. Much of what we see happening around us, whether you know it or not, are results of people’s personal choices. And some of these choices greatly alter the course of our lives, perhaps even tragically.
As we have learned, God has blessed us with volition, which is the free will to make our own decisions. But God cannot and will never violate our free will. He gives us the opportunity to make our own choices. Think of how Good that is!!! He is a total Gentleman and will not interfere. So how can anyone blame Him for the bad choices they make?
When you are faced with difficult decisions (or choices), remember that these are the times when your faithful study of God’s Words will help and guide you. These are the times when you must remember the Bible doctrine you’ve learned. Verses like PHIL 4:6-7 (New International Reader’s Version): Don’t worry about anything. No matter what happens, tell God about everything. Ask and pray, and give thanks to him. Then God’s peace will watch over your hearts and your minds. He will do this because you belong to Christ Jesus. God’s peace can never be completely understood.
The trials, troubles and “what-ifs” in life are endless! And the cosmic system – Satan’s system – wants you to focus on them so that you won’t focus on God. But instead of blaming God or anyone else, we MUST: … think about things that are in heaven. That is where Christ is. He is sitting at God’s right hand. Think about things that are in heaven. Don’t think about things that are only on earth. (COL 3:1-2 New International Reader’s Version)
God’s Goodness is always being attacked by the godless who are caught up in Satan’s cosmic system. It’s also challenged by the faithless whenever something bad happens. Think about the pandemic we are in now and how people are responding to it. Even BELIEVERS are questioning God’s Goodness. As believers, we may find ourselves confused, frightened or angry by what we are seeing happening around us. This is true for new and mature believers in Christ. The key for us, as Christians, is to know that this is all part of Satan’s strategy to get at us and to try to get our eyes and feet off the “narrow path” which Jesus Christ put before us.
With all of that in mind, the purpose of this study is to understand that God is ALWAYS good – even when bad things happen. He’s good whether bad things are happening around you, and MOST importantly, when they’re happening to you, and those you love.
Do you know what an attribute is? It is a characteristic or quality. God’s Goodness is an attribute of His. Other attributes of His include Omniscience (He is All-Knowing), Omnipotence (He is All-Powerful), and Omnibenevolence (He is Supremely Good). In other words, God knows everything, has The Power to do anything, and is Perfectly Good. In this study, we are going to focus on His Omnibenevolence or His Goodness but each of those attributes (and all the rest) are equally important and are shared with each member of The Trinity.
The word omnibenevolent comes from the Latin word omni, meaning “all,” and the word benevolent, meaning “good.” When we say that God is Omnibenevolent, we are saying that God is Absolutely Good and that NO action or motive or thought or feeling or anything else about Him is NOT purely good.
Something you should be aware of is that the meaning of words is critical to your Christian Walk! Satan (and those under his influence) slander God by redefining words. This causes us to become confused about God’s Word. But if you stick with a pastor/teacher who studies and teaches and then learn and apply what he teaches, you will grow in God’s Grace and Knowledge and avoid Satan’s traps. So, stick with it!!
Never forget this: God is Perfectly Good in that all of His Attributes are PERFECT and IN AGREEMENT WITH ONE ANOTHER. He is not sometimes Loving and sometimes Just. HE IS INFINITELY, ETERNALLY, AND PERFECTLY LOVING AND JUST.
Think about this next statement for a while after you read it: If one of God’s Attributes were less than perfect, then people could imagine a greater being and then God would no longer be God. That’s DEEP!
Scripturally speaking, God is even greater than we can fully comprehend: Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes. (ROM 11:33–36 The Message Bible)
This is the New International Reader’s Version of ROM 11:33–36: How very rich are God’s wisdom and knowledge! How he judges is more than we can understand! The way he deals with people is more than we can know! “Who can ever know what the Lord is thinking? Or who can ever give him advice?” (Isaiah 40:13) “Has anyone ever given anything to God, so that God has to pay them back?” (Job 41:11) All things come from him. All things are directed by him. All things are for his praise. May God be given the glory forever! Amen.
God’s Goodness is UNIVERSAL in that all living creatures benefit from it. This is taught in PSA 145:9 (New International Reader’s Version): The Lord is good to all. He shows deep concern for everything he has made. God’s goodness is expressed, not only in His Giving, but also in His Forgiving. He continually forgives according to what the apostle John wrote in 1 JOH 1:9 (New International Reader’s Version): But God is faithful and fair. If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. God’s Forgiveness is a Supernatural Gift from Him to us. It allows us to wipe our slates clean even if we are still sinners and undeserving of such forgiveness. So when God forgives, it is NOT because we were able to pay off the debt; it’s because God makes it so that our debt no longer exists. His Son paid the debt on our behalf. The total sum of the debt was paid (or redeemed) by The Lord Jesus Christ. This is taught in COL 2:13-14 (New International Reader’s Version): At one time you were dead in your sins. Your desires controlled by sin were not circumcised. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. He wiped out what the law said that we owed. The law stood against us. It judged us. But he has taken it away and nailed it to the cross. That is such a perfect example of God’s Goodness!!!!
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ put it this way: “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.” (JOH 3:16-18 The Message Bible) And NEVER FORGET that God doesn’t force us to acknowledge or confess our sins or to believe in His Son and the life He provided by putting Himself on The Cross. The Long-Awaited Messiah died a brutal death on The Cross to save the entire world. Yet, His Father does not hoard His Forgiveness. To do so would be to deny His Goodness. PSA 130:4 (The Message Bible) says it beautifully: If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that’s why you’re worshiped.
God’s Goodness is a refuge and comfort to those who are faithful. It is the attribute that gives us hope even in terrible, stressful situations. This is so important in this day and age in which we’re living! Today, tomorrow or ten years from now, you may not understand or like the situations in which you find yourself. But know this: God’s Goodness allows you to trust and have hope in Him! God does good because He is Good: The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all time to come. (PSA 100:5 New International Reader’s Version)
{to be continued}