How I Know God Is Good

HOW I KNOW GOD IS GOOD

1 Chronicles 16:34

(1 Chr 16:34 KJV) "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever."

(Ezra 3:11 KJV) "And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good…”

(Psa 100:5 KJV) "For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

Most of mankind does not understand who God is – they give him credit for being someone who knows much, maybe do a few miracles, or who can hear us when we pray, but they do not understand what or who God really is. They just don’t understand.

There was a time when every person by the age of 8-10 years knew somewhat about the person of God and His nature – but since the Bible has been removed from the classroom, knowledge of God among children has been nullified. Most of you learned at an early age about God. You learned of His nature.

His nature is divine. Everything about Him is perfect. He has a perfect nature. He never has to work at or concentrate on doing right. That is just His nature.

Man’s nature is to do wrong. When man allows his nature to control, he will go the wrong direction. He will do the wrong thing. He will engage in the wrong activity. He will think wrong. He will speak wrong. He just does wrong because that is his nature. There is nothing about man, apart from God, that demands he do right.

You see, God has never been wrong.

He has never exaggerated.

He has never been challenged.

He has never been weary or sleepy.

He has never had to correct a mistake.

He has never apologized.

He has never been absent nor late.

He has never been partial nor proud.

He has never had an afterthought.

He has never been ill.

He has never been frustrated nor confused.

He has never had to apoligize.

I mention these things just to bring your mind to who God is. We sometimes portray Him with flesh and blood and all that goes with such.

It would be very easy to get bogged down in this subject, and I hope to prevent that today.

I have made reference to this phrase, “God is good” many times. Bro. Kirk made mention of this the other evening in his message. However, I feel the need to explain how I know He is good.

We normally give Him credit for goodness because He meets a certain need or He gives us something we had wanted and been praying for. That is not sufficient to base our knowledge or definition of His goodness. He is good whether He does any of these things. His goodness is not based upon what He does, rather who He is.

Goodness is an attribute of God just as is many others:

The Bible says that God is light. That is an attribute of God.

Also that He is love. That is an attribute.

He is just. He is holy – He is gracious – He is divine.

He is merciful.

He is longsuffering.

He is loving and caring.

He is also vengeful. These are all attributes.

I want to give you four reasons why I know God is good. We talk a lot around here about, “I Love God because”, and then we give reasons why we love Him. That’s what we are talking about today.

How do I know God is good?

I. THE SCRIPTURE TESTIFIES OF HIS GOODNESS

(Psa 34:8 KJV) "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."

(Psa 145:7 KJV) "They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness."

(Psa 145:8 KJV) "The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy."

(Psa 145:9 KJV) "The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works."

After Adam turned his back on God and committed sin, God displayed His goodness through His grace and made a way of forgiveness for Adam, and not Adam only, but for all mankind to follow. (Rom 5:19 KJV) "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

A. Scripture Displays His Goodness At The Cross.

1. Sin was the reason He had to die.

(Luke 23:33 KJV) "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left."

The crucifixion was necessary because of sin.

The hymns says:

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,