The Bible should be the source of our convictions about God. In this message, Dr. Stanley reveals the God of the Bible: omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient.
Dr. Charles Stanley: When you
think of God, what do you think?
Is He some big grandfather
upstairs, as people would say,
waiting to bless you?
Or some judge sitting on a
throne ready to, in some way,
torment you?
What’s your image of God?
I can hear you now.
You say, “I don’t believe in
God.”
Yes, you do.
You may not be willing to admit
it, and the reason you don’t
want to admit it is because you
don’t like the idea of how you
think you’d have to live if you
believed in God.
So I want you to turn, if you
will, to Romans chapter one for
a moment, and I want us to
listen to what God said
concerning His presence and what
is true of all mankind no matter
who they are.
And so, when people tell you I
don’t believe in God–in fact,
it’s interesting that I’ve had
two mothers tell me in the last
six weeks that their sons said,
“Mom, I don’t believe in God
anymore.”
I said, “What did you tell him?”
“Well, I didn’t know what to
tell him.”
Well, I said to her, “You need
to tell him to read Romans
chapter one.”
Because you see, people decide
they don’t believe in God
because they don’t like the way
you have to live if you’re going
to live a life of obedience.
What they don’t realize is what
they’re doing to themselves is
disastrous.
Now, look in verse eighteen of
Romans chapter one.
Very important, “For the wrath
of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men who
suppress the truth in
unrighteousness,” that hold it
down.
“Because that which is known
about God,” look at this, “that
which is known about God is
evident within them, for God
made it evident to them.
For since the creation of the
world His invisible attributes,”
His characteristics, “His
eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly seen,” all
that’s evident, clearly seen,
“being understood through what
has been made, so that they are
without excuse.”
You can tell God you don’t
believe in Him, but you’re
without excuse.
You can tell other people you
don’t believe in Him, but you
don’t have an excuse in God’s
eyes.
“For,” listen, “for even though
they knew God, they did not
honor Him as God or give thanks,
but they became futile in their
speculations, and their foolish
heart was darkened.
Professing to be wise, they
became fools.”
And on the Scripture goes.
So now when you think about God,
what do you think about?
So the whole purpose of this
message is we’re talking about
the idea of convictions.
What convictions do you have?
We’ve talked about the idea of
convictions and the convictions
you have about the Bible.
See, if you have convictions
about the Bible, you don’t have
a problem with having
convictions about God.
This message about your
convictions concerning God, so I
want you to listen very
carefully because I’m going to
give you a description of God by
the Scriptures that God gives
us, then you have to make up
your mind: Well, is this the God
I know, or is this a God much
greater than I know?
And so, I have some Scriptures I
want to give you in a few
moments.
But I want to give you the
definition of conviction again
so you’ll remember what we’re
talking about.
Having a conviction is being so
thoroughly convinced that
something is absolutely true
that you will take a stand for
it regardless of the
consequences.
This isn’t something you might
believe.
This is something you are
willing to stand for, thoroughly
convinced that it’s true.
What I want us to talk about is
what you believe about God.
What you believe in God so
that–be sure that you’ve got
that part right.
Now, first of all, God is an
uncreated being.
He was never created.
And when you read the Bible and
the Bible says, “In the
beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.”
And what sometimes tickles me is
here these scientists say, yes,
but out there in space somewhere
something happened.
Well, okay.
Well, where did the something
come from?
And, watch this, let’s say this
is God.
You can’t get behind God.
God has always been.
He has never had a beginning.
He will not have an end.
And there is no explanation for
life except there is an endless,
eternal God.
Man and all of his wisdom and
all of the science and all they
claim to believe and know, “In
the beginning God.”
In the beginning of what?
In the beginning of everything,
and you can’t get behind that
because there’s nothing
behind it.
And so, the Scripture says, for
example, in–also in Psalms
ninety verse two, “Before the
mountains were born or You gave
birth to the earth and the
world, even from everlasting,
You are God.”
So the first thing we have to
settle is the fact there is a
God and He is an eternal God.
He wasn’t made.
He wasn’t created.
He’s always been.
You say, “Well, I–that’s beyond
my imagination, my
comprehension.
If you’ll hold that right there,
I’m coming to a verse that
answers your question.
The second thing I want you to
notice about Him is that not
only is He uncreated, He’s
unchangeable.
If God was just changing, I’d
never know where I am and
neither would you.
When we say God is unchangeable
in His being, that’s who He is,
in His perfection, and in His
purposes and promises,
unchanging.
So when you kneel to pray and
God has made a promise in His
Word, He doesn’t say I’ve
changed my mind about that.
God does not change.
He is everything that He is at
all times, though He has
emotions like you and I have,
only they are perfect.
Aren’t you glad He loves you?
Yes.
Aren’t you glad that He is
tender toward you and forgiving?
He has emotions, but in His
person, He doesn’t change.
Likewise, He’s omnipresent.
God is everywhere present.
We don’t have to find Him.
That whole hundred and
thirty-ninth Psalm that speaks
of that, where–about God.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Where can I go from Your
presence?
Nowhere.
Think about this, the idea that
I’m going to do something to get
away from God is absolutely
ridiculous.
You–where are you going?
Because everywhere is in the
presence of God.
Oh, we say God’s here and God’s
there and God’s over yonder.
No.
Everywhere is in the presence of
God because all of humanity and
all of the universe and
everything that God’s created is
in His presence.
Thank God you can’t get out of
His presence.
Amen?
And so, that’s who He is.
He’s omnipresent.
Not over here and over there and
over yonder, but everything is
in His presence.
For example, Jesus said in
Matthew nineteen twenty-six,
“With God all things are
possible.”
Which means He’s what?
Omnipotent, that He can do
anything and everything.
God has all power, but He cannot
do anything that’s inconsistent
with who He is because He is the
ultimate perfection of all that
can possibly be beyond our
comprehension.
And He’s not going to act any
other way because He’s God.
So when we say He can do all
things, He can do all things
except contradict His own
character.
And the Scripture says in Titus
He can’t lie.
And He certainly cannot be
tempted with evil because He is
the ultimate of absolute
goodness and perfection and
truth.
And there’s nothing beyond that
can describe Him.
Somebody says, “Well, you know,
I don’t know that I can get all
that.”
If you could fully comprehend
who God is, you’d get Him down
on your level.
We’ll never be able to fully
grasp all that He is, but it’s
interesting that the Bible tells
me everything I need to know
about God.
And so, He’s omnipotent, He has
all power, can’t be tempted with
evil, can’t be tempted to lie.
And He’s omniscient, and that is
He knows all, listen, He knows
all things about all things.
Knows all things that exist and
all things that happen, there
are no surprises.
Now, every once in a while,
somebody will say, “Well, I’ve
got a question.
What about this?
If God was God, what about
this?”
So I want you to turn to
Deuteronomy twenty-nine
twenty-nine.
Are you listening?
Say amen.
“The secret things belong to the
Lord our God, but the things
revealed belong to us and to our
sons forever, that we may
observe all the words of this
the law.”
What is he saying?
There’s some things God’s not
going to tell us.
You say, “Well, I–before I
believe God, I’ve got to know
everything.”
Then forget it, because God’s
not going to tell us some
things.
Now, think about this for a
moment.
Why is it that God wouldn’t tell
us some things?
Because He knows we don’t have a
mind to comprehend the vastness
of Almighty God, and all that He
has going on and is doing that
we can’t even conceive of all
that.
So he said the secret things
belong to the Lord our God.
So you say, “Well, I’m not going
to believe in God until,” until
what?
Until He satisfies some
curiosity that you have?
“Well, I’ve got some questions.”
Well, either get in the Bible
and see if you can find them,
and if you’ve got a question
that the Bible doesn’t answer,
which would be strange, then you
just have to leave it to God.
The Scripture says there are
some things God’s not going to
tell us.
Now, why wouldn’t He tell us
some things?
Because He’s infinite and we’re
finite, and we couldn’t even
understand some things.
Let me ask you a question: Since
He’s God, doesn’t He have the
right to have secrets?
He certainly does.
And the Bible tells us that He
does.
Then, of course, when I think
about all the things that God
knows and all that He is.
In John one eighteen, the
Scripture says no one has ever
seen God at any time.
You say, “What about Jesus?”
Jesus was God in the person of a
human being, a divine human
being, Jesus.
And in the first Timothy six,
fifteen, “The only Sovereign,
the King of kings, the Lord of
lords,” and listen to this, “who
alone possesses immortality and
dwells in unapproachable light,”
so that no one can see Him.
We’re talkin’ about a God who’s
so far beyond anything we can
possibly conceive of.
Listen to that, He “dwells in
unapproachable light.”
We couldn’t stand that light.
But this is the same God who’s a
God of love.
In all the power and all of His
position and all the rest, the
Scripture says that God is love.
That is, that’s one of His
attributes, one of His
characteristics.
That’s who He is.
God is love.
This is the same God that we’ll
see in a few moments, who’s a
God of justice and judgment and
hates sin.
He’s a God of love, and His
greatest expression of that is
when He sent Jesus into the
world.
He–the Scripture says in John
three sixteen, “For God,” listen
to this, “He so loved the
world,” mmm, “He so loved the
world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him will not perish,
but have eternal life.”
That is the ultimate in love
that God gave His Son.
So, which means, whoever you
are, you say, “Well, God could
never love me.”
Why not?
You can’t pour God into some
mold.
Or God can do this and God can’t
do that.
God can love the most wicked,
vile sinner.
And He can love the sweetest
little baby.
With God, love is love, and He
loves you no matter who you are,
no matter what you’re going
through.
Do you remember how you lived
before you were saved?
He looked down upon us when we
were sinners.
And Paul describes it in His
Epistles.
We were living in sin, and God,
in His grace and mercy, reached
down and saved us.
Why?
Because He is a God of absolute
love.
Then of course, here’s another
part, and that is God’s holy.
Now, what does that mean?
The fact that God is holy means
He is separated from all sin.
He’s called the Holy One of
Israel.
God’s holiness provides the
pattern for us to imitate.
In other words, holy means I
want to live a life without sin.
You say, “Well now, nobody can
live without sin.”
I didn’t say you could.
I said I want to.
I–in other words, if you have
committed to Jesus Christ and to
His Lordship in your life, your
true, genuine desire is to live
a holy life.
And He says in Leviticus, “You
shall be holy, for the Lord your
God is holy.”
And so, being holy doesn’t mean
I’m going to be perfect, but
here’s what it means.
If I’m living a holy life, I
live my life in obedience to God
to the very best I know how with
the help and presence of the
Holy Spirit.
Make mistakes?
Yes.
Sometimes say something maybe I
shouldn’t say or do something I
shouldn’t do.
But, listen, you’ll know whether
you’re living a holy life or
not.
For example, when you say
something you shouldn’t or see
something you shouldn’t look
upon, and immediately,
immediately you ask God, “Take
that out of my life,” or,
“Forgive me, Father, for saying
that or thinking that.”
In other words, a holy life is
not a perfect life.
It is a life, watch this,
sensitive to attitudes and
actions that are sinful and
unlike Christ.
That’s what a holy life is.
And so, we’re to live a holy
life.
And that’s why He said, “Be ye
holy,” He says, “as He is holy.”
Holiness should be
characteristic of the life of
every follower of Jesus Christ.
So when somebody says, “Are you
living a holy life?”
I bet I can tell you what you’d
say.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s
holy.”
Isn’t that right?
That what you’d say?
Mm-hmm.
Because you would think to say
I’m living a holy life as best I
know how would make you sound
pious and make you sound like
you’re better than
somebody else.
No.
If God didn’t mean for us to
live a holy life, He wouldn’t
have said it.
We’re to live a holy life.
And that is living a life
without sin, as much as is
possible by the power of the
Holy Spirit and still living in
this flesh.
So if somebody asks me, “Are you
living a holy life?”
Here’s my answer.
As best I know how, with the
help of God.
So we shouldn’t shy away from
holiness because that’s the will
and purpose and plan of God for
every single one of His
children.
It’s a lifestyle that, listen,
that God calls for and has
equipped us to live because we
have the Holy Spirit, holy, Holy
Spirit living within us.
And the Holy Spirit within us is
going to do what?
Enable us to live a holy life.
And that’s the will and purpose
and plan of God.
And I think we have so
sidetracked that in our life, we
don’t even think about being
holy.
We just think about being a
church member and getting by and
doing the best I can.
Listen, that best I can business
just doesn’t work, right?
It doesn’t.
In other words, listen, the best
I can, a person living in sin
can say that.
It’s not the best I can, but the
best with the power of the Holy
Spirit living in and through me,
the best the Lord Jesus will
enable me to live a holy life.
And that’s His will and purpose
and plan for all of us.
So, when we think about our
convictions, is that a
conviction in your life?
That your desire is to live a
holy life, that should be a
conviction.
Yes, I want to live a holy life.
I want to be what God wants me
to be.
And when I make mistakes or if I
sin, I mean, I want to deal with
it immediately.
And then of course, God is
righteous.
Now, what do we mean by the fact
that God is righteous?
Listen carefully, it means that
He always acts in accordance
with what is right.
That is, God is righteous.
He always acts in accordance
with what is right.
And He Himself is the final
standard of what is right.
What is right about–for
somebody says, “Well, I don’t
know what to do in this
situation.”
God’ll show you what to do if
you want to know what to do.
And God never acts other than
what is absolutely right.
And, watch this, He sent the
Holy Spirit to live within us
because He knew we couldn’t
do it.
And He said to those disciples,
“I want you to sit down and wait
in the city of Jerusalem until
you be endued with power from on
high, because you’re not going
to be able to live what you’re
going to face.
You’re going to face persecution
and death.”
He already warned them.
“And you’re not going to be able
to live that life apart from the
Holy Spirit.”
And so, when we talk about
living a righteous life, it’s
living a life that is what?
Doing what is right in the power
of the Holy Spirit of God.
A righteous life and a holy life
are sort of combined there.
Then of course, God is a God of
wrath.
We don’t like this part.
God is a God of wrath.
All those other things we’ve
said are all absolutely true.
He’s a God of wrath.
Now, what does that mean?
It means that He hates
everything that is opposed to
His moral character.
You say, “Well now, wait a
minute, you said God is love.”
He is love.
God hates anything and
everything that is–that brings
His children to naught.
He hates everything that’s
sinful in a person’s life.
In fact, if you ask, “What’s a
definition of wrath?”
The definition of wrath is this:
God intensely, intensely hates
sin because sin is what
destroys the people He loves.
He laid down His life for us.
He died for us.
And sin is our greatest enemy.
God hates sin in every form.
And so, He says, for example, in
John chapter three, thirty-six–
in that third chapter of John,
people say, “Oh I love that
chapter, John three sixteen.”
Well, look at the last verse.
“He who believes in the Son has
eternal life,” look at that, “He
who believes in the Son has
eternal life, but he who does
not obey,” or believe, “the Son
will not see life, but the wrath
of God abides on him.”
So, people say, “I believe that
God is a God of love, John three
sixteen.
But I don’t believe in–I think
He’s just a God of love,” John
three thirty-six.
And that is the wrath of God.
He hates sin.
Watch this, you know why He
hates sin so badly?
Because He loves us so
genuinely.
And He knows that wrath–He
knows that sin is our enemy.
Any form of sin is our enemy.
And He hates sin.
This God loves us genuinely, but
He also hates sin.
Somebody says, “My goodness, the
wrath of God will come upon me.”
And they say it sort of jesting.
No, the wrath of God cannot,
will not ever come upon one of
God’s children because His wrath
is His hatred of sin.
Therefore, once you trust the
Lord Jesus Christ as your
Savior, you are a precious,
precious jewel of God.
And the wrath of God will never
come upon you.
You can’t say that about
everybody because the wrath of
God is coming upon some people.
Now, the fact that God is a God
of wrath ought to motivate us to
want to win some people to
Jesus.
And why do we get–try to get
the message all over the world?
And thank God we–it’s
happening.
And multitudes of people are
preaching the gospel and
missionaries are–in other
words, the wrath of God will not
come upon a child of God.
The love of God will.
So the wrath of God is limited
to those who are unbelievers and
who defy Almighty God.
So, let’s think about this for a
moment.
God is also our judge.
Now, we love all that part about
love and this, that, and the
other.
He’s likewise our judge.
He says in Second Corinthians
five, “We must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ,
that each one may receive what
is due for the things he’s done
while in the body, whether good
or bad.”
Now, we’re talking about
believers, we’re not talking
about the lost, that’s a
different judgment.
All of us who are Christians,
one day, we will stand before
the Lord Jesus Christ and give
account of our life.
Watch this, that’s not the wrath
of God.
But we will be judged by the way
we’ve lived.
What have we done with the
goodness and love and kindness
and opportunities that God has
given us?
We will not suffer wrath, but
what I want you to see here is
that He is our judge.
And that means that I give
account for the life that I’ve
lived.
Now, watch this.
And we could take a whole
message on this, but God will
judge us on the basis of, watch
this now, of how much truth I’ve
heard, how much opportunity I’ve
had.
And what have I done with that
truth?
What have I done with that
opportunity?
What have I done with what God
has placed in my disposal?
So He’s going to judge us
accordingly.
But it’s not a judgment of
unkindness and a judgment of
wrath.
It’s a judgment of rewards.
We’re coming to it.
In other words, we will be
judged about the way we’ve lived
and we will be rewarded
accordingly.
And so, this is not the judgment
of the wicked, judgment of
wrath.
This is the judgment where we’ll
be rewarded.
So, when somebody says, “Well,
I, you know, I don’t know what
God’s going to do with me in the
judgment.”
I’ll tell you what He’s
going to do.
He’s going to love you and going
to reward you according to how
you lived.
And when somebody says, “Well,
I’ve been saved and that’s all
that matters, just so I get
there.”
That’s not all that matters.
That’s not all that matters at
all, because let’s come to the
next point, and that is: God is
a rewarder.
And so, I want you to turn to
First Corinthians and spend a
moment or two here.
First Corinthians chapter three,
because this is a good
explanation of what we’re
talking about.
Let’s begin with verse ten.
“According to the grace of God
which was given to me, like a
wise master builder I laid a
foundation, and another is
building on it.”
He’s talking about preaching the
gospel and somebody coming along
and helping, “But each man must
be careful how he builds on it.
For no man,” or a woman, “can
lay a foundation other than the
one which is laid, which is
Jesus Christ.
Now if any man,” or woman,
“builds on the foundation with
gold, silver, and precious
stones, wood, hay, stubble, each
person’s work will become
evident for the day will show it
because it is to be revealed
with fire,” that’s God’s great,
awesome wisdom, “and the fire
itself will test the quality of
each person’s work.”
This is Paul’s way of describing
our judgment.
“If any person’s work which he
has built on it remains, he will
receive a reward.
If any man’s work is burned up,
he will suffer loss.”
Watch this.
Are you listening?
Say amen.
“But he himself will be saved,
yet so as through fire.”
So here’s what he’s saying, that
all of us are going to be judged
according to the way we live our
life.
Some people have great
opportunities, some people have
less.
Some people are just born with
opportunities and gifts and
talents, other people don’t.
Some people are born in this
part of the world, some
people are born in that part of
the world.
So, all these differences, at
the judgment seat of Christ, God
knows everything about us that
needs to be known.
And, watch this, He’s going to
reward us according to the truth
that we know, the opportunity we
have and what we did with it.
Not according to who has this,
that, and the other, but how
much opportunity did I have.
What were my possibilities?
How much talent did God give me?
In other words, we can–and I
love this verse because he says,
“If any man’s work is burned up,
he will suffer loss, but he
himself will be saved, yet so as
through fire.”
Or through the judgment.
“Do you not know that you are a
temple of God and that the
Spirit of God dwells in you?”
So, we’re children of God.
And even in the judgment, the
grace of God will be there and
we will be judged, and not all
going to be judged alike.
When I think about the fact, and
I was thinking about that
yesterday, for over fifty
years–I’ve had the privilege to
study the Word of God for over
fifty years–primarily, number
one thing in my life.
Is God going to judge somebody
else who never had the privilege
to go to school, maybe didn’t
get saved till late in life and
just never had heard it
before then?
You think God’s going to put us
on the same level?
No, He’s not.
God is a righteous God, holy
God, perfect God, loving God,
just God.
Now, somebody says, “What about
fair?”
There’s not a thing in the world
about God being fair.
God’s not fair.
He’s holy, righteous, always
does the right thing.
And so, back to our attributes
of God, and that–the last one
is God is to be worshipped.
And in Colossians chapter three,
verse sixteen, listen to this,
“Let the word of Christ richly
dwell in you, with all wisdom,
teaching and admonishing one
another with psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing
with thankfulness in your hearts
to God.”
That’s what worship’s all about.
Now, I’ve just given you a
little theological discourse so
that if somebody says, “Well,
what do you believe about God?”
you ought to be able to tell
them.
And you can go right down the
list.
Now watch this, you ought to get
this in your mind.
This is not just a sermon you
put on a sheet of paper and put
it somewhere.
You should get this in your
mind.
We’re talking about how you
think about holy God, about the
God of this universe, the God
who’s in control of everything.
This is how you think about Him.
And you should be willing, very
courageously, boldly, gallantly,
joyfully say to anybody,
anywhere, anytime: yes, I
believe that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God.
Yes, I believe what the Bible
says.
Yes, I’m serving Him.
No, I can’t do that because I
want to live a godly life.
Now, I wonder what would happen
if you go to work tomorrow
morning and they’re going to
throw a big party.
And I mean, they’ve told you
what they’re going to have to
drink and to eat, and it’s going
to be this, and she’s going to
be there, and he’s going to be
there, and they’re going to be
dressed this way and that way
and so forth, and you say,
“Well, I can’t go to that.”
“Well, why can’t you go?”
“Well, my desire in life is to
live a holy life.”
What?
Can you imagine what they’d
think?
First of all, they don’t know
what it means.
But secondly, the word scares
them to death.
The truth is they don’t want you
there now because you wouldn’t
fit that kind of party.
The truth is, listen, you and I
are living in a world we don’t
fit in, but God has us here to
make a difference, to make a
difference by the life that we
live and what we believe and
what we’re able to share with
other people.
That’s who God is.
So when somebody says to you,
“Well, tell me about your God.”
You should be able to very, very
courageously and boldly and
thoughtfully and excitedly say,
“I’ll tell you what I believe
about God.”
And I gave you thirteen points.
They’re, listen, they’re all
true because I’m going to live
and die by every one of them and
you are too, whether you like it
or not, because it’s the truth
of God’s Word.
It’s time we stopped being
embarrassed for being a
Christian and say, “No, that
doesn’t fit my lifestyle.”
“What is your lifestyle?”
“Well, I want to live a holy
life.”
“Where did you get that from?”
“From the Word of God,” that’ll
be the end of your conversation.
That’ll be the end of it.
Now, you can live like the world
and get by, or you can live
godly and have the best.
Father, we love You and praise
You for Your patience, Your
kindness, Your goodness, Your
forgiveness, for the awesome
truth that You give us in Your
Word, and I pray that every
person who hears this message
would be honest enough to look
at themselves, and look at
themselves in light of what You
teach in Your precious Word, and
make a wise decision to trust
Christ as their Savior.
We love You, we bless You, and
we praise You in Jesus’s
name.
Amen.