Law, Grace and God's Goodness, Part 3 Even

We're here because of God's goodness. Throughout this last year, I've had encounters with a number of folks who think that God is to blame for all of the world's ills. "How could a kind and loving God allow such evil to exist?" If you've been a Christian for very long, you've had this discussion. The answer is that man is responsible for the evils in this world, not the Almighty. Certainly no one can seriously argue for very long that mankind is basically good.

I work in a local business. We have to lock everything up at night. We have had things stolen off of our lot in broad daylight. "Oh, that's just a few "bad" individuals." That is so untrue. This problem is so widespread. People cheat on taxes, shoplift, steal cars, rob banks, embezzle, rape, murder and a host of other things. We have gangs, drugs school violence. The list is immense. People have extramarital affairs, they lie to one another and covet what each other has.

Mankind is wicked. Sure, there are nice people, but even they sin. God does not sin. He can't. He's angry at sin, and He is pure, patient, loving, compassionate and full of grace. Man can experience God's goodness, but he can't fully comprehend it. I heard a young man say on the radio that he wanted to get saved to escape hell. That figures into our salvation, but it should be a benefit, not the reason we trust in God.

The reason we should be trusting in God is because of His goodness. He loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die in our place for our sins. He loved us enough to do this, "while we were yet sinners," the Bible points out. Yes, we want to avoid hell, and we should be grateful that a good God forgives sinful people. That is why we should come to Him. The reasons we should love Him, are too numerous to mention.