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I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will strengthen you, though you do not know Me, so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. – Isaiah 45:5-7 HCSB

There is a lot of talk in the modern American church about God being Love. Obviously, the Bible agrees[1]ALL He is. Do you love only? Do you hate completely? Is any person truly that simple? , but the problem begins when we think that is

All human psychology is based on the complex interactions of multiple factors[2]. We instinctively know that certain physiological imperatives drive us almost as much as our subconscious impulses and conscious schemas.

We ascribe complexity to ourselves, yet simplicity to a Person Who has lived so much longer than we[3] that to address Him as ‘Attiq Yomin (the Ancient One)[4] is almost ludicrous!

It’s as though we have looked at Sunday school pictures of a long-haired, white, blue-eyed Jesus for so long that we have begun to think He actually is that one-dimensional!

God is love. But God also hates,[5] and commands us to hate - evil.[6]

God rejoices over the salvation of even a single sinner.[7] But He is also enraged by injustice[8] and stubborn, willful sin.[9]

God is patient.[10] But that patience can come to an end. If we stubbornly turn our backs on him, become stiff-necked and refuse to listen, He will turn us over to the Destroyer.[11]

He wants nothing but goodness and life for us,[12] but He will make us sick and even kill us if He thinks that’s what’s best for us.[13]

Jesus came as a Suffering Servant[14] but that role is now over. God has exalted His Son above all others[15] and any day now, He will return as King of kings and Lord of lords.[16]

God declares that His Lordship is demonstrated in the fact that He creates both light and darkness, success and disaster.[17] correct understanding of God’s sovereignty leads us to believe that even the calamities of life can be laid at God’s feet[18] because nothing happens that He does not allow.[19] Therefore, a

God is not some one-dimensional, pastel picture hanging on a wall. He is loving and fearsome, patient and curt, comforting and crushing. We do not need to defend Him. He does not need “spin doctors.” We should not slant our testimony – even in what we think is His favor.[20]

[1] Jeremiah 31:3; John 3:16; Romans 5:5,8; Ephesians 5:2; 1 John 4:16

[2] Jeremiah 17:9

[3] Deuteronomy 32:40; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Nehemiah 9:5; Job 36:26; Psalm 90:1-2; 93:2; Isaiah 44:6

[4] Daniel 7:21-22

[5] Isaiah 61:8; Jeremiah 44:4; Zechariah 8:17; Revelation 2:6,15

[6] Amos 5:15

[7] Luke 15:7

[8] Isaiah 61:8;

[9] John 3:36; Romans 1:18; 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 2:16

[10] Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Psalm 103:8-10; Isaiah 48:9; Ezekiel 20:17; Joel 2:13

[11] Nehemiah 9:28-31; Proverbs 1:24-27; 29:1; Matthew 24:48-51

[12] John 10:10

[13] 1 Corinthians 5:5; 11:27-30

[14] Philippians 2:7-8

[15] Philippians 2:9-11

[16] Revelation 19:11-16

[17] Isaiah 31:2 cp 47:10-11

[18] Amos 3:6

[19] Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6

[20] Job 13:7-12

[21] Romans 1:21

We must choose to love Him as He is,[21] in all His glorious complexity, or not to love Him at all.

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

Moralism

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