We started talking about confession—why we need to confess our sins. Today, let’s think about what we need to confess. It is our sins, of course. Let’s briefly consider various aspects of sin. Our catechism speaks of sin as “any want [lack] of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God” (Q. 14). There are three things to consider. First of all, the ultimate standard of what sin is is the law of God. We don’t need to confess the silly things we feel embarrassed about or the honest mistakes we feel regretful about or even what other people make us feel guilty about. Strictly speaking, the law of God is the ultimate standard of God’s righteousness, not anything else—not the law of the land, nor the ethical standard of our society, nor any man-made (religious) laws, nor our conscience. This is important to remember because it will protect us from the tyranny of others, who want to impose their sense of right and wrong on others.
Read MoreToday, we want to move on to confession, the second element of prayer as outlined in the acronym, A-C-T-S: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. You can see the logic behind the prayer of confession coming after the prayer of adoration: when we reflect on the glory of God, we cannot help but feel our inadequacy—how terribly we fall short of God’s glory. In prayer of confession, we acknowledge our guilt before God. Here, I’d like to address what may seem like a silly question—why do we need to confess our sins? Answering this question will help us understand its importance more fully.
Read MoreToday, we will actually reflect on one more attribute of God—love. Love is another one of those words, which are used a lot but hard to define. 1 Cor. 13 gives us a wonderful description of love but not a definition. Someone said that the best way to define the doctrine of the Trinity is by saying what it is not. This may apply to love as well—at least, it may be a good way to begin. One good way to do this is by distinguishing love from lust:
Read MoreWe are going to end our brief reflection on the attributes of God with God’s sovereignty. Sovereignty is a compound word, made up of “supreme” and “reign.” Sovereignty, then, refers to God’s supreme, absolute reign over all things. · God is sovereign over all domains; there no square inch in this universe, which is outside of God’s sovereign control. He, who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16), is also the sovereign Lord over hell (Ps. 139:8).
Read MoreThis morning, let us praise God for His righteousness. Righteousness is related to law. A person is righteous when he keeps the law. What does it mean for God to be righteous? Does that mean that God keeps the law? He certainly does. If breaking the law is sin, God does not break the law, for He does not, and cannot, sin. Is that because God is subordinate to the law? To put the question in another way: “Does God command something because it is right or is it right because God commands it?” If the former, the idea of “right” is independent of God and even higher than God. If the latter, the idea of “right” becomes arbitrary, making God a moral tyrant.
Read MoreThis morning, let us praise God for His holiness! Holiness is another one of those words that are hard to define. But it helps to remember that there are two different aspects to the idea of holiness: metaphysical (regarding one’s being) and ethical.
Read MoreThis morning, we want to praise God for His goodness. We use the word “good” a lot but it is very hard to define it in any succinct way. This is because the idea of “good” is very wide in its meaning. Just look up the word in any dictionary and you will find the following definitions (and more!): being positive or desirable in nature; serving the desired purpose or end; not spoiled or ruined; superior to the average; of high quality; of moral excellence; benevolent; well-behaved; worthy of respect; competent; complete, etc. When we speak of God as being good, we mean all these things (and more!) in perfection, absoluteness, and infinitude.
Read MoreToday, let’s praise God for His truthfulness (which contains the idea of faithfulness as well). To be true is to be without any falsehood or deceit and therefore trustworthy. We can speak of God’s truthfulness in three aspects:
Read MoreThis morning, let’s praise God for His wisdom. God is not only omniscient; He is also infinitely wise. Unlike knowledge, wisdom is the art of properly employing one’s knowledge and choosing the best end and the best means for reaching that end (Bavinck). So, Berkhof defines God’s wisdom in this way: “that perfection of God whereby He applies His knowledge to the attainment of His ends in a way which glorifies Him most” (Berkhof, p. 69). I think we can also add, “in a way which is best for His people.” Therefore, His wisdom is shown in all things that He does:
Read MoreToday, let’s praise God for His impassibility. Impassibility means inability to suffer. We can understand why God is impassible: He is almighty. An almighty God suffer in any way, can He? But what if the almighty God loves a weak being, vulnerable to all kinds of suffering? If God is also love, wouldn’t He suffer sorrow, seeing His loved one suffer? (Of course, some may think that an almighty God should be able to protect such a being from ever suffering. But it is obvious from our suffering that God in His infinite wisdom chose not to do that.) Doesn’t the doctrine of divine impassibility make God seem cold and impersonal?
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