THE QUIET HOUR

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 46, 29 June 1929, Page 3

THE QUIET HOUR

SUfJPAY JPEADIWe. ' * '♦ *" " G.OQDjSESS AND sjeyeritj ' character of g,od t * " '"' <r * “ Vv - v (By the Rev. G. T. BEALE.) Behold, then, the goodness and severity of God. —Romans xi; 22. It is sometimes said that to represent God as capable of anger is a JmSistak’f* The idea fat "V ne anger 'belongs, no doubt, to the -Jewish religion, but it betrays an j.- w. imperfect stage of religious dovel- •- 1 » u.. • r- ,'i'. opments. It is not Christian. The God of Christianity is represented as kindness, forbearance, and, above ap things, love. It is very necessary to learn the New Testament, conception tof God’s character. For it is this that concerns us most. In the New Testament the Apostles

give us very definite teaching on the character of ,God. 'There is a very beautiful passage in Romans viii., 38, where S. Paul declares himself persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, r nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate as front the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This passage, however, does not complete the Apostle’s teaching. There is another side to God’s character. f>. Paul writes solemn warnings oh God’s anger. "After thy : hardness • *,< -v n; .■;•>*, ' ‘ 'ii .* . and impenitent heart, treasures! up

for {hyseif wrath in the day o,f wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” This doctrine. S. Paul knew, had been illustrated’by the history of the Jews. He saw them excluded from their high positions and that position taken by Gentiles* Accordingly, this section and rejection of, the Jews, and all that it implied, was to S. Paul a demonstration of God’s char'acter. It' forced him' to exclaim: “Behold; then, the ' g/bbdness and severity of God,'*' * And, further, when, in the same Epistle, S. Paul teaches the doctrine of reconciliation between God and man, he says: “God commended His love towards us.” That is to say, “Put His~love for us beyond all doubt,” in order that we' shall be saved from the wrath of Gocl.

XO COhTBAPICHiOIV. ; ■*w - v yci « h' l '*-, . So St. Paul speaks quite naturally of the goociriess and severity of God and is unaware of, any contradiction between them. And 'S. I’aul is not alone in this teaching. In S', £ohn the same double character , is ascribed to God. 'Vye 'owe to S. tyohn the declaration that God '| . H'-i • L , ; t V'*f ; ' /* . is Love and also the warning, “He

that oheyeth not the Son shall not f . 4v/ .Jtn ■ > ’4 -Ji. tsee life, but the wrath of God jtj ( >■ \ >» ■ »• abideth in him.” (iii., ,36). .JVhat value, then, can we give to this teaching? Did these two Apostjles ebty’ely misunderstand God’s character, or were they correct? In ordlr to find out we have to go back from the Apostles to Christ .himself. Christ’s revelation of God’s character is jgiven partly in His teaching. The central idea of God as given by Christ is Fatherhood. God is represented as kindly and benevolent to all His children. He js merciful and forgiving* His pity and compassion are told in stories of’ tenderness and beauty, sis, for instance, in the parable of the Prodigal Sou. Yet at the sam e time there is ‘another side "to ‘Christ’s 360-i representation of God’s character. .£* ssaSi • ,-.»«« • iVt<••>*?<■ 1 «£"»• \ In' some parables ws read of tne *, 'vy. ■ '• n.iiMaster of the House being angry "'V i ■‘VI., ' y I M. j i-1 ***** at excuses and refusals to accept His invitations. Again, His Lord was wrath and .delivere.fi him Ho the tormentors. And the mpral of the story is the warning: “So shall also my Heavenly Father do tfftto you, if ye forgive rot everyone his brother from your hearts,”

THE STRAIN OF SEVERITY. We*'see,’ then, that the" strain, of 1 h ;t* . ,• iu.U J, t l ‘nisin... severity, no less than the strain of .tenderness runs all .through pur Lord's teaching. But Christ is not only the revelation of God’s charac■i iT- : ter lut pie L also the revelation of Hia own character. ?.he character of Jesus is an ideal of perfect gentleness, kindness and sympathy. Summed up in words: “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden' arid I will give 'you rest*’’ ‘Yet this quality of tenderness was combined in Ghr.tst with a capar/ty for moral indignation. There is great severity in Christ’s judgment on wilful defects. He fiercely denounces hypifjcracy: . “Ye serpents;, ye offspring of vipers, how shall yo ’escape the judgment of‘hell.’* We cannot, therefore, escape the fact that in spite of Christ’s gentleness, there runs all His dealings

a strain of great l * severity, all the more - impressive because of His goodness. What Christ is, God is. Therefore goodness and moral indignation exist in .God’s character. It is hot only the Apostles that force this teaching upon us. It is our'Lord Himself. After all, if we think the matter out, we see tnat 5 both these qualities are* essential ’to a perfect character. A perfect character must exhibit love, such as is shown in I. Con 13, but a perfect character must also exhibit anger. . 111-temper and irritability “have no place in a perfect character. But there is an anger which is a moral necessity. Anger against the mean and despicable cannot be separated from love of goodness and truth. I

' ..p.RROJt OF GOD. If a man is incapable of indignation against evil, he is incapable of love for what is worthy. So it is with God. Yet there are people who, while they acknowledge th;k such a doctrine is true, hold that if is not wise to teach it in this modern age, as it might lead to a distorted idea of God. Undoubtedly, in the' past the idea of God as an angry God was considerably overdone, so that some had a sort of terror of God. But that is not so to-day» The average modern mind is not troubled by exaggerated notions of God’s severity. I think it is true to say that if the past exaggerated God’s severity the present exaggerates His indulgence. But as a matter qf fact neither extreme is true, and both' are dangerous. Our r,. 1 -?;i a ■ n-> u plain duty is to reinstate the AposIjolic faith about God’s character, We have to realise both sides. It is the only remedy against misconceptions. We may' rightly insist that the love of God is broader than the measure of, man’s mind, but we must not forget what it is that God can be supposed to love. He loves goodness. He loves holiness. And 'that love involves abhorrence of all that is not holy. The wrath of God, is involved in the very fire of His love. So it becomes our duty to restore t 0 people the awful majesty of the character of God.