What are some of the most important aspects of Biblical theology?

What is God Like?

God is a Holy God.

  • God's holiness has ramifications for our behavior if we are to enjoy relationship with Him as our Father.
    • Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isa 59:1-2).
    • Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong (Hab 1:13).
  • God’s holiness as it relates to our sin is what makes atonement necessary for forgiveness.
    • Since all people sin (1Kings 8:46), and since we can't deal with sin ourselves, Another must satisfy God's anger and reconcile us to God by sacrificing his life as the penalty for our sin (Rom 6:23).
    • All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one(Ps 14:3).
    • Therefore no one will be declared righteous in [God's] sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin (Rom 3:20).
  • This is what Jesus Christ's sacrificial death accomplished - the satisfaction of God's holy anger and the restoration of our relationship with God (Heb 9:11-14, 23-28).
  • This view of our sin as separating us from God's holy presence has important ramifications for the way we go about leading people in the local church.
  • If we think people are basically good, then the church will need to build people's self-esteem by building on the resident good in them.
  • If we think people are basically sinful and separated from God, then the church will need to clearly present the gospel of Jesus Christ as the only way to avoid God's anger and be reconciled to the One who created us.