What is your view of God? Do you imagine Him to be an austere being who is poised to catch you in a mistake? Maybe you picture Him like a permissive parent who will overlook every fault. We should consider the truth that our view of God has no bearing upon His actual nature. Allow me to illustrate.
I wear corrective lenses. If you were standing in front of me, I could see you clearly. However, if I were to look at you without wearing my glasses, you would look quite blurry to me. Yet, regardless of my view, you remain the same. God has Divine characteristics whether we recognize them or not.
Paul called upon the readers of the Book of Romans to consider the nature of God. “Behold, then the goodness and severity of God…” (Romans 11:22). Though these qualities seem antithetic, they are not incompatible.
Sadly, many folks have a conception of God that is one or the other. Frequently, I hear people speak of the Father as being love. It is true that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). However, true love is not characterized by a “bury the head in the sand” attitude regarding sin. It is also true that “the wrath of God” will abide on many (John 3:36). So, God has the capacity for love and wrath.
God is a Being of perfection in all His attributes – perfectly balanced and whole. He is a loving God and is longsuffering, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). To make salvation available, He sent His Son to pay the price for human sinfulness (John 3:16). The New Testament Gospel is the plan whereby individuals can secure salvation. The Gospel “is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth…” (Romans 1:16). Obedience, however, is optional (Romans 6:16). Paul tried to persuade people to obey (2 Corinthians 5:11; Acts 26:28), but he could not force them to obey. When Jesus returns, He will be “rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). Anyone whose view is that God’s love will not allow Him to banish anyone to eternal suffering has an erroneous view of God. He allowed His Son to suffer and die upon the cross (demonstrating His goodness), but no one can escape punishment who turns his back on His Son (His severity).
