{"id":148,"date":"2012-06-12T09:02:06","date_gmt":"2012-06-12T09:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meditations.kafkasworld.com\/dir\/?p=148"},"modified":"2012-06-12T09:02:06","modified_gmt":"2012-06-12T09:02:06","slug":"gods-sheer-goodness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/2012\/06\/12\/gods-sheer-goodness\/","title":{"rendered":"God\u2019s \u201cSheer Goodness\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
God\u2019s \u201cSheer Goodness\u201d
\nCopyright 2011 by Shea Oakley
\nAll rights reserved<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026none has ever returned to the divine favor except through the sheer goodness of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

This quote from A.W. Tozer\u2019s classic little book, The Knowledge of the Holy, was a deep comfort to me recently. It reminded me in no uncertain terms that my salvation comes only from the very nature of my Savior and in no way from my own \u201cflesh-righteousness\u201d (an oxymoron, by the way, if there ever was one!) I was especially captivated by \u201cthe sheer goodness\u201d part of this 20th century Christian mystic\u2019s statement of the truth.<\/p>\n

The word \u201csheer\u201d is often used in conjunction with another word, \u201cstrength.\u201d When so used it conjures up an image of a strength that is both singular and perhaps even unlimited. The term \u201csheer strength\u201d can certainly be applied to God as well but there is something about the idea of His sheer goodness that somehow is a far greater boon to my sense of well being. That God has unlimited power is one thing, but for Him to also possess unlimited goodness is wonderful beyond words. The fact that our Lord has both is a blessed source of joy to those who love Him, mostly because we know deep inside ourselves that we would not be able to love Him if he had not first loved us and that this love is a function of His goodness. It is good to love and no one is more good and, thus loving, than Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

For me sheer goodness also signifies a particular attribute of the divine and, by definition, all attributes of God are linked with all others. In this case that goodness is most linked in my mind with two in particular, the infinite and the eternal attributes of deity. As such God\u2019s goodness neither runs out nor ends in the lives of His children, not ever. This is good to know when we find ourselves frightened by our own seemingly endless reservoir of darkness and wrong belief. We were initially saved from both by our saving encounter with our Lord\u2019s sheer goodness and we continue to be delivered from the tenacious but dying remnants of both by that same sheer goodness, if we let Him.<\/p>\n

Sound Theology 101 tells us that it is God who makes us acceptable to God, not us. Salvation by grace through faith in the Son of God is the cardinal distinctive of Christianity and we spiritual workaholics need to be constantly reminded of this fact. Otherwise we continue to get caught up in \u201cworks-righteousness\u201d and forget who we are in Christ in the most tragic way. Every so often (and perhaps more often than that) we need this truth to be communicated to us in some fresh new way in words we have not heard before. The Tozer quote I shared at the beginning of this essay was such a new word. Somehow the idea of God\u2019s \u201csheer goodness\u201d seemed to transcend and dissipate some of the spiritual anxiety I happened to be feeling yesterday in a way which, for instance, the theological declaration that \u201csalvation is by faith alone\u201d would not have.<\/p>\n

This is why I rejoice in many extra-biblical writings that are biblically faithful but express the truths of scripture in different ways. The Bible is the only book I read every day, and may it never be otherwise, but I am also so thankful for men like A.W. Tozer and C.S. Lewis and Oswald Chambers who help me to see the singular truths of the Word of God from new angles. I am indebted to them for the many times some insight they have shared in a fresh way has lessened the burden of my fearful heart.<\/p>\n

So perhaps that is why I am repeating this particular quote of Tozer\u2019s so freely and often in this piece; because just maybe it will free you in a difficult moment the way it freed me. If so let us both presume that it was the sheer goodness of God acting on my heart that made me want to share it with you.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

God\u2019s \u201cSheer Goodness\u201d Copyright 2011 by Shea Oakley All rights reserved \u201c\u2026none has ever returned to the divine favor except through the sheer goodness of God.\u201d This quote from A.W. Tozer\u2019s classic little book, The Knowledge of the Holy, was a deep comfort to me recently. It reminded me in no uncertain terms that my… <\/p>\n

Read more God\u2019s \u201cSheer Goodness\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-christian","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6GkOA-2o","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1036,"url":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/10\/gods-power-and-our-motivation\/","url_meta":{"origin":148,"position":0},"title":"God’s Power and Our Motivation","date":"May 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright\u00a0 by Shea Oakley All rights reserved We are often counseled to look at the difficult requirements of the Christian life from the perspective of comparing what we are asked to do for God with what God did for us on the cross. This counsel is valid, but the reason\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":199,"url":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/2012\/07\/04\/repentance-healing-and-three-attributes-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":148,"position":1},"title":"Repentance, Healing and Three Attributes of God","date":"July 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Repentance, Healing and Three Attributes of God Copyright 2010 by Shea Oakley All rights reserved It is vital that we come to know in our hearts that God is greater than anything we have ever experienced and therefore capable of changing that which we may have known for most of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christian"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":183,"url":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/2012\/06\/27\/the-conundrum-persons-good-will\/","url_meta":{"origin":148,"position":2},"title":"The Conundrum of \u201cPersons of Good Will\u201d","date":"June 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Conundrum of \u201cPersons of Good Will\u201d Copyright 2011 by Shea Oakley All rights reserved If you have been a Christian for any length of time you have likely met people who clearly are not believers but who act better then many Christians you have known. These are the family,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christian"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":395,"url":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/2013\/08\/07\/when-christians-despair\/","url_meta":{"origin":148,"position":3},"title":"When Christians Despair","date":"August 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When Christians Despair Copyright by Shea Oakley All rights reserved \u201cFacing facts as they are produces despair, not frenzy, but real downright despair, and God never blames a man for despair\u2026When a man gets to despair he knows that all his thinking will never get him out, he will only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christian"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86,"url":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/14\/nature-cursed-nature-redeemed\/","url_meta":{"origin":148,"position":4},"title":"Nature Cursed, Nature Redeemed","date":"May 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Nature Cursed, Nature Redeemed Copyright 2011 by Shea Oakley All rights reserved When we look at the sheer beauty of the natural world it can be easy to forget that nature is under the same curse we are. The Scriptures tell us that when humankind fell so did humankind\u2019s environs.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christian"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":568,"url":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/2014\/09\/11\/a-fact-of-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":148,"position":5},"title":"A Fact of History","date":"September 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright by Shea Oakley All rights reserved One of the most strongly held tenants of those who disdain religion is that Secularism is the true promoter and guardian of human progress and happiness. An example of this deeply entrenched assumption is the idea that the historical advancement of human rights\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christian"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheaoakley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}