Before we look at the Goodness and Severity of God, let us briefly be reminded of the attribute of God's faithfulness.
"God, being who He is, cannot cease to be what He is, and being what He is, He cannot act out of character with Himself. He is at once faithful and immutable, so all His words and acts must be and must remain faithful. God is His own reason for all He does. He cannot be compelled from without, but ever speaks and acts from within Himself by His own sovereign will as it pleases Him.
There is no conflict among the divine attributes. God’s being is unity. He cannot divide Himself and act at a given time from one of His attributes while the rest remain inactive. Justice must be present in mercy, and love in judgment. And so with all the divine attributes."
A.W. Tozer goes on to give us a very timely warning:
"We can hold a correct view of truth only by daring to believe everything God has said about Himself. It is a grave responsibility that a man takes upon himself when he seeks to edit out of God’s self-revelation such features as he in his ignorance deem objectionable. Blindness in part must surely fall upon any of us presumptuous enough to attempt such a thing."
Goodness and Severity of God
What is the Goodness of God? Tozer explains, "The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank, and friendly. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people.
The goodness of God is the drive behind all the blessings He daily bestows upon us. God created us because He felt good in His heart and He redeemed us for the same reason.
Divine goodness is self-caused, infinite, perfect, and eternal. The cause of His goodness is in Himself; the recipient of His goodness are all His beneficiaries without merit and without recompense."
Romans 11:22 asks us to consider this goodness of God in relation to His severity:
“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”
"And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." Exodus 34:6-7
J.I. Packer, in his discussion on this subject in "Knowing God" says the following:
"Goodness - something admirable, attractive, praiseworthy, generosity
Severity - “cutting off” - God’s decisive withdrawal of his goodness from those who have spurned it."
"Behind every display of divine goodness stands a threat of severity in judgment if that goodness is scorned. If we do not let it draw us to God in gratitude and responsive love, we have only ourselves to blame when God turns against us. Those who decline to respond to God’s goodness by repentance, and faith, and trust, and submission to his will, cannot wonder or complain if sooner or later the tokens of his goodness are withdrawn, the opportunity of benefiting from them ends, and retribution supervenes. The Bible makes much of the patience and forbearance of God in postponing merited judgments in order to extend the day of grace and give more opportunity for repentance."
So, how can we profit from this understanding of God's goodness and severity?
How do we apply this knowledge for God's glory and our edification?
Packer suggests the following:
"1. Appreciate the goodness of God. Don’t take anything for granted - learn to thank God for all. Do not slight the Bible, or the gospel of Jesus Christ, by an attitude of casualness toward either.
2. Appreciate the patience of God. Think how he has borne with you, and still bears with you, when so much in your life is unworthy of him and you have so richly deserved his rejection. Learn to marvel at his patience and seek grace to imitate it in your dealings with others, and try not to try his patience any more.
3. Appreciate the discipline of God. This kindly discipline, in which God’s severity touches us for a moment in the context of his goodness, is meant to keep us from having to bear the full brunt of that severity apart from that context. It is a discipline of love, and it must be received accordingly."
“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:” Hebrews 12:5
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”
Psalm 119:71
