God's Character

Gods Character Reference

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; When He has blessed, then I cannot change it.” Numbers 23:19-20

An interesting peek at the character of God.

Why do we not believe these verses? I mean, if the Bible is God’s word; if it is inerrant; if this really is true from cover to cover – then why do we just not believe it? If this short passage is true, and if the Bible is “God breathed”, inspired by Holy Spirit, then what is so hard to believe in it? “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Too many times, I have heard someone “spin” the Word of God into a completely different meaning, often opposite of the way it has traditionally been read.

One of the favourites is regarding anything to do with the Baptism of Holy Spirit. The Word says in Matthew 3:11, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Yet there are those who deny this verse with all the passion at their command. “This is not for today but was only for the first church,” they say. “This is demonic!” others will say. But there is not a single verse of scripture that says this is not for every believer in every age; and to say it is demonic is the epitome of the type of spin – opposite meaning – to which I referred earlier.

However, this short article is not about one single ‘bone of contention’ within the church. This is about the entire character of God. Is He trustworthy or not? Is His word good or not? In a word – is the Bible God’s Word or is it man’s invention or interpretation?  Are verses like Numbers 23:19-20, or Jeremiah 33:3 or even Jeremiah 29:11 true or are they just another lie foist upon the world by Satan. Is Ezekiel 47 just a dream? Is Zechariah 4:6 false teaching? Are the Gospels and Acts simply fiction? If we are going to question one part of the Bible, then we must question all of it.

I am not playing games here. If the Bible is not God’s Holy Word, then our entire faith must also be questioned because, to those who do not yet believe, it is the whole record, the entire precept upon which Christianity is based. In fact, the Bible itself sums up our position - “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 15:19

This is our problem in a nutshell. Which way will you decide, for decide we must. Is God’s Word true or not? We cannot pick and choose  - it is all or nothing. You decide – I know whom I have believed - 2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

God is either who His Word says He is – or He is not.