Beeson Podcast, Episode #664
Dr. Paul House
Date

>>Announcer: 

Welcome to the Beeson podcast, coming to you from Beeson Divinity School on the campus of Samford University. Now your host, Doug Sweeney. 


>>Doug Sweeney:

Welcome to the Beeson Podcast. I’m your host, Doug Sweeney. As we mentioned last week, this year brought the retirement of two of Beeson’s most beloved Old Testament professors. Last week, we heard from Dr. Ken Mathews. This week, we’ll hear from Dr. Paul House. Something that our students have always loved about Dr. House is his skillful use of biblical theology to expose God’s steadfast personal character as it is consistently revealed to us in both the Old and New Testaments. 

Dr. House is also beloved for his unique ability to speak of biblical characters and settings as real and knowable. He also employs biblical terminology with both precision and concision. All of these things come together crucially in this important sermon on God’s character entitled, “God’s Character in God’s Word,” preached during the 2012 biblical studies lectures.

Dr. House shows us how God’s character as described in Exodus 34 is critical to understanding the rest of the Old Testament. Furthermore, it’s only by understanding who God is that we ourselves become whole people. Dr. House says this text manifests God’s personal friendship with Moses, God’s revealed personal character to Moses, and God’s personal word through Moses. Dr. House tells us that because God is personal, and God is dependable, and God is gracious, and God is just – that’s what his scriptures are and that’s what they convey. 

May you grow in love for our Lord as you listen to our good friend talk about God’s character today.


>>House:

It’s a great privilege to be with you this morning and always a privilege to have the opportunity to share God’s Word with God’s people in any place. I hope that you will take your bibles out and perhaps preferably your pew bible today so that we can all be together in the same passage, which I believe is on page 74. And those of you who have your Hebrew bibles with you may want to open those as well to I think page 144, I don’t have that committed to memory, but I believe that’s what I recall. 

If you take out these pew bibles because today we’re emphasizing as part of our sacred space, our place of worship, the word of God, the Bible. And I just want to say that when we thought about getting pew bibles for the chapel it came about that the family of Dr. Thielman ... if you look at the inside cover here you’ll see that these bibles were given in memoriam for Calvin Thielman, Frank’s dad, who lived from 1930 to 2002. And this is a replica of his bookplates. He wanted to be known as a minister of God’s Word. And that’s what he was. I forget, Frank, over 30 years anyway, whatever Frank’s gone over 30 years, his dad pastored the same church. Just faithful expounding God’s word. He had parishioners who were quite famous and some who were unknown, just expounding God’s word to them, helping them out. And raising a pretty good family, I think. 

And when Frank thinks about what he hopes will happen with you, as his students, he really hopes you’ll be like his dad. That’s what he’s hoping to do. So, what sort of human being would want to disappoint Dr. Thielman? (laughter) But I thought I would just make this note that these pew bibles are special to me because of their connection to the Thielman family and for other reasons. And when you graduate ... and that’s usually a “when,” we’re not sure always, but it’s been our practice lately to give a replica of this bible to our graduates so that you would go out and preach the word of God. That’s what we hope you will do. 

As you take these bibles up and you’ve turned to page 74, Exodus 34, it’s a sermon, I do feel obligated to take a couple of moments to thank Dr. George for this invitation to give these lectures. I know that I have the same problem that I’ve always had. That is, I am really just the younger colleague of Alan Ross and Ken Mathews and Frank Thielman. And I have always since I started preaching as a teenager felt the weight that I’m always talking to people who are older, better qualified, more spiritual, and have walked longer with the Lord. That used to be my only problem. Now I’ve preached long enough that there are younger people who know more than I do and who’ve walked better with the Lord.

So, I have this dilemma, this burden that I’ve never gotten used to. And so I seek colleagues around me and colleagues who are still with us going into different things. Like Dr. Bray and Norfleet Day and all these people. And I realized it is an honor that I don’t deserve and a job I cannot do unless I do the only thing I have to offer you. That is to give you God’s word, not my own. It’s the only definition of success that will do. And so I’ll attempt to do that. 

Now what I’m trying to do today and the next two days is to talk about God’s character in God’s Word. Today, God’s character in God’s Word from Exodus 34:6-7. And then the next two days we’re going to be seeing that this passage is quoted, eluded to, and the concepts in it used throughout the Old Testament. The Book of Numbers, the Book of Joel, and Jonah, and Micah. They all use it. Nahum uses it. The Psalms use it in multiple places. Nehemiah uses this text. It’s one of the foundational texts that if you want to see what the bible says and how subsequent writers preached and taught and wrote about scripture, we would trace this text. When we do biblical theology, it is important for us to find a text that will trace us on through the scriptures, used and re-used. Exodus 34 is one of those passages.

So, that’s what I’m up to. And so today God’s character in God’s Word where we find our foundation, then from that text two other themes. Tomorrow: God’s Mercy With His People. And then the last day: God’s Justice in the World. For we’re going to see there are two basic characteristics/categories of God in Exodus 34. That is, God’s grace and kindness and mercy and compassion, also his justice and unwillingness to clear the guilty. God is a whole person. The only person I know who does not need to change. He is complete as he is. And so when I give these sorts of lectures I always try to stress three things: One, the greatness and the wholeness and the purity of God himself. Therefore the greatness and wholeness and purity of God’s Word. And God’s Word as then a third thing – a shaping tool to make us into Christ’s likeness. 

We too can grow in Christ’s likeness as we apply our lives to God’s Word. For there is, I would argue, one God, one Bible, one Gospel. We can be whole people in a fragmented world if we understand who God is. So, in short, I hope to share God with you. I agree with David Broughten Knox, a great Australian theologian and educator, one of Graham Cole’s mentors. He wrote the following, “The doctrine of God is of the utmost importance. For it controls the whole of life. As a person thinks about God that is to say as he or she thinks about ultimate reality, so his or her standards of behavior, values, and relation with other people are determined.” What do you think about God? Do you know him? Do you trust him? Do you have your life formed and shaped by his Word? These are the questions that we will deal with in these three times together.

Well, that doesn’t count against my time I don’t think. I hope then you will take out your bibles and the sermon outline, if you will. You’ll see where I’m going. If I go very badly astray and all the people, you know who you are, you close up your bibles because you know I’m finished with it and not doing very well with is – don’t do that. Always keep the bible open. There’s always something to do, no matter how bad I get – you can read the bible. That would be a good thing. 

We come to this chapter 34 and as I say in the handout but by this point in the law, in the Torah, second book of the Bible, Moses has taught readers about creation, the beginnings of sin, God’s judging flood, and God’s covenant with Noah – all in Genesis 1-11. He’s described the calling and blessing of Abraham and his clan in Genesis 12-50. He’s reported God’s magnificent deliverance of Israel from Egypt in Exodus 1-18. And he has declared Israel’s covenant identity as God’s priest for the nations in Exodus 19.

And some of these events that I’ve just mentioned have just happened recently. Moses has had quite a semester so far. He’s also then detailed the first portion of the relationship based Sinai commands and case laws in Exodus 24, and he’s received God’s standards for Israel’s priests in Exodus 25-31. 

There have been some bumps on the road but it’s been pretty nice so far. But then sadly Moses has just recounted the sordid tales of the golden calf incident where Israel breaks its commitments to Yahweh during the covenant’s very first weeks of existence. I know some of you get discouraged and think, “I’m in my first weeks of seminary, my first few weeks of ministry. It only took six weeks for the shine to come off, for the glory to depart.” It doesn’t take long sometimes. And this is what happened with Moses. After sustained intercession in Exodus 33, God agrees to begin afresh with the people. 

And this act of divine grace leads Moses to want more. He wants to know more about God. So, the Lord agrees to exploring more of who he is. But he doesn’t grant Moses’ wish to experience the Lord’s full presence or glory. Because God loves Moses, he says, I won’t do that because you can’t stand it. But he says I will tell you more. I will tell you more and that’s where we come to God’s self description in chapter 34. And this passage comes in light of Moses wondering, “Why would God do what God does?” Apparently he has some questions. 

We could ask more, but perhaps he has questions like, “What sort of God creates, assesses, makes and keeps covenants, delivers from slavery, punishes the wicked and yet begins afresh with people who clearly have walked away from him?” What sort of God is this? What sort of God do I serve? So, this morning we’re going to try to answer these questions. And I want to do it of course in three stages. One – I want us to see that God is personal. His personal friendship with Moses in the first five verses. But then God’s revealed personal character to Moses – verses 6-7. And then God’s personal work through Moses – in verse 10 and 27. 

For we don’t just have this revelation, we have this revelation written down for us so that we might receive by the eye witness testimony of Moses himself, the word of the Lord, just as in 2 Peter. Peter says, “We have eye witness testimony for you.” But then he says that amazing thing, doesn’t he? “But we have a more sure word than our eye witness testimony on the Mount of Transfiguration. We have the prophetic word. You would do well to pay attention to that. A more sure word – is that just humility? Even if it is, it’s extraordinary. 

Here, the word of the Lord handed down to faithful witnesses. Well, first, God’s personal friendship with Moses in chapter 34:1-5, by now in the bible we would notice that God is a personal God. He speaks. He creates. He thinks. He judges. He reveals himself to Adam and Eve, and to Abraham and Sarah, and to Jacob and et cetera. God is a God who enters into relationship with human beings. We see in the bible that God has already made friends with Abraham – called him out of Ur the Caldis which according to Joshua 24:2-3, what was Abraham and his family doing there? Worshipping idols. God in his grace took Abraham from worshipping idols to worshipping the living and true God and entered into relationship with him and entered into covenant with him, bound himself by his word to Abraham. And began to walk with him. 

Isaiah 41:8 calls Abraham God’s friend, as does James 2:23. God is willing to risk his reputation to make friends with people. Every now and then I worry about my friends in a variety of ways. But I often wonder if their reputation can stand being associated with me. And sometimes they’ve had to risk their reputation to be associated with me. God doesn’t fear that. God risks that. And he walks with Abraham. And we see in the bible that he’s made friends with Moses. 

Think about what God has done for Moses – Exodus 1-4. God saved Moses from a genocidal Pharaoh who wanted to kill all the boy babies. And through a series of events God sees to it that Moses lives. But then in a way we also need to see that God saved Moses from himself. Moses himself becoming a murderer. God receives him back, God calls him to be the leader of Israel. He calls him to be his mouthpiece. He calls him to be the shepherd of his people. He calls him to write scripture. He calls him to do all these things so that Numbers 12:8 and Deuteronomy 34:10 tell us God spoke with Moses face to face, like people do with their friends. 

Moses had come to know God personally. And so as we come to chapter 34:1, the Lord is coming to his friend Moses who has made intercession for the people and he’s come to his friend to renew the covenant, that’s verse one, and to receive God’s word, verses two and three, be ready in the morning, come up, be here and I will give you the words for the people. And to meet with God in verses four and five. God is always personal and may be known by us. There are times when, yes, God seems quite far away from us. That often happens in academic settings, I find. Every now and then you’re taking an exam and it might be on Jesus himself but you feel like God is far away from you, because we’ve not integrated our lives the way we need to. Or you’ve moved from a foreign state, like Mississippi or Missouri or Illinois and you come to this beautiful place and you wonder as if you were a polytheist if your God is in this place because of all the stuff that happens to you.

God is personal. He is with you. He may be known by you. And is constantly revealing himself through his word. And what a revelation comes next. God is personal and here is his personal character revealed to Moses and to us. The lord God, Yahweh, declares himself in verses six and seven, which are very, very important for us for this week. He says here is who I am in case you’re wondering, I am a God who is merciful by the ESV, perhaps this is where all you Hebrew scholars need to come in and look at these terms and roll them over and think about them. God is compassionate. That first word is used in I Kings 3:26 where Solomon has got the two mothers ... do you remember this story? Two women each had a baby and one I think mistakenly, it was an accident, but she suffocated her baby in the night and when the morning came she tried to switch the babies and Solomon has to sort out whose baby. 

And the text says, he said, “Okay, we’ll divide the baby. We’ll give half to her and half to her. And everybody will have something.” And so the one mother says that will be fine. But the other one’s compassion was burning within her and she says no, no, give the baby to her. 

So, we see this word in many contexts of the Old Testament but maybe at its base the one thing it’s trying to convey to you is the kind of compassion a good parent has for a child. That’s where God begins. And he says, “I am merciful,” or “I am gracious,” the second term is used in the bible in a variety of ways, but often used of a king who shows mercy to a subject. Or someone who shows mercy and kindness to someone who is poor and needy, reaching out to people who are in need. That’s what God has done for Israel isn’t it? Crying out in slavery, crying out in bondage. In Exodus 2:23-25 the text says God heard, he remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and it was time. God’s mercy reaches out. 

And he goes on, not only is he compassionate and not only is he merciful, but he’s slow to anger. He holds back his wrath. Some of you have translated ... it’s kind of funny. God fills his nose. He hasn’t yet exploded. He is slow in his wrath. And you have already seen this in the book of Exodus. Israel is no more than out of slavery than they are complaining about the menu. And they don’t like the water and they don’t like the circumstances and they don’t like how it goes. And they’re not very long before they are longing for slavery again. 

And God is slow in his anger. He puts up with a lot. He does not have a quick trigger and some people think that means God will never do anything. Some people take his grace for granted. God says I am slow to anger. I am patient and I wait. Slow to anger, filled with [inaudible 00:21:34] covenant love, loyal love, steadfast love. It’s hard to put it in the right terms in English, isn’t it, for all of us who have tried. But it’s the kind of love you have for somebody with whom you’re in special relationship. We know what this is like. I have three friends that are staying with us this week. I hope you will meet them. Greg and John and Julian. They’re enjoying their tenth anniversary of their graduation from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry. They’re here with us. We’re enjoying a good reunion. And it’s an amazing thing.

Now, Greg happens to have two daughters here at Samford. I know Greg and I’ve met his daughters. And I like his daughters. They’re good people. But I would probably do things for the Snyder girls that I might not do for somebody else because I’m in relationship with Greg. It’s that kind of love. God goes about showing love to people as if he had this intimate connection with them. As if they had a covenant with him. He shows love to all of us like that. You say you mean the strangers off the street? The people ... well, God doesn’t have strangers – you know how that goes. But anyway ... YES. 

God’s covenant type love. And not only that he is faithful, filled with integrity and truthfulness. God is guarding his word to make sure it comes true. He does not lie. In fact, the bible says he cannot lie. Even when we wish he would lie to us, he tells us the truth. And he is faithful in that to the end. To his word and to his deeds. He is faithful. He is true, he is [inaudible 00:23:26]. And he is forgiving, he bears with, and forgives people who do what? Well, the first word “commit iniquity.” That means they twist God’s word and God’s truth and God’s ways. People who sin are twisted because they twist God’s word and God’s ways. 

And transgressions, that is about rebelling against God’s ways. It’s not just the old [inaudible 00:23:55] rebels. Everybody is a rebel one way or the other. Here’s God’s standard and we will not do it. And we are sinners, that is we miss the goals God has set for us on purpose. Willfully miss the goal. Here’s a good and decent and honest goal and it’s what’s best for us and we miss it on purpose. It’s as if you have your homework done and refuse to turn it in on time. Why do that, really? 

Because we like to rebel! So, God puts up with that. God forgives that. This is the essence of who we are. If you’re going to understand sin in the bible and understand twisting, rebelling, and missing what God has said and who God is. At its core, sin is faithlessness to the creator and lover of our souls. It’s a personal thing. Don’t you love it when someone tells you, “Oh, don’t take that personally?” Pretty hard not to since I am a person. But I know what they mean. 

Now, this is who God is but we’re not finished. Most of us would like it to be finished here. But he goes on to say that God does not clear or acquit the guilty. He’s slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands and probably, Deuteronomy 7:9, thousands of generations, forgiving iniquity and transgressing sin but who will by no means clear the guilty. And we’re going to talk about that the next two days because there are a lot of texts in the bible where people are irritated that it looks like God is doing that. 

We’re all Christians and ministers of the gospel, most of us, and of course we want everyone to come to the Lord. Do we? Do we really? I hope so. But I’ve had people on a list or two that I just thought, “Well, I would rather not.” They deserve judgment. I won’t let them come home, even if God lets them come home. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers and I believe perhaps a better translation is together with the children. I’ll get that sorted out with better [inaudible 00:26:33] myself. On the children’s children to the third and fourth generation. Now, it’s important for us to read that passage in context with Exodus 20:4-6, which of course comes before Exodus 34. That’s why they brought me here to do these lectures, because I have great insights like Exodus 20 precedes Exodus 34. But we read 34 in light of 20 and it says the generations third and fourth generations of those who hate me. That’s what we ought to understand. 

But this is not punishing innocent people for the sins of their parents and their grandparents. This is I’ve got three and four generations who still hate me. I will pursue the sinner as far as I have to pursue. But do you notice the sinner who allows his sin to go on is neglecting climbing over forgetting, ignoring God’s grace, compassion, justice, and kindness, and are saying to God, “I dare you. I ask you. I compel you to prove to me that you don’t clear the guilty.” But God will not clear the guilty. And in life we will find that God’s patience with the guilty, with the wicked taxes our patience. 

And we will find that God’s mercy, though, really continues on no matter what. So, this is God’s balanced flexible whole character. This is what God is at every moment of every day with every person in every situation all together, all at once. He handles all of that himself. This is your God. Do you trust him? Do you trust him? See, this is part of why God explains this to Moses, because Moses has a lot of work to do yet. We’re not to the end of the Pentateuch. Moses has barely begun his work with the Lord. And one of the things that Moses is going to have to do – and we’ll see tomorrow – he does do in Numbers 14. That’s trust God’s character. Do you trust God’s character? 

I would invite you to, if you’re a student, to realize your faculty wasn’t always as tired and broken down as we are now. I think you know that some of us have lives, not all of us, but some of us have lives. And so if you want to ask a few questions – can you trust God? When you are an immigrant to this country – we have faculty members who say, yes, you can trust God. He’ll take you from a foreign land, bring you to the place you need to be. You can ask, well, what about can God bring me from California? Can God bring me from Illinois? God can do that. He can be with you. Our faculty would say – yes. 

If you’re in a financial crunch can you trust God? Our faculty members would say – yes. They’ve been there. If you’ve been abandoned by those that you love – will God be there for you? They would say – yes. If you have to ... and I say this with great reverence – if you have to bury your parent, your siblings, your children – will God be there for you? Your faculty members say – yes. You can trust God then. These are faithful witnesses. Faithful testimony. 

I’ve seen my faculty colleagues do all of this. I’ve seen them take care of their aged parents. I’ve seen them do all sorts of things. Can the Lord sustain you through a long term ministry? I think our dean would say, yes, you can. It’s the only dean we’ve ever had. I hope the Lord sustained him. He’s still here – so I suppose that’s happened. Can the Lord do that? The faculty would say – yes. But also look around you. What about when it comes to the crucial moments of death? Got these statuaries, you know? [inaudible 00:30:44] from Uganda [inaudible 00:30:46] people after him and it comes down – do you trust God even when you’re about to be assassinated? He would say – yes. Over here to Bonhoeffer – can you climb the scaffold to be executed believing that life is about to begin for you? Bonhoeffer did. I don’t know much about our brother from Iran here, but when the extremists came for him – can you trust God? He would say – yes. [inaudible 00:31:15] when the [inaudible 00:31:19] people came for him. And was killed. Can you trust God to death? And those of you that can see back here – see the statuary of Bill Wallace over here. Died I think 1951. I can’t remember. But died in China in a prison for communists. And dear old [inaudible 00:31:36] over here from Australia. A missionary nurse. Engaged to be married, told by her bishop to stay in New Guinea no matter what when the Japanese invaded there. Killed. And there were several others with her. Can you trust God even in death? Yes. 

That’s the testimony, see? That’s the testimony of faithful people. And it’s the testimony more importantly, a more sure word, in the word of God. You can trust clear to the end. This is the God we cling to when things are at their lowest point or at their best point. 

Now for verse 10 and 27. God’s personal word about his character to us, to his people back then, and to his people now, is given through Moses. As these things go, life kind of evolves. And so I was asked to do these lectures and I was convinced I wanted to do them on Exodus 34:6-7 and then the dean tossed in, “We’d also like you to emphasize the scriptures and their place in worship and in our sacred space.” And I thought, “I don’t know how I’m going to rig that up.” Because as I’m going to say on Thursday, we just keep discovering the bible what’s already there, I read all the way to verse 27 and the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words.” Write these words. God is giving his word through Moses in writing to be preserved for Israel and for us so that Paul could write in I Corinthians 10:11, “These words were written for us that we would learn not to sin.” And he’s talking about the Book of Numbers. It was written for us that we would learn not to sin. 

I believe that God’s word carries God’s character, his message, and his power. The bible is God’s written word. From what we’ve read today, it is spirit born. And according to II Timothy 3 it is God-breathed. According to II Peter 1:19-21 people carried along by the scriptures, in ways we don’t fully understand. Zechariah 7:12, it’s the Spirit of the Lord who was speaking through the prophets. So that Jesus can say, “Don’t you remember what God said to you?” Matthew 22:31, speaking to the Pharisees, “Don’t you remember what God said to you?” Citing scripture. God is speaking to us and this word carries God’s character, message, and power. 

So, why do I believe that the bible is not in error? Because I don’t believe God is in error. And that this is his work to produce a bible. Why do I think a bible is faithful and true? Because God is faithful and true. Why do I think the scriptures are covenant based, redemption oriented? Teaching us how to live now? Because that’s the way God is. If Exodus 34:6-7 is true, what else would we have besides a God who gives good news? Exodus 34:6-7 and the rest of the scripture is good news because God is good news. 

We need to understand that the bible is a God breathed, God shaped document for people to become God shaped people. Now, this doesn’t make our task all that much easier, because we still have to learn, we still have to study, we still have to read, we still have to be shaped by the word of God. But because God is personal, and God is dependable, and God is gracious, and God is just – that’s what his scriptures are and it’s what they convey. And so I just ask quite simply to all of us, “Does God’s word shape your heart, soul, mind, and strength?” 

How much do you want to be a bible shaped person? I often ask myself that question. It took me years to realize Romans 12:1-2, “Don’t be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” God wants to make us bible shaped, Christ honoring, Holy Spirit filled, God worshipping people. That’s what he wants. That’s what the scriptures are for. 

So, are you still in that trap of saying, “If I can figure out if the bible applies to my life, I’ll give it a shot?” Or have you realized that the bible forms you. You’re not the horizon of reality. The question, as Chris Wright says, and I often put in my lectures, “It’s not does the bible apply to my life, but does my sad little life apply to the bible?” What have I done to make sure in reading and thinking and praying and hearing that my heart, soul, mind, and strength is shaped by the scripture? 

I was challenged, I guess over the years but particularly six years ago when Philip Jenson gave our preaching lectures and as his want Philip made a lot of folks mad and a lot of folks happy. But he kept asking us a question: Is your preaching God shaped, bible shaped, or have you decided to use the scripture to bring out the importance of your illustration? Did you grab something off the web and you know what the latest hot topic is and you want to use the scripture to kind of bring to life your illustration? Do you bring your ideas and re-use the bible to prove them? Or do you say, look, the bible tell us how we’re supposed to think and what’s important, and the shape of the message. 

Lots of people will tell you, you can’t preach biblical sermons defined by any normal stretch of the imagination of that term biblical and grow a church. I wonder where we get our view of reality? Reality comes from scripture. Is this where we get our witnessing? Is this how we write our songs? Is this how we learn to pray? Are we bible formed people? Well, I see a lot of you that are sure making progress on that, and that encourages me. 

As we trace Exodus 34:6-7 through the scriptures we’re going to see people using that passage to lament, to praise, to offer intercession. We’re going to see people getting a view of history from it. We’re going to see people doing all sorts of things because they take these words and let those words shape how they think and how they live and how they minister. 

I don’t suppose I ever really wanted to be anything but a bible man. And after all these years I should be better than I am. I can assure you. Are we listening to the great testimonies? In our chapel here, and I know ... I don’t know whether to touch Chrysostom’s head or not ... He looks like it may be itching a little. I don’t know. A great preacher of God’s word, the golden tongued one. I remember things from Second Corinthians, we go over here to Huss – willing to die for his faith. And one of my favorites, old John Knox, who learned from Old John Calvin to preach the bible chapter by chapter, book by book, year by year. And over here Whitfield, a great evangelist. You notice they’ve all got a bible in their hand. I wish these guys had a way to have it open ... but anyway. Do you see this around the pulpit? The open word of God for your preaching, teaching, witnessing, singing, and praying. This is what God would have us to do.

So, as I conclude this morning, I first of all want every one of you here to know you can go from this place forgiven. If you’re not a Christian you can have all your sins forgiven through Jesus Christ who has died for you. God the Father is willing to forgive sin, iniquity, transgression. Some of you even as seminarians, even as faculty and staff, we all struggle with walking away from God. And one of the problems with being an old sinner, like me, is one of the things Satan uses against me is to say, “Shouldn’t you know better by now? You think God is going to forgive you the 4,319th time you’ve had an unkind thought about another human being?” The scripture teaches us here you can go from this place with your sins forgiven. God is gracious. He will forgive you. 

Are we willing to go forth from this place, formed into people like our God, shaped by God’s word? Are we willing to go forth from here and say, “You know what? My witnessing, my teaching, my preaching, my praying, my writing, my relationships with one another in this community, from this point forward, I’m going to ask how I will be bible shaped not if I will be bible shaped.” 

Are we ready to be new people? What is the key? The same key as it was for Moses. Do you know and trust God? He is with you. He has defined himself for you. He has made sure that we have a copy of it. Are you or am I ready to go forth in the character of God to be the people of God? 

Let’s pray. Father, we ask that this would be true of us. We ask that you would help us to understand and live out your word and your character. May we do this even as we share lunch together after we sing. May we do this in the rest of our classes and our relationships with one another and in our homes and churches. In Christ’s Name. Amen. 


>>Rob Willis:

You’ve been listening to the Beeson podcast; coming to you from the campus of Samford University. Our theme music is by Advent Birmingham. Our announcer is Mike Pasquarello. Our engineer is Rob Willis. And our show host is Doug Sweeney. For more episodes and to subscribe, visit www.BeesonDivinity.com/podcast. You can also find the Beeson Podcast on iTunes and Spotify.