Good + Just
Good
The goodness of God is the attribute of His character that disposes Him to be kind, loving, benevolent, and full of good will toward men (Deut. 33:18-19). God is the definition of all that is good (Psalm 119:68). By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people. If God is not good, then justice and wrath, love and mercy cannot exist. All the blessings of life (and eternal life) come to us due to God’s goodness. Goodness is that attribute of God that causes me to know He will always do good towards me, His child (Nahum 1:7 (see 1:2-3,6 related to His just wrath)).
Just
God is the just Judge of all people (Psalm 50:6; Acts 10:42). His goodness and righteousness bounds Him to be just (Psalm 97:2). Since God cannot and does not violate His nature, He must judge righteously (Psalm 96:10). His justice will not allow sin to go unpunished (Isaiah 13:11; 2 Peter 2:9). Being just, God is a God of wrath Nahum 1:2-3, 6. Yet His wrath is wholly unlike human anger: it is pure, warranted, personal, and can be satisfied in a perfect eternal sacrifice, namely the propitiation provided in and by Jesus the Christ.[1]
[1] God’s wrath is pure (Joshua 7:19); warranted/deserved (Romans 1:21); personal (Romans 1:18ff), and has been propitiated in Jesus (Romans 3:21-26).
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