As we celebrate Independence Day, it’s good to thank God for our country. We praise God for our freedoms and rights. We are grateful for religious liberty and free speech. Although our country faces many challenges, we are blessed to live in the greatest nation on earth. However, with all the blessings we enjoy today, one virtue is severely lacking. Patience is almost a forgotten quality. Ironically, the technology designed to save us time has made us less patient and busier. We want what we want, and we want it now. Whether it’s unusual traffic, long wait times, or delayed deliveries, we tend to be very impatient. We get easily annoyed when things don’t go our way.

Once again, our tendencies in life often shape how we view God. We sometimes assume that God acts like us. When we mess up, we imagine that God reacts the same way we do. We think that He’s frustrated and ready to give up on us. But thankfully, Scripture reveals that God is patient. What is patience? Patience is often used interchangeably with long-suffering or forbearance. It’s the ability to exercise self-control and endure people who annoy or provoke us. When we think about God’s patience, we’re reminded of our sinfulness. We provoked God’s wrath through our disobedience. We deserve eternal punishment for our sins. However, despite our rebellion, God is patient toward His people. Psalm 86:15 says that God is slow to anger. He endures our weaknesses. “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are but dust” (Psa. 103:14). So, God is patient with us.

Regarding God’s patience, 2 Peter 3 teaches us that God’s delay in bringing about the final judgment is for our benefit. As we anticipate Christ’s return, we can trust that God’s patience serves a purpose. Peter writes to believers in verse 9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Therefore, God’s delay works in our favor. Consider this—if Christ had returned 100 years ago, you might not be alive. If he had come 20 years ago, you may not have repented and faced His wrath. God’s delay is for our good. For those of us who have repented, it’s a blessing that God waited! This is why Peter concludes his letter by saying, “Count the patience of our Lord as salvation” (2 Pet. 3:15).

“If God is patient, then I’ll wait to follow Him later in life.” This is a common thought among unbelievers. However, Paul rebukes this foolish idea in Romans 2 when he warns those who think they can escape or control the coming judgment. In verse 4, he says God’s patience and kindness should lead us to repentance because we cannot escape His judgment on our own. We cannot presume upon God’s grace for the future and reject Him today. We’re called to repent now. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” You’re not promised tomorrow, so turn to Christ today.

As Christians, we are called to imitate God by practicing patience. This fruit of the Spirit should be visible in the lives of believers (Gal. 5:22). We should be slow to anger with our spouse, children, and friends because God is slow to anger with us. We should be self-controlled when faced with a grievance at work or on the road. This type of patience is impossible to achieve on our own, but as we humbly submit to God’s Spirit working through His Word, this fruit will become evident in our lives. The world could use more patience. We are so quick to become upset and defensive when things don’t go our way. Thankfully, God doesn’t act this way because He is patient.

One of the most important questions in human history is found in John 18:38, “Pilate said to him, ‘What is truth?’” As Jesus stood before Pilate and faced crucifixion, He told Pilate that He came into the world to bear witness to the truth. To which Pilate replied with this question. Before it was answered, Pilate turned to the crowd and said that he found no reason for Jesus to be crucified. However, the crowd insisted, and we know the rest of the story.

Pilate’s question is fascinating because it’s the question everyone must ask in life. What is truth? Your answer will define your life. The world defines truth as something you create for yourself. So you’ll hear people say things like: “That’s my truth” or “Speak your truth.” But truth isn’t a possession. Truth is a reality. It’s not something that we can change to satisfy our desires. We call that a lie. A Google search will define truth as something factual, real, and constant. Truth can’t be proven wrong because it’s factual. It’s not a myth or legend, and it doesn’t change. The truth is the truth.

So, what is truth? Jesus said earlier in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” This is one of eight “I am” statements that Jesus made to declare His deity. Jesus, being God in human flesh, said that He is the truth. So the answer to Pilate’s question was right in front of him. What is truth? God is truth. This means that God is who He says He is. He is factual, real, and constant. Everything He is and does is true. This also means that God is the Source of all truth. How do we know 2+2=4? Because God said so. He is the Author of truth. In John 17:3, Jesus refers to the Father as “the only true God.” Man is good at making false gods. But only One God is true!

Because God is truth, He cannot lie. Titus 1:2 says that God never lies. Hebrews 6:18 says that it is impossible for God to lie. He cannot contradict His perfect character by lying or breaking a promise. Because God’s nature is completely true, He will not change. He cannot improve or diminish. Everything He says and does is totally true without any error. He doesn’t deceive, alter the story, or make promises that He can’t keep. God’s nature is genuine.

This attribute also means that God’s revelation is true (Jn. 17:17). Everything He says in His Word is accurate and true. Psalm 119:160 says, “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” Because His Word is truth, it will never pass away (1 Pet. 1:24-25; Matt. 5:18). Seasons come and go. Plants, animals, and people grow, wither, and die. The world is in constant change. But God’s Word never fades or dies because it is true. Therefore, His Word will never fail (Isa. 55:11). Every promise will be kept. Every prophecy will be fulfilled. God’s Word is true.

This attribute of God leaves us with no reason to doubt. If God is truth, then why would we fear? Don’t be misled by the world’s definition of truth. Because God is truth, He is worthy of our commitment, trust, and obedience. He will never lie to us. He will never deceive us. We must remember this attribute of God when we read His Word. Every verse is true. So the promise of forgiveness is true. The promise that God will never forsake us is true. The promise of eternal life in heaven is true. The promise of a glorious inheritance is true. The promise of being with God forever is true. God will deliver on all of His promises because He is true.

“God must be punishing me.” You’ve probably heard this statement before. Many people view God as a Cosmic Blacksmith ready to strike them with a hammer when they mess up. They think He’s waiting up in heaven, lightning bolt in hand, ready to smite them for the smallest mistake. When things go wrong in life, they immediately conclude that God is mad at them. This conclusion fits their notion of the Cosmic Blacksmith. But that’s not the God we find in Scripture. Yes, God is perfect in holiness and justice. Yes, there are times when God does strike down the wicked. However, the fact is God has a completely different posture toward His people.

Thankfully, Scripture teaches us that God is merciful and gracious. David writes in Psalm 103:8, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” He goes on to say that His love for us is as high as the heavens are above the earth. He has compassion for us. When God forgives us, He removes our sins from us as far as the East is from the West. God is a forgiving God to His people (Psa. 99:8). Scripture even says that God desires mercy (Hos. 6:6). Think about that- God likes to forgive you! It’s not a burden for Him. It’s not something that He gives reluctantly. He eagerly desires to forgive you. God invites us to come to Him because He is merciful and gracious.

God’s mercy is often translated as “loving-kindness” or “steadfast love” in the Old Testament (Psa. 5:7; 6:4; 13:5; etc.). This term denotes God’s covenant faithfulness to His people. As Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” These verses describe God’s relationship with His people. His loving-kindness toward us will never cease. His mercy is endless and fresh every day to meet our needs. God is great in His faithfulness to us because He is merciful. Even when we sin for the hundredth time, He will forgive us.

God’s grace is very similar to His mercy but has a slightly different meaning. Mercy is God withholding from us what we deserve (His wrath). Grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve (His goodness and blessings). Salvation is the greatest gift of God’s grace. Romans 3:23-24 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Although we sinned against God, He provided redemption through Christ so we could be justified. Ephesians 2:8 reiterates this truth, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” God gave us righteousness when we deserved wrath. God gave us freedom when we deserved death. God gave us heaven when we deserved hell. That is grace!

God’s mercy and grace are not just one-time benefits. It’s not that we begin the Christian life by grace but then finish the job by works. Paul refutes this idea in Galatians 3 by arguing that the Spirit of God started, preserves, and will finish our salvation by His power and grace. The whole Christian life, from justification to sanctification and ultimately glorification, is all by God’s grace (Phil. 1:6; Rom. 8:29-30). As we face the ongoing battle with sin, we can trust God’s mercy to forgive us when we mess up. We can rely on God’s grace to change us and give us victory. As we seek to please God with our lives, we must remember that our good works are only possible by God’s grace (Eph. 2:8-10; Phil. 2:12-13).

God is not a Cosmic Blacksmith ready to smack you with a hammer. He is gracious and merciful. So why do we often view Him in this way? Our view of God will determine our view of life. If we view God as someone out to get us, then we won’t trust Him, and we’ll fail to obey His Word. But if we see God as our Merciful and Gracious Father, we will begin to trust Him. When life gets hard, we won’t doubt His grace. When we mess up again and again, we run to Him because He will receive us with open arms. Our God is merciful and gracious.

“Good job!” It’s nice to hear those words from time to time because we all enjoy being appreciated. But what does it mean to be good? In this context, “good” means adequate. Your work was adequate and gives general satisfaction. But is that actually good? Is good just adequate and mild satisfaction? Or is good something much greater? This confusion about goodness is quite common. For instance, there is a popular Christian song that says this about the Gospel, “It’s not good news; it’s the best news ever.” Clearly, we don’t understand what good is because it literally means the best! This song may sound nice, but it’s semantically and exegetically foolish. The term Gospel means “good news.” Good is better than we think.

What does this have to do with the attributes of God? The Bible says that God is good. Psalm 119:68 says, “You are good and do good.” Is God merely adequate? No, so this means that everything God is and does is perfect and best. His character is morally excellent and pure. His actions are excellent in righteousness and truth without any flaw or falsehood. His ways are righteous (Psa. 145:17). His thoughts are good (Isa. 55:8-9). Only God can truly bear the title of good (Matt. 19:17; Mark 10:18). He lacks no goodness. He has no errors or traces of evil. God is totally and completely good.

“If God is good, then why is there so much evil?” This is probably the most common question when we talk about God’s goodness. The first thing we need to consider with this question is that it assumes two things: 1) Good and evil exist, and 2) One is inherently better than the other. This may seem obvious, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. If this question was asked by an atheist, you could turn it around and say, “Where do good and evil come from? Who decides what is good and evil?” There is no explanation for good and evil besides God. If there is a law, there must be a Lawgiver. And secondly, everyone agrees that good is better than evil. But why? Because it’s good. But who decides if it’s good? God does. You cannot escape the assumption of God in this discussion, and that’s because goodness comes from God. And evil is anything that opposes God.

So then, how can God’s perfect goodness coexist with a wicked world? The simple answer is they can’t coexist forever. God had a plan for evil before it even happened (Eph. 1:3-6). And God has patiently delayed His final defeat of evil for our benefit. 2 Peter 3:1-13 addresses this exact issue. Peter tells us that God is patient for our benefit. One day, He will bring an end to sin and death, but His delay is so that more people can repent and escape His wrath. God’s goodness is seen in the fact that He will eradicate sin and death forever, and at the same time, He is reconciling sinners to Himself.

In the meantime, God’s goodness is not idle toward man’s wickedness. The Bible teaches us that God is the Righteous Judge of all the earth (Gen. 18:25). He will hold the wicked accountable (Eccl. 12:14). Ultimately, His plans for mankind are for His good purpose (Rom. 11:36). That doesn’t mean we always understand what that purpose is. Considering the story of Job, we’re not always given the answer for our pain and suffering. But as Job learned, God is good and will always do what is right even when we don’t see it (Job 42:1-6).

Despite the total depravity of mankind, the amazing truth is God is good to us! God would still be perfectly good if He let us face the consequences of our sins. We’re the ones who choose to do evil. But God graciously chose to redeem us through His Son. That’s why we call it the Good News! God has demonstrated His goodness to us by sacrificing His Son in our place so that we could have eternal life with Him. So praise God for the good news of Jesus Christ. And finally, God promises in Romans 8:28 that He will work all things for good for those who are called according to His purpose. Nothing that we endure is meaningless or random. Everything that we face will be for our good in the end because God is good.

How much do you know? Today’s world has an expert for just about everything. There are experts for retirement funds, heart disease, diesel mechanics, and the history of the Roman Empire. You name it, and there’s probably an expert for it. But how much do these experts actually know? Was the historian there to witness the events that he studies? Can a doctor treat every illness or help every condition? Can a financial advisor truly know the future of the stock market? The obvious answer to all these questions is no. These experts must look at the most reliable data and come to the best conclusion. But a good expert will admit that he or she can be wrong at times. Our knowledge is limited. It’s impossible for us to know everything. But the Bible reveals that God is all-knowing.

Omniscience is the fancy term that refers to the truth that God is all-knowing. It’s a combination of the Latin words for all and knowledge. God is omniscient. He knows everything. There is no limit or end to His knowledge. He never learns, and He never forgets. He knows everything about everything. He knows all things because He created all things. King David’s words in Psalm 139 reveal this truth. He writes,

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

God knows our thoughts, words, and actions. He knows everything we have ever done and will do. He knows everything we won’t do. He knows everything we could do. He knows every possibility, probability, and actuality. He knows all things simultaneously. Unlike you and I, God doesn’t have to call to mind or remember anything. How does God know all this? Because He created knowledge. All knowledge has its origin in Him. How do we know that 2+2=4? Ultimately, the answer is because God said so.

This infinite knowledge of God may seem frightening. We all have secrets. We all have said and done things that we don’t want anyone to know about. But the fact is, God knows. You can’t keep secrets from God. Although this might make you feel exposed, it’s a very comforting reality. When David said that God laid His hand on him, it was a sign of endearment. For example, when a parent lays their hand on a crying baby to calm them, or when a dad gives his son a pat on the back to say good job. It’s a gesture of love. God uses His infinite knowledge to care for us. Despite knowing all of our deepest flaws, God still loves us. He still wants us! No one else can love you like God because no one else knows you like God.

David concludes by saying, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” God’s knowledge is so far beyond us that we can’t even scratch its surface. His knowledge cannot be quantified. The highest IQ cannot compare with God. His knowledge is infinite. We tend to forget things, but God never forgets. And the amazing truth is He uses His knowledge for our good and His glory. The God who knows everything cares about you. So our response should be to surrender to His wisdom. He always knows best. So we should listen to His Word. We should obey His commands. The essence of foolishness is thinking that you know better than God. So don’t be a fool. Trust the Perfect Expert of all knowledge.