God is Good All the Time — Ephesians 2

0:00 Wanna turn back to a psalm that mister Reeder read earlier, Psalm 100. Psalm 100, he read in verse five. It said, for the Lord is good. I had a conversation recently. I won't give you all the details, but a conversation recently with somebody who said, tradition in a place they had been...

0:39 A church they had been was that somebody... A reading would say, the lord is good, and the response was he's good all the time. And and and this person's response was, well, wait a minute. You'd have to rip out half of this book here, the Lord's book, if if you believe that. Okay?

1:02 And and, you know, it it struck me. I'm not gonna read it here, but if you if you wanna read about some things that people humans might not call good, turn back to first and second kings and just walk through some of the awful things that that happened in there. Right? I'm thinking particular of Ahab and Jezebel. Know, second kings, I think it's chapter nine, really relates Jezebel's death.

1:41 Right? She was thrown out of a second story window or maybe higher. I don't know... Remember exactly, hit the ground and was killed in in a very... It's related in gory detail.

2:00 Goes on to say that later they said, go back and... You know what? She was the king's wife after all. Right? And go back and let's bury her properly.

2:12 And they couldn't find anything because the dogs had just taken her body. So that's an awful thing. And it it... You know, by human human standard, standard, it's it's not not good. Good.

2:42 Turn with me, if you will, to Ephesians chapter two. Think I he also said there is mercy endures forever. Right? The theme is echoed here. Ephesians chapter two, we'll jump in at verse four.

3:01 But god, who is rich in mercy, rich in mercy, abundantly wealthy, rich in mercy. And mercy is that which we don't get, something we deserve but we don't get. Right? That's, a sign of mercy. Because of his great love with which he loved us.

3:30 Because of his great love, he loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son with which he loved us. When we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you've been saved, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. Very familiar verses. But but for by grace you have been saved through faith, that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. So is God good all the time?

4:40 He is just, though. He is just, just, and he can't tolerate sin in his presence. And yet we are all sinners and strayed from that plan which the lord He has laid out from us. And therefore, his justice must be served. Because he loved us so much, so much, he served the justice by carrying out justice on his son, a perfect, holy, and willing sacrifice that he could fulfill his promise.

5:25 He promised that says, I must be just, and I cannot tolerate sin. But a promise that says, I love you so much that I wanna provide a way for you to be with me forever in eternity. So he doesn't give us what we deserve, but instead instead gives gives us us what what we we don't don't deserve, deserve, a way of salvation. If we can't work our way through that whole plan, it's difficult to say, god is good all the time. But god is good all the time because of the way he loved us.