The Holiness of God - chapter 7: ”War and Peace with a Holy God”

The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul

“War & Peace with a Holy God” – Chapter Seven

Wrestling with God

• God is the transcendent, exalted one; and yet the Bible contains stories of people wrestling with God.
• Wrestling with God does not end in victory, because God always wins – but it does result in peace.

Jacob’s Struggle

• Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord, a manifestation of God.
• God was the ultimate victor. Jacob surrendered his name to God, which He changed to Israel.
• Jacob survived with a limp, but he was transformed by God.

…for the transforming power of God to change our lives we must wrestle with Him. We must know what it means to fight with God all night if we are also to know what it means to experience the sweetness of the soul’s surrender.

Job’s Challenge

• Suffering in agony and accused by his friends, Job demanded answers for his suffering, and he challenged God.
• Job’s challenge questioned the divine justice of God.
• “Will you condemn me to justify yourself?”
• Instead of responding to Job’s challenge with answers, God responded with his own interrogation.
• God’s questions brought Job to the end of himself in humility.
• “I repent in dust and ashes.”
• God answered Job’s questions not with words but with himself.
• As soon as Job saw who God is, Job was satisfied.
• Once God Himself was no longer shrouded in mystery, Job was able to live comfortably with a few unanswered questions.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

• Habakkuk questioned the justice of God because wickedness in Israel was not punished, and then again because God was planning to punish his own people with an even more wicked enemy—Babylon.
• When God spoke and revealed himself to Habakkuk, he was brought to fear and humility.
• But he walked away with peace, trust, and joy in his God no matter what the circumstances.
• He understood the sovereign majesty of his God.

Saul’s Arrest

• Saul of Tarsus thought he was doing God’s work, but he was actually wrestling against God.
• Christ revealed himself to Saul, and the wrestling match was over. Christ had won and Saul was “arrested” for Christ’s service. But in defeat, he found peace.

Our Struggle with God

• We struggle with a Holy God because he is righteous and we are unrighteous.
• This tension creates fear, hostility, and anger within us toward God.
• The unjust person does not desire the presence of the judge.

Our Peace with God

• We find peace with God by being justified by grace through faith.
• Christ is our mediator and peacemaker. His life, death, and resurrection reconciled us to God through faith.
• Only the justified person can be comfortable in the presence of a holy God.
• With the cleansing from sin and the declaration of divine forgiveness we enter into an eternal peace treaty with God.
• When we sin, our peace with God is maintained by our mediator.
• Our sins are now dealt with by a Father not a military commander.

Inner Peace

• We have peace with God, the cessation of hostility, because of Christ’s work on our behalf.
• We also have inner peace that satisfies the longings of our souls.
• We no longer have to fear condemnation; we have peace.

Our Access to God

• Justification grants us peace with God; it also grants us access to the very presence of God.
• Christ provided the means of access for us to God’s presence.
• We can feel welcome in the presence of God.

Questions:

• Have you ever struggled with God or questioned God?
• Have you come away with peace, even if you didn’t have all the answers?
• What does it mean to you to have peace with God? Or, access to God?