God Is Beautiful
For many years (a phrase which seems to introduce almost everything I say or write these days), I have thought about and preached on the subject of the beauty of God. I have never heard anyone teach on the subject, but I did through the decades come across two written sermons on the topic, “The Beauty of the Lord” by J. D. Jones and “Are There Shortcuts to the Beauty of Holiness?” (the short answer is “No!”) by A. W. Tozer. More recently, I read a review of a scholarly article about the American preacher Jonathan Edwards (of “sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” fame) that mentioned in passing that the beauty of God was one of the great themes in his preaching. I was thus encouraged that I have not headed off on an unprofitable tangent. In simple terms, beauty is that which attracts, causes a favorable interest, and creates an affinity. Such real, eternal beauty is found in our God. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
On Saturday, we saw that God uses our prayers to attract people to Himself. Today, from Romans 10:2-8, we will see that God manifests His beauty through our doctrine. Now, we must be sure that this doctrine is not ours in the sense of being original – no, that is heresy. Our doctrine must be Biblical, following the four basic rules of hermeneutics (interpretation). First, we must interpret literally (with an understanding of figurative language such as poetry, similes, metaphors, and parables); do not seek an obscure or fanciful meaning. Second, we must interpret historically: what did it mean to the people who first received the message from God? Third, we must interpret in context; remember that a text without a context is a pretext for a proof text. Fourth, we must interpret in harmony with other Scripture. Personally, I add a fifth rule: interpret humbly. If I am the first to come up with a particular interpretation, then I am wrong. Armed with these tools of analysis, we are effectively equipped for study. The Pharisees had “a zeal of God” (verse 2); Paul knew firsthand, because he had been a Pharisee before his conversion to Christianity. However, they were deficient in their doctrine (verse 2. “not according to knowledge”). They were “ignorant of God’s righteousness” (verse 3); specifically, they were wrong about Jesus Christ (verse 4). Paul then provides a great example of how sound Biblical doctrine can be employed: he quotes from the Old Testament. Of course, the Pharisees studied the Old Testament and believed it, correctly, to be the Word of God. However, they were incorrect in many of their interpretations. Thus, in verses 6-8, Paul uses Deuteronomy 30:12-14, which focuses on God’s grace and man’s need to be humbly receptive. Paul was using doctrine to present the beautiful character of God to all people, including the adversarial Pharisees. Through the indwelling power of God the Holy spirit, we can learn God’s beautiful teaching; then, He can use that truth in us to attract others to Himself.