9781433573606-epdf

The Rock Is Righteous
Before creation, God was the only reality. So when there is
only God, how do you define what is right for God to do?
That is, how can God’s holiness encompass not only his
transcendence but also his righteousness?
The answer is that the standard of God’s righteousness
is God. The foundational biblical principle is this: “He
cannot deny himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). He cannot act in a
way that would deny his own infinite worth and beauty
and greatness. This is the standard of what is right for God.
This means that the moral dimension of God’s holiness—his
righteousness—is his unwavering commitment
to act in accord with his worth and beauty and greatness.
Every affection, every thought, every word, and every act
of God will always be consistent with the infinite worth
and beauty of his transcendent fullness. If God were to
deny this worth or beauty or greatness, it would not be
right. The ultimate standard would be broken. He would
be unrighteous.
RIGHTEOUSNESS IS INTERLOCKING WITH GOODNESS
The goodness of God is not identical with his holiness or
his righteousness. But it is interlocking in that his holiness
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