As our hatred for and awareness of our sin increases, we desperately need a biblical view of the grace of God. We need the Scriptures to paint a clear picture of who God is and how much he loves us in Christ Jesus.
We know the Scriptures proclaim that God is gracious, but many struggle to believe it. Others wonder what grace actually looks like. If we take seriously the righteousness of God and the heinousness of our sin every day, we might find ourselves asking God, “Do you still love me?” or “Why are you so patient with me?” or “Why haven’t you killed me for what I’ve done?”
As our hatred for and awareness of our sin increases, we desperately need a biblical view of the grace of God. We need the Scriptures to paint a clear picture of who God is and how much he loves us in Christ Jesus. We need to see the God of the Scriptures who is so gracious it blows our minds — bringing us to tears and repentance.
How We Think About God
In Micah 6:6–7, the Israelites have a warped view of who God is. In verses one through five, the Lord offers a tender rebuke asking, “What have I done to you?” He reminds them of how he delivered them out of the hand of Egypt and other righteous acts he’s done on their behalf.
Their response in verses 6–7 is dumbfounding but painfully familiar:
With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Instead of responding in gratitude, they exposed themselves. Whether they intended to or not, they paint this picture of God that makes him seem demanding, cruel, and impossible to satisfy. The tone is unclear. We could assume that the speaker is genuinely trying to repent or we could assume that the speaker is indignant. Their disposition is beside the point. The point is that their view of God doesn’t line up with reality and I’m all too familiar with their view of God.
