"Our Great God and Saviour" - part one - The Character of God

Our Great God and Saviour by Eric Alexander arrived at the Alliance offices, or at least on my desk, just last week. It is as pastoral as Eric himself. This collection of messages is from the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology.

The volume is broken into three sections, based on three various conferences Rev. Alexander preached. Part one is on "The Character of God," part two on "The Salvation of God," and part three is titled "The Church of God."  I thought I might share a sampling of that first part, which has five sections: the greatness of God (Isa 40), the holiness of God (Isa 6), the sovereignty of God (Acts 4:23-31), the faithfulness of God (Psa 89), and the grace of God (Rom 8:32).

From the section of the sovereignty of God, Eric teaches us: "The sovereignty of God is the soil in which biblical humility grows. That is why the Reformed faith creates character, when it is rightly applied. It produces godly lowliness and meekness of mind because it recognizes that everything we are and anything good that can ever appear in us is the gift of a sovereign God. So biblical humility is the first fruit of a true appreciation of God's sovereignty."

Reading in the section titled the faithfulness of God, Rev. Alexander reminds us: "God's disciplining of our lives does not mean that [H]e is forsaking [H]is covenant. It means that [H]e is exercising [H]is covenant love in order to bring the blessing of [H]is covenant to us. Therefore, [H]e will not refrain from exercising discipline on us, bringing us under the weight of [H]is hand in order that we might ultimately enter into the benefits of [H]is covenant. That means that God's disciplines - whatever they may be in our lives - are never arbitrary or pointless. They are part of the faithful administration of [H]is covenant."

Our Great God and Saviour by Alliance Council member Eric J. Alexander is published by The Banner of Truth Trust. Order your copy, assisting to fund the ministry of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals at ReformedResources.org.