Exodus 34:5-9 John 20:31 Merciful (ESV, NKJV); compassionate (NIV, NASB, HCSB): God demonstrates mercy and compassion like a mother for her child in the womb or a father for an infant.

Exodus 34:5-9 John 20:31 Gracious: gives gifts freely that are undeserved.

Exodus 34:5-9 John 20:31 Slow to anger (ESV, NASB, NIV); longsuffering (NKJV); endlessly patient (The Message): The Hebrew idiom “burn with anger” is, literally, “nostrils burn.” “Slow to anger” is, literally, “lengthened nostrils.”

Exodus 34:5-9 John 20:31 Abounding in steadfast love (ESV); abounding in goodness (NKJV): abounding in lovingkindness (NASB); rich in faithful love (HCSB); abounding in love (NIV): unrelenting love, pursuing love, Psalm 136 “for his steadfast love endured forever.”

Exodus 34:5-9 John 20:31 Faithfulness (ESV, NIV); Truth (NKJV, NASB, HCSB): completely reliable and trustworthy.

Exodus 34:5-9 John 20:31 Steadfast love for thousands (ESV); keeping mercy for thousands (NKJV); keeps lovingkindness for thousands (NASB); maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations (HCSB): best translated to a thousand generations, God maintains, guards, protects this unrelenting love forever.

Exodus 34:5-9 John 20:31 Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (ESV, NKJV, NASB); forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin (HCSB); forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin (NIV): Lifting a burden and carrying it away. He forgives the twisting of His will, the breaking of our agreements with Him, and missing the mark. For legalists and perfectionists, God forgives.

Exodus 34:5-9 John 20:31 By no means clear the guilty (ESV, NKJV); no means leaves the guilty unpunished (NASB, HCSB, NIV); he doesn’t ignore sin (The Message): despite the love and grace of God. Do not think you can sin freely with no consequences. For those who sin without regard, you will reap what you sow.

God’s Holiness and Love John 20:31 Joel 2:12-13 “Yet even now,” declares the L ORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the L ORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”

God’s Holiness and Love John 20:31 Jonah 3:12-4:2 “ 10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. 4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the L ORD and said, “O L ORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. ”

God’s Holiness and Love John 20:31 Ezekiel 18:20 “ 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”

God’s Holiness and Love John 20:31 Holiness 1.Purity: separated from impure things, cannot be tempted (Hab. 1:13; James 1:13). 2.True: He cannot lie, deceive, or fail to keep a promise. (Num. 23:19; Heb. 6:18). 3.Righteous or Just: (Gen. 18:25; Deut. 32:4; Jer. 9:24). 4.Wrath. Because God is holy, He rejects all that is unholy. His wrath blazed against anything that contradicts His loving purpose for human beings. (Rom. 1:18; 24, 26, 28; Rom. 2:5, and Rev. 6:16-17).

God’s Holiness and Love John 20:31 Love 1.Goodness: He does good for those He loves. No evil intentions. (Ps. 145:8-9; Acts 14:17) 2.Gracious: God’s love is one in which merit is not considered. Common grace (Matt. 5:45) and saving grace (Eph. 2:8). 3.Merciful: This is the hope of every sinner that seeks pardon. (Dan. 9:18; Matt. 9:36; Titus 3:5) 4.Steadfast love, kindness, and mercy. Hebrew word Hesed. Encompasses the ideas of loyalty, patience and committed love. (Psalm 136)

God’s Holiness and Love John 20:31 “Today our constant temptation, aided and abetted as it is by our culture, is to shatter the hyphen [holy-love]. We want God’s love without his holiness. We want this because we live in our own private, therapeutic worlds that have no absolute moral norms. God’s holiness, therefore, becomes a jarring and unwanted intrusion.” (35) David Wells, God in the Whirlwind

God’s Holiness and Love John 20:31 “…there is only one character in God. There are not two sides to it. He is simultaneously loving and holy in such a way that we never encounter his love without his holiness or his holiness without his love.” (86) David Wells, God in the Whirlwind

Proper Response to Encountering God John 20:31 1.Moses Humbled Himself 2.Moses Worshipped 3.Moses Requested the Lord’s presence 4.Moses Repented

How Should We Live Out This Passage? John 20:31 1.We should humble ourselves before God 2.We should worship God 3.We should desire God’s presence 4.We should repent to God

Apostles Creed I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.