Just a moment...

When you open up the newspaper you often are greeted with a humorous picture in the editorial section. The sketch, called a caricature, is a picture of a person in which certain striking

characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a reaction. The pictures are often comical. We have seen the common ones where President Obama’s ears, teeth, and chin are ridiculously

large while his eyes and his shoulders are proportionally very small. It’s amusing and accepted. Advertise on TGC However, people often draw caricatures of God. This is neither amusing nor

should it be accepted. Consider the following perfections of God: love, holiness, mercy, righteousness, omniscience, omnipotence, and wrath. The common perception and depiction of God is

very heavy on the love and mercy while being low on holiness, wrath, and omnipotence. Love and mercy become the big ears and teeth in the drawing that go alongside the very small eyes,

shoulders, and nose. It is disproportional and dangerous. In the Heidelberg Catechism this tension was brought out: Q. 10. _Will God allow such disobedience and apostasy to go unpunished?_

A. By no means (Rom 5:12; Heb 9:27); but he is terribly displeased with our inborn as well as actual sins, and will punish them in just judgment in time and eternity (Heb 10:31†; Gen 2:17†;

Ps 5:4-6†; 7:11†; 50:21†; 90:11†; Nah 1:2†; Exod 20:5†; 34:7†; Deut 28:15†; Rom 1:18†; 2:5, 9†; Eph 5:6†), as he has declared: Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are

written in the book of the law, to do them (Deut 27:26; Gal 3:10). Q. 11._ Is, then, God not also merciful?_ A. God is indeed merciful (Exod 34:6-7; 20:6; Ps 103:8-9†), but he is likewise

just (Exod 20:5†; 23:7†; 34:7†; Deut 7:9-11†; Ps 5:5-7; 7:9†; Job 34:10-11†; Nah 1:2-3†; Rom 1:18†; 2:5-6†; 2 Cor 6:14-17†; Heb 10:31†); wherefore his justice requires that sin, which is

committed against the most high majesty of God, be also punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment (Gen 2:17†; Rom 6:23†) of body and soul (Matt 25:35-46†). As Tozier

observed, the most important thing about us is what we think about God. It determines everything. Therefore, it is pivotal that we perceive him correctly. This true depiction of God is found

in the Scriptures not in our imaginations. We need to be certain that the God we believe in, worship, and speak about is real and true. Let’s be sure to delight in the character of God and

not in a caricature of God. _(This is an excerpt of a sermon preached at Emmaus Bible Church on 11/02/2014, here is the full sermon)._