God as the foundation of all existence
One of the key attributes of God in monotheism is his greatness above all other things. God is ultimate; his existence and properties can’t be explained by something more fundamental than himself, because he is above all other things (Gen. 1:1; 2 Kgs. 19:15; Ps. 95:3-5; 96:4-5; 97:9; 103:19; 113:4-6; 135:5-6; Isa. 37:15-16; Acts 14:15; Rom. 11:36; Eph. 4:6; Rev. 4:11). Furthermore, he is absolutely unique in this respect; there are no others like him (Deut. 4:35, 39; 32:39; 1 Kgs. 8:60; 1 Chron. 17:20; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 86:8-10; 89:5-8; Isa. 40:18; 43:10; 44:6-8; 45:5-6, 18-22; 46:9; Jer. 10:6-12; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 1 Tim. 2:5). It follows from this that God explains the existence of everything else. [2]
The fact that God explains the existence of everything else was recognized by Paul in his preaching to the Athenians:
The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anyone, since he himself gives to everyone life and breath and everything. From one person he made every nation of people to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of their habitation, so that they would search for God and perhaps fumble about for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from each of us. For “in him we live and move and exist,” as even some of your own poets have said, “For we, too, are his offspring.” (Acts 17:25-28)
Likewise, the Hebrew Bible tells us that the continued existence of every living thing depends on God’s spirit, and if he removes his presence, we would cease to exist (Job 12:7-10; 34:13-15; Ps. 104:29-30). Jesus, in his exalted state, also holds together and sustains all things (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3).
God as the foundation of morality
God is not only the foundation of all existence, but the foundation of morality. If there are any objective moral facts, then he, as the ultimate principle beyond which there is no other, must explain the existence of such facts. Jesus confirms that God is “good” in a sense that absolutely nothing else is (Mark 10:18). God is perfectly good with no evil in him, and every other good thing is derivative from him (Jas. 1:17; 1 John 1:5). “God is love” (1 John 4:17). Just as darkness has no existence in itself, but is merely the lack of light, evil is just the lack of goodness and has no real existence. From a human perspective, some things that God creates are evil (Isa. 45:7), but he causes what appears to be evil to ultimately work out for our good; indeed, the creation was originally subjected by God to corruption “in hope” (Rom. 8:19-23, 28; cf. Gen. 50:20).
Sin separates us from God
Because God is perfect goodness and love, whenever we act contrary to goodness and love, we are removing ourself from him. This fact is stated in many places throughout the Scriptures (e.g., Deut. 31:17-18; Isa. 1:15; 59:2; Jer. 5:25-26; Ezek. 39:23-24; Mic. 3:4; Ps. 34:15-16; Prov. 15:29; Eph. 2:12; Col. 1:21). God is said to “hide his face” from those who do evil to others, so that he doesn’t listen to their prayers or act in their favor. God is love (1 John 4:17), and sin is anything that is contrary to God’s law (1 John 3:4), which is summed up in the commandment to love others. [3] Thus, anyone who fails to live up to the standard of love has darkness in them, whereas God himself is light with no darkness in him at all (1 John 1:5-7; 2:9-11). According to Paul, everyone has failed to live up to God’s righteousness (Rom. 3:9-23; cf. Ps. 14:1-3).
We’ve already seen that God is the foundation of all existence, and actively sustains the life of every being. By sinning and removing ourself from God, the source of our very existence, by rights we should cease to exist (die). Thus, the fact that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23) isn’t because God is cruelly vindictive and enjoys killing people. Death, the cessation of existence, is the natural result of what happens when we try to distance ourselves from the ground of our own existence. Even when, by God’s mercy, our sin doesn’t result in physical death (see below), the result of that sin is called “death” (e.g., Matt. 8:22; Lk. 15:24, 32; Rom. 7:10; 2 Cor. 4:3; Eph. 2:1-5, 12; Col. 2:13; Rev. 3:1). Likewise, when by God’s grace we love and move closer to him, this is called “life” (John 5:24; 17:3; Eph. 2:5; 1 John 3:14); even though it doesn’t involve a literal return to existence, it is a return to the foundation of our existence.
The mercy of God
Every time that we sin (i.e., act contrary to love), we deserve to cease to exist. Indeed, it seems that this is integral to God’s very perfection. If “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5), and he sustains all existence, how can he allow any “darkness” to exist whatsoever? [4] But then, why do we continue to exist, and how can God save us? Paul recognizes this problem: if God is faithful to keep his merciful promises, then “how could God judge the world?” (Rom. 3:3-6) The question is answered by Paul later in the same letter:
God did this [put forth Jesus as a sacrifice] to demonstrate his justice, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to demonstrate at the present time his own justice, so that he is righteous and he justifies the one who has the faith of Jesus. (Rom. 3:25-26)
The reason that we don’t die every time we fail to act in accordance with love is because God “passed over” our sins. The reason that David didn’t die when he raped Bathsheba is because God “put away” his sin; the implication is that if God hadn’t put away his sin, he would have died (2 Sam. 12:13). Every time that we sin and continue to live, this is a demonstration of God’s mercy toward us!
How can he do this and still be righteous? Paul tells us that it’s because Jesus was put forth as a sacrifice. Because our Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins and was resurrected, death itself will be destroyed, and all people will be raised to immortality (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:19-28, 51-57; 2 Tim. 1:10). In this way, God can be both perfectly just and perfectly merciful. How is it that Jesus’ death brought about our salvation from sin and death? To be honest, I’m not entirely sure, but the best explanation that I’ve seen so far is the satisfaction theory of the atonement, which is explained here by Aaron Welch. [5]
Conclusion
We know from the Scriptures that the judgment for sin is death, and anyone who sins (which is to say, everyone) is deserving of this punishment. This isn’t because God is cruel and arbitrarily chooses certain actions that he will kill people for, but in fact, because of his perfect goodness. Because he’s the ultimate principle, the foundation of all existence, as well as perfect in goodness and love, nothing that is contrary to goodness and love can exist. When we sin, we distance ourselves from the ground of our own existence (God), and by rights we should cease to exist! The fact that any of us continue to exist after we sin is a demonstration of God’s mercy. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God can remain perfectly righteous while also being merciful, and he will ultimately destroy both sin and death.
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[1] Gen. 2:17; 3:3; Deut. 24:16; 2 Sam. 12:13; 2 Kgs. 14:6; 2 Chron. 25:4; Prov. 5:3-5; 12:7; 14:12; 15:24; 16:25; 23:13-14; Ps. 9:17; 31:17; 37:9-10, 20; 73:27; Isa. 1:28; 51:7-8; Jer. 31:30; Ezek. 3:18-21; 18:4-28; 33:8-19; Matt. 7:13-14; John 8:21, 24; Heb. 2:14; 6:8; Jas. 1:15; 5:20; 2 Pet. 2:6, 12-13; 1 John 3:14.
[2] For the logical derivation of this fact, see the following argument:
(P1) There is only one independent thing, namely God.
(P2) Everything that is dependent has an external cause (by definition).
(P3) The totality of dependent things is itself dependent.
(C1) God explains the existence of all dependent things.
P2 is definitionally true, and P3 is very plausible. If P3 is true, then the totality of dependent things must have a cause that is external to it and independent, which by P1 must be God. But even if P3 is false, that means that the totality of dependent things is independent, and therefore (given P1) that it is God (pantheism). In either case, the existence of all other things is explained by God.
[3] The fact that the Law is summed up in the commandment to love others is repeated by almost every single New Testament author (Matt 7:12; 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-33; Luke 10:25-28; John 15:10-17; Rom 13:8-10; Gal 5:14; 1 Tim 1:5-7; Jas 2:8; 1 John 2:10; 3:14, 23-24; 4:7-12, 16-21; 2 John 5).
[4] Incidentally, this also removes the supposed ‘tension’ between God’s love and his justice. As it turns out, the fact that “God is love” is precisely why he must also be just, because he cannot allow anything contrary to love to exist.
[5] I don’t know how far the light-darkness metaphor can be stretched, but I see Adam’s sin as a darkness so great that it cast a shadow on everything that came after it, and Jesus as a light that is far greater and will ultimately overtake everything (Isa. 42:6-7; 49:6; Matt. 4:16; John 1:4-5; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; Eph. 5:14; Rev. 21:23).
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