The Truth About Sin

                Before we can preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people, we must first address the condition of their soul apart from the grace of God.  In their natural condition men are radically and totally depraved. This must be addressed or men will not see their need of Christ. In most tracts used to witness Romans 3:23 is used to show men they are sinners.

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

                Another verse that verse that is used is this…

Ecclesiastes 7:20  For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

                What does that mean?  Ask any man if he knows he is a sinner and he will tell you, "Sure I am, we are all sinners."  Most men, lost and saved alike, do not have an understanding of sin and they don’t understand sin because they don’t know about the holiness of God. That is why we spent several weeks studying the attributes of God, especially the holiness of God.  A man must see sin from God’s point of view before he will see its heinous nature.

                We live in a culture that, as Job 15:16 puts it, “drinketh iniquity like water.”  We see sin on every hand and in every corner. Everywhere we look we see sin.  We live in a world that not only commits sin, but also takes pleasure in others when they sin. We are men of unclean lips and dwell among a people of unclean lips. We have no idea of what sin is.  If men have no concept of what sin is in the eyes of a Holy God, then they have no need of a Savior.  We must show men the vileness and exceeding sinfulness of sin.

                We were all born dead in trespasses and sins…born with a vile and wicked heart and by nature every one of us was born evil. Even Christ called us evil in Matthew 7. He mentioned how though we will give our sons bread when they ask for some instead of giving them a stone or if they ask for fish we will give them fish and not a snake…we are still evil.

Matthew 7:11  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children…

                Notice who he is speaking to… Matthew 5:1 says He saw multitudes of people and He went up into a mountain…away from them and His disciples came to Christ and He taught them (His disciples) saying… This is the sermon on the mount and it covers chapters 5, 6, and 7. He is calling His own disciples evil... that is in their flesh they are evil.

                The Bible tells us in Romans 7:18 that in this flesh dwelleth no good thing! An unregenerate soul, a "stony heart" as Ezekiel 36 puts it, is evil.

Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

                Because the heart is wicked, the affections of the heart are wicked…the desires of the heart are wicked. Because the desires of the heart are wicked, the will is wicked. That is why the natural man has no “free will” to choose Christ. His will is a slave to his wicked heart.

Titus 1:15  Unto the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

                For those of you who do not believe in Christ, nothing is pure. Even your motives are defiled. That is why even if you do what would appear to be a good deed it is vile and wicked because your motive for doing it is evil. In your natural state you do not do one thing for the glory of God. Even the religious things you do are filthy and vile in the sight of a Holy, Holy, Holy God.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away

                The natural man is not going to church and giving his tithes for the glory of God. He doesn’t do one act for the glory of God. Even a good act of obedience is a sinful act in the sight of God, because he is not doing it for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

                Do you understand? Even good actions are ruined because they are not done for the right reason. If the motive is good, the action becomes good. But if the motive is bad, the action is bad. Since the stony, unregenerate heart (the natural man) never does a single thing for God’s glory, then every single act the unsaved person does is sinful.

Colossians 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

                The sinner in his unregenerate state does nothing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is at enmity with God. He is at war with God. He hates God in the core of his being.

  

Romans 8:7-8

7    Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8   So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

                The sinner, or the natural man, is under the wrath of a Holy God who looks upon him with scorn at everything he attempts to do. Everything he does is polluted and cannot be accepted in God’s sight. That is the reason he cannot be justified in the sight of God because of his “good” works.

               Pleasing God is impossible as long as a person is in an unregenerate, lost condition. Every act he attempts to do is sinful in the sight of God. If the lost person doesn’t pray, he is sinning. But if he does pray, he is sinning.

               

                I know what you are thinking… “You are going too far!” Please consider the following verse and look at the principle.

Proverbs 15:8  The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

                In the Old Testament, those of Israel were commanded to bring their sacrifices to the temple. If a person had an unregenerate heart, his sacrifice was an abomination to the Lord. Now you can turn that statement around the other way and have the same truth as established by scripture. The sacrifice of the upright is his delight, but the prayer of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. It’s the same principle. If the wicked man doesn’t bring his sacrifice to the temple it is sin. If he brings his sacrifice to the temple it is sin. He is in trouble!

                Those who believe doing religious things will save them are in trouble. If they go to the church, they are sinning. If they don't go to church, they are sinning. What are they to do?  Go or stay?  Boys, girls, teenagers, adults if you are reading this and you are in a lost condition you are in desperate trouble. If you don’t obey God, you are sinning. If you try to obey God you are sinning. You may think to yourself, “What in the world are you trying to do to me?”  I am trying to stop your mouth so you become guilty before a Holy God and see that all of your doing is cursed by God...that’s what I am trying to do.

Romans 3:19-20

19   Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

20   Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall not flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

                What a terrible, terrible condition to be in as a lost person. You need something before you start doing all those things and you need to see that you are responsible to do them. However, you cannot do them in a way that is pleasing to God. This is known as the doctrine or teaching of the total depravity of man. It is found throughout the Scriptures. The lost person can do nothing but sin and yet he is fully responsible for his sinning. Every day a lost person lives, he is just treasuring up more of God’s wrath upon himself. Everything he is trying to do is not helping.  

Romans 2:5-6

5   But after thy hardness and impenitent  heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

6   Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

                God is real. God is holy and because of His holiness, He cannot tolerate any sin. Without a basic understanding of the holiness of God, you cannot understand your sin. Man can no more understand he is a sinner than a fish can understand he is wet. As I mentioned earlier, we live in a culture much like that spoken of in Job…

Job 15:15-16
15  Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
16  How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

                God is set apart from all His creation. He transcends high above everything he created in every way possible. He is pure in His holiness…so pure that heaven is not clean in his sight. And we are abominable and filthy men and drink down iniquity like we drink down water.

               Not only does God hate sin, but we must of necessity go even further. We live in a time and culture when men are preaching that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. Not so! To be honest with men's souls, we must preach and teach all of God's word. Yes God is love, but always remember, His love is a Holy Love. He loves that which is pure and hates that which is evil. Read Proverbs 6:16-19. Think about it...if you love children, then you must hate abortion. Is God less than we are? Absolutely not! Is the sinner seperate from his sin? No!

             God hates the sinner just as much as He hates sin. How can I say that? I can say that because that is what God says in His Holy word which is magnified above His Holy Name.

Proverbs 3:32   For the froward is abomination to the LORD:

             The word "froward" means habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition. That is exactly what the sinner is, and the sinner is abomination to the LORD. The word "abomination" is the strongest word possible to attempt to describe the extreme disgust or hatred which God holds for the sinner. It really can't even be described.

Proverbs 15:26  The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD:

             Every single thought a sinner has is an abomination to the LORD.  The sinner is defiled in all his ways. Every thought, every action taken by the sinner is defiled, polluted, contaminated with sin. Every fiber of his being is totally morally depraved and wicked, vile and loathsome to a Holy God.

          God says that the froward person who habitually disobeys Him and is habitually in opposition to Him is an abomination.

Psalm 5:4-6
4   For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
5   The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6   Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

         God hates all those who do sin and of a necessity must destroy them. He must punish sin. The existence of sin demands His punishment as much as it requires His hatred.

Nahum 1:2  ...the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

        God hates sin so much that it was because of only one sin our first parents (Adam and Eve) were banished from the Garden. For one sin, Ham and all his descendants fell under a curse which remains over them to this very day (Genesis 9:21). For one sin, Moses was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land. For one sin Elisha's servant was smitten with leprosy. For one sin Ananias and Sapphira lost their lives.

Psalm 7:11  ...God is angry with the wicked every day.

      An angry God does not sound at all like the God of modern day preaching, but this is the God of the Bible! His holiness demands hatred for sin. The problem is men today do not really believe in the Holiness of God. Their concept of God is one sided because for the last 50 years the only thing that has been preached in American churches is “God is love.” Many today believe God will never send a man to hell because God is love.

                God tells those who think this way…

Psalm 50:21-22
21  These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
22  Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

               

                …He says, you thought I was like yourself. The god that is worshipped in our country on Sunday mornings in many churches is a figment of the imaginations of the members and not the Holy God of the Bible. I know that sounds hard, but it is true.

                The God of the Bible hates sin and those who do works of iniquity. Nothing will reveal the total depravity of man, his exceeding sinfulness, his vileness, his wickedness like showing him the One true Holy God of the Bible.

                The “god” which the vast majority of professing Christians “love” is thought of as being like Santa Claus…sure he knows when you’ve been naughty or nice, but he will bring you gifts anyway. They think “god” does not like sin, yet he is lenient and winks at the “indiscretions” of youth.

                The word of God tells us (Psalm 5:5) that He hates all workers of iniquity and (Psalm 7:11) He is angry with the wicked every day. Even though clearly seen in the Bible, men refuse to believe in the true Holy God. They gnash their teeth in anger as His hatred for their sin is faithfully brought to their attention…because the “god” of their imagination is contrary to the Holy God of the Bible.

               

                God is not only holy, but He is also just, He must deal with sin. Sin cannot be winked at or let pass by without righteous punishment. The Holy Scriptures clearly state, in no uncertain terms, that God is just. He does right every time. 

                As we meditate on the truth that God is just, we are soon faced with the greatest problem man has.

Exodus 23:7   Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

Proverbs 17:15  He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.

                The question was raised by a Christian philosopher named Anselm, the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, who lived from 1033A.D. to 1109A.D.  His question was this… “How can God be just and forgive the wicked?”  God, by His very nature is just and being so, He cannot forgive the wicked.  The justice that flows from God demands that sin be dealt with. Sin cannot be overlooked. It cannot be pardoned. It must be dealt with. That is the nature of justice. Holy justice must be satisfied!

                The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that the “wages of sin is death.”  What Paul means by “death” is the eternal wrath of Holy, Almighty God being poured out on you in hell. His wrath is forever. He is an infinite God and because your sin is against Him and Him alone, then you must suffer His wrath and hatred for sin for an eternity.

                The wrath of God is His eternal hatred of all that is unrighteous. A.W. Pink, in his book, The Attributes of God, says God’s wrath is, “the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin.”  God is angry with sin because it is rebellion against His Sovereignty.

                We see in the word of God that His wrath is one of His attributes. Consider Romans 1:18.

Romans 1:18   For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

                How did our Holy, Holy, Holy God deal with sin when it was found in His most beautiful of all creation, Lucifer the cherib? He cast him out of heaven and will eventually cast him into the lake of fire.  How did God deal with man when he rebelled against God in the garden? The earth was cursed, man’s soul died and they were cast out of Eden.  What about Genesis 6? Verse 5 tells us…

Genesis 6:5  And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:7   …I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth;

                Go on to read the rest of Genesis 6 and you will see that God destroyed the earth and every sinful man, woman and child except for Noah and his family who found grace in His sight.   

                How did God deal with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? He destroyed them for their wickedness as seen in Genesis 19.

                Our holy and just God hates sin and has as a result, His wrath has been stirred to satisfy His justice. The Bible tells us that we all are sinners…born dead in sins (Ephesians 2:1). As a result of being born a sinner, we all have turned to doing our own thing.

Isaiah 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;

                The problem is as we have seen, doing our own thing is sin and results in the just and holy wrath of God being poured out on us.

Proverbs 14:12  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

                For the one who is reading this who is lost, outside of Christ, unregenerate, you are in a most desperate situation. God is going to judge you for your sin and the end will be eternity in Hell. Is there any hope for you? YES! Your only hope is found in the person of Jesus Christ.

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” ~Paul the Apostle  (1 Timothy 1:15)

                That is the Gospel or the good news. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. If He can save the chief of sinners, He can surely save you!  God is a holy God. He is a God of justice and wrath, but He is also a God rich in mercy.  If you have read this post and understand what has been said. If you believe what has been written, then cry out to God for mercy.  The Bible says that whoever comes to Christ will not be cast out. As you have seen, salvation cannot be based on anything you have done because everything you have done is sin. Salvation can only be based upon what Jesus Christ accomplished when He became the sins of His people on the cross of Calvary. He became my sin and on Calvary suffered the wrath of God that I deserved. He drew me to Himself and I cried out for mercy and I repented of my sins and believed on Him. He alone saved me.

               We have spoke in detail of sin. In my next post I intend to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the one who is reading this who has been saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, as I have been, you have great cause for rejoicing. We can love Him much because we have been forgiven much.

What next?

                We completed our study of a few of the attributes of God which I believe were most essential to understand the salvation of men. We first looked at the holiness of God, followed by the justice of God, the wrath of God, the mercy of God, and the love of God.  I realize that my study was in no way exhaustive. It is absolutely impossible for us to even come close to plumbing the depths of the attributes of God.

                I would now like to begin a study on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Why do we need to know the Gospel?  For the lost, Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation…the only way to be reconciled to a Holy God. For those of us who are saved…why do we need to know the Gospel?

                First, we will never love the LORD our God as we should until we better understand the Gospel…even then we will never love Him as He should be loved by us. The more we grasp the Gospel, the more we will love our LORD.

                Why do we not love the Lord more?  Because we have no idea what we have been forgiven of. We know very little of our sin. Consider the difference between the two individuals found in Luke 7:36-50.  One invited Christ into his house, yet his life was not changed. The other’s life was changed and she loved Christ much because she was forgiven much…to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

Luke 7:36-50

36   And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.

37   And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment.

38   And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39   Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

40  And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

41   There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

42   And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both, Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

43   Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44   And he turned to the woman, and said to Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45   Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46   My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47   Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

48   And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

49   And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

50   And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

                Why should a Christian study the Gospel and know it…I mean in the depths of your core existence know it. Because by knowing the Gospel you will see how much you have been forgiven and believe me it is much. This will cause you to love Christ more than you ever imagined possible.

Second, we have been given a commission…the Great Commission to go and preach the Gospel to every creature.

Mark 16:15   And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

                It has pleased the LORD to use the preaching of the Gospel as the means to show men and women, boys and girls their exceedingly sinful condition and their need of Christ. He is the only way of salvation.

  

Romans 10:13-15

13   For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14   How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

15  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

                Without the preaching of the Gospel, how will the lost sheep…those who were given to Christ by the Father before the foundation of the world hear?

1 Corinthians 1:18-23

18   For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.

19   For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

20  Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

21   For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

22   For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

23   But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

24   But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

                Without hearing the Gospel, we would have not been brought to Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. We need to know the Gospel so we can accurately tell it to others.

Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

                To the non-elect, the preaching of the Gospel is foolishness. However, to the elect it is the power of God, the means by which they are brought to salvation through Jesus Christ.

                The reason we need to know the Gospel is because Jesus Christ, Himself, commissioned His believers to go and preach the Gospel to every creature. How can we serve our Lord in obedience if we don’t know the Gospel? How can we preach if we don’t know the true Gospel? Most professing Christians will tell you they know the Gospel, but do they know the true Gospel or do they know the watered down, easy believe-ism that is being preached today in many churches? Where in scripture is the sinner told to say a little prayer and invite Jesus into his or her heart? I have not found it.

                Sinners are commanded to repent and believe the Gospel.

Mark 1:14-15

14   Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15   And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

                In the posts to follow I will look at the exceeding sinfulness and vileness of sin. Before one can see their need of a savior they have to be shown the wretchedness of sin. It will not be a pleasurable experience, but necessary nonetheless. After that, we will look at the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Love of God

                As we continue in studying the attributes of God, we come to one that I dare say most people think themselves familiar with…the love of God.  It seems that this is about the only attribute of God that has been preached over the last 40 years in our churches.  Folks are well versed in the love of God and yet their concept of God’s love is one that dangerously looks like their own.

                Many have created an image of God in their mind that is too much like themselves.

Psalm 50:21  These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

                God is not like man. God’s love is not like man’s love.  Just as His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, His love is higher than ours. Yet, because all men have heard from those professing faith in Christ is that God loves them, many continue to live in sin. They think that on some future day, when they have sinned all they want and are ready to “come to Christ,” God will over look their sins because, after all, God is love.

                I remember when I was in grade school the phrase “Smile, God loves you!” became popular. It was printed on signs, shirts, pencils, etc. This is a most heart-warming phrase, but is this Biblically correct? Would this modern day phrase have applied had someone spoke it to Esau?  “…Smile, Esau, God loves you!”

Romans 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

                Because of what I believe to be a misinterpretation of John 3:16, many will enter into hell thinking that God loves them. Many a well-intending Christian has given lost men a false hope because they don’t understand the love of God.  They view God’s love the same as their own.  God’s love is not the same as our love. Many scriptures in the word of God shed light on the love of God, but in my opinion, none show the true love of God as well as 1 Corinthians 13.

                The love of God, known in this passage as “charity,” is defined in verses 4 through 8.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4   Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5   Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6   Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7   Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8   Charity never faileth:

                Consider the difference between God’s love and our own… God’s love is patient. We love our children and our spouse, but we are not always patient with them. God’s love is kind. We love our family, but do not always treat them kindly. God’s love does not envy what other’s have. We love our brothers and sisters in Christ, yet we often envy them for some talent or gift God has given them, but not us. God’s love is not boastful. Because of our sin nature, we can tend to be boastful in regards to our love.

                God’s love is not full of pride…ours can be. God’s love does not act unbecomingly. We can tend to act unbecomingly toward our spouse because of our sinfulness. God’s love does not seek its own good. Look at Christ on the cross…He did not seek His own. We often times seek our own when dealing with those we love. God’s love is not easily irritated. I love my children with every fiber of my being, and yet I can become irritated by them. God’s love does not think evil of the one upon whom it is set. I watch my children and often they accuse one another of doing things on purpose to aggravate them.

                God’s love never rejoices in iniquity. It only rejoices in the truth. Have you ever rejoiced with a brother or sister in Christ who gave his or her boss a piece of his or her mind? …or who speaks evil government officials? God’s love beareth all things…that word “beareth” means hides or keeps secret all things. God’s love does not go around revealing your sin to others.  How many of us have told everything we know about a brother in Christ to others? True love concealeth a matter.  God’s love believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. God’s love never ends.

Our love doesn’t always believe what the object of our love tells us. We are often times suspicious.  We don’t always hope the best for those we love especially if we have been hurt by them. And if you wonder about the endurance of human love just look at the number of divorces that take place around the world, or the number of children who “divorce” their parents. It is possible for human love to end. God’s love never ends.

                God’s love is not something that even a Christian can manufacture within. God’s love is a fruit of the Spirit. As a matter of fact it heads the list of the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23

22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

                Man will never have the love of God until by His Sovereign grace, God saves him and fills him with the Holy Spirit. God’s love is what is exhibited when an individual is filled with the Spirit of God. A Christian man or woman who lives in the will of God will never stop loving their spouse or children.  Divorce is a result of sin.

                Our Sovereign God is not just a God who loves. He is love… Love is His very nature.

1 John 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

                Many, many people today talk about the love of God, yet they are total strangers to the God of love.  A few years ago during the course of a conversation, a co-worker who was unfamiliar with her Bible (to say the least), angrily threw John 3:16 in my face when I made the statement that God does not love everybody. 

                As I said earlier, so many people view the love of God as a patterned after their own love.  They think God is like them. The Word of God is to be the Christian’s final authority of what we believe and how we live. Our understanding or view of the love of God must come from the Scriptures or it is simply man made.

                The need to open the word of God and study it concerning the love of God (as well as other topics) is so apparent because of the ignorance of the truth that is seen throughout the world, not to mention our own nation. Just look at the low state of spirituality among professing Christians. Why should this be so when we have access to the very word of God? The reason professing Christendom is in a low state of spirituality is because too many are entangled with the affairs of this life and are no longer occupied with His wondrous love for His people…that’s right…His people. His love is set on His people…not all people everywhere.

                The better acquainted we are with God’s love, the more our hearts will be drawn out in love to Him. Seven is the number of completeness or perfection and there are seven aspects to God’s love. These aspects of God’s love were brought to my attention in A.W. Pink’s book, The Attributes of God.

1.    God’s love is uninfluenced…unconditional.  

                I know many a Christian who believes that God set His love on certain people because He looked down through time and saw that they would seek Him and come to Christ. That is not scriptural in the light of Isaiah 64:7 “And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee:” Psalm 14:1-3 “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Psalm 10:4 “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek God: God is not in all his thoughts.” Psalm 80:18 “…quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. I don’t say that to be harsh or to blast my brothers and sisters in Christ who believe that God’s election was conditioned upon what He knew we would choose. I just want to be truthful. It is quite possible that those who believe in conditional election do so only because they have never been taught the truth.

                God’s love is not conditioned upon anything. His love in uninfluenced. There was nothing in me or you or any Christian that caused God to love us.  Nothing! The only reason God loves anyone is simply because it pleased Him to do so. His love being poured out on an individual is an act of His sovereign will and nothing else.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8

7   The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

8   But because the LORD loved you…

                Before a single thing was created, God loved His people, the elect of the Jews and Gentiles. Why? …because it pleased Him to do so and for no other reason.

2 Timothy 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

                Why do those who are truly saved love God?  The answer is found in 1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”  His love came first and was not influenced by anything in us. We must understand that if He is to be rightly honored and we are to be established in the faith.

2.   God’s love is eternal

               

                Have you ever heard the phrase, “putting two and two together?” Sure you have and when you do, you get four. That’s just the way it is. Consider God. He is eternal. He had no beginning and He has no end. We can’t begin to understand that and yet we know it to be true because He has revealed it to us through the Word of God. If God is eternal (2) and God is love (2), then when you add it up you get that His love has no beginning and no end(4). It has always been. It will always be.

Jeremiah 31:3   The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

                Let that soak in for a while. Christian, our Sovereign and Holy God loved you before He spoke one thing into existence!  Years after Jeremiah penned those words, the Apostle Paul wrote similarly to the believers at Ephesus.

Ephesians 1:4-6

4   According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5   Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6   To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

                Dear Christian, meditate on this…  God’s love for you had no beginning and it can have no ending…it never faileth.  Why does anything in this life upset or worry you? Will North Korea attack us and start another war? Will persecution of Christians come to America? Is the Amillennnial view of eschatology right and we will have to go through the Great Tribulation?  When you start to fret, remember…He loves you endlessly.

3.   God’s love is sovereign

                Again we have another mathematical equation. Based on the Scriptures and all we have studied in the past we know that God is sovereign.  He works all things after the counsel of His own will. No one or no law is above God governing Him and telling Him what to do. He is God! Since He is God and since we know He is love, then we must conclude that His love is sovereign, just as His grace is sovereign.

                Being that His love is sovereign, He sets it whomsoever it pleases Him to set it on. We looked at that earlier in Romans 9:13.

Romans 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

                There was absolutely nothing in Jacob that warranted God’s love. He was no different than his brother Esau. Both were wretched sinners and that before they were born. Yet, God set His affections on Jacob and His wrath upon Esau. Why? Only because it pleased Him to do so.

                I know that it is here that many Christians disagree with me. Many, as I pointed out at the beginning of this, believe that God’s love is for all mankind and they use John 3:16 as their proof.

                The Scripture in Romans 9:13 is clear that God hated Esau. If in John 3:16 Jesus Christ meant that God loved every single human that ever existed, then how could God hate Esau seeing as how God’s love never fails? There has to be a consistency and if the “world” in John 3:16 is referring to all mankind, we have a glaring inconsistency. Consider Psalm 5:5  “…thou hatest all workers of iniquity” or Psalm 7:11 “God is angry with the wicked every day” Psalm 146:8 “…the LORD loveth the righteous” John 17:9,20 “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me: for they are thine… Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.”   

                Scripture is clear!  God hates the workers of iniquity and He loves the righteous. What make righteous people righteous seeing as how all people are born workers of iniquity? It is God who makes the difference. He set His love on some of Adam’s fallen race before the foundation of the world and in time made them vessels of honor. The rest were left to themselves and are vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. Why? Because that is what pleased God.

4.   God’s love is infinite

                God is an infinite God, therefore every attribute of God is infinite. His wisdom is infinite. He knows all things past, present and future. There is no limit to His power. Nothing is too hard for Him. Likewise, His love is infinite or without limit. In the song HOLY by Matt Redman it says, “What heart can hold the weight of Your love…or know the height of Your great worth? God’s love cannot be measured it is limitless. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul…

Ephesians 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

                O, Christian, His love to us is great!  It cannot fully be understood by us. Part of Paul’s prayer for the Christians at Ephesus was that they could comprehend with all saints the breadth, length, depth and height of God’s love (Ephesians 3:17-19).

Ephesians 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

5.   God’s love is immutable 

                God’s love never changes. James 1:17 tells us that our Heavenly Father does not change… “in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Hebrews 1:12 tells us, “but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

               

                If God is love and God never changes, His love never changes. Go back to Romans 9:13. Jacob have I loved…despite the fact that Jacob was a deceiver and went astray often, God’s love for him never changed.  Consider the Disciples in the garden who were scattered the night Christ was taken to be crucified. Though they forsook Christ and though Peter denied Him, God’s love for them never wavered.

Romans 8:35   Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Romans 8:38-39

38   For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39   Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

6.   God’s love is holy

                The love of God never conflicts with His holiness. His holiness is what adorns His love making it so radiant. Remember in our study of the holiness of God, because He is holy, He cannot look on sin. This truth remains the same after an individual has been saved by the grace and mercy of God. God deals with sin in His people. He will not wink at sin. His love is pure.

Hebrews 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

                If a professing Christian can go years and years living in sin and not be bothered by it, never experiencing Holy Spirit conviction or chastening of the Lord there would be good reason to question his salvation. Hebrews 12:7-8 goes on to tell us that if a person is not chastened by the Lord for his sin, then he is not a son…he is not saved.

7.   God’s love is gracious

                The love and grace of God are inseparable. God’s love and grace which flows from within Him was the determining factor which caused Him to give His only begotten Son for sinners.  Because God loved certain sinners, He sent Christ to become their sin and suffer the wrath of God upon the cross of Calvary in their stead.  Christ did not die to make God love us. Rather it was because God loved us in Christ before the foundation of the world that He sent Him to be propitiation for the elect of Israel and not them alone, but also for the elect of the world.

                The English word “grace” translated from the Greek word χάρις (charis, pronounced: khä'-rēs) means the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of Christian virtues (Strong’s Concordance reference G5484).

               

                There is no greater manifestation of the gracious love of God than was seen on Calvary. If you ever doubt or wonder about the love of God, look to Calvary.

John 15:13    Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 10:14-15

14   I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

15   As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and lay down my life for the sheep.

16   And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

17   Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

18   No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

                If you are reading this and you have been saved by the pure grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and His grace is evident in your life, then know that He loves you with an everlasting love. If you are reading this and you have not come to Christ for salvation, if you love and revel in sin and do not want Christ to reign over you, the wrath of the Almighty God of heaven is upon you and unless you repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will die in your sins and spend eternity in hell suffering the justice and wrath of God.

               

Isaiah 45:22   Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

1 Timothy 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…

Acts 16:31  …Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…