God Loves Me

Many have entertained the idea that salvation is for everyone else but them. Part of this has to do with a misunderstanding of why God saves someone. When I first started my Christian journey, I thought God favored some people above others. Some He had a special regard for, and others He didn't. I have come to learn otherwise. God would have everyone to be saved because He loves all of us unconditionally.

God loves everyone that has walked the face of this earth. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that “the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” There is not one that He has wished to perish. Some will perish unfortunately, but that is not because of a lack of willingness on the part of God. If you think that there is no evidence in your life that God cares for and takes care of you, I want you to consider Colossians 1:17: “by him all things consist.” When you wake up, take a breath, eat breakfast, heal from a wound or injury, or simply live, it is by the power of God sustaining your very life. God, consciously, is giving life to you this very moment. We take these things for granted as though they continued on their own, but God is the one keeping everyone and everything going. So if you are breathing and reading this article that should be at least the first glimmer that God cares for you, and not only you but the whole world.

This love is not based on our behavior, attributes, or anything pertaining to us. “God is love.” 1 John 4:8. Simply put this is who God is. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 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.” Romans 5:8; 8:35,38,39. Your behavior does not affect this love, nor your situation or whatever someone else thinks of you. I have been asked if God loves Adolf Hitler by people that I have canvassed, and based on these Scriptures I have no reservation in saying yes. Will Hitler be saved? Based on the criteria for inheriting the kingdom of God that we have already looked at, no. No matter how vile a person has been, God loves them just the same as a being that has never sinned. This love is unchanging all the same.

Such love seems so foreign to us. Indeed it is foreign because we are used to looking out for me first. That is what sin is, putting myself first. This is not the spirit of heaven though. Christ was a perfect example of what this love looks like. “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:6-8. This is the spirit of heaven, selfless service. The angels know it, for they are sent forth as ministering spirits to minister to those who are to be heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). We are foreigners to this spirit, and we often attribute to God our qualities of loving for a reason, of looking out for personal interest when in reality He looks out for the needs of all.

God's love takes the first step in the reconciliation process. Before we were ever inclined to turn to Him, He was already drawing us. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” 2 Corinthians 5:19. When we sin, God desires us to come to Him more than we do. Sometimes we think that forgiveness is necessary to make peace with an angry God and that Jesus is the more merciful of the two. Christ said, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” John 14:9. God is not our enemy, for He has been trying to make peace with every soul for as long as conflict has been. Some will not have it, but there are many who would be more than willing to make peace with their Father in heaven. There is no enmity in the heart of God for anyone; there is only love that wishes to set things right.

There is a strange aspect to love, and that is of letting go. Some who have had pets that were dying a slow death are familiar with this. My family has had a number of dogs over the years, three of which have died. A few years ago one of those three was dying a very slow death. She had bad arthritis, was overweight, her skin was flaking badly, and she began to have maggots eat away at her body. This dog was in a lot of pain while she was slowly dying away. My parents took her to the vet to see if anything could be done, and to be honest there was nothing that could be done. She was an old dog, and they put her to sleep. Most of us understand that this is a merciful thing to do. When God deals with those who have been the rejecters of His grace it is a similar situation. Nothing more can be done for them, for they have chosen to remain in their sinful condition. The spirit of heaven is not the spirit they possess. Heaven would be a miserable place as the pursuits of those who dwell there are not for their own pleasure, but that of others and ministering to their needs. We all know that is not the spirit of the sinful dwellers there. A sinner would be miserable inside the gates of the New Jerusalem. They will also be miserable with each other as they have given themselves wholly over to the service of Satan at this point. Some of the most horribly things would be committed among them if they were just left to themselves. For this reason God consumes all of the wicked at one time. There is no hell fire that burns forever, but there is a fire that puts them out of their misery. God in His punishment is being loving to even the rejecters of His mercy.

This love is for everyone, at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances. Misunderstood though it has been, it remains the same. Love is a principle that has been foreign to us. This love is what we are to be restored to, for this is part of the image of God as it used to be in man. Will you let God restore this love in you? Will you not refuse this gift that has cost Him so much? Run from it no longer, and do everything you can to cooperate with God in completing His purpose.

Heaven's Admission Requirements

I distinctly remember the first time that I ever rode on a roller coaster. It was at Disney World and I was four years old at the time. One of the things I remember though is in order to get on this ride you had to be so tall. Four year olds are not very tall, especially me. I stood against a decorated ruler, and the person responsible for allowing children on the ride let me go. From what I remember I think I barely scrapped by. My brother who was two at the time stayed with my mom, and I rode with my aunt and cousin. Rides are not the only things that have a standard for admission.

Many people from different nations and different belief systems look forward to heaven or something like it. Most people talk of it as one of the significant motivating factors for living a right life. What does it take for that hope to be realized? There are certain conditions for entrance into the kingdom of God. We are going to be taking a look at what those conditions are.

First it would be well to start off with those Scriptures that talk about who will not be there. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” 1 Corinthians 6:9,10; Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 1:29-32. It is a long list, but it is well worth reading.

How many of us have been in the list? I know I have been multiple things under this list. If we still do such things as are on that list like the grievous sins of adultery, murder or drunkenness, or some of the lightly esteemed sins such as covetousness, pride or gossip, regardless of how much good we have done, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. Some have the mistaken idea that the righteousness of Christ covers transgression. “But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.” Galatians 2:17,18. When Christ justifies a person, sinful habits are torn down. One who commits sin does away with Christ's work. That is why no one who is righteous as far as the courts above is concerned will be found doing any sin. Sinners will have no place in the courts above.

Does this mean that anyone who has done these things shall never enter the pearly gates? No, it is referring to those who are still doing them. Paul continues from the first section of this list in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” As he testified before Agrippa of his experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he shared what Christ told him was his calling. “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18.Those who are sanctified are those who will receive the inheritance of the kingdom of God. While you may still be under that list, there is hope because the Corinthians managed to get off of it. They have a hope of heaven when Christ comes to take His people home and so may we. 

 

It is not only those who perform sin in the outward life that will not be there, but those that commit it in heart will also be excluded. Christ talked about heart sin regarding adultery in His sermon on the mount, He talked about heart sin regarding murder, and He talked about the sin of covetousness which can only happen in the heart when He spoke the law on Sinai. Christ mentioned that the heart is where sin has its spring. The issue has been in the fountain of the heart and not the stream that comes forth. Lucifer was not cast out of heaven for being an adulterer. He was not cast out of heaven for being a murderer. He was cast out of heaven because of a prideful heart. Sin when it takes place has its origin in the heart.

The principle of the law and everything the prophets have said is to love the Lord your God with all the heart, mind, strength and soul and as a result our neighbor as ourselves. John defines transgression this way, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. Sin strikes directly at the principle behind the law. Those who are in heaven will be in perfect conformity to it. When Christ was asked the question in Luke 10:25 “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”, he turned a question back on the enquirer: “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” To which his questioner replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Jesus told him he had the right answer. That is the condition for eternal life.

The spirit of heaven is love to God and then others as oneself. Christ demonstrated that when He became a man. It was the violation of this principle in heaven and on earth that has barred Lucifer, his angels, and mankind from the presence of God. It will not be until this principle is restored in us that man will be reunited into the presence of God.

Do you love others at all times? Do you yield perfect obedience to God in love for Him? If you do not, you are far from alone. Our natural condition is in opposition to this law. For we are born of the flesh, and the carnal (fleshly) mind is enmity against God and is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be (Romans 8:7). To address this need is why Christ came to change us from sinners to be righteous in thought and deed. This is what the gospel is all about, and until we realize that we can not reform our behavior without this transformation, we will be like the disciples toiling at the oars all night through the storm until Christ speaks the word of peace to the stormy sea of our hearts. May we seek Christ to change us and abandon working at the oars of our efforts.

The Aftermath of the Fall

When man fell, the fall gave us a need for a Savior. Before that point there was no need. To understand better what Christ does for us, we need to understand that need first. When Adam and Eve sinned, to put it simply, mankind was doomed to die and disobey for the remainder of his days.

In Genesis we read these words, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:17. The moment the tree was eaten of they would surely die. Romans 5:12 tells us, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” Through Adam sin was given an entrance to this earth, and through that sin death was given an entrance to the world. All physical death that we behold is the result of that sin whether it be among mankind, in the animal kingdom, or down to the minutest cell. Death as we know it had its origin at the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Our days are numbered, and for this reason Christ offers life that has no end.

More than just physical death came into the world. Speaking of the work of God in the lives of the Ephesians the apostle Paul penned these words, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.” Ephesians 2:5. What does it mean to be dead in sins? Verses 2 and 3 of the second chapter explain: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Living like the world in following the devilish proverb “do what thou wilt” comes to mind when reading these verses. When temptation comes to do any sin whether it be adultery in its myriad forms, dishonesty, stealing, murder in the physical and spiritual sense, covetousness, blaspheming, etc. instead of being resisted is embraced and carried out that is spiritual death.

In fact from the perspective of the Bible when one has come to be quickened, that one though physically dead is still considered by heaven as alive. “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Matthew 22:32. To contrast this verse 1 Timothy 5:6 tells us, “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” One can be spiritually dead while they are yet living. Strange thought that there are many walking dead men today.

Man in and of himself is just as unable to obey the law of God as someone that is dead is able to come back from the grave on their own. Even with all the great advancements we have made in science, we are unable to bring anyone back from the dead. Likewise it is not possible for us to bring ourselves back from spiritual death or others. There is only one Lifegiver, and that is the man Christ Jesus.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they brought upon the human race, yes even the whole earth death and decay physically. Through them mankind's moral strength was severely weakened to the point obedience was no longer possible. This is what prompted God's promise in Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” We being the seed of the woman are promised to have our union with the devil severed by the One who has bruised his head. You who are in this condition and discouraged, look up. Your knowledge of your condition and a longing for something different are the signs that your redemption draws nigh.

An Overview of the Message

When someone fixes computers, cars or anything that is a system of several smaller parts, it is useful for that person to know how everything fits together at the very least in a basic sense. Righteousness by faith itself is a system of teachings that when we understand how to categorize and link them together we can move forward with our understanding of them.

One of the first category of this system is understanding why righteousness by faith is important. The angels themselves have no need of it because they are unfallen. What has made this topic important for us is the fact that we are fallen. Our fall has meant that we are unable to do right with our own strength (Jeremiah 13:23) and that we are condemned to die. Here is our great need and without understanding these points there is no reason to see for the righteousness which comes by faith.

The second category of this is God's solution for the problem of man's fall. Here we find the gift of Jesus Christ to take away our sin. Not only is the penalty taken care of, but also the provision to live a new life. Such topics as the nature of Christ, God's love for man, the gifts of God such as repentance, faith, love, free will, etc. These are all part of God's solution to the sin problem.

Our most important question comes up of how does a man receive the help God is offering. This is where our third category comes in. What is the part of man in his salvation? Does man have a part in his salvation? The question of how is where many stumble who have a right understanding of the first and second categories.

As we make our journey through this topic I will be sure to cover areas where there has been confusion. If I fail to cover a topic thoroughly, please send me an email, and I will be sure to revisit it or make an update to that post.