God Loves Forever!

There are two great truths you must understand about God’s incredible love. His love is unconditional and everlasting. Conversely, when it comes to loving people, we often love those we feel deserve our love, those who have a natural or biological connection to us, and those whose performance pleases us or offers us certain benefits. Yes, it can be reasonably argued that this really is not love at all. Often this is how love is portrayed and perceived though!

So, this works itself out with people earning love based on performance and losing love for the same reason. As long as folks can perceive we have something valuable to offer, then they will love or share love. Unfortunately, as soon as our usefulness to them is diminished then so is their love for us. In this scenario love is very conditional, utility, and performance based. Such “love” gives rise to fears, spawns manipulations, feeds desperations, inspires worry, fuels anxiety, and breeds multiple twisted forms of insecurity. It is actually a form of torment and emotional suffering.    

In contrast, let me share with you two great truths about God’s love for you and me:

GOD LOVES EACH ONE OF US UNCONDITIONALLY AND COMPLETELY

That is correct. His love is absolute, unqualified, boundless, and real.

  

God's Love Is Absolute! It Does Not Change over Time or According to Your and my Behavior. His great love is not influenced or swayed by circumstances or situations. It cannot be lessened or weakened. God can never love you more than He loves you today, and neither can He love you less. His love is perfect! He loves you because He created you, and He chooses to love you—now and every moment of your life. He is motivated to love us because of who He is and not what we do or do not do.

Nothing That You Do, or That Happens to You, Can Separate You from God’s Love. Read very thoughtfully the words the Apostle Paul penned regarding the security and constancy of God’s incredible love. In Romans 8:35-39, he says, 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36] As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. [37] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. [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.

This staggering list of experiences and supernatural personalities cannot separate the believer from God’s love in Christ! These statements are emphatic and absolute! There are zero situations where His comprehensive love begins to break down or weaken. There is no scenario you and I can dream up that would negate or cancel His profound love for us. The great Apostle Paul was not merely theorizing about abstract ideas. He had been through many of these experiences and lived to tell us about them because of the unfailing love of God! This servant of Christ had directly survived assaults from these entities and emerged triumphant by the grace of God. God’s love was tangible and real to Paul as it should be to each of us. Do not miss the all important point here...nothing can sever God’s love from us!

              — Not the thrashing flogs of tribulation

              — Nor the constant hammering of distress

              — Not the cruelty of persecution

              — Nor can the emaciated threat of famine

              — Nor can the poverty and exposure of nakedness

              — Not the looming hazards of danger

              — Nor can the piercing of the sword!

His love may not prevent these threatening developments, but He will never abandon us as we face them. His love affords us spiritual security in spite of the challenges and pains we will face. That is correct; God will not shield us from all pains and sorrows. He will; however, accompany us through everyone of them. 

In this frightful list we find every adverse circumstance that can effectively separate people from each other.  But, not one single condition can separate us from the love of God. Instead of driving us away from God’s love, these things can potentially draw us closer to Him. It is not simply that we triumph over these formidable forces, but that in doing so we bring glory to God, blessing to others, and good to ourselves. We can actually make slaves out of our enemies and stepping stones out of our road blocks. All of this is not in our own strength but, through Him that loved us (Rom. 8:37). 

Beloved, only the power of Christ’s love can bring:

                 — sweetness out of bitterness,

                 — strength out of weakness,

                 — triumph out of tragedy, and

                 — blessing out of heartbreak

GOD TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO LOVE US FIRST AND FOREVER (ROM. 8:35)

Not only is God's love absolute--unconditional and complete, but it also precedes our love for Him and will lasts forever. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” the great apostle inquires. This is a rhetorical question designed to punctuate the truth that God’s love is complete and permanent. He also loved you and me first; that is, before we loved Him. God does not wait for us to come to Him with an expression of love before He extends love to us. To the contrary! Notice “the love of Christ” in Romans 8:35.  

It is not our love for Christ, but His love for us that is emphasized repeatedly in the Scriptures. Certainly the Bible requires that we love God, but it is in response to His great love toward us. Notice what  John 13:1, says, Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. The timeframe of this passage is before Christ’s arrest and subsequent crucifixion. When the average person would be most concerned with themselves, Christ was concentrating on the needs of His followers! He loved us first and before He loved His own welfare. He loved them to the very end of His life on the cross! The same is true for you and me!!!

Specifically and unmistakably God demonstrated love first to provide salvation for us. Notice carefully what  1John 4:9-10, says, In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. [10] Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Once again I repeat how real, tangible, meaningful, significant, and substantial the love of God is! Calvary clearly states how God feels towards the world. He did not even withhold His own darling Son from extraordinary suffering and finally death for our sins to save you and me. Beloved, this is more than huge; this is gigantic… astronomical... stupendous… colossal! God did not remain safely in Heaven stating repeatedly that He loves us. No, He became a man, lived with us, shared our heartaches and pains, and then actually died for us. He loved us enough to do something meaningful for us! 

Yes, God Loved Us First; This is Why He Took The Initiative.

John said it simply and eloquently: “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It is correct for us to respond to His great love with love to Him. Understand, before we were lovable…He first loved us! Paul also reminds us of this saying in Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The proof of real love is the great substitutionary sacrificial atoning death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God at Calvary! So, in the most meaningful expression of love ever…God was shouting, “I love you!” All this transpired before we could do anything to influence Him to love us! Even when we were at our worst, He has a standing statement through the Cross of Christ that He loved us!

Furthermore, Love really is what God is—He gives love its real definition and parameters. “God is love” (1John 4:8). In this respect, love is the essence of the self-giving nature of God. His extraordinary love for us seeks to awaken a responsive love in us for Him. Profound expressions of divine love pepper the pages of the entire Bible. It has been well observed that nature articulates the skill, wisdom, and power of God with excellence. But it is solely in the Scriptures where we discover God giving Himself and all He possesses to us, in order to win our response and to possess us for Himself. Love is what God is. It defines Him and He delineates real love! The kind of love that requires and demands for selfish reasons is entirely foreign to the type of love modeled by the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Love is not God, but God is love. He is the real definition of love. He presents love as sacrificial, selfless, others-oriented, boundless, meaningful, substantial, and significant. By God's definition love is primarily an action word and not merely an emotion. It is a sound choice to seek the highest spiritual welfare of another.  

Love is also What God Does. Obviously He expresses love. God loved and gave; He loved and sought—just as a shepherd seeks his wandering sheep. God loved and suffered, proving His love by giving HIS ALL ON THE CROSS FOR THE REDEMPTION OF HUMANITY. God, according to His brand of love, wills good for all His creatures. We do not always perceive the good He wills for us, but never-the-less He does seek our highest welfare. 

God Is Always Waiting with Open Arms, Ready to Receive Those Who Turn to Him in Faith. He longs to embrace us, forgive us, save us, restore us to full fellowship with Himself, and to bless us as His children. Yes, God loves us sinners enough to save us. Is this not clearly what John 3:16, is saying “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”? Yes, we are guilty perishing sinners who are not even close to being right with God. We have gravely offended Him with our ignorance of Him and His will for us. We do not measure up to His infinite perfections in any wise. While perishing forever in the Lake of Fire is a real threat to the unsaved, the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ is equally valid. We must do as the Scriptures prescribe and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. It is Christ Jesus who died taking the blame for our sinfulness. God accepted Christ’s death as the full payment for sin and raised Him back to life again. While we cannot trust a dead Savior, we can turn to a living Lord in repentance and faith. Acknowledge to God that you too are a sinner, and that you are truly sorry for the way you have violently assaulted His Majesty. Believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died in your place to save you from your sins. Recognize that Jesus is alive forevermore and is waiting to save you the instant you truly turn to Him. Believe the Gospel of Christ before it is eternally too late for you.

What an Encouraging Thought, that Nothing—Absolutely Nothing—can Separate Us from God's Love for Us. Look once more at Romans 8:39, where the Bible says, “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.” That is correct; nothing at all can sever us from the "love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." If you are saved by God's marvelous grace, then God loves you forever! Since Believers are "in Christ Jesus" absolutely nothing can separate us from God's love! Drink deeply from this well of truth. Allow it to free you from questioning God’s great love. You are loved unconditionally and forever by the great God who is love in its most perfect form and expression. Go ahead and accept this truth. Remember, the truth always has this freeing facet! Be free from fearing God will walk out on you because of your repeated failures. He can still change your life and advance you beyond where you are. He will do this because He loves us too much to leave us where He found us originally! Through God’s love we are released from the clutches of fear and insecurity. The LIE that we must perform somewhat perfectly to earn God’s love or blessings must lose its power to control our minds, hearts, and actions. We can never perform well enough to earn such high love; it can only be realized and received by grace. We do not deserve it! It is freely offered! Accept it; fully receive it!   

His incredible love is always extended to you and to me. Listen to the precious words of the prophet in Jeremiah 31:3, saying “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.” This is God speaking ever so tenderly to His people. Can you hear Him speaking to your heart? His love is of an everlasting character, and with such love He draws us unto Himself. God does not love us because we deserve His love and have performed well enough to earn it. His love is everlasting towards His people. His love will never quit on you and me. God will never turn His back on you. The Lord Jesus will never ever ever walk out on you to forsake you. He will not pack up you stuff and leave it outside of the house on the doorstep. He will not change the locks to the house while you are away from home. God will not serve you with divorce papers. No, His love is an everlasting love and He constantly seeks to draw us closer to Himself. The best thing for any human being is God, and here God offers us the very best—Himself. His love moves Him to seek us out and summons us unto His glorious person! What a fascinating thought! God wants to be with you and me. Beloved, it is our responsibility to accept His love, receive it, and delight in it. When we do so we will enjoy an inner freedom and level of acceptance that we cannot experience by any other means. This is what God offers you and me. Will you take Him up on His offer? Will you say yes to the Lord Jesus who said yes to the cross for you?

God Loves YOU!

Romans 8:28-39

God loves you. Close your eyes...allow these incredible words to sink deeply into your spirit. Yes, God really loves you. They are three of the most encouraging words you can ever hear or speak.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. [29] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. [30] Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. [31] What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? [32] He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? [33] Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. [34] Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36] As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. [37] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. [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. (Romans 8:28–39, KJV)

Like you I meet People who are starving to hear that God or anybody loves them. This is a cold and hard reality for some folks; they receive next to no affirmation in their lives and precious little love. I have heard adults confess without any hesitation…with their eyes filled with tears, “I never heard my father say he loves me”… or, “My hard-working mother must have loved me, but after a certain age she stopped telling me”…or, “I don't recall my mother ever telling me she loved me.” I have only heard of the loneliness in spirit that can develop if a person grows up aching to hear unspoken words of approval, affection, and love.

                                                                       

Like others, I struggled for years as a Christian trying to understand the love of God personally and deeply. I generally believe He loves me on the basis of His Word, but is there a more comprehensive sense of realizing His love?

Continuing in the Word, I discovered God literally loves you and me in incredible ways!

      A.  God Loves the World and That Includes You. John 3:16, says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

      B.  God Loves the Saints and That Includes You. Second Thessalonians 2:16, says, Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

      C.  God Loves the Individual and That Includes You. Galatians 2:20, says, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

      D.  God Loves the Sinner and That Includes You. Romans 5:8, says, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

At Calvary God loved you. As one of His children, through faith in Jesus Christ, God loves you. Christ Jesus loved you by giving Himself without any reservations to save and have you for His own. In fact, God’s profound declaration of love transpired two thousand years ago when Jesus hung on a cross dying for us sinners! Calvary is powerful evidence of sacrificial unconditional divine love towards me and you. Every single one of us fits into most of those previously mentioned categories and it is undeniably evident that God literally loves you!

Beloved, do not doubt His love for a second; believe the Word of God and not your own lying heart. Just because you feel alone, feel rejected, feel threatened, feel afraid, and feel forsaken does not mean you actually are! You may be frustrated, overwhelmed, backslidden, or even deeply hurt and suffering, but none of this means God has stopped loving you as His cherished child. God’s love must be taken by faith on the clear statements of Scripture. It is a matter of fact, and is not based on our circumstances and emotions.  God loves you…God loves you…God really does love you. Do not trust your heart; trust GOD! Beloved, receive the indescribable and staggeringly boundless love of Jehovah God! Realize His love for you by faith.

We Belong To God!

When we count our spiritual blessings we must be careful to note that we belong to God. Fact: God deliberately chose us to become his people; we actually belong to Him!   

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 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. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

This is a tremendous blessing from God our Heavenly Father (Eph. 1:4-6)! He did not choose us because we were deemed worthy or merited it by our outstanding performance. No, His selections are a matter of extraordinary grace. He dealt with us not according to what we deserved, but according to His goodness, love, grace, and mercy (Titus 3:4-7).

God, our Heavenly Father, has chosen us (Eph. 1:4). Look at what verse four says, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world….” This of course is the marvelous biblical teaching of election, a doctrine that has caused most of us to scratch our heads. I am among the first to admit I do not fully understand the teaching, but I do believe it.

Very likely all of us as genuine Believers in Christ will agree that salvation begins with God, and not with us. Note the words of our Lord Jesus, “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you” (John 15:16 see also Matt 9:12-13). As lost sinners, left to our own traditions and habits, we would never have sought the Lord God (Rom 3:10-11; 1Cor. 2:14); this profound reality is clearly attested in the Word. It was the true and living God who in peerless love sought us out and rescued us from the ravages of awful sin (Luke 19:10; John 6:44, 65).

So what is the Bible referring to when Paul used the term “chosen” in verse four. Well “chosen” means exactly what you think it does: to make a choice; to pick out; to select. In this context it refers to the biblical fact that God choose individuals to salvation. The entire process of being exposed to the Gospel, conviction by the Holy Spirit, and the sinner believing the truth is spelled out in other places (2Thess. 2:13-14). Still the Scriptures repeatedly refer to Believers as “elect according to the foreknowledge of God” (1Pet. 1:2). God actually laid his affections on some and the end result is the salvation of those selected. The Scriptures teach that we can know whether we are elect by our response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We who hear and believe are also selected by God (1Thess. 1:4-7). According to the Apostle Paul, God made this selection “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). Clearly there was no one around to influence God’s decision! God was entirely free in His choices to save sinners.  

Well, speaking about this subject in this manner makes us a little uneasy at times. Allow me to clarify what I do not mean by the previous statements. There is nowhere in the entire Bible where it is taught that God chooses men to be lost. The fact that He chooses some to be saved does not imply that He arbitrarily condemns all the rest unfairly. God NEVER condemns people who deserve to be saved (there are none)! He is; however, extremely guilty of saving people who ought to be condemned to the Lake of Fire forever! Compare Rom. 9:23 to 9:22.  God prepares vessels of mercy to glory, but He does not prepare men for destruction: “they do this for themselves by their unbelief.” God simply respects their decision (MacDonald).

Sometimes we feel like God is being unfair to some people because they were not selected. The truth is God did not have to select anyone at all and He would have been justified to do so. We all deserve Hell forever since every single one of us has sinned. No one even deserves to hear the Good News once; it is an act of mercy and grace when the message falls upon the ears of lost humanity. When God chose some to be saved it was a demonstration of grace in the extreme. Why should he be viewed as a shady character because He chooses to show love and mercy to people who did not deserve it? The teachings connected to election fully recognize that God is really GOD. He is sovereign, that is, He can do what He wants, when He wants, with whomever He wants, and however often He wants. When he behaves like God, no one can object because we are all fallen sinners who deserve the worst, but God gracious selected some to have His best instead. If one lifeguard discovers four people drowning, but he only manages to rescue three of them, is he a villain because he did not save all of them? It has been well said, God can do as He pleases, although He never pleases to do anything unjust. If left alone, ALL men would be lost. Does God then have the right to show mercy to some?

No doubt someone is thinking to themselves, “This is not the full picture!” What about human free will and the power of human choice? If you are asking this question you would be correct to do so. The incredible Word of God squarely teaches human responsibility also. The same Bible declares sovereign election and human responsibility. One implication of this is that no one can use the doctrine of election as an excuse for not being saved. God makes a bona fide offer of salvation to all people everywhere (John 3:16; 3:36; 5:24; Rom. 10:9, 13). Anyone can be saved by repenting of sin, and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, if a person is lost, it is because he chooses to be lost, not because God desires it. Remember God is not willing that any should perish, but that “all should come to repentance” (2Pet. 3:9). Unfortunately many are not willing to repent believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

It remains then that the same Bible explicitly proclaims election and free salvation to all who will receive it.  In fact both teachings are found in the same verse: “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). The first half of the verse speaks of God’s sovereign choice; the last half extends the offer of mercy to all humanity. I fully appreciate the difficulty these teaching present to the human mind. I have decided to accept them both by faith. God said it and I believe it. The questions do not automatically disappear, “How can God choose some and yet offer salvation freely to all men?” Frankly, we may never fully grasp this even with glorified minds…. We must humble ourselves admitting that God is grander and greater than we can comprehend.  

The point here is that we are extremely blessed because we belong to God, and He belongs to us! We can understand and appreciate the fact that we are His, and He is ours. You and I, as the people of God, do not need to accommodate whatever whelms, dictates, or requirements of the lost or unsanctified in order to feel like we ‘fit in.’ We do not need to conduct our lives compromising our spiritual integrity just to gain the approval of the ‘in crowd.’ We do not have to give up our bodies in sinful sex to seize some sense of belonging to someone. We are free from all these type temptations because we understand that we belong to God, and He belongs to us. This is the wonderful gift He affords us when we drink in deeply the truth that He selected you and me for Himself. What an awesome privilege afforded us as Believers. This we can rejoice in and give thanks unto the God who chose us for Himself! Beloved, bless the LORD for this completely outrageous spiritual blessing! Live daily in freedom from the temptation to compromise to merely be accepted by worldly and wicked individuals. The most important Person in the universe is your Heavenly Father; this is enough for certain. Beloved, acknowledge how blessed you are and live in the power and grace of belonging to Almighty God!