The Unconditional Love of God

[BradC]

We speak often of those who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness but how about those who turn the unconditional love of God into something that must be attained. Meaning, you must meet certain conditions in your faith to have God be able to love you freely. Ever hear someone say that God does not love them or in their heart they say God does not love me anymore? What's really going on? Has God stopped loving them because they lack in their faith or in their walk of faith? Are they having a problem in the flesh or with sin and do not sense the love of God? Have they been told that because of how they are living that God can't love them and they should repent to get that love back in their life? Perhaps they have come to believe that God loves them if they keep his commandments or that they have to get all sin and weakness of the flesh out of their life so that God's love can have free course in their life. Maybe some feel very strong that they are not worthy of his love and will never be worthy of it.

Is this how the love of God works and operates toward the sinner and within those who believe upon the Son? Do we attain unto the love of God and put conditions upon ourselves to be worthy of God's love? Many on this site from time to time have been critical of statements like, 'God loves you just as you are' or 'God loves you, a sinner'. God's love never changes because God is love and to teach or believe otherwise in your heart is not the love of God. God draws sinners to himself through his love and lovingkindness that was shed abroad on Calvary through his Son. He does not make anyone attain unto his love because his love has no conditions to attain unto. The nature of unconditional love has no strings attached and it is freely given and expressed to every individual who opens their heart to receive it by faith. The love of God never stops loving people even when they reject it through unbelief.

The justice of the cross had put away everything in relationship to sin and the flesh that would stop us from receiving the love of God. We need to see that and accept that by faith so that we can receive the love that God has for us. His love is not some pie in the sky, it is the very nature of who God is and we wants to inhabit man's heart and life with his love. We don't have to meet any conditions for this to happen, we just agree with God and let God love us in the place wherein we stand.

 

[GracethroughfaithinChrist]

We speak often of those who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness but how about those who turn the unconditional love of God into something that must be attained. Meaning, you must meet certain conditions in your faith to have God be able to love you freely. Ever hear someone say that God does not love them or in their heart they say God does not love me anymore? What's really going on? Has God stopped loving them because they lack in their faith or in their walk of faith? Are they having a problem in the flesh or with sin and do not sense the love of God? Have they been told that because of how they are living that God can't love them and they should repent to get that love back in their life? Perhaps they have come to believe that God loves them if they keep his commandments or that they have to get all sin and weakness of the flesh out of their life so that God's love can have free course in their life. Maybe some feel very strong that they are not worthy of his love and will never be worthy of it.

Is this how the love of God works and operates toward the sinner and within those who believe upon the Son? Do we attain unto the love of God and put conditions upon ourselves to be worthy of God's love? Many on this site from time to time have been critical of statements like, 'God loves you just as you are' or 'God loves you, a sinner'. God's love never changes because God is love and to teach or believe otherwise in your heart is not the love of God. God draws sinners to himself through his love and lovingkindness that was shed abroad on Calvary through his Son. He does not make anyone attain unto his love because his love has no conditions to attain unto. The nature of unconditional love has no strings attached and it is freely given and expressed to every individual who opens their heart to receive it by faith. The love of God never stops loving people even when they reject it through unbelief.

The justice of the cross had put away everything in relationship to sin and the flesh that would stop us from receiving the love of God. We need to see that and accept that by faith so that we can receive the love that God has for us. His love is not some pie in the sky, it is the very nature of who God is and we wants to inhabit man's heart and life with his love. We don't have to meet any conditions for this to happen, we just agree with God and let God love us in the place wherein we stand.

Amen brother BradC,
Reminds me of brother Peters instructions given through the Spirit about confirming our calling and election supplement Faith with>+Virtue>+knowledge>+ steadfastness>+godliness>+brotherly affection>+Love seen here .......Without His Spirit in a man those trying to do these things from carnal reasonings are just spinning their wheels.......

2 Peter 1:3-11
3His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to[SUP]c[/SUP] his own glory and excellence,[SUP]d[/SUP] 4by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,[SUP]e[/SUP] and virtue with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8For if these qualities[SUP]f[/SUP] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10Therefore, brothers,[SUP]g[/SUP] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

[BradC]

The deep things of God are given and revealed unto us by the Spirit and these bring us into a deeper walk and relationship with Christ. If we have leaven in our doctrine concerning Christ and the church the Spirit is grieved and we will be inhibited from receiving these deeper things. These deeper things do not violate the unconditional love of God nor being able to minister grace to those in need. They do not take us into a place where we isolate ourselves from the body of Christ in the local assembly. These deeper things give us a greater reason and purpose to take up our cross, to deny the flesh of the old man and to put on Christ and the love of God. They open the eye of our understanding that we might see Christ in us more clearly as the hope of glory. Every doctrine we have in our soul must point to Christ so that we can have the mind of Christ. These deep things reveal the mind of Christ in all things. These deep things bring a separation of the flesh from the Spirit and separation from the old unto the new in everything.

The unconditional love of God is from the Spirit and not man and it is clearly revealed to man by the Spirit. To denounce this kind of love is to denounce our sonship that we have in Christ, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son and...

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:

 

[BradC]

anonyomous - God’s love, as described in the Bible, is clearly unconditional in that His love is expressed toward the objects of His love (i.e., His people) despite their disposition toward Him. In other words, God loves because it His nature to love (1 John 4:8), and that love moves Him toward benevolent action. The unconditional nature of God’s love is most clearly seen in the gospel. The gospel message is basically a story of divine rescue. As God considers the plight of His rebellious people, He determines to save them from their sin, and this determination is based on His love (Ephesians 1:4-5). Listen to the Apostle Paul’s words from his letter to the Romans:

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die” (Romans 5:6-8).

Reading through the book of Romans, we learn that we are alienated from God due to our sin. We are at enmity with God, and His wrath is being revealed against the ungodly for their unrighteousness (Romans 1:18-20). We reject God, and God gives us over to our sin. We also learn that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) and that none of us seek God, none of us do what is right before His eyes (Romans 3:10-18).

Despite this hostility and enmity we have toward God (for which God would be perfectly within His rights to utterly destroy us), God reveals His love toward us in the giving of His Son, Jesus Christ, as the propitiation (i.e., an appeasement of God’s righteous wrath) for our sins. God did not wait for us to get our collective acts together as a condition of atoning for our sin. Rather, God condescended to become a man and live among His people (John 1:14). God experienced our humanity—everything it means to be a human being—and then offered Himself willingly as a substitutionary atonement for our sin.

This divine rescue mission results in a gracious act of self-sacrifice. As Jesus says in John’s gospel: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). That is precisely what God, in Christ, has done. The unconditional nature of God’s love is made clear in two more passages from Scripture:

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10).

It is important to note that God’s love is a love that initiates; it is never a response. That is precisely what makes it unconditional. If God’s love were conditional, then we would have to do something to earn or merit it. We would have to somehow appease His wrath and cleanse ourselves of our sin before God would be able to love us. But that is not the biblical message. The biblical message—the gospel—is that God, motivated by love, moved unconditionally to save His people from their sin.

 

[BradC]

If the devil has his way he would never want anyone to think of the love of God as unconditional (UL). I think that he tries to blind the minds of those who believe not, from this kind of love. To take away this UL of God is to take away hope and when hope is taken away, faith is hindered and soon follows with a departure. Today should be the day we receive the UL of God for His mercies are new each morning. The Holy Spirit in us has the job of shedding that love in our heart. It is first for us and then for others. It never fails and is not easily provoked. It rejoices not in iniquity nor thinks evil but is kind and suffers long and rejoices in the truth. When UL endures all things it never looks for an out or runs away from the details of the plan of God when we are found in a trial of our faith. Instead, UL bears all things, believes all things and hopes all things because it does not seek its own gratification. We have faith, hope and charity (UL), but the greatest is charity (UL).

 

[Jeff_56]

Bit like I said earlier.. There thousands of gods that have been believed in at some point in time. Why is yours right?

What if your wrong about Odin or Thor?

what if.... idnjeed... realize that many are wrong about jesus.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
jesus isn't wrong. but many are wrong about jesus. whole countries full of people (number wise) serve 'jesus' with their lips.... and don't know him, and their hearts are far from him.

that is sobering to anyone who has any sense at all.

 

[secularhermit]

Today I wouldn´t dare to say God´s love is unconditional, because It demands its conditions to keep it on.

I think I will write more on this:


Some ideas about GOD: God

 

[JGIG]

Every believer must be taught and have unconditional love practiced toward them so they can have a capacity to love others unconditionally. Legalism is in opposition to unconditional love. Love that goes beyond knowledge is a love that is not conditioned by knowledge through the letter of the law. When a believer falls into the trap of legalism they practice a love toward others that is based upon adjusting to the letter of the law instead of being filled with the love of God through the Spirit of truth. What that means is that adherence to the letter is more important then hearing from God through the Spirit. Unconditional love never condemns the believer for falling short of the letter of the law, instead it ministers an abundance of grace to edify the believer in Christ to build them up. This is the kind of love we have from God that we are to love one another with. Legalism according to the letter kills the believer's capacity to receive the love of God but the Spirit of life gives a capacity to the believer to receive the unconditional love of God in their heart through the Spirit. We know that we have passed from death unto life because we unconditionally love our brother with no reservations, no conditions and with no probation when they fail.

You must spread some Reputation
around before giving it to BradC again.


Dude.
Great thread.
Great post.
Thank you.

-JGIG