Two points:
- It statement contains circular reasoning. You assume God is loving everyone in the statement "He is not doing himself". Then, using this assumption you come to the conclusion "I say God loves everyone". Circular Logic Example: I am smart therefore I am intelligent.
- Just to humor your faulty argument. God tells Israel that the high priest must come from the Tribe of Levi. God himself appoints our High Priest (Christ) from the tribe of Judah. God has not done something he asked us to do. Therefore, even if you can construct a non circular argument you can not use the premise that God would not "tell us to do something that He is not doing Himself". But this is about GOD'S LOVE, not ours. To conflate the two is like saying my love for my wife is the same as my love for apple pie.
Question 11:
... Since you believe Jesus died for everyone.
... Since you believe God knew who would accept Him salvifically.
Why did Christ sacrifice himself in vain (producing no result; useless) ???????
Why if life can be saved would you think it is useless? It isn't God's fault that people refuse the gift of salvation He has made it available for all men but not all men choose salvation. That is the free will God has given us to choose whether to serve Him or not.
Question 12:
Christ is the High Priest.
... Since the function of the High Priest is to offer a sacrifice without blemish (in this case Himself)
... Since the function of the High Priest is to intercede for his flock to God
... Since Christ and God the Father (and the Spirit) are of one essence and have the same thoughts, understanding and purpose
Why is it that Christ intercedes for never-to-be redeemed ... why does He intercede in vain (producing no result; useless) ?????
Why are you asking me this question when we are talking about love I am not addressing the High Priest function so this doesn't make sense to me??
Question 13:
.... 1 Corinthians 13:6 "Love rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth in the truth."
Seeing as you believe God loves everyone. How is it God does not rejoice in His love for the unredeemed?
God hates sin and He would never rejoice in that. He loves the lost because He knows they need a Him even when they don't realize it themselves. We were all lost at some point in our life and we accepted God, because He was working on our hearts and we listened. There are many more lost out there who need help in finding the God who loves them one of the reasons we are commissioned to go and tell them the good news. So the other lost or sinners in this case can make the choice to accept God and the gift of salvation. The Holy Spirit uses us to help bring sinners to God because God loves them and wants them to repent and reconcile to Him.
Some on your side of the argument have said:
- God can be repulsed by those He loves
- God love means "taking pleasure" ... so one deduces God takes pleasure in the wicked
- God can love the unrepentant, unbelieving wicked (unbelievers)
- Apparently, God loves those in whom He does not rejoice
- God can love people whose father is Satan
Our father was Satan too before we accepted God maybe we didn't know it but God got through to us. What makes you think He can't get through to them too?
Your sides bar is set very low for whom God can love and thus the meaning of God's Love. So low that it has little meaning in my opinion. Your side is somewhat hesitant IMO to define love. My guess is that their definition will conflict with the thesis of "GOD LOVES EVERYONE'; thus the low bar set on the meaning of GOD'S LOVE.
My bar is much more difficult to achieve.
God's love is a volition volition to favor those that are morally perfect (Christ and those In Christ) and thus more lovely.
...If he loves himself, he cannot but love the resemblance of himself, and the image of his own goodness. He loves himself, because he is the highest goodness and excellency; and loves everything as it resembles himself, because it is an efflux [outflowing] of his own goodness; and as he doth necessarily love himself, and his own excellency, so he doth necessarily love anything that resembles that excellency, which is the primary object of his esteem.
....Real love hates moral evil and clings to righteousness.
It is also an error to interpret “God is love” to mean God is only love…using love as a paring knife to cut away his power, justice, holiness and wrath against sin, leaves only unconditional acceptance.