Struggling with interpreting love in the Bible

Hello all,
I am incredibly new to Christianity, and have only recently began reading the bible. I began reading the gospel of Matthew, and I have encountered some troubling feelings when reading. I feel so truly awful for saying this, but I feel quite frightened reading the bible, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice they could send my way in regards to these feelings.

I can clearly see through his actions how truly Jesus loves us, how he heals all those with ailments purely out of the kindness of his heart, and how he died so that we may be forgiven, actively praying to the lord that those persecuting him may be forgiven. as noted before, I feel truly terrible for even having these feelings, but I feel like the language used in the bible seems very stern, and to the point, and I'm so truly so so sorry for saying this, but sometimes quite cold. I suppose I was under the impression that the bible would be 'gentler' for want of a better word. I feel so evil for even letting these thoughts enter my mind, but I feel that I must address them head on, in order to move forward in building my relationship with Jesus.

I am so terrified that I am writing such things, and it feels so sinful to even type these words out. I love Jesus with all my heart, but I was just wondering if anyone could help me by explaining the root of these feelings, and how to interpret this language in a way that could help me feel less afraid, and more positive when reading through the bible.

Thank you to all who respond, I can't thank you enough!

Welcome!

Nobody could live up to what is required under the law, and that is why we are so grateful for grace.


John 3:16

^ Gospel of John is often recommended as a great place to start reading the Bible.
This movie is a word-for-Word portrayal of John's gospel.

Please check out the Alpha Course.




There are 10 videos total. I hope you watch them. They could benefit you greatly .

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

You don't have to worry about feeling as you do. Your honesty is actually refreshing. The language in Matthew is very direct language. A better gospel to start with might be the gospel of John.

Do you belong to a church? Do you have Christian friends or family members?

Today's culture.. especially left wing people, want love to mean something that has no boundaries, no discipline.

In the Bible, the love of God is accompanied by love of THE TRUTH.

So a believer has unconditional love from God's free gift of salvation, but also discipline, rebuke, boundaries to live by.

Real love doesn't actually let evil slide. It's caring about a person’s soul.

The Bible presents truth. And truth will not always be gentle. But if you decide that you will embrace God's truth as shown in the Bible, you will never regret it. Jesus is the Truth, and the written Word of God is the truth. And there is such a thing as divine wrath and divine judgments.

If you are new to Christianity and the Bible, please go to the Gospel of John which is full of the words of Christ. You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.

Hey @PJH888

For advice on reading the Scriptures, I would recommend that you download one of the bible reading plans so that you can keep track of all that you're reading. I would also strongly encourage that each time that you sit down to read the Scriptures for learning, that you take 20 seconds to ask God to give you wisdom, knowledge and insight of all that He has for you to know about Him through His Spirit. I find that praying before reading sets one's heart right.

I'm not clear on why you feel that it can be cold and hard or stern in some places, but Jesus does know the truth and if he needs to be stern or harsh in saying something, you can trust that it was said as it was supposed to have been said. At one point Jesus tells a group surrounding him that the very words he spoke from his mouth were not his, but had been given him by the Father. If you'd like to point out such a place that makes you uneasy, I'll be happy to discuss each case with you.

However, I fully applaud you for the effort to read the Scriptures. So many don't. They visit a worship service on Sunday and that's about all they get. So for them it can be a very, very slow learning process, but worse than that is that you won't know if someone is teaching what is true about the Scriptures. Peter writes of those who distort the Scriptures and if one hasn't read them, then they don't know if they're listening to any distortion or not.

God bless you in your quest to know the one true and living God,
Ted

Welcome to CC... and to the family of God!

You don't need to be afraid to express concerns, doubts, and fears. God knows your heart and your thoughts, and He is neither surprised nor offended.

When I encountered the harsh passages in scripture, I viewed it as God expressing his feelings toward me. More specifically, God expressing his displeasure as much toward a regard for myself as a disregard for his commandment to love him above all else. And I suppose that, subconsciously, I felt this way because I knew He is right to be angry toward me, especially considering what I have come to know the legitimate reason for this being the chief commandment. That is, loving God is transcends a love of life since, though He is the life, He is much more than life.

That is, life is finite, but God is infinite. Keeping this in mind helps me keep reading through those difficult sections with, as you wrote, "more positive when reading through the bible" expectation that, even as He sincerely expresses His anger, He would inevitably display His gracious and merciful personality as that is the reputation for which He is renowned for. And truly, Jesus is the express image of God's nature in that He displays His devotion above all others in accepting God's anger for our sin against Him but not without also displaying his love for His neighbor (we are those that he came to dwell with as Emmanuel, God with us).

In the work of the cross, Jesus perfectly met the requirements of the first two commandments. He loved both God, Him who we've sinned against, and us, His neighbors who drew upon ourselves God's anger by disregard for His request to love Him as He loved us.

In not loving God, we not only fail to love our neighbors, but we also fail in loving ourselves because all of God's commandments are directions for life. Those commandments failed not because they were not sufficient for life if followed but because of our insufficiency to keep them perfectly, because the amount of love that is necessary to do that is not in us. Jesus is God's all sufficient remedy for our otherwise hopeless problem. Pouring out His love for the Father, as much as for us, and we now can know such love, intimately, through the Holy Spirit which He sends, to us, to speak, as He spoke for the Father, for Him.

So, if you remember that He is ever present, and I'm certain especially while you read His word, and you encounter a difficult passage, "acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:6)." I'm confident He is faithful and will direct you on to the graceful provision that He prepared for you before the foundation of the world when he foresaw the inevitable pitfalls that would ensnare His most prized possessions, our hearts.

Don't sweat it. God is looking for honesty and true relationship, not yes-men. The fact that you recognize that God's reasoning is beyond yours is sufficient. I do suggest straightforward telling Him how you feel and asking Him why He says and does things the way He does. He already knows where you are anyway.

I'm very happy to hear you've become a Christian. As a new believer I would say your feelings aren't that unusual; but those of us who trust in Him have no reason to fear. May I ask, what did you read in the Bible--specifically--that makes you so frightened?

Hello @PJH888, first off, welcome to CChat

As far as the struggles that you're having with The Gospel of Matthew goes, it would be helpful if you could point us to a couple of the passages that have upset you/frightened you so that we can address them with you directly

In the meantime, "don't sweat it" (as @Ballaurena just said above). After all, you are now an adopted child of the living God who loves you, wants the very best for you, and has given eternal life to you, so take all the time that you need to figure things out as you go. Also, as you read through Matthew and the rest of the Scriptures, it may be helpful to write down the verses/passages that bother you (or that simply interest you) and why, and then put them aside until you can talk to someone about them (like your pastor or someone else at church, and you can certainly bring them back here and talk to us about them too).

As a new Christian, I believe that your principal focus needs to be about growing in your knowledge and understanding of God, His word, and the faith. In fact, here's a short story in Luke where the Lord Jesus had something to say about this.
God bless you!! (Numbers 6:24-26)

~Deuteronomy (David)

Could you give some examples? I am not able to comment on your feelings without knowing what the stimulae are for those feelings.

Truth is an integral ingredient to love. The Bible is very truthful and doesn't mince words or express flatteries. There is a wide gulf between what people want to hear and what is the actual truth that they need to hear. It is actually good that you are having such a reaction, fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. You are not a sinner for your thoughts, it is enough that you realize your thoughts are wrong and to be repulsed by them, as it were take your thoughts captive. Learning the truth and casting aside thoughts and feelings is good and is part of growing real love, first for God and then second for mankind, you will do well to continue in this path you are on, may Jesus bless you.

“This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.

This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:2-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ( lay our selfishness down )

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:10-11, 16-19, 21-23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Love is what the lord taught man before we became wicked rebels love doesn’t harm another doesn’t steal possessions from another , steal tbier wives or commit adultery with them , doesn’t kill and abuse one another and exploit , Love towards God doesn’t have a false god and worship others ect

True love is in line with what God said is right and good always and isn’t just words but exists with the active love that moves and helps and cares truly and reaches out a hand acting in the love like Jesus did for us.

Love is truly the one thing we owe in return

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no harm to a neighbor.

Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13:8-10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Also just not doing harm to anyone isnt love of my neighbor is drowning and I’m a great swimmer but won’t help and instead just watch him drown then not harming him ….doesn’t quite fulfill the law of love.

what I mean is we should all have good feelings but this isn’t what love is to God . Sometimes the love we have in our heart requires us to act to reach out a helping hand to lift up a friend or neighbor . To sacrifice maybe something I wanted , or have . In order to meet a need that they have.

Love is like Jesus walking to the cross for all of us . He said all the right things before he did it he said he would do it he made all the promises ……but then if he didn’t actually suffer and die , go through all that pain and agony , if he didn’t really act . It wouldn’t have saved anyone .

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
‭‭James‬ ‭2:14-17‬ ‭NIV

can be said also of love if we love someone but refuse to act if they need help it’s a pretty empty word that is like checking a box

“ sure I love everyone I love people !!! Bit no no I don’t think i need to be helping others I work hard for what I have they should too “

i guess it’s love sort of a form of it “verbal love “ but I have always thought you can tell who loves you , by who actually shows up when you really need help or who acts like they love you ….also been burned by a few who said they loved me but turned out thoer actions spoke a lot louder and said they actually didn’t

God is the source meant to be in us so we can also love others freely without a grudge

1st of all, it sounds & looks like the devil has you right where he wants you because you say you are terrified, troubled, frightened, sorry & quite cold. those characteristics are not of God, never have been. so you see, the devil is tempting you to be that way & to stay that way. you said you are new to Christianity. are you a born again Christian? if not, that is TOTALLY where to start. all born again Christians are living with the Holy Spirit who is our guide & teacher. he reveals the truth of God, Jesus & the H.S. He is our comforter & communicator also. as a born again Christian, the devil has no power against you unless you let him. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 teaches: "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things are passed away, behold, all things become new". 1st Peter 5:7 teaches: "casting all you cares upon Him, for He careth for you". the root of your feelings is the devil's work. James 4:7 teaches a wonderful lesson here: "submit yourselves, therefore to God, RESIST THE DEVIL & he will flee from you". as for the H.S., study & learn John 14:26 & John 16:13. blessings to you PGH888.

Do not think you have to be worthy of the Love of The LORD Jesus to be loved by the LORD Jesus.. The Love of the LORD Jesus is not based on transactionalism.. Jesus loves us warts and all.. The Gospels declare..

(Romans 5:8-10) "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. {9} Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. {10} For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."

So never think you have Eternal security with the LORD based on anything you do or fail to do.. Never think that things you do or fail to do keeps you in a state of salvation.. Salvation is won for those who Believe and Trust Jesus by what Jesus did on the cross.. His Atonement..

When one fully accepts the Love of the LORD Jesus and trusts in it all fear is removed as the Gospel scriptures reveal::

(1 John 4:17-19) "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. {18} There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. {19} We love him, because he first loved us."

So accept with joyfull assurence the wonderful loving gift of the Atonement oif the LORD Jesus that paid the death penalty for our sins, Once you learn to trust 100% in the perfect work of Jesus for your salvation you will no longer be filled with the fear that feelings of guilt for our own unworthiness causes someone who does not trust in what Jesus did for them..