https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/The-Truth-About-Gods-Love.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Psalms 5<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. The world is filled with varying and confusing ideas about how God loves us.<\/p>\n A. Typically the emphasis is placed so heavily on God’s love that many think that\nGod is incapable of a negative thought against anyone.\n B. Others see God as so remote and unapproachable that we must do something to\nearn His notice \n
II. Misunderstanding about God’s love<\/p>\n
A. God only loves us if we perfectly obey Him<\/p>\n 1. God’s love was demonstrate to the world while we were sinners – Romans\n5:6-8\n
2. This doesn’t mean God supports or approves the wicked – Psalms 5:4-6<\/p>\n 3. Nor is God going accept the worship of those who remain in sin – Proverbs\n15:8-9\n 4. But in order for an avenue to be opened for those caught in sin to return to\nGod, God demonstrates a love for all mankind by offering a way back.\n
5. Yet, God remains severe to those who refuse to return – Ephesians 5:6<\/p>\n
B. God only loves us because we deserve His love<\/p>\n 1. Does a child deserve his parents’ love or does he receive his parents’ love\nbecause it was freely given to him?\n 2. In the same way, God loves us not because it is an innate part of our being\nbut because it is a part of God’s being – I John 4:7, 19 \n
3. Nor does God love us because of our past performance<\/p>\n
a. We have all sinned – Romans 3:23<\/p>\n b. It is our sins that have gotten in the way of God’s love – Isaiah\n59:1-2\n
C. God’s love is unconditional<\/p>\n
1. God is love, fully represented to all mankind – I John 4:8-9<\/p>\n
a. His love is a part of His character. It is not dependant on us.<\/p>\n
2. We benefit from God’s goodness, even the evil – Matthew 5:45<\/p>\n
3. God desires a relationship with all of us – II Peter 3:9<\/p>\n a. But whether we will have a relationship with God is dependant on\nour choices\n
b. Through our faith, God offers us grace – Ephesians 2:8<\/p>\n
c. He requires that we repent and be baptized – Acts 2:38<\/p>\n
d. He requires our obedience – Hebrews 5:9<\/p>\n
4. God’s love always exists, but we must be willing to connect to His love<\/p>\n a. Thus, a love for an enemy will never be the same as a love of a\nclose friend\n
III. What God’s love will not do<\/p>\n
A. Accept you as you are<\/p>\n
1. Sin divides us from God – Isaiah 59:1-2<\/p>\n
2. God doesn’t accept sinners<\/p>\n
a. God didn’t accept Adam and Eve in their sin<\/p>\n
b. God didn’t accept the fall world in Noah’s time<\/p>\n c. God didn’t accept the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Abraham’s\ntime\n d. Nor will God accept those who find it comfortable to remain in sin\n– Romans 1:18\n
3. Sin doesn’t stop God’s love<\/p>\n
a. That is, His longing for us and His desire for reconciliation<\/p>\n
b. But sin does stop His association with us – II Corinthians 6:14-15<\/p>\n
4. Reconciliation is conditional on our change – Luke 13:3<\/p>\n
a. We have to walk in the light – I John 1:5-7<\/p>\n
b. If we continue in the faith – Colossians 1:21-23<\/p>\n
5. Thus, our treatment is conditional on our behavior – Romans 2:4-8<\/p>\n
B. Automatically forgive you<\/p>\n
1. Forgiveness comes from being in Christ<\/p>\n
a. In Christ we have forgiveness – Ephesians 1:7<\/p>\n
b. Through faith we are baptized into Christ – Galatians 3:26-27<\/p>\n
2. Yes, God is loving, but He is also just.<\/p>\n
C. Force you to love God and serve Him<\/p>\n 1. Love allows a freedom of choice, even if the choice made is not what is\nwanted.\n 2. God desires our love and our service, but we have to freely make that\nchoice – Joshua 24:15\n
D. Prevent you from being punished<\/p>\n 1. God has done all that is possible. He did the hard work of offering His son.\nHe is offering incredible incentives of eternal life with Him. He was\ndelivered dire and firm warnings.\n
2. But if you reject all of that, justice requires an response – Hebrews 10:26-27<\/p>\n
IV. What God’s love does do<\/p>\n
A. Provide a way for you to be saved<\/p>\n
1. God did the painful part – I Peter 1;18-19<\/p>\n 2. There are requirements to be met, but they are all doable – Mark 16:15-16;\nActs 2:37-38\n
3. Remaining in Christ is also doable – II Peter 1:5-11<\/p>\n
4. If we make mistakes, there is a way to return – I John 1:9<\/p>\n
B. Guarantees that salvation is available<\/p>\n
1. The Spirit is given as a pledge – Ephesians 1:13-14<\/p>\n
2. In these, God cannot lie – Titus 1:2<\/p>\n
C. Provides incentives<\/p>\n
1. Fellowship with our Creator – II Corinthians 5:17-19<\/p>\n
2. Removing the debt of our past sins – Ephesians 1:7<\/p>\n
3. Providing for the present life – Ephesians 1:3<\/p>\n
4. Offering the greatest of futures – I Peter 1:3-5<\/p>\nV. God’s love is broadly reaching out to everyone, but acceptance of His love is not\nunconditional.\n
A. It doesn’t just happens. It requires effort from us who are loved by God.<\/p>\n
B. God tells us that He wants us and offers us a way that we can be together<\/p>\n
C. But justice still exists for those who spurn God’s offer of love.<\/p>\n
D. Have you been born into God’s family? – John 3:3-7<\/p>\n
\n
Based on an article by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 5 I. The world is filled with varying and confusing ideas about how God loves us. A. Typically the emphasis is placed so heavily on God’s love that many think that God is incapable of a negative thought against anyone. B. Others see God as so remote and unapproachable that we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[699,1571,426,90,65,47],"class_list":["post-58884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-eternal-life","tag-forgiveness","tag-free-will","tag-god","tag-love","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52330,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/perfected-in-unity\/","url_meta":{"origin":58884,"position":0},"title":"Perfected in Unity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 17:13-26 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 final prayer to the Father before his arrest, Jesus expressed his desire that his followers be united, just as he and the Father were one - John 17:22-23 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That \u201cone\u201d is not numerical, but a unity in purpose and action.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63406,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/roles-in-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":58884,"position":1},"title":"Roles in Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Ephesians 2:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There are many misleading claims in the denominations regarding salvation \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Most of the misconceptions come because people only look at some of the verses regarding salvation. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They find verses which says we are saved by God\u2019s grace and then trumpet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86006,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ezekiel-and-preaching-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":58884,"position":2},"title":"Ezekiel and Preaching Truth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Ezekiel had a most challenging job, preaching the truth to people who were not ready to appreciate it. God gave Ezekiel the vision of God's awesome greatness, and when a preacher preaches because he has a great concept of God, he can preach the hard truths\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33988,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jonah-wrath-of-man-mercy-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":58884,"position":3},"title":"Jonah – Wrath of Man \/ Mercy of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ross Ward We all know the story, but have we really gotten the point? Story The book is about Jonah Not gentile city Outline of book Ch 1 - Jonah runs from God Ch 2 - Jonah's salvation Ch 3 - Nineveh's salvation Ch 4 - God's mercy on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16002,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/unconditional-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":58884,"position":4},"title":"Unconditional Love","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 136:1-26 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I was reading a book that began to speak of the love of God. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As many denominational writers do, he referred to the unconditional love of God. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By this, he and others believe that God loves all people, no matter how they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63790,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/willing-to-do-his-will\/","url_meta":{"origin":58884,"position":5},"title":"Willing to Do His Will","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: John 7:14-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Two students enter a classroom. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One is excited about the prospect of learning this subject. Though he hasn\u2019t started yet, he has plans on how he is going to put this knowledge to use in his life. 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